One of the 7 Shadow Dragons that Goku and Pan come across near the end of Dragon Ball GT, Nova Shenron is the dragon connected to the 4 Star Dragon Ball, and was created by King Piccolo’s wish to restore his youth way back in the middle of Dragonball. Unlike the other Shadow Dragons that Goku and Pan come across, Nova has a sense of honor, wanting to fight Goku fairly in battle. He even teams up with Goku to fight his own twin! Nova’s power is immense, as he relies on fire based techniques as well as his ability to generate heat even hotter than the Sun. Whereas in previous fights Goku himself chose to transform into Super Sayian 4 in order to utterly demolish the Shadow Dragons, Goku is forced to transform into Super Sayian 4 by necessity in order to actually stand a chance of beating Nova, something very few characters in the series can claim. An often overlooked character in power rankings mainly due to having only 1 major fight, but one that should be considered more often.

Considered to be technically the “final” villain of Dragonball Z, Fat Buu was a magical creature created by the wizard Bibidi as an attempt to eradicate life throughout the universe. Only because of the intervention of Grand Kaioshin allowing himself to be absorbed by Buu was Fat Buu created, allowing himself to be sealed away for a very long time until Babadi was able to awaken him again. Even though Buu goes through various transformations throughout the Buu saga, by the end of DBZ it’s firmly established that Fat Buu is a separate identity from Evil Buu, and should be considered as such. With Fat Buu’s immense power as well an almost infinite amount of techniques to draw from, he is an incredibly difficult opponent to defeat. Even though fused characters and his evil counterpart overshadow him as Dragonball Z comes to a close, Fat Buu is still one of the strongest beings on Earth, and can certainly hold his own against the other characters on this list to a fair degree.

The character created by the Fusion Dance done by Trunks and Goten, Gotenks was considered by Goku to be the last hope of defeating Buu before Gohan and the Potara Earrings came along. Gotenks is an incredibly powerful fighter for someone so young. Unfortunately, due to displaying a cockiness that could rival Vegeta’s, Gotenks tends to play around in his multiple fights with Super Buu and focuses more on how to look beating him as opposed to beating him. This results in some of the wackiest techniques we ever see created in Dragonball Z, best exemplified by the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack. Despite the wackiness, however, Gotenks proves to be a prodigious fighter by reaching Super Saiyan 3, something only Goku has ever done. Had Gotenks focused and been a no nonsense fighter, he would be much higher on this list.

The oldest son of Goku and Chichi, Gohan is shown from the very beginning of Dragonball Z as being the one who could take up the mantle of being the strongest character in the series. Posessing a hidden power that would manifest at different times whenever Gohan lost control, Gohan was able to use it to reach Super Saiyan 2 and save the Earth from Cell. But his strongest feat in the series by far is the fight he has with Super Buu due to the upgrade he receives from Old Kai. The fact that he was able to fight in a non-Super Saiyan state and be dominant over Super Buu is an indicator as to what Gotenks could’ve done had he not been so cocky. Even though Gohan’s power is not enough to take on Super Buu, Gotenks, and Piccolo combined, Gohan has proven in his fights throughout the series that he is not one to ever count out.

The prince of all Saiyans, Vegeta is proud, cocky, and powerful from the first moment we see him. Even though he’s stronger than most of Goku’s allies throughout the series, Vegeta is always one step behind Goku in terms of strength. Even though he reaches the plateaus Goku discovers in terms of power, by the end of DBZ even Vegeta is dwarfed by Goku, never being able to reach Super Sayian 3. It’s only through Bulma’s invention in DBGT that he’s even able to transform into Super Saiyan 4. However, with that transformation marks one of the strongest power levels ever reached, and almost nobody is able to stand up to it save for Goku and a few of the Shadow Dragons. Vegeta may be outmatched in Dragonball Z by multiple characters, but his transformation to SS4 in GT certifies him as one of the best.

The final version of Evil Buu that Goku and Vegeta go up against in the final battle on the Kai planet, Kid Buu is an emotionless creature that is pure unrestrained power. It can be a debate as to which form of Evil Buu was the most strongest, but in terms of immense power combined with raw fighting ability, Kid Buu takes it. The fact that he can destroy multiple planets in a matter of seconds and regenerate himself from the smithereens of his body that remained speaks as to what exactly it takes to defeat someone like him. The only characters that can defeat him are Goku and Vegeta’s fused characters as well as Goku himself, which literally takes everything Goku has his strongest. Kid Buu was certainly able to prove himself worthy of being the strongest DBZ villain and a legit contender for strongest character.

The final Shadow Dragon Goku and his friends go up against, Omega Shenron was created by Mr. Popo’s wish to revive everyone on planet Namek that was killed by Frieza and his men. Omega Shenron’s power is just immense to say the least, and that was before he absorbed the Dark Star Dragonballs themselves to become even more powerful. He’s able to go up against multiple fighters, take on Goku and Vegeta in their Super Saiyan 4 forms, and even go head to head with Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta. It takes Goku creating a Spirit Bomb made up of energy collected from all across the galaxy in order to destroy him once and for all. As short-lived as he may have been, Omega Shenron can’t ever be counted out when discussing the strongest fighters.

The main character of Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT, Goku is a member of the Saiyan race that was raised on Earth, where he assumes the role of protector against the many foes that want either its Dragonballs or its destruction. Goku is hands down the strongest individual character in the series. The number of times he’s able to dig down and find power somewhere in order to continue the fight is a big part as to why fans of the series enjoyed watching DBZ, especially since you didn’t know what technique or ability he was going to resort to next. Using the ultimate Spirit Bomb to destroy both Kid Buu and Omega Shenron speaks not only to the power Goku has, but also to the fact that he was able to accomplish something with said power. In terms of individuals, Goku is by far the best choice.

The fusion of Goku and Vegeta as a result of the Portara Earrings as well as a last ditch effort to stop Super Buu. Vegito is the perfect example of a character who shows so much potential yet we see so little of. Vegito establishes right off the bat how much more powerful he is than Super Buu at a “normal” level; when he transforms into a Super Saiyan, Buu isn’t even a challenge anymore. Even when he gets turned into a jawbreaker by Buu, Vegito’s power is so great that he retains both his power and his mind in said form, continuing to still outclass Buu in their fight. Vegito is “defeated” when he’s absorbed by Buu and Buu’s enzymes split up the fusion, ending the one and only fight Vegito has. Yet that one fight was enough to cement Vegito as the strongest overall character in DBZ in terms of potential. One can only wonder what a fight between him and Gogeta would be like.

The fact that this character is number 1 despite only existing for around 10 minutes speaks volumes as to the type of power he possesses. The fused character of Goku and Vegeta when they perform the Fusion Dance, Gogeta is easily the strongest character in the series. Done by Goku and Vegeta as a last attempt at trying to stop Omega Shenron, Gogeta as a Super Saiyan 4 completely outmatches him in terms of power output. In addition, Omega Shenron’s attacks do absolutely nothing to him, whereas he’s completely helpless to Gogeta’s attacks. Gogeta even effortlessly kicks away Omega’s strongest attack and responds with his signature attack, the Big Bang Kamehameha, which completely obliterates Omega’s form down to that before he absorbed the Dark Star Dragonballs. Unfortunately, his biggest fault is actually toying around with his opponent, resulting in the fusion ending before Gogeta can finish him off once and for all. Yet Gogeta accomplished what few of these characters were able to do: reaching a level so untouchable that no one could match them. In the end, this is what makes Gogeta the strongest.