Is Gohan Stronger Than Goku?

Power level discussions in the “Dragon Ball” universe are practically impossible to have objectively these days. There have been so many instances of new Dragon Ball transformations and one-upmanship over the years that any real comparison of characters has to involve a specific point on the franchise timeline and a decent amount of guesswork. The concept of numerical power levels lost its facade of empirical accuracy many, many years ago, but fans still love debating who would win in different showdowns.

One of the most interesting questions along those lines involves Goku and Gohan, the father and son duo who lead most of the main plots across “Dragon Ball,” “Dragon Ball Z,” and “Dragon Ball Super” (we’re leaving “GT” off the table for now). Much of “Z” treats Gohan like the next true protagonist of the property — a character destined to overtake his father in terms of raw strength and become the bearer of his mantle long-term. That arc comes to fruition at the end of the beloved “Dragon Ball Z” Cell Saga, but since then, Goku has still been the main dude for most of the story, leaving Gohan in a strange spot in the overall “Dragon Ball” power rankings.

There is no beating Goku at this point when you factor in everything, as his sheer will and passion for fighting is truly unmatched (well, except maybe for Vegeta). But that doesn’t mean that he’s stronger than Gohan in terms of raw power, and in fact, a lot of the evidence suggests that he’s weaker than his eldest son.

For most of “Dragon Ball Z,” it’s heavily implied (or outright stated) that Gohan’s potential is even higher than Goku’s. This is first shown at the very beginning of the show when Raditz arrives on Earth and observes that Gohan contains an immense but volatile power. The Frieza Saga puts Goku definitively on top when he becomes the first character on the show to achieve the Super Saiyan transformation, but things get a bit muddy again in the Cell Saga.

Gohan achieves the Super Saiyan 2 transformation before either his father or Vegeta, and he uses that incredible strength to vanquish Cell once and for all. At this point in the story, there’s no question that Gohan is the strongest character, and with Goku dead following the Cell Games, it looked at the time as though Gohan was finally stepping into the true protagonist role, with Goku stepping aside to make room. However, when the show continued with the Majin Buu Saga, things got complicated again.

The Buu Saga is really where the power level battles and transformations of “Dragon Ball” go from somewhat complicated to downright chaotic. Goku achieves Super Saiyan 3 at one point — a form that Gohan never reached — but Gohan gets his own power-up in the form of a potential energy unlock from the Elder Kai. The sentiment within the fandom has generally been that this unlocked Gohan is meant to be stronger than Super Saiyan 3 Goku, once again placing Gohan on top. But even if that’s true, Gohan’s claim to the role of protagonist begins to fade and his character is made far more subordinate in “Dragon Ball Super.”

In “Dragon Ball Super,” Goku definitively becomes the central vessel of power among the core “Dragon Ball” cast, achieving the mythical rank of Super Saiyan God and quickly upping the ante yet again with the beautifully named Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan transformation (or Super Saiyan Blue, named for his shiny hair). By the end of the series, Goku has an even more powerful form known as Ultra Instinct, which makes him basically untouchable.

Gohan takes a major backseat while his father keeps unlocking new forms. He chooses to prioritize his family and his work as a scholar over his capacity for fighting, which drops him down several rungs in the Dragon Ball hierarchy. This negligence in regard to his training becomes a central storyline in the movie “Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero,” which sees Piccolo trying to urge Gohan back into something close to his old fighting form. The ultimate result is a new, wildly powerful transformation known as Gohan Beast, and while it isn’t exactly the same as Ultra Instinct, the late “Dragon Ball” creator Akira Toriyama suggested it might be even more powerful.

Back when the film was being promoted, an official “Dragon Ball” X account posted a brief interview snippet with Toriyama. Roughly translated, the legendary artist and writer claimed Gohan is “actually stronger than anyone else” at this stage, which presumably would include Goku in his Ultra Instinct form and Vegeta with his Ultra Ego. The quote isn’t exactly scientific, though, nor does it account for the larger character differences between Goku and Gohan.

As I said before, debating “objective” power levels in the “Dragon Ball” universe is a bit of a fool’s errand. Even the most powerful Dragon Ball forms eventually yield to the next big thing. There’s always going to be some new level to reach, and things are constantly in flux. So, while Gohan has been stronger than Goku at various points in the story, what’s more important is their overall ability as fighters, and Goku definitively wins in that category.

There’s no shame in living a more normal life, being a father and husband, and prioritizing academic work. But that is unfortunately going to count against you in a discussion of overall strength. At every turn of the “Dragon Ball” story, Goku has chosen to do whatever it takes to reach the next level. His first and truest love is fighting, which is why despite various attempts to make Gohan the main character, they’ve never stuck. No one is out here asking if Gohan could beat Superman. Beast mode or otherwise, he just doesn’t have the sauce like his old man.