No matter how bad things get,Dragon Ballholds onto one universal truth: Son Goku can, andwill, save the day. Even when he isn’t there to physically defeat the arc villain like in the Cell arc, it’s Goku who inspires others to save the world – even if he’s just trying to live his best life by fighting the strongest martial artists alive.
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Dragon BallbeingDragon Ball, Goku’s opponents progressively get stronger over the course of the series, even coming dangerously close to winning in some cases. One of the earliest lessons Goku learns inDragon Ballis that martial arts isn’t about winning, but there are some fights he just can’t afford to lose.
Updated on July 02, 2025 by Ritwik Mitra:Dragon Ball is one of the most iconic series of all time, featuring a slew of powerful villains who would’ve definitely destroyed the Earth — and, at times, the Universe — had it not been for the intervention of Goku and his friends. There were times when these enemies were very close to accomplishing their goal and could’ve doomed the world, with the threat of their plans becoming a reality being compared below.
14Babidi
Babidi is easily one of the weakest and most annoying villains in the entire series. His entire plan was doomed to fail from the very moment he summoned Majin Buu, a creature who was too powerful for him to control.
Watching him get eradicated by the evil he brought onto the world was a bit of poetic justice that just about everyone expected. He is easily the tamest villain in the series, with his relevance fading away as the Buu arc progressed.
13Raditz
Raditz was shockingly revealed as Goku’s brother early on inDragon Ball Z. However, he didn’t last for too long, with one well-placed Special Beam Cannon from Piccolo being enough to do away with this threat once and for all.
Raditz had a pretty strong first impression but faded into obscurity over time. He is barely brought up throughout the series, which shows just how ineffective he really was.
12Piccolo
For as strong as Piccolo is during the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, he doesn’t come anywhere close to achieving his goals. Defeating Goku? Sure. Taking over the world? Not a chance.
Even if Piccolo somehow managed to beat Goku at the tournament, Tenshinhan, Krillin, Yamcha, and God would haveimmediatelyjumped in to put an end to Piccolo. At worst, Kami could just force one of the Earthlings to kill him, taking Piccolo with him.
11Commander Red
For what it’s worth, Commander Red does manage to assemble the largest army on the planet through (implied) charisma alone. Red is a man who commands respect, someone who can execute any of soldiers on a whim – a threat that looms large over his subordinates over the course of the Red Ribbon Army arc.
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But he’s also foiled by Goku time and time again. By the time Goku’s finished training with Karin, the Red Ribbon Army stands no chance. Red isn’t even bested by the boy, but betrayed by his second-in-command, Adjutant Black.
10Cell
Cell drinks quite a lot of people and even takes Goku out with him, but the main characters were more ready for the Cell Games than they thought. For one, Gohan alone could have defeated Cell as a Super Saiyan 1 (and probably would have if Goku just took the time to explain his plan.)
By the time Gohan turns Super Saiyan 2, Cell stands no chance. Even when Cell comes back as Super Perfect Cell and cripples Gohan’s arm, SSJ2 Gohan is strong enough to kill a fully healed Cell with a one-armed Kamehameha. Gohan’s entire struggle fighting Cell is an internal one – he could have won the fight anytime.
9Pilaf
Pilaf isn’t a powerhouse by any means, but he comes extremely close to getting exactly what he wanted. Pilaf gathers all sevenDragon Balls, imprisons the main cast, summons Shenlong, and manages to get his entire wish out before Oolong steals his wish right out from under him.
Had Oolong hesitated in the face of danger, Pilaf would have become king of the world. Even then, Pilaf gets his revenge by nearly killing the main characters. In retaliation, Goku & friends are imprisoned in a cage that’ll cook them alive when the sun rises. Only through chance does the full moon transform Goku into an Oozaru and set them free.
8Vegeta
Vegeta actually would have won if he took a second to realize thatGokuexhausted all of his energy in their beam struggle instead of immediately tossing most of his Ki into creating an artificial moon. Worse is that Vegeta squanders his opportunity to kill Goku, torturing him long enough for Gohan, Krillin, & Yajirobe to show up.
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For what it’s worth, Vegeta survives an incredibly long time. After getting his tail cut off, he manages to hold his own in combat against Gohan, takes a full slash across the back from Yajirobe, eats a Genki Dama to the face courtesy of Krillin, and is crushed by a Great Ape Gohan. Vegeta has always been his own undoing.
7The Androids
The threat of the Androids was something that plagued the Z Fighters to no end. Even after knowing about the arrival of these powerful warriors, Earth’s protectors were no match for the power of the Androids.
EvenVegeta becoming a Super Saiyanwas something that didn’t stop the destruction of these Androids. However, the emergence of Cell put a dent in their plans to live freely on Earth, permanently changing the focus of the series inDragon Ball Z.
6Demon King Piccolo
Demon King Piccolo isDragon Ball’s first real supervillain and he makes quite a grand entrance. Even in his older form, Piccolo is strong enough to beat Goku to near-death.
Piccolo is directly responsible for both Master Roshi & Chaozu’s deaths, and personally kills Shenlong himself so no one can use the Dragon Balls once he’s wished for his youth. King Piccolo takes over the Earth and fights Goku to a stalemate, only losing because he fails to break all of Goku’s limbs.
5Zamasu
Zamasu is a deity who should’ve accomplished his goal of protecting humans, but his twisted ideologies got in the way instead. This led to him using the Dragon Balls in a different universe to take over Goku’s body and wreak havoc on Earth.
However, in the main universe, Zamasu is taken care of before he can even act upon his genocidal plan. The potential for his threat was immense, so it’s great that this person was dealt with by Beerus in one fell swoop.
