First and foremost, let’s look at the heroic things Goku has done for humans and aliens alike. Earth has been invaded by evil Saiyan warriors—like Vegeta and Raditz—as well as beings from this planet like Doctor Gero and his infamous Red Ribbon Army. Needless to say, even when Goku was a foolish child, he was still destroying bad people and taking down anyone who threatened others. Goku even stayed dead at the end of the Cell Saga just to keep the Earth from being hunted by more beings that seemed to be drawn to him. Fighting baddies and sacrificing himself to keep his family and friends safe is pretty heroic, if we do say so ourselves.

Now there were some non-heroic moments of Goku’s time such as when Earth was threatened by Buu. When Buu was at his weakest, Goku could have obliterated the pink monster but instead, allowed him to go and get stronger before fighting him. Goku is a Saiyan and, like his brothers/sisters, that means Goku thrives off a challenge and is always looking for one. In this case though, the said challenge could have cost more people their lives—and kind of did cost his son’s life almost—which isn’t a very heroic action…
Tends to endanger his family

Heroes like Batman and Superman we’ve seen in comics allow their sons—or siblings—to fight with them when the odds are down and they need some back up. The concept itself makes sense to have a family of warriors stick together to fight together. However, in Goku’s case, we don’t know how we feel about throwing his academic son into the fray against Raditz or Cell. Goku tends to annoy Chi-Chi by doing this in all of the Dragon Ball stories and we can’t blame her. Goku, just because Gohan wants to be smart, doesn’t mean taking him away from school and throwing him against deadly beings is a good idea.

Heroes are known for their resilience against just quitting when the odds are against them. Goku is the same, especially when his friends are about to die in front of him or do perish—rest in peace Krillin during the Frieza Saga—and that is quite admirable. Goku will often rush into a fight even after he’s been thrown around a lot and is close to death—example: Dragon Ball Super or Dragon Ball Z—and that is a hero’s true power. Thankfully though, Senzu Beans are occasionally on hand to help Goku get back some of his lost power.

This last header might take you back or make you say “no duh,” but have you ever thought about Goku’s origins? Goku is from the Saiyan race, a race that is known for taking over planets and fighting just for the thrill of it which ultimately means Goku is obviously not human. We think this is an important concept to realize though as Goku doesn’t necessarily have the same concepts as a human would even if he was raised by his adopted parent when he crashed to Earth. What this means essentially is Goku isn’t bound to act heroic like a normal man or woman would but instead has heroism that abides by his personal feelings and thoughts. Can you say a dog is a hero when he rushes to save his master from danger or can you say that’s just his instincts as a pet who loves his owner?