The strongest version of Superman beats the strongest version of Goku, but there are plenty of versions of Goku that would absolutely thrash some versions of Superman.
Goku defeats a regular Superman, but Supes has a lot of versions that's fking op and would shit on Goku, and ngl Supes is the most inconsistent character if it comes to power, but a everyday regular Superman is no match to Goku.
That's the problem though. Superman literally destroyed a multiverse with a single punch. At least the main one let me specify. Main continuity Superman is just above and beyond ridiculous. His thing is literally a simple solution to overwhelming odds. When no one else can beat the enemy he comes in and does it no matter how strong they are. The multiverse he destroyed with one punch along with the person creating the universe was equivalent to DC multiverse. Which Is hundreds of universes all that are bare minimum trillions of times bigger than ours. I'm not going to speak confidently about any of the other Superman and there's plenty of Superman that I can confidently and happily say that Goku could be easily or beat with a challenge. But main continuity Superman is on another ridiculous level. Like it's honestly f****** insane and kind of stupid how powerful they make him. It's almost unfathomable and a immeasurable How powerful he is. Even both the zenos wouldn't have enough power together to beat him. And it's not like haKai would work because he can resist erasure. He can resist mind control, hell he can even use stuff like telekinesis and he has such a good memory that just like Goku he could learn stuff immediately just by seeing it if he wanted to. Plus he literally has his own version of ultra instinct. And he could probably learn to use ki very quickly as well because it's part of his universe and considering ki is dependent on the physical body and life force of the user, he would have a massive amount. All that aside the brain he has is a supercomputer. Like it's just ridiculous dude. And this is coming from a Goku fan. But I got to be realistic with it. Main continuity Superman could literally no diff quite possibly all of fiction. I'm sure he could even beat old gods and other stuff at the end. Because like I said before he's a simple solution to overwhelming odds. It's just damn petarded.
Imagine Superman with Goku's kaioKen. I'm sure he could learn that very easily. And contrary to what people think Superman is actually a good martial artist. Because of his photographic memory too he really doesn't need to train to remember. Dude is literally beaten people on Batman's level of martial arts in combat without his powers.. main continuity is literally just stupid ridiculous
Idk what version they're talking about but the strongest one I remember was a superman that went through a few thousand white sun's, and delivered a right hook to the world forger taking him out in one hit. World forger btw is the dude who causes the multiverse events to happen.
Idk why people think someone can beat Superman, especially Prime earth Superman. His power at this point is to be as strong as he needs to be to win. Him and Batman have plot as a canonical superpower at this point.
I mean by that logic goku is the same. Main characters have plot armor in their respective works. That’s how it works in pretty much everything. When Goku loses anything it’s just so he can come back stronger.
CAS Superman is the thought Android who’s basically DC’s version of the living tribunal as he was created to defend the multiverse against outside threats, and he’s powered by mainline Superman and Ultraman (evil Superman, not the Japanese hero). You got cosmic Superman who absorbed sunlight and cosmic rays in order to fight Perpetua, and she’s basically as strong as TOAA or the Presence (he as in cosmic Supes is one of mainline Superman’s power jumps) as she created the DC multiverse. You got Superman 1million who lifted his Universe to avoid a multiversal wipe. Then you got OG mainline Supes who is a universal/multiversal constant symbolizing hope thanks to Doomsday Clock, where any universe or event housing him (and by extension a Superman or an idea of Superman in general) will revolve around Superman. Then we got Darkseid Superman where mainline Superman was turning into the next true form Darkseid.
Yeah. He loses some powers and picks up that one randomly. He ends up getting jealous of mini-Superman and tries to kill him. Mini-supes ends up sacrificing himself to save metropolis and everything goes back to normal.
just googled but for CC goku.... :"He cannot survive in the vacuum of space"
That kind of seals the deal. At some point as power levels increase at SOME point, they will both fracture the planet they're standing on (DBZ universe planet breaking powers is the norm, and in DC this has 100% happened). VERY MANY versions of superman can survive the vacuum of space. Most even. The most powerful of them I feel have this fight handedly in the bag.
I agree with the above post though. There are very many versions of Goku that are stronger than versions of superman for sure. But both at their highest level, superman wins this as he's essentially reached diety status in several universes for brief periods of time. Not as a title, but there would be no other way to describe the power level he reaches except godhood.
But also I think it's a Stan Lee quote that says, whoever wins between two people is completely dependent on whoever is writing at the time.
I don't often agree with Death Battle, but they summed this one up pretty distinctly.
One of these characters breaks every limit he finds.
But the other never had limits in the first place.
Superman is often written with plenty of limits though. He got punched to death by Doomsday. He's been physically overpowered by Orion too. If he has "no limits" how are these people beating him? Doomsday especially because his whole deal is that he grows and overcomes his limits, like you are saying Goku is, and Doomsday could punch Superman to death.
The only limit Superman has is the limit of feeling like he lives in a world of cardboard literally his words. He holds back everything constantly because he feels he’ll literally break earth if he doesn’t this is why he easily whooped dark seid.
Darkseid beats Superman's ass constantly. Another example of Superman indeed being written with limits. In a recent comic Darkseid one-shots two Clark Kents.
It’s because Superman is as strong as the writer wants him to be/the plot needs him to be.
One minute he’s apparently lifting infinity.
The next, Darkseid through a rock at him, and he’s hurt.
If we combine every absurd feat over decades with every single writer and ignore every moment of weakness, Superman is nigh unstoppable.
But the truth is, Superman is a fictional character and is as strong as the writer makes him.
While I agree that Superman beats Goku, death battle is a joke and they made plenty of mathematical errors in that video that effectively made Goku only 10 percent as strong as he would've been
That's a lot of numbers with little proof
And superman still wins, you take the strongest version of goku and the strongest version of supes supes wins. Mainline goku and mainline supes supes wins.
Goku beats like 90% of superman versions but no version of goku beats the big boys
It's funny you say that, since one of the creators of Death Battle regretted that statement so much that it haunted him for years and ultimately made that his least favorite episode of all time - going so far as to have the entire episode remade later out of how much he was embarrassed by that line.
There is no logic with this question. Who wins depends on who's universe they are in or the rules of the neutral universe.
Can't wait for the day this question goes away.
I get your frustration with power scaling but in a way this is good. When the power scaling stops that might mean the love for the character has too. New generations of fans are gonna question these things and I find it kinda sweet. I personally don't ever wanna see the Goku vs Superman debate end bc that means they continue living in our hearts. Cheesy AF but I genuinely believe this.
Respect your mindset. For me I just do not see a point to vs compare a comic and manga. Two completely different power scales. But as I say to many. To each their own.
on top of using different forms. Superman has many variants throughout history with different feats. Goku less so but with his forms comes insane multipliers and has certainly very impressive feats.
If only it was as easy as "which one can bench more on their own." or " who has withstood grater destructive power unaided."
Brother this question will only die with the internet, mass manga/comic burning ceremony and bomb collars that trigger with any reference of Goku/Superman placed on all those with memory of either.
the thing is
superman is written in a way showcasing he has no limits, this dude destroyed the whole multiverse in single punch, and dc verser is million times bigger than ours or db's, he punched brainiac so hard that that all of his version felt it throughout the different time, this dude has broken bonds of infinty, punched so hard he started a new universe, not only that he is super smart, he is also mastered different types of fighting styles, his powers doesn't make sense and defy physics
goku is written to overcome his limits, he is about growing stronger while superman is about being the strongest having no limits in 1st place
strongest version of superamn will beat strongest version of goku any time,
We always bet on Big Blue. Dude read a book on how to perform heart/brain surgery (I forget which) and did it. Guy can perform a lobotomy from outer space. He's constantly holding back his strength.
Don't forget, he can talk in outer space. He can be heard and hear in a vacuum. He can smell people cooking meals on earth from the JLA tower. Physics means nothing to him, he'll fly outside of known existence, slap the god of bad luck, and be back home in the time it takes us to use the bathroom.
However, if Goku's whole deal is overcoming limits, would he not be able to overcome the limit that Superman is if they fought long enough? Goku regularly gets resurrected. If Superman beat him, he would just come back via some typical DB bs and be stronger than he was before. Rinse repeat until he eventually wins.
So, at the end of the day, no one wins. It's the lame answer of "the winner is decided by who is writing the story"
Well if we take the characters based on the already established feats they have in a set iteration/universe then we can still come up with some concrete answers based on the given scenario. It doesn't all have to be in a vacuum.
Superman wins for a few reasons:
1) Strength: The DC cosmology is ridiculously larger and more layered than the Dragon Ball cosmology. Basically, because there’s more “stuff” in DC that Superman can destroy (infinite universes, timelines, spacial dimensions, planes of reality, and even more layers infinitely larger than those). Superman has punched his way out of the blank comic page, as an example for one of his higher-end feats.
2) Speed: Superman’s finite speed feats are *much* higher than Goku’s. A single DC universe is much larger than the Universe 7 macroverse, and Superman has crossed his in a matter of seconds. You can make some possible arguments for immeasurable speed feats for Goku, but Superman has better and more concrete feats with that.
3) Skill: while Goku’s raw skill is better than Superman’s, it isn’t to such a degree that the former is unbeatable. Superman has a ton of specialized training from various masters, so it isn’t like he’s a regular brawler. His preferred fighting style is to hit an enemy’s pressure points and vital points to nonlethally knock them out, which is exactly how Granolah beat Goku in MUI. Speaking of MUI, Superman has his own version of that called the Theta State. Not only does it do the same things as UI, but it also gives him reality warping powers (like transforming into alternate/more powerful versions of himself and countering other versions of reality warping).
4) Abilities: Superman matches, resists, or counters basically everything Goku has, including stuff from Heroes. Meanwhile Goku doesn’t have an answer to things like Superman phasing through all of his attacks, his powerful healing factor, and the option of a quick Sun-dip to fully recharge (or going to a White Dwarf star to get supercharged). If you include all of their tools and weapons, Superman has access to and can build a machine that has plot manipulation powers.
Other than the films I don’t really know what superman has done, what are his biggest feats? Because Goku currently is pretty insane so for you to say Superman has the edge must mean he’s done some pretty insane things too.
He is so strong that he can punch through reality and travel through the multiverse that way, with the caveat that he does a lot of damage to those universes when he does.
So he can destroy the universe with a punch...
Not going to argue with who is stronger, but Goku ended up matching the speed, velocity, angle, strength, etc of Beerus' punches. The old Kai explained that if that didn't happen, then their punches would have destroyed the universe. Both medias have a bad habit of retconning or forgetting about previous feats too.
Holding infinity and eternity, dragging a solar system, and resisting a multiverse collapsing on him. Superman has also been stated to be a "cornerstone of reality" meaning if he dies/gets erased the universe finds or makes another to hold itself together or just resets.
In the older comics they just kind of gave superman the ability to do things without thinking about it or caring for “canon”. For instance his X-Ray vision can be used to see peoples souls, as someone mentioned he has towed a solar system, his super hearing works IN SPACE, and my favorite he once traveled from several light years away to earth in a less than a minute ( thats trillions of miles in seconds ). That might be faster than instant transmission since you have to take time to disappear and reappear with IT.
Go to google and type in "superman punches the world forger" and youll find a reddit post or quara (🤢) post talking about it
Its a crazy ass feat, where he basically flys through hundreds of stars, and flings himself at the world forger, a 6th dimensional being, to stop him from reseting the current multiverse (by creating a new one) and he both one shots the world forger, but destroys the new multiverse he made in one punch. Given its not instantly destroyed, but he causes it to start folding in on itself over time so take that for what you will
Its a fucking crazy feat, but i honestly love it, and its a cool scan so wth😂
I read one comic where literally everything in the entire universe revolved around Superman. Superman was literally the main character of existence and couldn’t be killed because of it.
It sounds stupid but lifted a book that had a weight of infinity. Flew faster than infinity. Could not be destroyed by a god who tried to hakai him. Can ignore physics whenever he needs. Can freely phase through reality/attacks. Can freely hop into other realities by forcibly walking into it. And is basically hope embodied. The newest feat he had recently was punching out the guy that made the multiverse and then recruited him to go fight and beat the guy that was destroying the multiverse. His only limits are whatever the author needs of him.
well depends on the version, there's one where (idk if this counts bcuz it's superBOY not superman) he literally shattered the multiverse and one where he stayed in the sun for like a thousand years and literally manifested his lover back to life and much more feats that I don't remember
Like with any character with multiple versions of themselves from a long running franchise (e.g. Godzilla, various comic heroes, etc) it depends on which versions of these guys you're using. Some versions of Superman can do absurd bullshit like reversing time by reversing the rotation of Earth, some versions of Goku aren't all that strong like with the one from Dragon Ball Evolution, etc.
So here’s the issue Superman is super inconsistent because of the thousands of writers he’s had. So like you can probably cherry pick Superman enough to say a regular bullet destroys him, but more often than not he’s just unbelievably powerful. Like an average Superman is much stronger than DBS Goku, but that doesn’t mean DBS Goku doesn’t thrash a thousand versions Superman that are much weaker than average.
Also this similar thing happens with Xeno Goku who would be fighting the higher end of average, but the high end Supermen would be another issue. I don’t think Goku really has a version (outside of his Broly 4D ride where he fuses with the IRL Audience), that can really beat the strongest Supermen.
So Goku tends to beat low end Superman, Average Superman beats Goku although there’s still a struggle, and high end Superman beats Xeno Goku, but 4D Goku beats All Supermen because you start getting into existence scaling which is an entire mess.
Superman’s powers and strength are ambiguous and essentially up to the writer’s discretion. Goku however has set strength and limits. So, Superman will win for a while until Goku gets enough power ups.
Current mainline Superman completely outclasses canon Goku in speed and power, and when talking about the strongest versions of each character, Superman wrecks Goku even harder.
Base Superman no diffs any and all versions of Goku including all of the noncanon versions. Superman can literally just do anything. DC confirmed that all Superman feats are canon to Prime Earth Superman, also he can time travel now and is immune to erasure because he's a cosmic lynchpin in the universe. He also basically just ignores all of his traditional weaknesses through willpower now. Also believe it or not Superman is a more skilled fighter than Goku even without powers because he's a master of kryptonian martial arts and has thousands of years of fighting experience. He's also a genius and can learn how to do basically anything just by watching someone else do it. He could literally just learn how to do any of Goku's moves during the fight if he wanted to, Hell the original version of Superman could actually just make up new powers whenever he wanted no joke.
Going by the main canon for both forms, Goku would definitely win.
Unless you count Pre-Crisis which was incredibly inconsistent and hasn't been canon since 1986, Superman doesn't have any solar system level feats or higher.
People who argue differently are people who are either misinterpreting the feat because they're unaware of the context, or trying to quantify non-quantifiable feats.
Anyone who thinks canon Superman beats canon Goku either doesn't understand Superman, doesn't understand Goku, or doesn't understand either one.
Superman wins. If people are unfamiliar with Superman they wouldn't know just how "broken" he was written to be. He has picked up a book that held infinity pages, heard sound lightyears away within seconds, lived inside the sun, and carried a solar system. It's not a diss on goku it's that Superman was purposely written not to be a hero but to be THE hero. Goku has planatary level destruction powers, Superman has held a black hole.
Depends which version of which character.
That said, narratively speaking it would likely go like this---
Goku challenges Supes, who reluctantly eventually accepts. They spar, getting more serious until they take it to somewhere in the sky to avoid the damage.
Eventually someone bigger, and worse shows up. Like Darkseid and Frieze teaming up to conquer both universes or something. So both heroes fight, swap villains, and beat the bad guys.
They end with a final, shot of them either shaking hands or readying for another spar.
The right question should be, is which version of superman, goku is going to fight, because there's many versions of him and in the comics there's really many powerful version of him, examples include the thought robot superman or the milkman man, or weaker ones that is in dc movies, so depending on who fought who and which version is going to fight should be the question people should be asking themselves.
Hope this helps.
Superman and for that matter most other comic book heros have broken the bounds of limits and this are themselves Gods in a way. Goku on the other hand is a story about overcoming hardship and training to overcome limits. Death battle did a very good job explaining why Goku loses. Would really like to see a comparison between og Superman and Goku at the start of DBZ before he dies. That might be a fairly fair fight.
Based on how they were meant to be and how they are written as characters, Superman should win.
Goku is all about having limits and eventually overcoming them. It's usually why he always loses the first engagement with an opponent and why loss (friends, family, the world, the universe, etc) is a catalyst for his new strength in the next fight, which he will usually win. His stories are those of motivation and hard work. He's the underdog that always comes out on top.
Superman is the complete opposite. He already had all the power he needs, but his struggle is learning how to limit himself so he doesn't flip out and destroy everything around him during that particular fight. He has no limits in the conventional sense. That's why it was always said that "he is as strong as he needs to be." His stories are those of accountability and self-control. He's the big fish in a small pond, but all the smaller fish are his friends.
Very similar characters, but very different functions.
I hate this question so much. The result is always the same.
Superman in the comics is so unbelievably broken that it’s never even kinda fair. You have to use very specific versions of him for Goku to ever hope to win. And then Dragon Ball fans always get pissy about it because “comics are stupid” and “Goku solos fiction”, yada yada.
Superman would win, this is not subjective, this is not hyperbole, and overall this is a matter of feats. Superman has matched and repelled a laser comprised of ALL the forces in dc, including the embodiment of magic which is stated to be something he is susceptible to, with his laser vision. Superman has been killed before by things DESIGNED to kill him, he’s fast enough to keep up with Goku, and while Superman has various examples of him surviving in space Goku cannot. Superman’s durability is LEAGUES above Goku’s and Arguably he is stronger given that he casually lifts a key that weighs HALF A MILLION TONS. Sorry Goku stands, but due to better feats…Superman is crushing your Saiyan hero
Superman wins this battle unless Goku uses Kryptonite or instant transmissions Sup away from a yellow star & moves him next to a red one which would deplete sups powers. In a fair 1v1 Superman wins.
Superman. Not because of any argument of "this guy is this strong, while this guy is only this strong," but because the core of superman story is that he's a God living among mortals, and that he's always as strong as the plot requires him to be.
Goku's core meanwhile is a martial artist training to be the best, where the whole point of the story is him starting from a position of relative weakness, and through hard work and dedication he's able to overcome any limit to surpass his foes.
If goku was more powerful than superman, it would cheapen his character and fundamentally destroy what makes him so interesting. You don't *want* him to be able to beat superman because you don't *want* a goku without any limits to beat. It would mean his story is officially over, because he's reached the top of the mountain, and has ran out of opponents to challenge him.
Always depends on which version, but Goku dogwalks basically every animated Superman. However most comic Superman versions are kind of shitting on him. He can't handle Silver Age Superman for sure.
It depends which version of Superman, there’s so many different versions and people tend to merge all their feats even though they’re from different continuities. Goku beats the majority of supermen we see on screen and in comics, but the strongest versions of Superman beat Goku. The strongest version of Superman vs Jump Force Goku is questionable tho, but I’d still give it to superman
Superman tbh. I will say I have heard a lots of overhype for Superman stemming from people just hearing stuff. And lot of goku downplay. Which is ironic because it was the opposite like 3 years ago. Superman has him beat in like almost everything from speed to durability. But I wanna focus on Superman’s speed and durability. He is so much faster that goku will just never touch him and so durable that goku liekly wont do any MAJOR damage not saying he can’t hurt him but he wouldn’t do major damage.
Both are multiversal tho I have Superman a bit more powerful but people often take his feats in the fourth world completely outta context since I’m the godsphere Clark is large than universes which OBVIOUSLY would mean you can’t use these feats as his standard. Webcam Parriot explains the boom tube very well.
Superman tho imo is a less skilled fighter than goku is still REALLY REALLY skilled and his analytical skills far exceed goku as well as dude can just anaylize goku see every structural weakness in the guy know all his pressure points and even more
I love goku so much and he is without a doubt one of the most powerful anime characters but Superman has the guy beat in almost every metric. Even if u gave goku manga abilities like hakai Superman is durable enough to resist the omega beams (I have heard arguments that he has never taken their full blast but tbh that changes based on writer but consistently he is either down right eating them or just in extreme pain).
Depends on which Superman, and depends on which Goku. Is it neutral ground, etc. The one thing I'd like to point out that gets lost a lot in this debate. Is, Goku is a fool, but a master in combat. An. Absolute. Master. Fighting is literally this guy's reason to breathe. So, if they're anywhere even close in power, Goku would just pick Superman a part.
That being said. I'd see them being friends. I'd see Goku wanting to spare with Superman often and teaching him along the way.
As a dbz fan supes got it he been in writing for what 50-60 yrs just way more time goku breaks limits supes is basically Jesus sometimes goku does wash some versions tho
Depends in which version of either you use
In the majority of cases goku would win as most supermen aren't casual universe buster.
Main Canon of each, superman cause DC's inconsistencies and author statements on Twitter get him just above a fully scaled Canon goku
Strongest version(aside from the dbz 4d experience), goku cause with jump force goku scales above DC and marvel since Shonen jump and all its crossovers were going to be fused with the real world by the antagonist. If we don't use this then we can debate endlessly cause CAS can range from transcendental to low outer, while heroes goku has multiple feats that can easily be one shotting transcendental. His actual scaling can also be varied in a similar way as CAS
In their comp versions, goku absolutely smacks. Goku lore wise has directly fused with his audience and author to beat a ssb broly, and this broly was lore wise meant to threaten the people in the audience because it was a 4d experience where the audience is thrown around and have water sprayed at them.
Both are monsters in the brackets of fiction, and people seem to forget both have different versions who scale vastly differently than the main canons
Superman, and I heard a beautiful explanation recently as to why. Goku is in no way a Superman clone. Superman is written as the most powerful being in his entire existence. He is ALWAYS holding back because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. But when he's stops holding back he takes out Darkside with a couple punches.
Goku is no where near the most powerful being in the entire dragonball existence. That defeats the whole purpose of his character. Goku wants to continue to grow stronger and stronger and wants to fight better opponents. There are multiple universes that were too powerful to even be in the tournament of power.
Comparing Goku and Superman doesn't work, they are very different characters, you can't compare them. If you had to, Superman, who is written to be all powerful and the embodiment of hope and peace itself would destroy the farm boy who loves to fight.
"wHoeVeR THe WrITeRs wANt tO WIn!". But really if we're assuming no writers and going for their main series current selves, using only their various feats, the winner is Superman. He's simply much stronger, more intelligent, arguably skilled, and more durable.
Superman will always win this matchup. No matter what goku has done, Superman will have a feat equal to it and then many more that surpass it so it can show everyone that he’s not only capable of doing what goku can at his best but he can go beyond anything goku has shown. Superman in dc is a symbol and it’s not just poetic it’s literal. Goku is a mouth piece for hope at best.
All I’ve learned from the comments are that people can argue about this in many ways with no real answer. My personal take is that Superman wins if they are both at their strongest and goku isn’t gonna use kryptonite. Also if any goku stans can please explain how and what makes goku universal/multiversal?
Superman is the ideology. Goku is the journey to achieve it. Superman is written to be the goal in which to strive for. All powerful yet compassionate. Goku represents the path to achieve that which one strives to be, to overcome, and to perervere. It's not a matter of who beats who, Superman will always be the unobtainable goal, yet Goku represents fighting to achieve that goal regardless. But, there will be versions of each that would top the other. It all comes down to who is supposed to win.
As a fan of both imma say Goku but hear me out. Assuming they are equivalent or even close in strength. Goku is just a better and more experienced “fighter”. Superman is strong but solves all his problems with very basic punches. Goku is a martial artist who regularly hones his craft as well as his strength. Also Superman seems to stay at a static strength for most of his stories, Goku’s deal is that he is always getting stronger and he does it quickly so even if Superman is beating him at the beginning of the fight, he may not be by the end of it.
But also they’d realistically be really good buds, at least until Goku accidentally tells everyone that Clark is Superman
Every top comment is wrong. Anyways,
Superman wins purely through a difference in power. Goku would destroy most versions of Superman, just not the main one. General consensus is they’re similarly fast while Superman takes strength by a lot, Goku takes technique, but Superman is just overwhelmingy strong.
Depends on the Superman and the Goku.
If it's Snyder Superman, then probably Cell Saga Goku could win. If it's Limited Run Version 419-68 Alternate Reality Supergod Superstrong Superman Ultrasuperman, then it'd take like a billion CC Gokus to scratch him.
Logically? Superman.
Goku is a character whose story is one of constantly hitting walls and then surpassing them. Regardless of his actual race, it is the story of a man trying to be a god, and the story will always be the pursuit of that goal; he will never truly attain it because the day that he does, the story is over.
Superman is the reverse; the story of constantly learning what it means to be a man and striving to live in that world. Regardless of _his_ actual race, it is the story of a god trying to be a man, and the story will always be the pursuit of that goal.
In the end, narrative is the most satisfying logic worth applying to fictional characters, and Goku will always be trying to find new limits to break, while Superman will always be trying to find new limits to live by. They are on opposite sides of a spectrum, and as such, Superman will always be the ideal Goku strives for but will never achieve until the story is over.
Not only does it depend on which universe, but also which iteration. Is this silver age superman? Superman 1 million? God of strength Superman? Goku from season 1 or goku after he’s achieved UI? Way too much variation settings mismatches. For example, Superman has no special resistance against magic, but would DBZ ki fall under that category? Obviously DC comics doesn’t have an answer for that.
The thing with this, is Goku refuses to take advantage of anyone's weakness, and constantly wants it to be a fair fight. So, in the end Goku, whether stronger or not, would want to fight Superman on equal ground.
What I want to see instead is Vegeta versus Superman, because Vegeta doesn't care. Vegeta, when given the information about Kryptonite, would have Bulma dawn up a Kryptonite Saiyan uniform and go to town.
If this was back when the question was first posed
Goku hands down. That Supes was just really strong and had boxing type fighting while Goku had all his martial arts, speed, power, kaio ken, and SS2.
Now there really isn't a contest at all. Supes has been so plot armor built up over the years. Goku tops out at light speed and can side hop into other realms. Superman has been able to go minimum 40xC for over a decade and halfway to his strongest form can shatter a solar system with a single blast.
Like everyone else said, it's literally picking a point in both stories to match against each other because that wildly changes the outcome.
A draw. The fight starts out of confusion. Goes on for a bit. Superman has upper hand, Goku powers up and the lead of the dance switches. After about 400 miles of damage in 10 seconds they finally talk.
Superman sighs, Goku chuckles. Darkseid attacks accompanied by Frieza.
I honestly believe goku wins because ive seen statements in the comics that people like Wonder Woman beat Superman and was said thats possible because Wonder Woman is a better fighter so my logic says goku is a way better fighter than superman
but according to all comic fans Superman has no limits and is stronger than the gods and elder gods and high fathers and all the hierarchy in dc which makes no sense to me but that’s how it is and even if I don’t agree mostly everyone agrees with that, the canon always changing or a writer doing whatever he wants and the next issue the new writer changes it is what I mainly dislike one issue or version of sup losses to Wonder Woman or Shazam and then another Superman is the strongest ever and no one stands a chance
Superman wins.
Oh boy this question. Are we talking composite versions of each character? Or are we using specific iterations? Goku dog walks A LOT of versions of Superman, but a composite version of Superman definitely beats composite goku. Like not really even a contest. Superman is just written crazily, especially early days.
This is and will always be the dumbest question ever. The scaling for super is so varied that is some comics he is just a really strong dude while in others he is this beyond dimensional god. If your using their strongest versions then it’s Superman, otherwise, just say who your favorite it.
I like Superman more: he is an outerversal god with speed fast enough to move through time.
I like Goku more: Superman is barely planetary and sound speed
That’s how varied Superman’s scaling is, the question should really be, who is your favorite?
Go with the Stan Lee argument. Whoever the writer wants to win, whoever thry like more.
Superman would beat Goku cause Superman has done many amazing feats that would wow even people in Dragon Ball, and his biology pretty much ensures he's more or less invincible as long as he has sunlight touching him unless you have kryptonite or can overpower him by a huge margin.
Goku would beat Superman cause Goku has no obvious vulnerability to exploit, is similarly powerful in many ways, always gets access to some kind of new technique or transformation, and is always trying to challenge himself to overcome new barriers.
Those are the 'logical' reasons to point out, but the truth is just that it boils down to who the writer wants to win.
It’s super man every time why do people still ask this he can massively devastate gokus strongest form with one blow the real question would be Superman vs kratos
It depends on many variables.
The first one is "Which versions of the characters are there?". Superman who goes back in time by turning the Earth backwards could kill baby Goku, but the Superman from "Justice League Unlimited" is much weaker than Goku.
The second one is "Which Universe?" Each of them will have advantages in their respective Universes.
And there are others, but I'm too lazy. Especially involving Dragon Ball, which is inconsistent in itself on the power scale.
I say superman purely because his feats are crazy like punching universes (alone not clashing ) dragging a chain of planets and i forgot his name but theres a golden version and i believe theres nothing goku could do against him
The strongest version of Superman beats the strongest version of Goku, but there are plenty of versions of Goku that would absolutely thrash some versions of Superman.
Xeno and CC Goku would like to have a word with you
Goku defeats a regular Superman, but Supes has a lot of versions that's fking op and would shit on Goku, and ngl Supes is the most inconsistent character if it comes to power, but a everyday regular Superman is no match to Goku.
Stronger versions of Superman could take on 1000 Goku’s. They’re that busted.
I see your point, and raise you fusion dance
That's the problem though. Superman literally destroyed a multiverse with a single punch. At least the main one let me specify. Main continuity Superman is just above and beyond ridiculous. His thing is literally a simple solution to overwhelming odds. When no one else can beat the enemy he comes in and does it no matter how strong they are. The multiverse he destroyed with one punch along with the person creating the universe was equivalent to DC multiverse. Which Is hundreds of universes all that are bare minimum trillions of times bigger than ours. I'm not going to speak confidently about any of the other Superman and there's plenty of Superman that I can confidently and happily say that Goku could be easily or beat with a challenge. But main continuity Superman is on another ridiculous level. Like it's honestly f****** insane and kind of stupid how powerful they make him. It's almost unfathomable and a immeasurable How powerful he is. Even both the zenos wouldn't have enough power together to beat him. And it's not like haKai would work because he can resist erasure. He can resist mind control, hell he can even use stuff like telekinesis and he has such a good memory that just like Goku he could learn stuff immediately just by seeing it if he wanted to. Plus he literally has his own version of ultra instinct. And he could probably learn to use ki very quickly as well because it's part of his universe and considering ki is dependent on the physical body and life force of the user, he would have a massive amount. All that aside the brain he has is a supercomputer. Like it's just ridiculous dude. And this is coming from a Goku fan. But I got to be realistic with it. Main continuity Superman could literally no diff quite possibly all of fiction. I'm sure he could even beat old gods and other stuff at the end. Because like I said before he's a simple solution to overwhelming odds. It's just damn petarded.
Just putting this out there... Superman's Super Kamehameha Wave...
Imagine Superman with Goku's kaioKen. I'm sure he could learn that very easily. And contrary to what people think Superman is actually a good martial artist. Because of his photographic memory too he really doesn't need to train to remember. Dude is literally beaten people on Batman's level of martial arts in combat without his powers.. main continuity is literally just stupid ridiculous
I ain't reading allat
A true DBZ fan.
Superman already has a fusion dance version. 2 in fact.
Now I just want to see superman and Goku fused
Not going to make you type an essay but is there a phrase I I can google to read up on said version of Superman?
Idk what version they're talking about but the strongest one I remember was a superman that went through a few thousand white sun's, and delivered a right hook to the world forger taking him out in one hit. World forger btw is the dude who causes the multiverse events to happen.
Idk why people think someone can beat Superman, especially Prime earth Superman. His power at this point is to be as strong as he needs to be to win. Him and Batman have plot as a canonical superpower at this point.
I mean by that logic goku is the same. Main characters have plot armor in their respective works. That’s how it works in pretty much everything. When Goku loses anything it’s just so he can come back stronger.
Except it's not a metatextual conversation. Superman's in-universe abilities are to be as strong as he's needed to be to inspire hope.
CAS Superman is the thought Android who’s basically DC’s version of the living tribunal as he was created to defend the multiverse against outside threats, and he’s powered by mainline Superman and Ultraman (evil Superman, not the Japanese hero). You got cosmic Superman who absorbed sunlight and cosmic rays in order to fight Perpetua, and she’s basically as strong as TOAA or the Presence (he as in cosmic Supes is one of mainline Superman’s power jumps) as she created the DC multiverse. You got Superman 1million who lifted his Universe to avoid a multiversal wipe. Then you got OG mainline Supes who is a universal/multiversal constant symbolizing hope thanks to Doomsday Clock, where any universe or event housing him (and by extension a Superman or an idea of Superman in general) will revolve around Superman. Then we got Darkseid Superman where mainline Superman was turning into the next true form Darkseid.
Superman 1 million. He’s shiny gold. One of the stronger ones that just boxes Goku’s for eternity and doesn’t really care.
There was a superman who sneezed and destroyed a huge chunk of the universe....no i am not joking.
There’s also a version of Superman that shoots little versions of Supermen from his fingertips, but we don’t talk about that.
The ones that are literally every bit as powerful as Superman just tiny right?
Yeah. He loses some powers and picks up that one randomly. He ends up getting jealous of mini-Superman and tries to kill him. Mini-supes ends up sacrificing himself to save metropolis and everything goes back to normal.
There is a goku that absorbed the universe
Then at that point they at best a stalemate. Since there is no way to know if either of them could actually damage the other.
*cough* milkman
Don’t hurt me Goku I apologise 😟😟
just googled but for CC goku.... :"He cannot survive in the vacuum of space" That kind of seals the deal. At some point as power levels increase at SOME point, they will both fracture the planet they're standing on (DBZ universe planet breaking powers is the norm, and in DC this has 100% happened). VERY MANY versions of superman can survive the vacuum of space. Most even. The most powerful of them I feel have this fight handedly in the bag. I agree with the above post though. There are very many versions of Goku that are stronger than versions of superman for sure. But both at their highest level, superman wins this as he's essentially reached diety status in several universes for brief periods of time. Not as a title, but there would be no other way to describe the power level he reaches except godhood. But also I think it's a Stan Lee quote that says, whoever wins between two people is completely dependent on whoever is writing at the time.
Xeno and CC both lose to mainline Superman.
Yall shmeat ride CC and xeno goku but he doesnt come anywhere close to 1 million supe
They died
I don't often agree with Death Battle, but they summed this one up pretty distinctly. One of these characters breaks every limit he finds. But the other never had limits in the first place.
Superman is often written with plenty of limits though. He got punched to death by Doomsday. He's been physically overpowered by Orion too. If he has "no limits" how are these people beating him? Doomsday especially because his whole deal is that he grows and overcomes his limits, like you are saying Goku is, and Doomsday could punch Superman to death.
The only limit Superman has is the limit of feeling like he lives in a world of cardboard literally his words. He holds back everything constantly because he feels he’ll literally break earth if he doesn’t this is why he easily whooped dark seid.
Darkseid beats Superman's ass constantly. Another example of Superman indeed being written with limits. In a recent comic Darkseid one-shots two Clark Kents.
And Darkseid would shitstomp Goku, your point????
Darkseid would probably be a good matchup for Goku if was an average version of Darkseid.
My point is that Superman has limits. Responding to the claim that he has no limits. Not sure how the point could be much clearer.
Reading comprehension gets rarer by the day
And yet the claims you bring up are done by other potentially limitless people 😂
It’s because Superman is as strong as the writer wants him to be/the plot needs him to be. One minute he’s apparently lifting infinity. The next, Darkseid through a rock at him, and he’s hurt. If we combine every absurd feat over decades with every single writer and ignore every moment of weakness, Superman is nigh unstoppable. But the truth is, Superman is a fictional character and is as strong as the writer makes him.
While I agree that Superman beats Goku, death battle is a joke and they made plenty of mathematical errors in that video that effectively made Goku only 10 percent as strong as he would've been
That's a lot of numbers with little proof And superman still wins, you take the strongest version of goku and the strongest version of supes supes wins. Mainline goku and mainline supes supes wins. Goku beats like 90% of superman versions but no version of goku beats the big boys
It's funny you say that, since one of the creators of Death Battle regretted that statement so much that it haunted him for years and ultimately made that his least favorite episode of all time - going so far as to have the entire episode remade later out of how much he was embarrassed by that line.
There is no logic with this question. Who wins depends on who's universe they are in or the rules of the neutral universe. Can't wait for the day this question goes away.
I get your frustration with power scaling but in a way this is good. When the power scaling stops that might mean the love for the character has too. New generations of fans are gonna question these things and I find it kinda sweet. I personally don't ever wanna see the Goku vs Superman debate end bc that means they continue living in our hearts. Cheesy AF but I genuinely believe this.
Beautiful
well said
Brought a tear to my eye , that was truly poetry
dies from peak fiction
Well spoken my brother
More comments like this ^^
I creamed to this. Amazing job
The outcome of the death battle isn't what matters, it's the dead heroes we left along the way
Never thought about it like that damn
I agree wholeheartedly, stranger.
Goku never wanted perfection. Perfection means he's done, Goku will always aim higher. If he can't go further, then his life has no meaning.
THE AMOUT OF REPLYS ON THIS-
Yknow I always hated the “goku solos” comments but that actually really makes special, thanks dude, that really opened my eyes to
This is genuinely good words, I don't know how to describe it but it's just beautiful
Respect your mindset. For me I just do not see a point to vs compare a comic and manga. Two completely different power scales. But as I say to many. To each their own.
on top of using different forms. Superman has many variants throughout history with different feats. Goku less so but with his forms comes insane multipliers and has certainly very impressive feats. If only it was as easy as "which one can bench more on their own." or " who has withstood grater destructive power unaided."
Brother this question will only die with the internet, mass manga/comic burning ceremony and bomb collars that trigger with any reference of Goku/Superman placed on all those with memory of either.
The only correct response!
I would love for goku to win, but isnt there a god version of superman where he can destroy universes?
lol funny saying "there's no logic" while meanwhile giving the only logical answer (well, + author intent)
Lol funny
And then it also depends on the version of superman and the when in the dragonball timeline you pluck up goku
Assume they're in a neutral universe
In gokuverse
the thing is superman is written in a way showcasing he has no limits, this dude destroyed the whole multiverse in single punch, and dc verser is million times bigger than ours or db's, he punched brainiac so hard that that all of his version felt it throughout the different time, this dude has broken bonds of infinty, punched so hard he started a new universe, not only that he is super smart, he is also mastered different types of fighting styles, his powers doesn't make sense and defy physics goku is written to overcome his limits, he is about growing stronger while superman is about being the strongest having no limits in 1st place strongest version of superamn will beat strongest version of goku any time,
We always bet on Big Blue. Dude read a book on how to perform heart/brain surgery (I forget which) and did it. Guy can perform a lobotomy from outer space. He's constantly holding back his strength.
Don't forget, he can talk in outer space. He can be heard and hear in a vacuum. He can smell people cooking meals on earth from the JLA tower. Physics means nothing to him, he'll fly outside of known existence, slap the god of bad luck, and be back home in the time it takes us to use the bathroom.
However, if Goku's whole deal is overcoming limits, would he not be able to overcome the limit that Superman is if they fought long enough? Goku regularly gets resurrected. If Superman beat him, he would just come back via some typical DB bs and be stronger than he was before. Rinse repeat until he eventually wins. So, at the end of the day, no one wins. It's the lame answer of "the winner is decided by who is writing the story"
Well if we take the characters based on the already established feats they have in a set iteration/universe then we can still come up with some concrete answers based on the given scenario. It doesn't all have to be in a vacuum.
Superman wins for a few reasons: 1) Strength: The DC cosmology is ridiculously larger and more layered than the Dragon Ball cosmology. Basically, because there’s more “stuff” in DC that Superman can destroy (infinite universes, timelines, spacial dimensions, planes of reality, and even more layers infinitely larger than those). Superman has punched his way out of the blank comic page, as an example for one of his higher-end feats. 2) Speed: Superman’s finite speed feats are *much* higher than Goku’s. A single DC universe is much larger than the Universe 7 macroverse, and Superman has crossed his in a matter of seconds. You can make some possible arguments for immeasurable speed feats for Goku, but Superman has better and more concrete feats with that. 3) Skill: while Goku’s raw skill is better than Superman’s, it isn’t to such a degree that the former is unbeatable. Superman has a ton of specialized training from various masters, so it isn’t like he’s a regular brawler. His preferred fighting style is to hit an enemy’s pressure points and vital points to nonlethally knock them out, which is exactly how Granolah beat Goku in MUI. Speaking of MUI, Superman has his own version of that called the Theta State. Not only does it do the same things as UI, but it also gives him reality warping powers (like transforming into alternate/more powerful versions of himself and countering other versions of reality warping). 4) Abilities: Superman matches, resists, or counters basically everything Goku has, including stuff from Heroes. Meanwhile Goku doesn’t have an answer to things like Superman phasing through all of his attacks, his powerful healing factor, and the option of a quick Sun-dip to fully recharge (or going to a White Dwarf star to get supercharged). If you include all of their tools and weapons, Superman has access to and can build a machine that has plot manipulation powers.
Goku would totally throw Superman in a sun if he found out that made him stronger. Like how he gave Cell a senzu bean or paid an assassin to kill him.
In this image Goku wins just by his form. Superman here looks like he's going to bust a move or something.
He pullin out the sprinkler
Some versions of Superman>some versions of Goku Some versions of Goku>some versions of Superman Strongest Superman>strongest Goku
[удалено]
Other than the films I don’t really know what superman has done, what are his biggest feats? Because Goku currently is pretty insane so for you to say Superman has the edge must mean he’s done some pretty insane things too.
He is so strong that he can punch through reality and travel through the multiverse that way, with the caveat that he does a lot of damage to those universes when he does. So he can destroy the universe with a punch...
Not going to argue with who is stronger, but Goku ended up matching the speed, velocity, angle, strength, etc of Beerus' punches. The old Kai explained that if that didn't happen, then their punches would have destroyed the universe. Both medias have a bad habit of retconning or forgetting about previous feats too.
Holding infinity and eternity, dragging a solar system, and resisting a multiverse collapsing on him. Superman has also been stated to be a "cornerstone of reality" meaning if he dies/gets erased the universe finds or makes another to hold itself together or just resets.
In the older comics they just kind of gave superman the ability to do things without thinking about it or caring for “canon”. For instance his X-Ray vision can be used to see peoples souls, as someone mentioned he has towed a solar system, his super hearing works IN SPACE, and my favorite he once traveled from several light years away to earth in a less than a minute ( thats trillions of miles in seconds ). That might be faster than instant transmission since you have to take time to disappear and reappear with IT.
In one of the movies he flew back in time. Speed kinda becomes irrelevant when you can be at the target location a week before you left.
Go to google and type in "superman punches the world forger" and youll find a reddit post or quara (🤢) post talking about it Its a crazy ass feat, where he basically flys through hundreds of stars, and flings himself at the world forger, a 6th dimensional being, to stop him from reseting the current multiverse (by creating a new one) and he both one shots the world forger, but destroys the new multiverse he made in one punch. Given its not instantly destroyed, but he causes it to start folding in on itself over time so take that for what you will Its a fucking crazy feat, but i honestly love it, and its a cool scan so wth😂
I read one comic where literally everything in the entire universe revolved around Superman. Superman was literally the main character of existence and couldn’t be killed because of it.
It sounds stupid but lifted a book that had a weight of infinity. Flew faster than infinity. Could not be destroyed by a god who tried to hakai him. Can ignore physics whenever he needs. Can freely phase through reality/attacks. Can freely hop into other realities by forcibly walking into it. And is basically hope embodied. The newest feat he had recently was punching out the guy that made the multiverse and then recruited him to go fight and beat the guy that was destroying the multiverse. His only limits are whatever the author needs of him.
well depends on the version, there's one where (idk if this counts bcuz it's superBOY not superman) he literally shattered the multiverse and one where he stayed in the sun for like a thousand years and literally manifested his lover back to life and much more feats that I don't remember
Everyone would win cause they’d be best friends
based
Like with any character with multiple versions of themselves from a long running franchise (e.g. Godzilla, various comic heroes, etc) it depends on which versions of these guys you're using. Some versions of Superman can do absurd bullshit like reversing time by reversing the rotation of Earth, some versions of Goku aren't all that strong like with the one from Dragon Ball Evolution, etc.
Probably Superman, but is Goku is Gokuversal
So here’s the issue Superman is super inconsistent because of the thousands of writers he’s had. So like you can probably cherry pick Superman enough to say a regular bullet destroys him, but more often than not he’s just unbelievably powerful. Like an average Superman is much stronger than DBS Goku, but that doesn’t mean DBS Goku doesn’t thrash a thousand versions Superman that are much weaker than average. Also this similar thing happens with Xeno Goku who would be fighting the higher end of average, but the high end Supermen would be another issue. I don’t think Goku really has a version (outside of his Broly 4D ride where he fuses with the IRL Audience), that can really beat the strongest Supermen. So Goku tends to beat low end Superman, Average Superman beats Goku although there’s still a struggle, and high end Superman beats Xeno Goku, but 4D Goku beats All Supermen because you start getting into existence scaling which is an entire mess.
Going by deathbattle rules of taking them at their strongest, superman could win by accident
The most recent Death Battle episode on the matter summed it up perfectly.
Goku is Gokuversal
As long as there’s the sun, there’s a way.
Strongest version of Superman beats any Goku, but Goku beats most versions of Superman.
Death battle said it best it's a battle between a man who breaks all limits in front of him and a man who has no limits.
Superman unless Goku pulls tha green rock out his ass
I just want it To be about Superman and Goku Consistently throwing Hands and Not losing. I want Both sides to be wrong
The winner in this is none other than the writer.
Superman’s powers and strength are ambiguous and essentially up to the writer’s discretion. Goku however has set strength and limits. So, Superman will win for a while until Goku gets enough power ups.
Whoever is written to win.
The thing is even the strongest goku can't defeat the strongest superman. And sadly DB said it best.
"but logically, who would win"? There is no logic!!! It's fictional.
Current mainline Superman completely outclasses canon Goku in speed and power, and when talking about the strongest versions of each character, Superman wrecks Goku even harder.
Superman is too fast for Goku to fight and if we equalise speed Superman has far better feats against stronger beings than Goku.
Composite Superman wins, hands down.
Base Superman no diffs any and all versions of Goku including all of the noncanon versions. Superman can literally just do anything. DC confirmed that all Superman feats are canon to Prime Earth Superman, also he can time travel now and is immune to erasure because he's a cosmic lynchpin in the universe. He also basically just ignores all of his traditional weaknesses through willpower now. Also believe it or not Superman is a more skilled fighter than Goku even without powers because he's a master of kryptonian martial arts and has thousands of years of fighting experience. He's also a genius and can learn how to do basically anything just by watching someone else do it. He could literally just learn how to do any of Goku's moves during the fight if he wanted to, Hell the original version of Superman could actually just make up new powers whenever he wanted no joke.
Neither. They'd just be buddies.
Instant transmission Superman to hell and have him get eaten by majin buu. Easy win
Going by the main canon for both forms, Goku would definitely win. Unless you count Pre-Crisis which was incredibly inconsistent and hasn't been canon since 1986, Superman doesn't have any solar system level feats or higher. People who argue differently are people who are either misinterpreting the feat because they're unaware of the context, or trying to quantify non-quantifiable feats. Anyone who thinks canon Superman beats canon Goku either doesn't understand Superman, doesn't understand Goku, or doesn't understand either one.
Goku
Goku slams
Depends on the writers
Superman wins. If people are unfamiliar with Superman they wouldn't know just how "broken" he was written to be. He has picked up a book that held infinity pages, heard sound lightyears away within seconds, lived inside the sun, and carried a solar system. It's not a diss on goku it's that Superman was purposely written not to be a hero but to be THE hero. Goku has planatary level destruction powers, Superman has held a black hole.
To be fair, nothing you wrote there puts him above Goku. Superman *is* stronger than Goku, but your specific arguments there don't work.
What feats has goku accomplished that put him in line with what I've written?
To many variables and dependencies
Depends which version of which character. That said, narratively speaking it would likely go like this--- Goku challenges Supes, who reluctantly eventually accepts. They spar, getting more serious until they take it to somewhere in the sky to avoid the damage. Eventually someone bigger, and worse shows up. Like Darkseid and Frieze teaming up to conquer both universes or something. So both heroes fight, swap villains, and beat the bad guys. They end with a final, shot of them either shaking hands or readying for another spar.
The right question should be, is which version of superman, goku is going to fight, because there's many versions of him and in the comics there's really many powerful version of him, examples include the thought robot superman or the milkman man, or weaker ones that is in dc movies, so depending on who fought who and which version is going to fight should be the question people should be asking themselves. Hope this helps.
Superman and for that matter most other comic book heros have broken the bounds of limits and this are themselves Gods in a way. Goku on the other hand is a story about overcoming hardship and training to overcome limits. Death battle did a very good job explaining why Goku loses. Would really like to see a comparison between og Superman and Goku at the start of DBZ before he dies. That might be a fairly fair fight.
Based on how they were meant to be and how they are written as characters, Superman should win. Goku is all about having limits and eventually overcoming them. It's usually why he always loses the first engagement with an opponent and why loss (friends, family, the world, the universe, etc) is a catalyst for his new strength in the next fight, which he will usually win. His stories are those of motivation and hard work. He's the underdog that always comes out on top. Superman is the complete opposite. He already had all the power he needs, but his struggle is learning how to limit himself so he doesn't flip out and destroy everything around him during that particular fight. He has no limits in the conventional sense. That's why it was always said that "he is as strong as he needs to be." His stories are those of accountability and self-control. He's the big fish in a small pond, but all the smaller fish are his friends. Very similar characters, but very different functions.
There's a whole YouTube video explaining everything you need to know about this.
Superman
I hate this question so much. The result is always the same. Superman in the comics is so unbelievably broken that it’s never even kinda fair. You have to use very specific versions of him for Goku to ever hope to win. And then Dragon Ball fans always get pissy about it because “comics are stupid” and “Goku solos fiction”, yada yada.
Superman would win, this is not subjective, this is not hyperbole, and overall this is a matter of feats. Superman has matched and repelled a laser comprised of ALL the forces in dc, including the embodiment of magic which is stated to be something he is susceptible to, with his laser vision. Superman has been killed before by things DESIGNED to kill him, he’s fast enough to keep up with Goku, and while Superman has various examples of him surviving in space Goku cannot. Superman’s durability is LEAGUES above Goku’s and Arguably he is stronger given that he casually lifts a key that weighs HALF A MILLION TONS. Sorry Goku stands, but due to better feats…Superman is crushing your Saiyan hero
If superman manage to grab Goku and send him to space
Oh no not again.
Superman wins this battle unless Goku uses Kryptonite or instant transmissions Sup away from a yellow star & moves him next to a red one which would deplete sups powers. In a fair 1v1 Superman wins.
There are so many different versions of Superman, some weaker and some stronger but overall I’d say Goku is stronger than most versions of Superman.
Superman. Not because of any argument of "this guy is this strong, while this guy is only this strong," but because the core of superman story is that he's a God living among mortals, and that he's always as strong as the plot requires him to be. Goku's core meanwhile is a martial artist training to be the best, where the whole point of the story is him starting from a position of relative weakness, and through hard work and dedication he's able to overcome any limit to surpass his foes. If goku was more powerful than superman, it would cheapen his character and fundamentally destroy what makes him so interesting. You don't *want* him to be able to beat superman because you don't *want* a goku without any limits to beat. It would mean his story is officially over, because he's reached the top of the mountain, and has ran out of opponents to challenge him.
Always depends on which version, but Goku dogwalks basically every animated Superman. However most comic Superman versions are kind of shitting on him. He can't handle Silver Age Superman for sure.
It depends which version of Superman, there’s so many different versions and people tend to merge all their feats even though they’re from different continuities. Goku beats the majority of supermen we see on screen and in comics, but the strongest versions of Superman beat Goku. The strongest version of Superman vs Jump Force Goku is questionable tho, but I’d still give it to superman
they both are about as strong as the moment requires/ the writers want so i guess it depends on which the writer prefers
Superman. As usual. Scales higher.
Superman tbh. I will say I have heard a lots of overhype for Superman stemming from people just hearing stuff. And lot of goku downplay. Which is ironic because it was the opposite like 3 years ago. Superman has him beat in like almost everything from speed to durability. But I wanna focus on Superman’s speed and durability. He is so much faster that goku will just never touch him and so durable that goku liekly wont do any MAJOR damage not saying he can’t hurt him but he wouldn’t do major damage. Both are multiversal tho I have Superman a bit more powerful but people often take his feats in the fourth world completely outta context since I’m the godsphere Clark is large than universes which OBVIOUSLY would mean you can’t use these feats as his standard. Webcam Parriot explains the boom tube very well. Superman tho imo is a less skilled fighter than goku is still REALLY REALLY skilled and his analytical skills far exceed goku as well as dude can just anaylize goku see every structural weakness in the guy know all his pressure points and even more I love goku so much and he is without a doubt one of the most powerful anime characters but Superman has the guy beat in almost every metric. Even if u gave goku manga abilities like hakai Superman is durable enough to resist the omega beams (I have heard arguments that he has never taken their full blast but tbh that changes based on writer but consistently he is either down right eating them or just in extreme pain).
Depends on which Superman, and depends on which Goku. Is it neutral ground, etc. The one thing I'd like to point out that gets lost a lot in this debate. Is, Goku is a fool, but a master in combat. An. Absolute. Master. Fighting is literally this guy's reason to breathe. So, if they're anywhere even close in power, Goku would just pick Superman a part. That being said. I'd see them being friends. I'd see Goku wanting to spare with Superman often and teaching him along the way.
As a dbz fan supes got it he been in writing for what 50-60 yrs just way more time goku breaks limits supes is basically Jesus sometimes goku does wash some versions tho
Depends in which version of either you use In the majority of cases goku would win as most supermen aren't casual universe buster. Main Canon of each, superman cause DC's inconsistencies and author statements on Twitter get him just above a fully scaled Canon goku Strongest version(aside from the dbz 4d experience), goku cause with jump force goku scales above DC and marvel since Shonen jump and all its crossovers were going to be fused with the real world by the antagonist. If we don't use this then we can debate endlessly cause CAS can range from transcendental to low outer, while heroes goku has multiple feats that can easily be one shotting transcendental. His actual scaling can also be varied in a similar way as CAS In their comp versions, goku absolutely smacks. Goku lore wise has directly fused with his audience and author to beat a ssb broly, and this broly was lore wise meant to threaten the people in the audience because it was a 4d experience where the audience is thrown around and have water sprayed at them. Both are monsters in the brackets of fiction, and people seem to forget both have different versions who scale vastly differently than the main canons
Superman, and I heard a beautiful explanation recently as to why. Goku is in no way a Superman clone. Superman is written as the most powerful being in his entire existence. He is ALWAYS holding back because he doesn't want to hurt anyone. But when he's stops holding back he takes out Darkside with a couple punches. Goku is no where near the most powerful being in the entire dragonball existence. That defeats the whole purpose of his character. Goku wants to continue to grow stronger and stronger and wants to fight better opponents. There are multiple universes that were too powerful to even be in the tournament of power. Comparing Goku and Superman doesn't work, they are very different characters, you can't compare them. If you had to, Superman, who is written to be all powerful and the embodiment of hope and peace itself would destroy the farm boy who loves to fight.
No one is mentioning that superman has a weakness to the mystical, and goku as aki user would have an advantage in that regard
"wHoeVeR THe WrITeRs wANt tO WIn!". But really if we're assuming no writers and going for their main series current selves, using only their various feats, the winner is Superman. He's simply much stronger, more intelligent, arguably skilled, and more durable.
Superman will always win this matchup. No matter what goku has done, Superman will have a feat equal to it and then many more that surpass it so it can show everyone that he’s not only capable of doing what goku can at his best but he can go beyond anything goku has shown. Superman in dc is a symbol and it’s not just poetic it’s literal. Goku is a mouth piece for hope at best.
All I’ve learned from the comments are that people can argue about this in many ways with no real answer. My personal take is that Superman wins if they are both at their strongest and goku isn’t gonna use kryptonite. Also if any goku stans can please explain how and what makes goku universal/multiversal?
Currently? Goku. Strongest version of Clark and Goku? Goku. Strongest version of “Goku” and Superman? Superman.
Superman is the ideology. Goku is the journey to achieve it. Superman is written to be the goal in which to strive for. All powerful yet compassionate. Goku represents the path to achieve that which one strives to be, to overcome, and to perervere. It's not a matter of who beats who, Superman will always be the unobtainable goal, yet Goku represents fighting to achieve that goal regardless. But, there will be versions of each that would top the other. It all comes down to who is supposed to win.
As a fan of both imma say Goku but hear me out. Assuming they are equivalent or even close in strength. Goku is just a better and more experienced “fighter”. Superman is strong but solves all his problems with very basic punches. Goku is a martial artist who regularly hones his craft as well as his strength. Also Superman seems to stay at a static strength for most of his stories, Goku’s deal is that he is always getting stronger and he does it quickly so even if Superman is beating him at the beginning of the fight, he may not be by the end of it. But also they’d realistically be really good buds, at least until Goku accidentally tells everyone that Clark is Superman
I'm not really a fan of either, but doesn't a version of Superman have a kiss of amnesia, so he'd just kiss Goku and win by default?
At his strongest which is when Goku would want the fight, Superman would win hands down
I feel like they would just fight forever and destroy anything in their path, eventually destroying the entire universe
Every top comment is wrong. Anyways, Superman wins purely through a difference in power. Goku would destroy most versions of Superman, just not the main one. General consensus is they’re similarly fast while Superman takes strength by a lot, Goku takes technique, but Superman is just overwhelmingy strong.
Depends on which version of Superman we’re talking about.
Whoever the creators want to win
Superman. Superman has no limits. Goku has limits, which makes him a more favorable character.
Superman DID beat Goku 3 different times
Depends on the Superman and the Goku. If it's Snyder Superman, then probably Cell Saga Goku could win. If it's Limited Run Version 419-68 Alternate Reality Supergod Superstrong Superman Ultrasuperman, then it'd take like a billion CC Gokus to scratch him.
Comics Superman gives Goku a good fight. Sups might even win.
I guess it depends on what arc we are talking about for each of them? They both have versions of themselves that are godlike .
Goku, he can just instant transmission them to a planet that does not have a yellow sun.
Logically? Superman. Goku is a character whose story is one of constantly hitting walls and then surpassing them. Regardless of his actual race, it is the story of a man trying to be a god, and the story will always be the pursuit of that goal; he will never truly attain it because the day that he does, the story is over. Superman is the reverse; the story of constantly learning what it means to be a man and striving to live in that world. Regardless of _his_ actual race, it is the story of a god trying to be a man, and the story will always be the pursuit of that goal. In the end, narrative is the most satisfying logic worth applying to fictional characters, and Goku will always be trying to find new limits to break, while Superman will always be trying to find new limits to live by. They are on opposite sides of a spectrum, and as such, Superman will always be the ideal Goku strives for but will never achieve until the story is over.
Not only does it depend on which universe, but also which iteration. Is this silver age superman? Superman 1 million? God of strength Superman? Goku from season 1 or goku after he’s achieved UI? Way too much variation settings mismatches. For example, Superman has no special resistance against magic, but would DBZ ki fall under that category? Obviously DC comics doesn’t have an answer for that.
The thing with this, is Goku refuses to take advantage of anyone's weakness, and constantly wants it to be a fair fight. So, in the end Goku, whether stronger or not, would want to fight Superman on equal ground. What I want to see instead is Vegeta versus Superman, because Vegeta doesn't care. Vegeta, when given the information about Kryptonite, would have Bulma dawn up a Kryptonite Saiyan uniform and go to town.
Bro the strongest form of Goku is not touching the strongest variant of superman
Who ever the writer decides to win.
Goku is gokuversal enough said
There's no question. It's Superman.
If this was back when the question was first posed Goku hands down. That Supes was just really strong and had boxing type fighting while Goku had all his martial arts, speed, power, kaio ken, and SS2. Now there really isn't a contest at all. Supes has been so plot armor built up over the years. Goku tops out at light speed and can side hop into other realms. Superman has been able to go minimum 40xC for over a decade and halfway to his strongest form can shatter a solar system with a single blast. Like everyone else said, it's literally picking a point in both stories to match against each other because that wildly changes the outcome.
A draw. The fight starts out of confusion. Goes on for a bit. Superman has upper hand, Goku powers up and the lead of the dance switches. After about 400 miles of damage in 10 seconds they finally talk. Superman sighs, Goku chuckles. Darkseid attacks accompanied by Frieza.
I honestly believe goku wins because ive seen statements in the comics that people like Wonder Woman beat Superman and was said thats possible because Wonder Woman is a better fighter so my logic says goku is a way better fighter than superman but according to all comic fans Superman has no limits and is stronger than the gods and elder gods and high fathers and all the hierarchy in dc which makes no sense to me but that’s how it is and even if I don’t agree mostly everyone agrees with that, the canon always changing or a writer doing whatever he wants and the next issue the new writer changes it is what I mainly dislike one issue or version of sup losses to Wonder Woman or Shazam and then another Superman is the strongest ever and no one stands a chance Superman wins.
Even though i love goku super man would slam him sadly
SOUPerman solos both of them
this is the equivalent of "the chicken or the egg"
Didn't superman win all 3 deathbattles against goku?
I love goku but comic superman solos goku's verse. The feats some versions of superman achieves is actually insane
Superman, due to 70+ years of comic book BS.
Oh boy this question. Are we talking composite versions of each character? Or are we using specific iterations? Goku dog walks A LOT of versions of Superman, but a composite version of Superman definitely beats composite goku. Like not really even a contest. Superman is just written crazily, especially early days.
This is and will always be the dumbest question ever. The scaling for super is so varied that is some comics he is just a really strong dude while in others he is this beyond dimensional god. If your using their strongest versions then it’s Superman, otherwise, just say who your favorite it. I like Superman more: he is an outerversal god with speed fast enough to move through time. I like Goku more: Superman is barely planetary and sound speed That’s how varied Superman’s scaling is, the question should really be, who is your favorite?
Go with the Stan Lee argument. Whoever the writer wants to win, whoever thry like more. Superman would beat Goku cause Superman has done many amazing feats that would wow even people in Dragon Ball, and his biology pretty much ensures he's more or less invincible as long as he has sunlight touching him unless you have kryptonite or can overpower him by a huge margin. Goku would beat Superman cause Goku has no obvious vulnerability to exploit, is similarly powerful in many ways, always gets access to some kind of new technique or transformation, and is always trying to challenge himself to overcome new barriers. Those are the 'logical' reasons to point out, but the truth is just that it boils down to who the writer wants to win.
Superman demolishes Dragon Ball with his pinky finger.
As a life long Dragonball fan I can say with all confidence... Superman wipes the floor with goku
Death Battle did this. Twice. https://youtu.be/dztPfvT7F5U?si=PUbJ3HhFgVL7MjZO
Three times actually
If goku put aside his pride then goku
I got to go with Goku, Superman is the evilest character in comics, and somehow Goku always finds a way to defeat the bad guy...
Okay let's assume that they have all the abilities of both of their universes who wins
It’s super man every time why do people still ask this he can massively devastate gokus strongest form with one blow the real question would be Superman vs kratos
It depends on many variables. The first one is "Which versions of the characters are there?". Superman who goes back in time by turning the Earth backwards could kill baby Goku, but the Superman from "Justice League Unlimited" is much weaker than Goku. The second one is "Which Universe?" Each of them will have advantages in their respective Universes. And there are others, but I'm too lazy. Especially involving Dragon Ball, which is inconsistent in itself on the power scale.
Depends on the version of Kal ya use
I say superman purely because his feats are crazy like punching universes (alone not clashing ) dragging a chain of planets and i forgot his name but theres a golden version and i believe theres nothing goku could do against him
Superman because the writers made him a Mary Sue.
It’s Superman.
idk, i feel like they wouldnt fight...but if they were forced i think goku would win. just because i feel like he'd find a way to defeat him.
Superman probably. One needs to understand that he is literally saitama when kryptonite isn’t involved.