Son Goku

“I am the saiyan who came all the way from Earth for the sole purpose of beating you. I am the warrior you heard of in legends. pure of heart and awakened by fury, that's what I am. I am the super saiyan, Son Goku!"

~ Goku to Frieza after going Super Saiyan for the first time (Kai Dub)

Goku (孫 悟空, Son Gokū), born Kakarot (カカロット, Kakarotto), is the main character of the Dragon Ball metaseries created by Akira Toriyama. He is the adoptive grandson of Grandpa Gohan, the husband of Chi-Chi, the father of Gohan and Goten, the grandfather of Pan, and later the great-great-grandfather of Goku Jr.

Cheerful, courageous and also a bit naive, Goku is a Saiyan originally sent to Earth as an infant with the mission to destroy it. However, an accident alters his memory, causing him to grow up pure-hearted and later become Earth's greatest defender, as well as the informal leader of the Z Fighters. Throughout his life, he trains hard and strives to be the greatest warrior possible, while at the same time using his amazing strength and skills to uphold peace.

Concept and creation
The name "Goku" means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means Enlightenment, and the Ku syllable means Sky or Emptiness. In the Namek Saga, while training in the Capsule Corporation spaceship, it is seen that his name is written with a "h", Gokuh, when he has to go to repair the ship. Goku's full name, Son Goku, is the Japanese name for Sun Wukong, the main protagonist in the Chinese legend Journey to the West, on whom Goku is loosely based. The Dragon Ball universe began as a loose adaptation of the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West, with Goku starting off as more or less a parody of Sun Wukong the Monkey King. Similarities between the two include Goku's prone for mischief as a child (due to his innocence), possession of Nyoibo (Sun Wukong's staff that can fill the entire universe), and Flying Nimbus (the magical cloud the Great Sage rode on in Journey to the West). As the Dragon Ball manga continued its run, he was able to develop differently, eventually turning out to have similar origins.

Goku's design was based on Tanton, of Toriyama's prototype manga Dragon Boy and Tongpoo, from his other manga The Adventures of Tongpoo. When Akira Toriyama started his first draft of Dragon Ball he originally planned on making Goku full monkey to make it faithful to Journey to the West. During Toriyama's second draft he wanted to make Goku a full human dressed in sailor clothes that rode a flight mecha instead of the Flying Nimbus. Toriyama's 3rd and final draft of Goku was to have him human looking with a monkey tail.

Goku's Saiyan birth name, Kakarot, is a pun on "carrot". Likewise, all pure-blood Saiyans that appear in the series are named using vegetable-related puns. Goku's family are all named after root vegetables (burdock, negi, radish, and carrot). Comically, in Dragon Ball, Goku says he hates carrots when fighting against Monster Carrot.

Appearance
Goku has spiky black hair that never changes throughout the franchise. He is most commonly seen wearing his trademark orange/red/golden gi over a dark blue undershirt. The gi has featured Master Roshi's, Kami's, and King Kai's kanji on its left side (over the heart). It is also featured on the back. After the Frieza Saga and during the Androids Saga and Majin Buu Saga, no symbols appear and Goku's gi turns a darker orange. He wears dark blue wristbands, along with dark blue boots with a red border that are outfitted with yellow/beige laces. He originally wore a blue obi over his waist, although after the Frieza Saga this was changed to a blue sash. During Dragon Ball Z: Revival of "F", Goku wore a new version of his orange gi, featuring a new kanji, lacking the dark blue undershirt and wears blue wristbands longer than previous as well as a blue side tied belt and new boots. At the end of Dragon Ball Z, Goku now wears a turqoise gi with a white sash, orange wristbands, dark green pants, and black kung fu shoes with orange stockings. As a kid, he has a tail due to his Saiyan heritage and also wields the Power Pole. He did not wear the blue undershirt and boots until his teenage and adult years, instead wearing simple shoes.

At times, Goku has been seen wearing different clothing, such as a gray business suit and tie. Most notably, after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and in the nine days before the Cell Games, he wears casual Earth clothing consisting of an orange-and-black long-sleeved jacket, a white undershirt, lime green pants, and brown boots.

Goku's skin tone changes from a pale tone to a darker and almost tan tone at the end of Dragon Ball Z.

Name
Son Goku (孫悟空) is a Buddhist name that means “The Child Aware of Emptiness” and comes from his character development based on Sun Wukong (in Chinese and Japanese: 孫悟空; Sūn means "grandchild" in both languages and implies his origin as a monkey, and Wùkōng means "Aware of Emptiness") from Journey to the West. The name “Goku” means "awakened to emptiness"; the Go syllable means "Enlightenment", and the Ku syllable means "Sky or Emptiness". Son (孫) is also a common Chinese surname.

Personality
Goku is known for his cheerful, energetic personality and his love of competition; specifically sport fighting and eating. He will eat anything. He has remarkable intuition at seeing the good in others in spite of their actions, though his capacity for forgiving his enemies has occasionally been criticized as excessive; Goku, for the most part, only fights to win, and spares his enemies after defeating them only for them to attack him when his back is turned. His staggering power is simultaneously reined in and enhanced by his fierce loyalty and morality. Goku can also be very blunt, and not afraid to express his opinion in a discussion, such as when he questioned Krillin's marriage to Android 18. Despite his kind-hearted nature, Goku can feel incredible anger in cases of extreme turmoil, such as the death of a close friend/relative, or when someone murders many innocents needlessly. He has a simple, practical view of the world and is somewhat naive to the world around him. Because of this, many characters incorrectly assume him to be somewhat stupid, although once he has a basic understanding of things, he learns very quickly. His most remarkable ability is his will to succeed, his tenacity and persistence. He is always determined to push himself beyond his limitations, and never give up even when the odds are stacked against him.

Goku is pure of heart, possessing no negative feelings or thoughts. He is also portrayed to be very innocent as a child, because of growing up in Mount Paozu and not having met anyone other than his grandpa until he meets Bulma. During his childhood, a recurring gag early in the series is that he is incapable of telling the difference between a male and a female without physically touching them, which often gets him into trouble. Notable of these occurrences are in the scene where he removes Bulma's panties while she slept and is horrified to discover that she had no testicles and later when he first meets Chi-Chi and she pushes him off of the Flying Nimbus after he patted her genitals with his foot. He eventually outgrew this once old enough to understand the difference. In addition, during his youth, he seemed to not understand the concept of pornography, as when Bulma discovered her father's secret stash of porn magazines with Goku nearby, Goku thought the girls were too poor to afford clothes, causing Bulma to angrily tell him that they were not poor.

It is often teased that Goku is scared of his wife's temper (as joked by Master Roshi upon Goku's refusal to come back to Earth after the Frieza Saga: "He's scared of the one thing that's stronger than a Super Saiyan- his wife!").

Goku enjoys finding strong opponents and fighting with them. Even in combat, Goku is shown to not be invincible, as he has two major weaknesses. The first weakness is his tail; before he conditioned himself prior to the Tien Shinhan Saga, Goku lost all his power when someone grabbed his tail (a trait that all Saiyans share at birth). The second is his unfathomable appetite; not only does he eat at a rate that would be nearly impossible for a normal Human, but if he does not get any food, he becomes too weak to do almost anything. This weakness was never overcome, and almost got him killed against several enemies, like Tambourine. On the flipside, however, Goku's love for food has gotten him out of trouble several times; for example, in the Tournament Saga, when put to sleep by Jackie Chun, Bulma was able to save his match by screaming to him that dinner was ready, to which Goku immediately woke up to break the count.

Goku seems to think very little of his brother Raditz and late father, Bardock, believing them to be vicious, selfish beings like most other Saiyans; however, he never knew of his father's change of heart. Indeed, when he first learned of his Saiyan heritage, he rejected it out of horror and disgust at being from a race of vicious killers, though he ultimately embraced his heritage after hearing Vegeta's last words during the battle with Frieza on Namek, fighting him to avenge the loss of his race as well as all of the other innocents whom Frieza had killed. While Goku is ultimately kindhearted, forgiving, and unquestionably loyal to the side of good, and did not inherit any of the inherently evil traits of his heritage, his Saiyan bloodline and its traits for combat have played small or moderate role in his judgement. He chose to remain in space after Frieza's first defeat rather than return home soon, and did not come home to his family until two years later, when the restored Frieza was heading to Earth. When he trained Gohan and learned that his son had enough dormant power to destroy Cell, he chose not to train himself and his son for one more year, because rather than becoming strong enough to defeat Cell himself, he planned on sending his own son to fight the monster, gambling that Gohan would awaken his hidden power just in time during his struggling fight against Cell and ultimately win. He even went as far as giving a Senzu Bean to Cell so that Gohan gets a fair match against him, rather than a better chance to win and save the world. Also, after his death during the Cell Games, he chose not to be revived and return to his family to raise his still young son. He reasoned that Earth is repeatedly in danger because of his enemies and may become safer if he did not come back. Despite this, after almost all other fighters had faced their downfall, Goku is eventually revived due to Earth and the whole universe being in danger because of Super Buu.

From his mid-teens to early thirties, Goku became a famous celebrity on Earth for his defeat of King Piccolo, with several reporters being amazed that Yajirobe was a friend of his during Vegeta and Nappa's attack on Earth. Proceeding the events of the Androids Saga, Goku appears to have been largely forgotten in favor of the following World Martial Arts champion, Mr. Satan.

Dragon Ball Minus
Kakarot was born on Planet Vegeta three years before its destruction. Kakarot had been inside his incubation chamber for three years since his birth when his father Bardock and his mother Gine decide to release him. Bardock makes the decision to send Kakarot away to Earth in an Attack Ball since he is worried about Frieza's ambitions. Frieza destroys Planet Vegeta a month after Kakarot has been sent away.

Pre-Dragon Ball
After crash-landing on Earth, the baby was found in the woods by an old man named Gohan and became his adopted grandson. He was then given his Earthling name, Goku. At first, Goku was extremely violent and ill-tempered, not obeying Gohan at all, but one day he fell down a deep ravine and hit his head, suffering severe head trauma that sent him into a coma and very nearly killed him. After he woke up, he had lost all of his Saiyan aggression, becoming a kind and mild-mannered young boy. His Grandpa Gohan taught him martial arts and told him about such things as the city and people, as they lived in a very remote place in Mount Paozu, with no communication with other people.

Goku has a brief appearance in Jaco the Galactic Patrolman as a kid at the time he lived with Grandpa Gohan in. He is shown wearing a Battle Armor while having a meal in Grandpa Gohan's house.

Gohan one day discovered Goku's full moon transformation, and thus told him to never look at the full moon. However, one night Goku did, and he transformed into a Great Ape, causing him to unknowingly kill Gohan. After his grandpa's death, Goku stayed at his home, carrying out his daily life of survival. From a young age, Goku developed the impression that his birth parents abandoned him in the mountains as a baby, leaving him for Grandpa Gohan to discover.

Quest for the Dragon Balls
Goku is introduced in the Dragon Ball manga at 12 years of age (initially, he claims to be 14, but it is later clarified during the Tournament Saga that this is because Goku had trouble counting), as a young boy living in obscurity on Mount Paozu. Goku owns the Power Pole and the four-star Dragon Ball, inheritances from his grandfather.

One day, after doing his daily chores, Goku is hit by a car when on his way home after catching a Giant Fish. Having never seen a car before, he assumes it is a monster attacking him. When the driver shoots Goku with a gun, she becomes scared after seeing that it hardly does any damage and surrenders, revealing herself to be a Human girl, named Bulma. Goku states that he has never seen a girl before and that the only human he has seen in his life is his deceased grandfather. Goku takes Bulma to his house, where she ends up discovering his four star Dragon Ball. However, Goku does not want Bulma touching it since it is precious to him, so Bulma decides to let Goku to join her on a quest to collect all seven Dragon Balls to summon the Dragon, not revealing to him that the Dragon Balls would be scattered across the Earth once they succeeded. Later that night, when camping in Bulma's Capsule House, Goku is introduced to various technology such as Television, lights and even a bath. Early the next morning, Goku is surprised when he learns a bit about the anatomy of women after he takes Bulma's underwear off while she is sleeping. Later that morning, Goku meets Turtle, whom he decides to take back to the ocean, forcing Bulma to come along. After defeating a Bear Thief who wants to eat the turtle, they make it to the beach, where he meets his future master, the turtle hermit, Master Roshi. When the turtle hermit meets them, he rewards Goku with a flying cloud called the Flying Nimbus, that only allows people of pure heart to ride it, with which Goku has no difficulty. Bulma also receives the three star Dragon Ball out of this, in exchange for showing the old horn-dog her underwear (however, she is actually nude, because Goku had pulled them off the night before).

Three days later, Goku and Bulma end up in Aru Village, which is under control by an evil shape shifter named Oolong, who kidnaps the villagers' daughters. After Goku fails to impersonate Pochawompa in an attempt to find the location of Oolong's hideout, he decides to face Oolong head on. After chasing him outside the village, Goku manages to capture him, forcing Oolong to give the villagers back their daughters. Afterward, they are rewarded the six star Dragon Ball and Oolong is forced to join Goku and Bulma on their quest. While crossing the Diablo Desert on their way to Fire Mountain, Goku fights a bandit named Yamcha, who is friends with a former classmate of Oolong, named Puar. Goku and Yamcha have a duel, and Yamcha is surprised when Goku brings out his Power Pole, learning that he is the grandson of the legendary martial artist, Gohan. After nearly losing to Yamcha's Wolf Fang Fist due to hunger, Bulma awakens, causing Yamcha to flee due to of his fear of women. Later that night, Goku and the others stay the night in Oolong's House-Wagon, where Goku tells Oolong about the Dragon Balls while Yamcha and Puar hide outside and listen, also learning of the mystical spheres. The next morning, Goku fights Yamcha again after he destroys the House-Wagon and attempts to rob them. Goku knocks out his opponent's tooth and Yamcha, in a false display of apology, gives them a car that secretly has a tracking device for him to follow them.

Two days later, the gang ends up at Fire Mountain, where Goku ends up fighting the Ox-King after he attempts to kill Bulma and Oolong. After Goku summons the Flying Nimbus, the Ox-King stops fighting and tells Goku that the man who gave Goku that cloud is the same master that taught him. In an effort to douse the fire surrounding the Ox-King's castle at the top of the mountain, Goku is sent to retrieve the Bansho Fan from Master Roshi after picking up the Ox-King's daughter, Chi-Chi. When they arrive at Master Roshi's Island, he tells them that he accidentally threw the fan out and decides to come there himself and put out the flames. When they get back to Fire Mountain, Master Roshi uses a technique called the Kamehameha Wave to put out the flames, unfortunately destroying the mountain as well. Much to Master Roshi's surprise, Goku is immediately able to imitate the wave and makes one big enough to destroy their car. While Bulma and Oolong find the Dragon Ball in the rubble, Master Roshi asks that Goku trains with him after finishing his quest for the Dragon Balls.

On their way to the last Dragon Ball, they take a break at a town which is ruled by a gang known as the Rabbit Mob. While there, Goku and Bulma get into trouble with the Rabbit Mob, but Goku defeats their leader, Monster Carrot with the help of Yamcha. When they get back on the road, they are attacked by a robot piloted by Shu, who steals five of their Dragon Balls. Luckily, though, Goku insists on keeping his four-star ball with him instead of with the rest of the Dragon Balls. Yamcha gives them a lift to Pilaf's Castle to get them back. However, once they arrive, they get locked in a room filled with sleeping gas, where Goku's four-star Dragon Ball is stolen.

When they wake up, Emperor Pilaf summons Shenron and tries to use the wish to rule the world, but his plan is foiled when Oolong interferes and wishes for a pair of panties after getting out from a small hole made by Goku's Kamehameha. After trying to escape, the gang is placed into a special cell that will fry them when the sun comes out. Goku ends up looking at the full moon that night, causing him to turn into a Great Ape and destroy the cell along with the rest of Pilaf's castle. Seeing Goku out of control in the ape form, Yamcha grabs Goku's tail and has Puar turn into a pair of scissors to cut Goku's tail off, causing him to revert to his normal form. The next morning, Oolong begins to speculate that Goku is not a human, raising the question of whether he is "some kinda space alien." Declining the offer of his new friends to come with them to West City, Goku bids them goodbye to train with Roshi. While flying off on the Nimbus, Goku cheerfully says the world is an amazing place.

The 21st World Martial Arts Tournament
After finishing his quest for the Dragon Balls, Goku leaves Bulma and the others in order to train with Master Roshi. Roshi agrees to train Goku, but only if he finds him a pretty girl. After failing to bring him a decent girl, another wannabe student named Krillin arrives on the island, also wanting to train under Roshi, and assists Goku. After Goku fights off some Police officers, while Krillin cowers behind him, they finally return with a girl with a split personality named Launch.

Satisfied with Launch, Roshi then brings Goku and Krillin to his special Training Island to train them. They are put through very strange training that seems like it has nothing to do with martial arts, such as milk delivering to increase stamina, construction work for strength, swimming away from killer sharks, dodging bee stings, all while wearing very heavy Turtle Shells. After the hard work, the two develop into two of the most powerful fighters on Earth. The huge boulder Roshi showed the boys much earlier they could not push, they can now push, much to Roshi's surprise. After eight months of training, Roshi brings them to Papaya Island to compete in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament to test their training. Upon their arrival, Goku is reunited with his friends Bulma, Yamcha, Oolong and Puar. Goku gets through the elimination rounds easily without even trying (even he is surprised at his remarkable new power) and makes it to the main tournament.

In the tournament he is put up against a Gira named Giran in the quarterfinals. Goku struggles with the beast when he is trapped in Giran's Merry-Go-Round Gum, but his tail grows back causing him to break free and win the match, with Giran forfeiting from being scared of the young boy's power. In the semifinals he is put up against a warrior named Nam. Goku and Nam take the battle into the air, and each is almost knocked of the ring. Just before Goku is knocked out by Nam's Cross Arm Dive, Goku dodges and kicks him out of the ring. In the final round Goku battles with defending Champion Jackie Chun (really Master Roshi in disguise). During the battle, Goku turns back into a Great Ape and starts destroying the stadium. Jackie Chun who cannot leave the arena because they are still fighting destroys the Moon to revert Goku to his normal form. The two continue their match, both losing their energy at a rapid rate. Goku ends up losing the match, and learns that he should always continue to train because there are always people out there who are more powerful.

Battling the Red Ribbon Army
After coming runner up in the World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku is told by Master Roshi that he should go out and see the world, and Goku decides that he will use this opportunity to search of his grandfather's Four-Star Dragon Ball. At the beginning of his quest he helps save Nam's Village by accompanying him to Giran's Village in order to get the river flowing again. After completing this task, he decides to go skinny dipping in an oasis where he gets his Dragon Radar stolen by a homeless kid that sells it to an Antique Store in a nearby town. Once Goku gets there and gets his radar back, he confronts Emperor Pilaf, who is holding the four star Dragon Ball. After chasing Pilaf to his flying fortress, Goku receives the ball finding out that it is fake. While following the radar's signal he ends up meeting back up with Chi-Chi who had a wedding prepared for them. Goku and Chi-Chi quickly go together back to the Ox-King's Village to find that an organization called the Red Ribbon Army has attacked. Goku and Chi-Chi fight off the troops until they fled. Goku leaves Chi-Chi and the Ox-King in a hurry to go and chase them. He ends up in the Desert where he gets into Pilaf's flying fortress while the Red Ribbon Army was attacking it. After Pilaf's fortress is destroyed, Goku is caught in the explosion and wakes up in a forest where he meets a family of monkeys. After Goku finds the Dragon Ball, he battles Colonel Silver, who destroyed his Flying Nimbus. Goku easily defeats Silver, and knocks him out with his tail.

After seeing that the Dragon Ball he found was not his grandfather's Four-Star Ball, he has one of the army's auto pilot droids fly him to the next Dragon Ball. The plane crashes when the droid freezes, and Goku freezes, unable to move. He is then taken to Jingle Village by a girl named Suno. When he awakens, he hears that the Red Ribbon Army is there as well. Goku goes to their closest base known as Muscle Tower. Once he gets in he easily takes out three soldiers and then battles an android known as Major Metallitron. Goku wins the battle when Metallitron's batteries die and proceeds to the next floor where he fights the Ninja Murasaki. Goku easily defeats Murasaki and humiliates him, an example when Murasaki lands on Goku's Power Pole. Goku proves to be a difficult match for Murasaki and even his brothers, so he resorts to releasing Android 8. Android 8 ends up befriending Goku instead of fighting him because he dislikes violence, allowing Goku to reach the top of Muscle Tower. General White, the commander of the tower resorts to having his pet monster Buyon eat them, but the creature gets frozen and destroyed. General White is defeated and Goku saves the Jingle Village Chief while obtaining another Dragon Ball that Android 8 was hiding from the army.

Goku finds out from one of the village elders that his nimbus still works and decides to go to West City to have Bulma fix his Dragon Radar that broke. Goku arrives at Bulma's house, Capsule Corporation, and has her fix the radar. Bulma then decides to join Goku on his quest for his Dragon Ball using her new invention the Micro Band. While still in the city Goku meets back up with Yamcha, Oolong and Puar. They decide to spend the day in the new theme park Dream Land where they were stalked by a thief hired by the Red Ribbon Army named Hasky. After being tricked by her she tries to get away with Goku's two Dragon Balls but he captures her and gets them back.

Goku and Bulma travel to the site of the next Dragon Ball which was located at the bottom of the sea. Not having a submarine, Goku and Bulma obtain one from Master Roshi who has Krillin join them. Under the ocean, they find a Pirate Cave, where they are chased by the Red Ribbon Army's strongest operative, General Blue. Goku defeated a Pirate Robot and a giant octopus named Octopapa while Krillin and Bulma were being attacked by Blue. Goku arrives to save them, but Goku is stunned by General Blue's telekinesis. Goku was able to break free when a mouse scares Blue. While the cave began to collapse, Goku quickly grabbed the Dragon Ball and saved his mouse friend and barely escaped with Bulma and Krillin in an old submarine they found. When they arrived back at Kame House, General Blue arrives and uses his telekinesis to tie everybody up and steal the Dragon Balls along with putting a bomb on the island to kill them. Luckily, Launch returned and set Goku free to get rid of the bomb and chase Blue.

Goku ends up chasing General Blue to Gengoro Island, where he crashes in a strange town named Penguin Village. While there Goku meets Arale Norimaki and the Gatchans who try to help Goku look for General Blue and the Dragon Balls. Arale introduces Goku to Taro and Akane who seemed interested in his flying nimbus. Goku searched through Penguin Village and asked many of the residents if they have seen General Blue. Arale takes Goku to her house to have Senbei fix his radar. While at the Norimaki house General Blue shows up to steal Senbei's plane and fights Goku again. While using his telekinesis again on Goku, Arale surprises Goku by easily defeating him and headbutts General Blue far away. While Goku got his Dragon Balls back he got his Dragon Radar stolen by Blue. Senbei's son, Turbo uses his powers to create him a new one with parts from Senbei's plane so he can continue his quest.

Goku's next location was the Sacred Land of Korin where he defeats Captain Yellow and finally retrieves his four star Dragon Ball. There, he meets two of the lands natives, a powerful warrior named Bora and his son Upa. Seeing that their best soldiers had failed against Goku, the Red Ribbon Army turned to the world's deadliest assassin, Mercenary Tao, to kill him. Tao arrives to Goku's location and murders Bora with ease. Goku then attacks him. Goku loses against Tao in the battle against his Dodon Ray but survived because the four star ball in his shirt blocked the full force of the blast. While Tao decides to stay in a town for a couple of days, Goku decides to climb Korin Tower to get the Sacred Water of Korin. When he gets to the top, it takes Goku three days to snatch it from him. Goku drinks the water, yet does not feel any different, which Korin explained was not that the water made him stronger, but the training to try and get to it made him stronger. When Tao returns, Goku comes back and defeats him in battle by kicking one of Tao's grenades back at him, thrown after he pretended to give up.

Feeling sad for Upa who lost his father to Tao, Goku decides that he will defeat the entire Red Ribbon Army and gather the Dragon Balls to bring his father back to life. Goku travels to the main Red Ribbon Army Headquarters to defeat them. While Goku is taking out several of the soldiers, Staff Officer Black kills Commander Red after learning that he just wants to be tall and not achieve world domination. Goku fights Black who uses a battle robot, Goku kills him defeating the entire army and gathering six of the Dragon Balls. When Goku leaves the base he sees all of his friends just outside of it ready to help him, but Goku tells them he already defeated them, greatly surprising everyone.

Battling Fortuneteller Baba's warriors
After Goku's victory against the Red Ribbon Army he is still missing one more Dragon Ball to revive Bora, but for some reason Bulma's Dragon Radar cannot locate it. Roshi tells Goku about his older sister Baba who can find anything.[83] Goku sets out to Fortuneteller Baba's Palace with Yamcha, Krillin, Upa and Puar. Baba turns out to not be so generous, forcing them to fight her five strongest warriors to get their request. The first two warriors are taken care of by Goku's friends, but Yamcha is defeated by the third warrior, Bandages the Mummy. Goku, the team's last fighter, takes him out along with the fourth fighter, Spike the Devil Man in Devil's Toilet. After that, Goku is put up against the fifth fighter, who seems very familiar to Goku and Roshi (who had joined the group as a spectator). The mysterious fighter ruthlessly whips Goku around by his tail until it simply rips off. However, Goku is able to win the fight, and the fifth fighter is revealed to be his Grandpa Gohan, who was brought back from the Other World for a day. Baba reveals the Dragon Ball to be in a case Emperor Pilaf has. Goku confronts Pilaf in his new robot fused with Shu and Mai's robots, and easily defeats them. With all the Dragon Balls in his power, Goku is able to call Shenron and revives Bora. After the wish is granted, Goku grabs the four-star ball before the others scatter.

Goku prepares for the next World Martial Arts Tournament by going out into the world and training himself by the request of Master Roshi. Goku ends up meeting a girl named Chao and saves her village from two bandits known as Terror and Plague. He later stumbles into a city where he meets Chin Taiken, the master of the Chin-Star School and defeats Sky Dragon, the master of the Panther-Fang School for the title of Master of Martial Arts. Goku goes to Demon Land and saves Princess Misa from Shula with the help of Gola and Melee. Goku later chases after a monster named InoShikaCho that he later finds out is working with two martial artists named Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu in scamming villages. Goku saves InoShikaCho when Tien and Chiaotzu betray him and with the help of Tanmen, he convinces everyone that he is good. After three years are up, Goku begins his travel to Papaya Island but gets a little delayed when his new friend Konkichi gets into trouble with a gang.

Meeting Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu
By the time the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament starts, Goku is 16 years old (considered himself 15 years old, since he assumed the day Grandpa Gohan found him as his birthday, though he still looks like a preteen boy). Goku's strongest opponent is Tien Shinhan, a warrior trained by Master Roshi's nemesis, Master Shen - the Crane Hermit. Like Yamcha and Puar before them, Tien, along with his best friend Chiaotzu, will eventually side with Goku.

In the preliminaries, Goku is set up against a champion from a previous World Tournament, King Chappa. Goku easily defeats him, and then goes on to defeat Pamput, a famous movie star, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals Goku is set up against his best friend Krillin, and defeats him after a fierce battle. Goku moves on to fight Tien and his Crane School style in the final round. Midway during the match, Goku is repeatedly paralyzed and pinned down by Chiaotzu and his Telekinesis technique, at the orders of Master Shen. After Goku is freed from Chiaotzu's Telekinesis, the match continues as normal until Tien decides to use the Tri-Beam attack to destroy the stage. In mid-air, Goku knocks out Tien by using a Kamehameha to swiftly propel himself into Tien's stomach. Falling at the same rate, Goku hits the ground first after crashing into a van, leaving Tien as the Tournament winner.

The evil King Piccolo
Right after the conclusion of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, King Piccolo appears in scene. Goku accidentally left his belongings behind and when Krillin went to pick them up at the area, he is killed by Tambourine, one of King Piccolo's mutated sons. Goku becomes angry, and chases after him through the skies, but still being fatigued from the tournament, Goku is defeated by Tambourine and his Flying Nimbus is destroyed. While trying to recover in the wilderness, Goku sees a giant fish and eats it, which belonged to a samurai named Yajirobe, who has a Dragon Ball. Cymbal, another one of Piccolo's sons, is sent to get the Dragon Ball, but is killed by Yajirobe with his sword. After sensing Cymbal's death, Piccolo orders Tambourine to find his killer. Upon seeing Tambourine again, Goku finally destroys him. King Piccolo feels this and arrives at Goku and Yajirobe's location, Yajirobe's Prairie. Soon after King Piccolo appears, he fights Goku. Goku knocks him down a couple of times. It is then revealed that Piccolo was holding back on his power, and then he swiftly defeats Goku with his Masenko attack, causing Goku's heart to stop for a short time. Piccolo then takes the Dragon Ball Yajirobe gave to Goku. Yajirobe takes Goku to Korin Tower to help him recover.

Meanwhile, Tien, Master Roshi and Chiaotzu try to stop King Piccolo from gathering the Dragon Balls, but fail and the latter two die in the attempt. King Piccolo calls Shenron and wishes for his youth to be restored, giving him the power he once had. King Piccolo then destroys Shenron, and goes on to King Furry's palace, in an attempt to rule the world.

Once Goku is healed, he heads out on a quest to find the Ultra Divine Water, a sacred liquid that unleashes the drinker's hidden powers if they have any, or kills them. Goku drinks the water and survives, then heads off to King Furry's castle where he finds King Piccolo's newest son, Drum assaulting Tien Shinhan. Goku steps in and defeats Drum, knocking his eyeballs out with one kick, and challenges King Piccolo to a battle. Goku overpowers King Piccolo, even throwing him into the castle. King Piccolo eventually goes to full power, despite it shortening his life span, but still can not defeat Goku. King Piccolo fires his signature attack, the Explosive Demon Wave, at Goku, but Tien saves him by flying into the sky, but Goku's leg is broken. Towards the end of the fight, King Piccolo uses Tien as a hostage, attempting to force Goku to surrender. Goku nearly resumes the fight despite the fact that Tien will die, thinking he could revive Tien with the Dragon Balls, until King Piccolo tells him he had destroyed Shenron. This leaves Goku at King Piccolo's mercy.

Goku ends up with a broken arm and two broken legs as a result of Piccolo's onslaught. As King Piccolo takes to the skies for his final attack, Goku, full of rage over the fact that Krillin and Master Roshi are gone forever, launches himself at King Piccolo with the one arm he had left, punching a hole through his chest and killing him.[12] Moments before King Piccolo's death however, he manages to spit out an egg far off in the distance that contains his final son and reincarnation, Piccolo Jr. to avenge his death and spread evil across the planet.

King Piccolo's reincarnation
After Goku defeats King Piccolo, he goes to Korin Tower, where Korin tells him about Kami's Lookout, and that Kami, being the one that created the Dragon Balls, may be able to revive Shenron. At Kami's Lookout Goku overcomes Mr. Popo's challenge of speed, and Kami, the Guardian of Earth, brings the Dragon Balls back by giving new life to Shenron. Using the Dragon Balls, Krillin, Chiaotzu and Master Roshi are resurrected. In return, Kami asks Goku to train with him and Mr. Popo for the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament to defeat Piccolo Jr., who wants revenge on Goku for killing his father. Goku's training consists of defeating Mr. Popo, who proves to be stronger than King Piccolo and for Goku to face a doll version of himself as a way of conquering his own self. With deep meditation, being still like a rock, but faster than lightning, Goku endures the toughest training of his life. During or after the training, Goku's tail is permanently taken off for the third and final time by Kami, who then makes a wish to the Eternal Dragon for the return of the moon.

Goku returns three years later at the age of 19 (considered himself 18), to meet up with his friends and join the tournament and grown into a young man that no one recognizes. In the preliminaries, Goku is put up against King Chappa, who wants to avenge his loss from three years prior, but fails again. In the quarterfinals Goku is matched up against an unknown female fighter who seems to know who Goku is, and knows the fighting style that Master Roshi teaches. After Goku defeats her, she reveals herself to be Chi-Chi, whom Goku had unknowingly promised to marry years before thinking marriage was a type of food. Before leaving the ring, Goku asks for her hand in marriage.

In the semi-finals, Goku is put up against Tien Shinhan to settle the score from the last tournament. Goku and Tien seem to be even, until Goku removes his weighted clothing and becomes much faster, winning the match and leaving him against Piccolo Jr. in the final round. Before the fight started, Piccolo had trapped Kami inside a bottle with the Evil Containment Wave technique and ate the bottle, putting Goku at a stalemate; if he kills Piccolo, Kami will die too. The fight goes on for a while, but when the word spreads that Piccolo Jr. is the son of King Piccolo, the crowd flees. Goku encourages Piccolo Jr. to transform into his Giant Form, tricking him to fly into his mouth to retrieve the bottle Kami was in. Afterwards, the stage is destroyed as they go into full battle. Goku seems to be doing quite well against Piccolo, using the Meteor Combination rush, seemingly knocking him out, but Piccolo blasts a hole in Goku's shoulder, seriously handicapping him. Piccolo then makes sure Goku has no arms or legs to use, saying he will not make the same mistake his father did, letting Goku have one free arm to kill him with in the end. As Goku is about to die, he discovers how to fly and uses that energy to avoid one of Piccolo's attacks. He then finishes Piccolo off with the last amount of energy he has left with a full force headbutt to the chest. After Goku is declared victor, he gives Piccolo Jr. a Senzu Bean to keep Kami alive and give himself a good rival.

After Goku defeats Piccolo Jr., he travels with Chi-Chi to the Ox-King's Village to prepare for their wedding.[116] But fire erupts at the castle, trapping the Ox-King inside the flames. Goku and Chi-Chi travel to find the Bancho Fan that Master Roshi once threw away in order to put out the fire. When they find it, they are forced to fight Annin, a guardian of the border between the living world and the Other World. Goku defeats Annin and returns with the fan, which successfully extinguishes the fire. Goku and Chi-Chi get married, concluding the original Dragon Ball series.

Saiyan attack
At the start of the Dragon Ball Z series, Goku is 24 years old and is still living at Mount Paozu in a newly built house near his old house, with his wife Chi-Chi and their four year old son, Gohan, named after Goku's adoptive father, Grandpa Gohan. After saving Gohan from falling down a waterfall, Goku drops by the Kame House with his son, to introduce him to Bulma, Master Roshi and Krillin. All seems to be well, but suddenly, Goku senses a huge power nearby. The new threat arrives from space; Raditz, Goku's older brother. Raditz reveals to Goku his Saiyan heritage, and informs him that he was originally sent to Earth to destroy the planet's inhabitants and prepare it to be sold, but had forgotten about it due to his head injury as a baby. When Goku refuses to carry out his forgotten mission, Raditz delivers a single kick to Goku's ribs, knocking him down, and kidnaps Gohan, giving Goku an ultimatum: Raditz will kill Gohan unless Goku kills one hundred humans within the next twenty-four hours, and leaves them on the beach.

To defeat Raditz and save the Earth, Krillin and Master Roshi offer to help, but Goku does not accept their request, due to the fact that if they die again, they cannot be brought back, since they have already been killed. Piccolo, who had been listening to Raditz's speech while hiding behind the Kame House, asks Goku to help him fight this new being, so they join forces. When Piccolo and Goku find Raditz with Gohan locked up in his spacepod, Goku gives Raditz one last chance to free his son, but Raditz refuses. Goku and Piccolo both take off their weighted clothing to begin their fight. Even with their combined strength, Raditz still holds the upper hand. With the help of Gohan unleashing his inner powers to attack Raditz and weaken him, Goku and Piccolo are able to come up with a plan to win.

Goku makes the ultimate sacrifice by holding Raditz in place so Piccolo can kill him with the powerful Special Beam Cannon, which manages to kill both Raditz and Goku. Just before he dies, however, Raditz informs Piccolo and Goku that two even more powerful Saiyans, Vegeta and Nappa are on their way to Earth, and will arrive in one year. With Krillin by his side, Goku dies, and Kami takes him to Other World where King Yemma tells Goku to take Snake Way to the planet of King Kai for additional training to defeat the Saiyans. During his journey, in filler, he encounters and escapes Princess Snake and even manages to escape Hell after accidentally falling off Snake Way.

When Goku finally makes it to King Kai's planet, he mistakes King Kai's monkey, Bubbles, for the King himself, and he follows the monkey's actions until he meets the real King Kai. He is given ridiculous challenges before he starts his training, including having to tell King Kai a joke, catching Bubbles, and smashing his pet cricket, Gregory, on the head with a heavy hammer. Due to the planet's higher gravity, Goku struggles with the challenges, but eventually completes them. After that, Goku masters several new techniques and increases his strength considerably. His friends on Earth manage to wish him back to life using the seven Dragon Balls, but, due to a miscalculation on King Kai's part (he forgot to take into account the time it would take to get back) he still must travel back down Snake Way, which King Kai estimates will take about two days at Goku's current power level in order to reach Earth and join the battle against the Saiyans, which was already underway and going badly for the Z Fighters.

By the time Goku arrives, Yamcha had been killed by a Saibaman, Chiaotzu had self-destructed in a failed attempt to kill Nappa, Tien Shinhan had killed himself by putting all his strength into a final but futile Spirit Tri-Beam, and Piccolo had sacrificed himself to save Gohan from a powerful attack launched by Nappa, which inadvertently killed Kami as well. Goku arrives on the scene, saving Gohan from Nappa's power, and when he is informed by Krillin that everybody else has died in the battle, Goku goes in a rage, powering up, surprising Vegeta with his new power. Much to everyone's surprise, Goku had become powerful enough to defeat Nappa without much difficulty, avoiding Nappa's attacks, and taking Nappa's ultimate, the Break Cannon, head on without a problem. When Nappa goes to kill Krillin and Gohan, Goku breaks Nappa's back with the Kaio-ken Finish, but Vegeta is the one who kills him at the end.[128] When Goku begins his battle with Vegeta, they seem even. Vegeta gains the upper hand with even the Kaio-ken times two not working. Goku, in a desperate attempt, powers up to Kaio-ken times three, and overpowers Vegeta, causing Vegeta to go in a rage and attempt to destroy the planet with a Galick Gun. Goku's Kaio-ken Kamehameha and Vegeta's Galick Gun blasts collide, and Goku beats Vegeta in the Beam Struggle by going Kaio-ken times four, however, causing his body great pain. When Vegeta returns, he transforms into a Great Ape using a Power Ball, and Goku realizes he is the one who murdered his Grandfather, and apologizes for it, hoping for forgiveness.

After a long battle, Vegeta is eventually defeated by Goku's Kaio-ken and Spirit Bomb techniques, and the timely intervention of his remaining companions Krillin, Gohan and Yajirobe. However Goku had been brutally beaten to near death, with his legs getting crushed and broken by Vegeta in his Great Ape form. After the fight, Krillin attempts to take Vegeta's life using Yajirobe's katana, but is stopped by Goku, who convinces him to spare his life to give him a second chance at changing his evil ways and hopes to have a rematch one day.

Journey to Namek

After the battle with Vegeta, Goku is severely injured, and Korin is out of Senzu Beans, so Goku has to stay behind in Wukong Hospital with Chi-Chi while Gohan, Krillin and Bulma go to planet Namek to find the Namekian Dragon Balls in order to revive their fallen friends. After a few weeks, Korin grows a new batch of beans and sends Yajirobe to give one to Goku, which heals him completely. Goku then uses Dr. Brief's new spaceship, which he constructed from Goku's original Attack Ball, to go to Namek.

During his trip to Namek, the artificial gravity machine in Goku's ship malfunctions, causing it to create 100x earth's gravity, nearly crushing Goku. When he is finally able to gain control of the machine, however, he decides to leave it on this high setting in order to train to fight Frieza. However King Kai advises him to steer clear of Frieza, claiming that he is the strongest being in the universe, and that Goku would stand no chance against his evil might.

Arriving on Namek, once again Goku enters a battle already in progress, this time saving Gohan, Krillin, and Vegeta from the assault of Recoome, a member of Frieza's elite fighting squad, the Ginyu Force, who were called to dispose of the three. Goku heals the three of them with Senzu Beans, and shows his new powers by defeating Recoome with one elbow to the stomach, and then takes on Burter and Jeice together. Goku fools them into thinking his power level is only 5,000, because Goku rose his power in only the instant he attacked. After dodging Jeice and Burter's attacks, Goku then takes out Burter, but is taken by surprise by the leader of the Force, Captain Ginyu, who has the ability to switch bodies with anyone he sees fit. After a little sparring, Goku powers up in front of Ginyu, with his power level scaring Ginyu and Jeice, as it was much higher than theirs. Critically injuring himself, Captain Ginyu then swaps bodies with the more powerful Goku but is not able to fully control his new body and power. Vegeta takes this chance to battle him, seriously injuring Goku's body. Goku manages to get his body back after intercepting a beam sent by Captain Ginyu to swap bodies with Vegeta.

Goku's body, worn out and beaten, uses a Medical Machine inside Frieza's spaceship taking several hours to heal. When he emerges, once again it is to join a battle in progress, where Vegeta meets his doom against Frieza. Goku hears Vegeta's tearful departing speech about the torture Frieza inflicted on Vegeta and the Saiyans, and buries Vegeta and gives his respects. In anger, he declares that he will defeat Frieza in the name of the Saiyans and Namekians he killed. Goku and Frieza's battle begins, with Goku still having a decent amount of confidence in his abilities. Goku and Frieza start off evenly matched, but Frieza gains the upper hand and Goku is quickly overcome. Goku's confidence transforms into frustration and fright at Frieza's power. Even with Frieza giving himself handicaps (such as not using his hands), Goku still cannot out-match the tyrant. After Goku combines Kaio-ken x20 and his Kamehameha to no effect, Frieza starts pummeling Goku, but Goku remembers his Spirit Bomb ability, and decides to gather energy, leaving himself open. Piccolo (who had been resurrected and was transported to Namek to help), Gohan and Krillin attempt to distract Frieza from Goku so he can gather the energy. Finally, with all his might, Goku launches the attack, which hits a struggling Frieza, and seemingly destroys him, along with a good portion of Namek in a devastating explosion. Worn out, Goku begins to laugh, along with his friends, who believe Frieza has been defeated. But even Goku's most powerful attack, the Large Spirit Bomb, fails to kill Frieza. Finally, when Frieza kills Krillin and critically injures Piccolo, Goku, in anger, taps into his inner power reserves and transforms into a Super Saiyan. He eventually battles Frieza and dominates him. In desperation, Frieza uses his Death Saucer attack, creating two pink Destructo Discs and throwing them at Goku. Goku moves too quickly for the attack, and maneuvers himself so that Frieza is in between him and the disks. Goku yells a warning to Frieza, but Frieza is too slow and is cut in half, losing an arm in addition to his legs. The weak tyrant begs Goku to help him. Goku, believing that Frieza does not deserve to be forgiven or spared, gives him some of his energy as a show of mercy. Bitter at his defeat, Frieza uses it to launch a powerful energy wave at Goku. Goku notices the blast and fires an Angry Kamehameha at Frieza, defeating him.

Goku then flies to Frieza's spaceship and presses buttons to try to cause the ship to fly, however it does not work and Frieza's spaceship falls into the lava. He quickly escapes Namek using one of the Ginyu Force space pods. The pod takes Goku to Planet Yardrat, which was going to be the Ginyu Force's next target. His friends, who were teleported to Earth by a wish made with the Namekian Dragon Balls, believe him to be dead. However, months later, when they attempt to revive Goku and Krillin by warping them to the check-in station, they learn that Goku is alive. When they decide to transport him back to Earth, he declines, stating that he'll return later. While on Yardrat, Goku learns a new technique called the Instant Transmission.

The Androids
One year and eight months later, at the age of 27, Goku returns to Earth where he is confronted by Trunks, the half-Saiyan son of Vegeta and Bulma from the future. The teenage Super Saiyan had just killed both Mecha-Frieza and his father King Cold a few moments before Goku's arrival. Trunks then tests Goku's strength in battle by assaulting him furiously with his sword, which Goku knocks away multiple times with one finger (albeit charged with energy), claiming that he knew Trunks would not use his full power.

Satisfied, Trunks gives Goku medicine for a heart virus that he will contract in one or two years, telling him to use it when he starts feeling the virus' effects. Future Trunks also warns him about two androids that will threaten the Earth in three years. Goku, Gohan and Piccolo then spend the next three years training for this new threat. However, Future Trunk's visit somehow alters the onset of the virus, so it does not manifest during those three years (six months prior to the Androids arrival), and therefore Goku does not use the medicine.

Three years later, two androids, Dr. Gero (as Android 20) and Android 19, appear and attack a city. The Z Fighters confront them, and Yamcha is first to be attacked, having been impaled by Dr. Gero's hand and having his energy stolen. However, he is saved by the use of a Senzu Bean, and the Z Fighters lead the two killing machines out of the city to fight. Despite being a Super Saiyan, Goku is bested by Android 19 when he begins to drastically weaken from the heart disease he was warned of, which starts manifesting itself during the fight. However, Vegeta, who now is a Super Saiyan as well, manages to save Goku before he can be defeated by the androids, and, after toying with it for a bit, destroys Android 19 with ease, enjoying the battle greatly. Yamcha takes Goku to Chi-Chi to get the medicine that will save his life from the killer virus. Meanwhile, the rest of the Z Fighters learn from Trunks, who has returned to help them fight the androids, that history had somehow been altered, and that the androids of his time, Future Android 17 and Future Android 18, had not been the ones they were fighting. Soon after, Dr. Gero states he will unleash No.17 and No.18, and he flees from the battlefield. They try to stop Dr. Gero from activating them but fail. However, once Dr. Gero activates 17 and 18, they are revealed to be unruly and kill him, and activate another android, Android 16, as well, who was solely created to be Goku's assassin.

Combatting Cell
While the Z Fighters try and fail to stop the androids, Piccolo (who had recently fused with Kami) discovers a new threat named Cell, a large biological life form created by Dr. Gero, made with DNA taken from Goku, his allies, and foes they fought in the past. Cell was designed to absorb Androids 17 and 18, in order to achieve a perfect state, kill Goku, and conquer the cosmos. Cell hunts down the androids and absorbs Android 17, transforming into his second stage. Meanwhile, Goku heals from his sickness and takes Gohan, Vegeta, and Future Trunks to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber at Kami's Lookout to obtain a year of training in one day under heavy gravity and incredibly volatile temperatures. Vegeta and Future Trunks go in first and, while Goku and Gohan enter the Time Chamber next, go to find and fight Cell. While in the chamber, Goku gets to 3rd Grade Super Saiyan and Gohan believes that Goku can beat Cell with this power, however Goku explains that his speed has decreased in that form and the power to keep the form is too much. Goku realizes that half Saiyan hybrids like Future Trunks can turn Super Saiyan, so he trains Gohan intensely and helps him become a Super Saiyan as well. During this training, Goku notices that the potential Gohan has can easily surpass Goku's own powers, especially after Gohan managed during their training to transform into an unprecedented Super Saiyan level before losing consciousness during a training session, and that, if he is unable to kill Cell, Gohan will.

While Goku trains, Cell absorbs Android 18 and reaches his perfect form thanks to Vegeta's interests to fight Cell in his perfect form. Vegeta was easily defeated when he challenged Cell, as did Trunks, who failed because his new 3rd Grade Super Saiyan Form had too much muscle mass to hit Cell quick enough, a flaw Goku noticed in the chamber. After Goku and Gohan finish their training, Cell announces that he will be holding the Cell Games in ten more days, in order to give a chance to anyone who wants to challenge him. For ten days, Goku and Gohan stay on Earth to train and relax while maintaining their Super Saiyan form the entire time. Goku also uses this time to travel to New Namek to ask Dende to be the new guardian of Earth, as Piccolo had fused with Kami in an attempt to stop Cell, and the fusion had made the Dragon Balls useless. After Dende creates new Dragon Balls based on the old ones, Goku searches for those reactivated Dragon Balls in order to use them after they defeat Cell to correct everything Cell had put wrong.

After ten days have passed, the Z Fighters head to the Cell Games. After the supposed strongest person on Earth, Mr. Satan, is easily defeated, Goku offers to be the first Z Fighter to fight Cell, believing that he is no match for the villain in order to truly test Cell's abilities. Goku finds himself almost equally matched but still at a disadvantage against a heavily suppressed Perfect Cell in every way, and cannot seem to gain the upper hand after many attempts. Even after trying the Instant Kamehameha (a combination of the Instant Transmission and Kamehameha), which destroys Perfect Cell's upper half, he watches in horror as the android regenerates easily, thanks to Piccolo's cells in his body. After getting tired and worn out, Goku decides to give up and leave the battle to Gohan, whom he is convinced has the hidden power necessary to defeat Cell. Gohan then states that Goku had been holding back, only to learn he had not, leading to the conclusion that Gohan may be stronger than Goku, who was fighting at full power. Gohan then powers up to a point where his energy eclipses even Goku's, and fights with Cell, but halfheartedly. After Gohan tells Cell that when he gets angry he gets much stronger, Cell starts to get curious and tries to force Gohan's inner powers out of him by making his children, the Cell Jrs, attack Gohan's friends and his father. All the Z fighters cannot beat the Cell Jrs, including Goku, who was worn out from his battle with Cell. After Android 16 attempted self destruct on Cell, who blasted him, 16 asks Mr. Satan to bring him (his remaining Android head) to Gohan, and he then tries to convince Gohan that fighting is sometimes needed. When Cell destroys Android 16's head, this triggers a change in Gohan, forcing him to ascend to Super Saiyan 2, a form in which he greatly surpasses Perfect Cell, even after the behemoth decides to unleash his earth-shattering Full Power and a further powered up Power Weighted form, which Gohan easily overcomes to the point of forcing him to regurgitate Android 18 because of the damage he has sustained.

When a beaten Cell tries to destroy the Earth as a last resort, Goku is forced to step in with his "Instant Transmission" technique when Cell is about to trigger his self-destruction. He teleports them both to King Kai's Planet, where he is killed by the explosion Cell caused, along with King Kai and his pets Bubbles and Gregory. However, Cell is able to reconstruct himself as Super Perfect Cell, a trick even Cell himself did not know he had, and uses the recently learned Instant Transmission to go back to Earth. Goku then motivates Gohan from the Other World to help fuel Gohan's Kamehameha wave against the reconstructed Super Perfect Cell, which, after a lengthy beam lock, successfully obliterates him. After Cell's defeat, Goku insists that he should stay dead, even though they could resurrect him, because he has attracted too many problems to Earth, like Frieza and the Red Ribbon Androids. Goku decides it will be safer for Earth if he does not return, and Earth has Gohan to protect it if needed. Over the next seven years, while Goku is training in Other World he achieves Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3, the latter of which boosts his power even beyond his already powerful Super Saiyan 2, but delivers an excruciating strain and immeasurable ki consumption.

The evil wizard Babidi
Seven years later, at the chronological age of 37 (physically about 30 due to current death, having almost made back the full year of his previous death in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber), Goku is given special permission to return to Earth for one day to participate in the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament, which he knows Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, and his youngest son Goten, will be attending. Upon his return he meets his second child, Goten, who had been born after his death in the Cell Games, and Videl, Gohan's girlfriend from his high school who is the daughter of Mr. Satan, the fraud who received the credit for saving the world from Cell. Goku was going to be set up against Vegeta in the 6th match, finally being able to settle their rivalry, but had to be postponed because Videl was beaten badly by the supposed weakling Spopovich, who, along with Yamu, is controlled by the evil wizard Babidi. While Gohan is matched up against Kibito (the assistant of the Supreme Kai, who was in the tournament as well), Spopovich and Yamu both steal Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 energy and left the tournament while all the Z Fighters in the tournament ditched the tournament to follow them to Babidi.

The Supreme Kai and his assistant, Kibito, introduced themselves and informed the Z Fighters about the plans of Babidi who wishes to bring destruction and terror across the whole universe by bringing back his extremely evil monster puppet by the name of Majin Buu. The Z Warriors follow Spopovich to Babidi's ship where they are ambushed by Dabura, the powerful ruler of the Demon Realm, who kills Kibito and turns Krillin and Piccolo to stone. Goku, Gohan, Vegeta and the Supreme Kai enter Babidi's ship and they take turns defeating each of his minions on each room of the ship, their power leaving Supreme Kai in awe. Goku fights Yakon who absorbs his energy, but Goku kills him by overpowering and exploding him. While Gohan is against Dabura, Vegeta complains that he can do better. When Babidi hears that, he possesses Vegeta through the evil in his heart and turns him into Majin Vegeta making him evil once again. Goku and Vegeta are both transported to a deserted landscape for them to settle their battle, while Gohan and the Supreme Kai continue on to stop Babidi.

The ancient monster, Majin Buu
Goku and Majin Vegeta have an earth-shattering battle which gives more than enough energy for Majin Buu's awakening. Although they are evenly matched at Super Saiyan 2, Goku ends the fight when he senses that Majin Buu has been released and pleads with Vegeta to help him defeat Majin Buu. In a false show of agreement, Vegeta knocks Goku out from behind while he is getting a Senzu Bean out of a bag. Vegeta then eats the only Senzu Bean left and flies off to face Majin Buu alone.

Upon awakening, Goku could sense neither Vegeta nor Gohan anywhere and comes to the conclusion that they have been killed in the battle (when actually Gohan was narrowly saved by the badly injured Supreme Kai, and only Vegeta died in a vain attempt to try and eradicate Majin Buu). He heads to Kami's Lookout and is healed by Dende, who confirms that Vegeta sacrificed himself in an attempt to destroy Majin Buu. After transporting everyone to the Lookout, he tells the bad news to them. With the little time he has left on Earth, with the help of Piccolo, he decides to teach Trunks and Goten the Fusion Dance, which he learned from Metamorans while in Other World, so they may form one immensely powerful being that might stand a chance against Majin Buu.

‎After finding out that the Dragon Radar is still in West City and Majin Buu is about to cause more destruction, Goku decides to distract him while allowing Trunks to head into West City and retrieve the Dragon Radar before it is destroyed along with everything else in West City by Majin Buu, otherwise they will never be able to find the Dragon Balls. Goku teleports to Majin Buu's location, and shows him and everyone (via Babidi's telepathy) the incredible power of the new Super Saiyan 3 form, whose energy could be sensed all the way to Supreme Kai's planet. Goku then engages in a fight with Majin Buu, whom he overpowers blow for blow. Amazingly, Majin Buu is still having a good time and enjoying the fight, even forcing Goku to narrowly deflect an imitated version of his own Kamehameha wave, which chips over a tenth of the Earth. He later states, that he probably could have won, but that he wanted to leave it in the hands of Gohan, Trunks, and Goten because he will not be there forever, and that they need to have a shot at saving the universe instead of a dead fighter. Unfortunately, the action of sustaining Super Saiyan 3 to briefly fight with Buu shortens Goku's time on Earth and he is forced to return to the Other World.

Once Goku has returned to Other World, he learns that his son, Gohan, is not dead, but in fact training with the Supreme Kai on the Kai Planet teleporting there only to just miss having his head removed by Gohan practicing with The Z Sword. Gohan has been training with the legendary Z Sword, and to test its strength, the Supreme Kai summons a block of the densest metal in the universe, Kachin, as testing material. Goku throws the cube at Gohan, expecting the Z Sword to slice the block in half. Instead the sword snaps in half and from it emerges Old Kai, who tells them that he will fully unlock Gohan's potential with a ritual.

Fusion plan
Through a crystal globe, Goku watches the fight between Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Super Buu with much anticipation, amazed that the two boys who, alone, could only access the Super Saiyan state were able to achieve Super Saiyan 3 so quickly when fused. As Gotenks is about to finish Super Buu after a lengthy battle, he reverts to his base form and quickly defuses. Gohan (after having his hidden power released) then arrives, effortlessly thrashing Buu with his newfound powers, but Super Buu escapes by self-destructing until Goten and Trunks can fuse again an hour later, and he then absorbs Gotenks and Piccolo, gaining the upper hand.

When Gohan fails due to Super Buu's stolen powers, Old Kai gives his life to Goku so that he may return to Earth to help Gohan. Goku is also given Potara Earrings so that he can fuse with Gohan in order to create an unmatched warrior that would easily destroy Buu without even the need to transform according to Old Kai. When Goku arrives on the battlefield, much to the surprise of Gohan and Super Buu, he cuts Super Buu in half with a Destructo Disc and tosses one of the earrings to Gohan. Gohan misses for the grab, and Goku tells Gohan to hurry and find the earring. He stalls Super Buu, fighting as a Super Saiyan 3. After the fight, Gotenks defuses inside Super Buu, and his power drops to almost 1/3 of his original power. Goku states that he is not much of a threat anymore, and realizes that they can beat Super Buu easily. However, Gohan is absorbed when Super Buu catches him off-guard. At this moment of despair, the newly resurrected Vegeta appears, and after Goku teleports there and convinces his stubborn rival, two of the most powerful remaining Saiyans fuse to become Vegito, the strongest fighter in the Dragon Ball Z series.

Vegito then easily thrashes Super Buu, even with Gohan absorbed. Super Buu tries every technique and attack he has got against the fused Saiyans, but Vegito manages to dodge by all of them without much trouble. After a lengthy fight, the mighty Vegito wins easily. However, supposedly due to Vegeta's arrogance in not simply finishing Buu off, Vegito is eventually absorbed by Super Buu, with a Saiyan Shield protecting him. However, it is later revealed that he chose to be absorbed on purpose because he wanted to rescue his friends and family before killing Super Buu.

Inside Buu, Vegito automatically separates into the two Saiyans due to the properties of Super Buu's digestive system. While in the stomach, Goku is attacked by enzymes that quickly cover his body, making him sticky and burning him in pain. While Goku struggle to get enzymes off, a roundworm shows up. Goku is almost eaten by the roundworm until he finally blasts the enzymes off his body. After traveling through Super Buu's body, Goku and Vegeta reach Super Buu's brain where they find Gohan, Trunks, Goten, and Piccolo, unconscious but still alive. After freeing them and having to fight Super Buu inside his own body, Vegeta decides to remove the unconscious fat Majin Buu from Super Buu. Despite pleas from Super Buu, Vegeta pulls the fat Majin Buu free and Super Buu undergoes another transformation. Goku and Vegeta then escape from Super Buu's body with the newly rescued Z Fighters. Super Buu then transforms back to his original form, Kid Buu.

The final battle
Outside, Goku rescues Mr. Satan, his dog Bee, and Dende, but fails in saving Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo before the newly transformed Kid Buu destroys the Earth in an extreme show of power (Vegeta previously stopped him from doing this with a much smaller blast that could still take out the planet, but he then charged a huge ball they could not deflect in response). Kibito Kai teleports in and saves Vegeta, Goku, Dende, and Mr. Satan by bringing them to the Sacred World of the Kais. After regenerating, Kid Buu sets out to find Goku and Vegeta by copying Kibito Kai's instantaneous movement technique (in the manga original, he teleports to Goku's location instantly).

When Kid Buu finds them, Vegeta and Goku have a Rock-Paper-Scissors match to see who fights first. Goku wins and fights Buu. In the Anime, he starts the fight as a Super Saiyan 2, but eventually transforms into Super Saiyan 3. When he is a Super Saiyan 3, he fights evenly with Kid Buu for a short time, taking the advantage often. However, Goku had failed to account for the strain that fighting in a living body would have on him, and soon becomes exhausted. He attempts to gather up his strength while Vegeta distracts Buu in his Super Saiyan 2 form (getting mercilessly beaten in the process), but his Super Saiyan 3 transformation drains him of his energy reserves and he soon loses the ability to maintain the form. At Vegeta's suggestion, Goku begins gathering energy for a Super Spirit Bomb that would employ all the available energies of the Earth and its occupants (he does this to have the Earth "save itself for once").

Using King Kai's telepathy, Vegeta speaks to the newly revived people of Earth and begs for everyone to donate power to Goku's Spirit Bomb, which they are hesitant to do. Everyone on New Namek and the Other World give energy for the Super Spirit Bomb and possibly many other planets as well, along with Goku's close friends. Meanwhile, Fat Majin Buu, while trying to hold off Kid Buu, falls in battle leaving a battered Vegeta to protect Goku while he forms the Super Spirit Bomb. Eventually, Mr. Satan finally convinces everyone on the newly regenerated Earth to give Goku all the energy he needs to destroy Kid Buu once and for all. With the contribution of power from Earth, Goku launches the Super Spirit Bomb. But as impossible as it seems, Kid Buu actually stops the Spirit Bomb and slowly begins to push it back at Goku. Vegeta realizes Goku used the rest of his power to gather and form the bomb and has nothing left to defeat Buu.

Using the last wish from the Namekian Dragon (the first two were spent restoring Earth to its normal condition and then reviving all those who died since Babidi's arrival except the evil ones), Dende wishes for Goku's full power to be restored. With his power restored, Goku powers up the Super Spirit Bomb even more, transforms into a Super Saiyan, and stops Kid Buu's forward progress and the Super Spirit Bomb comes back to Kid Buu. After several moments reflecting over the events that led to this moment, Goku makes one last wish to himself, that Kid Buu be reborn as a good being so they can fight again one day. With the blessing of Earth's residents, Goku destroys Kid Buu.

Ten years later
With the passing of ten years, at age 47 (physically about 40), Goku kept training despite the fact that Earth was at peace. He is shown training with his youngest son, Goten, after a ten year time period between the Kid Buu Saga and the 28th Martial Arts Tournament. When the tournament comes around, Goku forces Goten to cancel his date to enter and Goten shows disdain toward Goku's ruling. During the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku battles Majin Buu's reincarnation, Uub, who was born after King Yemma heard his request made 10 years ago. However, Uub was experiencing an extreme bout of Stage Fright, so Goku was forced to make several insults towards his family and obscene gestures to try and get him angry enough to fight and overcome his fear.

After a short, yet intense battle, Goku apologizes and explains to Uub that his insults were simply meant to coax him into using his true power. Goku then takes Uub to train him to one day help in being the protector of the planet, although he later tells Uub that after the training, he desires to fight him again not only to discover the strongest out of the two, but the strongest in the entire universe. Then they fly off in the distance, ending the series, and in the Kanzenban manga, giving his new disciple his old Nimbus Cloud.

Dragon Ball Z movies
Goku appears in all the Dragon Ball Z movies, making only brief cameos in Bojack Unbound, Broly - Second Coming, and Bio-Broly.

Bardock - The Father of Goku

Kakarot was born sometime in Age 737 on Planet Vegeta, during a time of great turmoil.[90] Following a Saiyan custom, Kakarot was sent as a baby to planet Earth, in order to destroy its inhabitants and clear the planet for its future sale. As Earth's inhabitants were thought to be weak, a baby Saiyan was seen as enough for the task, especially after transforming into a Great Ape by Earth's full moon. Kakarot's father, a low-class Saiyan warrior named Bardock, disappeared in his home planet's destruction at the hands of Frieza shortly after Goku's departure to Earth, and his older brother Raditz was on another planet. What happened to Goku's mother Gine is not clearly stated, but it is implied she was killed when Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta.

'Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!'

In this special, Goku becomes a radish farmer (the name pun of his brother, Raditz). Goku and his family are invited by Mr. Satan to come to the opening of his hotel. At first, Goku is reluctant to go, but when he hears he may eat as much as he wants, he goes. When he gets to the hotel, he first has a little food competition with Vegeta, later when they are eating they feel the ki of two beings heading for earth, as a result Goku and the others go and check it out. They appear to be Gure and Tarble, the little brother of Vegeta, Tarble tells them two strong enemies and former servant's of Frieza are coming to Earth. Goku wants to fight them, but then the other fighters show that they want to fight too.

They then begin to argue until they agree to pick radishes; a game that declares the one with the longest radish as the winner, this is Trunks. When they go back to the hotel, Abo and Cado arrive. Goku tells Goten that he may help Trunks with his fight. Goten and Trunks defeat Abo and Cado, so Abo and Cado merge into Aka. Because of this, Goten and Trunks decide to fuse into Gotenks to even the match. After a short fight, Aka starts to overpower Gotenks with strong attacks. When Gotenks can not handle it anymore, Goku and Vegeta intervene after Aka launches a massive energy attack. Goku plays a "dirty trick" on Vegeta, so he can fight alone and then goes Super Saiyan to do a Kamehameha on the energy attack Aka launched. The Kamehameha dissipates Aka's energy blast. After that, Goku punches Aka in the gut, thus making Aka split up. Afterward, they resume the banquet they were having before the arrival of Gure and Tarble. This time with the addition of Abo and Cado eating Goku's radish. As they eat, Goku and Vegeta begin to argue and turn Super Saiyan. It ends with everyone happily watching the argument except for Chi-Chi and Bulma.

Battle of Gods

Several years after the titanic battle with Majin Buu, Goku has come to King Kai's planet to train and he is running with Bubbles when he notices King Kai is discussing something interesting. He then learns about Beerus, a God of Destruction tasked with maintaining balance in the universe. Goku says that he wants to fight Beerus, and King Kai scolds him. Soon, Beerus arrives on the planet and Goku is questioned about the Super Saiyan God. Goku demonstrates the various Super Saiyan forms he can achieve to Beerus, but he cannot help Beerus about the Super Saiyan God. However, ecstatic over the new challenge, Goku ignores King Kai's advice and battles Beerus, but he is overwhelmed and defeated. Beerus then leaves, but his eerie remark of "Is there nobody on Earth more worthy to destroy…?" lingers on.

It is revealed that Goku is on Earth watching when Vegeta battles Beerus, and he does not intervene because he wants to watch Beerus in action in order to form some kind of strategy. Goku decides to use the Dragon Balls and ask Shenron how to reach the Super Saiyan God. He and his friends summon Shenron, and the dragon says that a Super Saiyan God once appeared on Planet Vegeta to stop evil Saiyans, but he failed because of the form's time limit. The dragon also reveals that they need the power of six pure-hearted Saiyans for one of them to reach the Super Saiyan God form. Vegeta's younger brother is mentioned when Goku and his friends realize that they need a sixth Saiyan, but they do not know how to contact him. Goku transforms into a form beyond the Super Saiyan 3, the Super Saiyan God, during the battle thanks to the power of himself, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, Goten, and Pan (from inside her mother, as she was not born yet). Goku confronts Beerus again and they fight, with the battle first taking them through a city, then in a forest, into a wasteland, an underground cavern, and finally up in space, right above planet Earth.

The form gives Goku the power to resist Beerus, but he reverts to his regular Super Saiyan form due to the form's time limit. However, he learns the form's godlike feeling, which allows him to use Super Saiyan God power. Beerus points out to Goku that Super Saiyan God's time limit ran out some time ago and that Goku did not notice because he was able to absorb Super Saiyan God power into his body while he was fighting. Beerus says that because of this, Goku did not greatly power down even after returning to normal. Goku did not quite like Super Saiyan God because he could only reach that level of power with everyone else's help rather than on his own, so Goku feels contented becoming able to fight at a level not too far removed from Super Saiyan God all on his own. The two seem to be equally strong at some point, but Beerus eventually wins when he uses his God of Destruction Super Energy Sphere. Goku stops Beerus' energy sphere, barely holding it back, and the screen suddenly blacks out. Chi-Chi and Goku's friends appear in Goku's mind, then he briefly transforms to Super Saiyan God again and absorbs the energy ball. Goku gets exhausted, and Beerus wants Goku to say "I give up" and he says so. Beerus stops the fight and they talk for a while before going back to the ground.

Beerus says that the Super Saiyan God was not that strong and the Oracle Fish's prediction was a little exaggerated. Beerus reveals that Whis is his martial arts master and stronger than him. He also says that there are twelve universes, and the one Goku and his friends know is just one of them, the Seventh Universe. Beerus is the God of Destruction of the Seventh Universe, and each universe has its God of Destruction. On the ground, Beerus tries to destroy the planet, but he blasts only a small rock and says he has already run out of power. Before returning home, Whis asks Goku if he would like to be the next God of Destruction after Beerus dies, but Goku turns him down. The Supreme Kais comment on Goku befriending the God of Destruction. When Goku reveals that he was on Earth watching the battles, he says that Vegeta became an incredible Super Saiyan back when Beerus slapped Bulma and even jokes that they should just have their enemy hit Bulma the next time they are up against some nasty opponent. Goku needles Vegeta about shouting "How dare you do that to my Bulmaaa!!!" when defending her against Beerus, and Vegeta denies that he said such a thing. Piccolo then says that Goku must have been watching back during that fight, and everyone gets mad at Goku for not helping out then.

Revival of "F"

Goku is a main character in Revival of "F". At the start of the film Goku and Vegeta are training with Whis on Beerus' planet, their training is noisy and wakes Beerus up. Goku later fights against Frieza, and at one point holds back Frieza's Death Ball-like attack with his Kamehameha.

Power
As a baby, Goku was stated to have a power level of 2, but by the time he had grown into a child his power was 10, going to 100 when he briefly uses the Great Ape form, his Great Ape form at this time was described as having destructive power similar to that of a battleship's main gun. When he competed in the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku's power had increased to 180 thanks to his training. After drinking the Ultra Divine Water to combat King Piccolo, Goku's power level increased to 260. By the time of his battle with Raditz, his power level had become 416 without his weighted clothing. After training with King Kai in the Other World, Goku's power level had increased to be over 8,000 and he could use the Kaio-ken technique to further increase his power level. Thanks to training, Goku's power had increased to 90,000 by the time of his battle with the Ginyu Force. It then takes a leap to 3,000,000 thanks to a Zenkai, and it increases to 150,000,000 while utilizing his Super Saiyan form against Frieza.

Goku's power continued to increase throughout the series thanks to numerous trainings, though it is possible that Goku reached his peak power in Base and Super Saiyan forms after training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, as he tells Vegeta that further training in the chamber would be a waste of his time as he could not get any stronger. Though he later achieves further forms that increase his power (Super Saiyan 2, Super Saiyan 3, etc.). It is stated by Beerus in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods that Goku's base form does not have enough power to defeat Frieza, and that at his level of power, it would seemingly be impossible for him to defeat Frieza. When Super Saiyan Goku is given the power of Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, and Goten in an attempt to turn Super Saiyan God, it is said by Gohan that Super Saiyan Goku has become more powerful than any other fighter. Later in Battle of Gods, Goku absorbs the godly power of Super Saiyan God even after returning to base form, allowing him to keep it and use it in his base and Super Saiyan forms; though he is not as strong as a Super Saiyan God, he is able to take the form without the help of six other Saiyans at this point. According to the series' original author Akira Toriyama, in terms of power, Goku as a Super Saiyan God would be a 6, Beerus would be a 10, and Whis would be a 15. Goku and the other Z Fighters were at the peak of their power in Battle of Gods, and by the time of Uub's appearance, their age had caused their power to decrease.

In terms of physical strength, Goku is shown to be able to lift two tons on each limb while training on Grand Kai's planet. When transforming into a Super Saiyan, he can lift 10 tons on each limb easily.

Statistics
Tier: 9-B | 8-C | 8-B | 8-A | 7-B | 6-C | 5-B | 5-A | 5-A | 4-B | 4-B | 4-B

'''Key: Start of Dragon Ball | 21st Budokai | Red Ribbon Arc | 22nd Budokai | King Piccolo Arc | Piccolo Jr. Saga | Saiyan Saga | Namek Saga | Android Saga | Buu Saga | Battle of Gods Saga

Destructive Capacity: Starts as Wall Level; Large Building Level as an Oozaru | At least Room Level+, likely higher as an Oozaru | Small City Level+ (Superior to Tao Pai Pai) | At least Small City Level+ (On par with Tien) | City Level+ (Is equal to Piccolo Daimao, and his Penatrate! technique is powerful enough to plow right through Piccolo Daimao's torso) | Island Level+ (the Super Kamehameha is even more powerful than Piccolo's Hyper Explosive Demon Wave) | Planet Level | At least Planet Level+ in Base form and with Kaio-ken; at least Multi Planet Level+ as a Super Saiyan | At least Multi Planet Level+ | At least Solar System Level+ (Far superior to Gohan in Cell Saga and superior to Fat Buu even when not being serious) | At least Multi-Galaxy level+ (Could go toe to toe with Beerus, while the latter was holding back. The shockwaves from their punches were shaking the universe apart)

Range: Multiple Kilometers as a kid | Universal'''

Speed: Likely Peak Human+ | Supersonic+ (Before training with Korin, Goku could dodge bullet from a machine guns, which move at 715 meters per second/over Mach 2) | Escape Velocity+ (Korin's training increased Goku's speed, strength, and durability exponentially, so he could move at 511,225 meters per seconds/over Mach 1502) | Escape Velocity+ | Escape Velocity+ (Drank the Super Holy Water, which unlocked his hidden Oozaru power and increased his speed, strength, and durability tenfold, so he could move at 5,112,250 meters per seconds/over Mach 15023 minimum) | Escape Velocity+ | Sub-Relativistic in Base form (Moved to the opposite side of Namek in one second, which is the size of Earth); Faster than Lightspeed in Super Saiyan Form | Faster than Lightspeed (Can fight toe to toe with Perfect Cell) | Faster than Lightspeed | Faster than Lightspeed (comparable to Beerus at 70% Full Power) | Faster than Lightspeed

Durability: Wall Level+; Large Building Level as an Oozaru | Room Level (can survive a couple hits from Tao Pai Pai, this was before Goku received his first major power up post 21st Budokai) | Small City Level+ , likely higher (took numerous attacks from Tao Pai Pai without issue) | At least Small City Level+ | City Level+ (is Piccolo Daimao's equal, who was capable of surviving his own Demon Explosion Wave detonating in front of him) | Island Level+ (tanked a island level attack from Piccolo Jr. with little damage) | Planetary Level | Planetary level+; at least Planetary Level as a Super Saiyan | At least Planetary Level+ (Killed by an explosion from Cell's self destruction which would have destroyed Earth | At least Multi Planet Level+ (Withstood multiple physical attacks that would have shattered medium sized planet explosion tankers, but would have been killed by Kid Buu's Planet Burst Ball, which would have destroyed the Earth 10 times over) | at least Solar System Level+ | At least Multi-Galaxy level+''' Lifting Strength: Class K | Class K+ | Class M (Stronger than Tao Pai Pai) | Class M+ | At least Class M+ | At least Class M+

Striking Strength: Class KJ | Class MJ+ | Class GJ+ (Stronger than Tao Pai Pai) | At least Class GJ+ | Class TJ+ (smashed in Drum’s face with a casual attack), likely higher (His Penatrate! technique was capable of impaling Piccolo Daimao, who was capable of surviving his own Demon Explosion Wave detonating in front of him) | Class PJ+ | At least Class NJ (superior to Base Vegeta using Kaio-ken) | At least Class NJ+ (As a Super Saiyan, he managed to completely curbstomp Frieza) | At least Class NJ+ (can trade blows with Perfect Cell) | At least Class XJ+ (far stronger than Super Saiyan 2 9-year old Gohan, who could shatter Cell Jrs. that have Frieza's medium sized planet explosion tanking durability in their DNA; could fight evenly against Majin Vegeta as a SSJ2 and then went toe to toe against various forms of Majin Buu and managed to injure Fat and Kid Buu, while at least be able to hold off Super Buutenks as a SSJ3) | Class XGJ+, likely higher (can trade blows with Beerus at 70% Full Power) | At least Class XTJ

Stamina:  Vastly Superhuman | Inhuman Level in both his base and Super Saiyan forms (can train for days with minimal rest and have long drawn out fights). Upon reaching SSJ3, his stamina is low enough that SSJ3 is almost useless against any fighter strong enough to use it against, as it can only be maintained for a few minutes. | His stamina is now high enough to use Super Saiyan 3 with Super Saiyan 2 effort.

Intelligence: Not very smart (he was raised in the mountains and didn't even know women had different junk as Grandpa Gohan was the only human he had ever met at the time), however, he is a battle genius. | Mastery of various martial arts techniques and skills (can also copy techniques after seeing them once); years of experience fighting both powerful and diverse enemies whom have various abilities and powers. Is a combat/tactical genius for the most parts. Goku was the first to realize that Super Saiyan states were wasting an extreme amount of energy just by powering up to it, mastered the form despite the huge amount of stress (psychological and physical) the state puts on his body, which is more effective than training two years physically in the Room of Spirit and Time. Also devised different usages of the Kamehameha such as propelling it with his feet, homing in on targets, altering its path and range, using Ki to augment his physical strength, and so on.

Energy-based techniques

 * Ki Blast – The most basic form of energy wave.
 * Invisible Eye Blast – Goku has the ability to shoot an invisible blast of ki out of his eyes. He uses this to dig a hole in the Namekian ground to bury Vegeta's corpse in, after he was killed by Frieza.
 * Destructo Disk [Kienzan]– The user holds their hand into the air, conducting ki in the form of a razor-sharp disc, which is then hurled over and around the body to cut the target.
 * Kamehameha [かめはめ波; lit. "Turtle Devastation Wave"] – Goku's signature energy attack, even though it was invented by Master Roshi. Goku first learned this technique after witnessing Roshi use it to extinguish the fire on Fire Mountain. Goku has also invented numerous variations of technique, such as the Bending Kamehameha, Super Kamehameha, Kaio-ken Kamehameha, Double Kamehameha, Twin Dragon Shot, Angry Kamehameha, Flying Kamehameha, Instant Kamehameha, True Kamehameha, Kamehameha Rebirth.
 * Continuous Kamehameha – Goku releases a rapid barrage of energy blasts at his opponents, causing a massive accumulation of damage. Also called Super Energy Wave Volley.
 * Solar Flare [Taiyo-ken]– The user spreads and places their fingers on their foreheads, discharging a blinding flash of light
 * Saiyan Aura Blast – A yellow energy wave attack fired with one hand. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
 * Spirit Bomb – One of Goku's signature attacks in which he conducts the spirit energy of all nearby living organisms, forming a ball of power and size depending of the amount of harnessed ki energy. Its power was used against many powerful opponents such as Vegeta, Frieza, and Kid Buu. It has a few variations: Large Spirit Bomb, Instant Spirit Bomb, and Super Spirit Bomb.
 * Suspended Blast – The one handed energy attack used to threaten Supreme Kai. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.

Martial techniques

 * Afterimage Technique [Zanzouken]– This technique is a short burst of extremely high speed, moving faster than the opponent can sense. This has the side effect of leaving a momentary "after image", until the opponent's senses adapt and realize their target has moved.
 * Dragonthrow – Goku's signature grapple throw. He uses an example of this move on Frieza when he grabbed his tail during their battle on Namek. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.
 * Full-Nelson – Executed by performing half nelsons with both arms, though Goku only used this once against Raditz.
 * Fist of Eight Hands [Hasshu-ken] – A technique, used to counter Tien Shinhan's Four Witches Technique, in which Goku moves his two arms so fast that they each appear to be in four places at once, effectively giving him eight arms to use in combat.
 * Crazy Fist – This is a distraction move designed to confuse and taunt the opponent. Goku who acts like a dog or a monkey, barking and jumping around to scare his opponent. Goku uses this in reaction to Jackie Chun's (Master Roshi's alter-ego) use of the Drunken Fist.
 * Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper [Janken] – An attack in which Goku delivers either a strong punch, a poke in the eyes, or an open palm strike.
 * Tornado! – Goku spins while rushing on the opponent to attack him/her. Used against Nam.

Speed and movement techniques
Even though it is not exactly certain how fast Goku can travel, on several occasions, it has been suggested that Goku, by the end of Dragon Ball Z, can at least dodge attacks at speeds that are faster than the speed of light, as Raditz managed to sidestep Piccolo's Special Beam Cannon, which could move at the speed of light, and Raditz is not nearly as powerful as Goku at the end of Z.
 * Flight – The user uses their ki to give them the ability to levitate.
 * Instant Transmission [Shunkanido]– Also called Instantaneous Transmission the user places their index and middle finger on their forehead, sensing a location that they teleport to.
 * Kaio-ken – Goku forms a red ki aura around his body, multiplying his power level, enhancing his strength and speed. The highest level of this attack used is x20. Goku stopped using it after becoming Super Saiyan..
 * Mid-Air Stop – While falling to the ground, Goku exhales deeply in order to keep himself suspended in the air long enough to dodge. Goku uses this technique during his battle against King Chappa in the preliminaries of the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament.
 * Tail Attack – Goku whips his opponent using his tail. He uses this to break free from Tien Shinhan's Four Witches Technique hold.
 * Tail-Helicopter Technique – Goku swings his tail in a circle fast enough to hover and fly freely. Used only once, in his fight against Jackie Chun in the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament.
 * High Speed Movement - Goku's signature attack in the Raging Blast series.

Other appearing techniques

 * Backbreaker – Goku smashes his opponent's back. Used against Frieza and named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
 * Can You Follow Me? – In his Super Saiyan God form, Goku teleports in front of the opponent and delivers several high-speed punches and kicks. Named in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z.
 * Kaio-ken Finish – A rush attack used in his base form. Used to cripple Nappa in the Saiyan Saga, also used in the Raging Blast games.
 * Kaio-ken Attack – A rush attack used in his base form. Used in the battle against Vegeta, also used in the Raging Blast games.
 * Meteor Combination – Goku delivers several rapid punches and kicks before punching the enemy's stomach, stunning them as Goku jumps into the air where he blasts the enemy with a Kamehameha. It was used during the fight with Piccolo. This technique is also used in Budokai Tenkaichi 3, the Raging Blast games, and Attack of the Saiyans.
 * Kiai – An invisible wave of ki emitted from the hand. Used against Chi-Chi and later to stop Nappa's Break Cannon.
 * Ki Sense – The ability to sense ki energy. Goku acquired the ability after drinking the Ultra Divine Water, but was unable to use it to home in on an opponent's location until he trained with Mr. Popo.
 * Now I'm Really Mad! – A rush attack where Goku punches the opponent away with a left hook and knocks them to the ground with a double axe handle. Used against Frieza shortly after transforming into a Super Saiyan, and named in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z.
 * Telepathy – A technique that Goku taught himself.
 * Mind Reading – Somewhere along the trip to Namek, Goku taught himself how to read the minds of others, by placing his palm on their head.
 * Energy Barrier – Goku used this technique to deflect Jeice and Burter's Purple Comet Crush.
 * Mimicry – The ability to copy others' techniques after seeing them performed once. Through this, Goku copied the Kamehameha and King Chappa's Hasshu-ken technique.
 * Meteor Impact – An attack that Goku used against Kid Buu.
 * Ginyu Fighting Pose: Technique (2) – Used when imitating Captain Ginyu at the beginning of their battle on Namek.
 * Power Stance – A special fighting stance. Named in the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
 * Power up to the Very Limit – Used to power up to his Super Saiyan 3 form's maximum in the final battle with Kid Buu. Goku charges his energy up to full while Vegeta distracts Buu for one minute.

Power Pole [Nyoi-Bo]

 * Indestructible
 * Extends & contracts on command
 * Limitless reach

Flying Nimbus [Kinto-Un]

 * Flies at Mach 1.5
 * Exclusive to people with a pure heart

Senzu Beans

 * Instantly heals wounds & broken bones
 * Restores ki
 * Stored in a belt pouch

Great Ape [Oozaru]
Like all Saiyans, Goku can gain a tenfold increase in physical abilities from transforming into a Great Ape (Oozaru) when he sees the full moon while he possesses his tail, though every time it was not at will. Because this tail was removed permanently in the main series by Kami when restoring the moon, this transformation was never taken by Goku again.

Super Saiyan
Goku achieves this powerful transformation in a rage after Frieza kills Krillin. Frieza had destroyed the Saiyans out of his fear of their growing power and the idea of a possible Super Saiyan. As a result of defeating Frieza, Goku avenges both the Saiyan race and the death of his best friend Krillin. In this state, a saiyan's physical abilities increase 50x their base form.

After his fight with the God of Destruction Beerus, Goku realizes that fully mastering his Super Saiyan form would cause it to eventually raise his level more than Super Saiyan 2 and Super Saiyan 3, and sap less of his strength. The series original author, Akira Toriyama, says he thinks that Goku probably will not use the Super Saiyan 2 or 3 any more because of this.

2nd Grade Super Saiyan
After having witnessed Vegeta and Trunks emerging from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (Room of Spirit and Time), Goku concludes that surpassing the normal Super Saiyan form may be more possible than initially suspected, and enters the room to train himself and Gohan. After teaching Gohan to become a Super Saiyan, Goku is able to achieve this form alongside the further extreme of the form known as 3rd Grade Super Saiyan. However, although this new powerup would not take as much of a heavy hit on his speed as the successor would, he decides that staying transformed like this demands far too much ki to be spent, and so decides that the regular Super Saiyan form is the best suited for combat, and makes a plan for him and Gohan to master it before they leave the chamber. As a result, after under 20 hours spent in the room (Vegeta and Trunks had spent a whole day each, and would spend another prior to the Cell Games), he and Gohan emerge as Full Power Super Saiyans. As a result of this and the new discovery of the most powerful Super Saiyan state at the time, Super Saiyan 2, this form is never used by Goku again, and Vegeta and Future Trunks soon follow.

3rd Grade Super Saiyan
Like the 2nd Grade Super Saiyan form, Goku achieves this form in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber while training with Gohan. Although apparently stronger than Cell in this state, Goku told Gohan he could not defeat him because Cell was much faster, because "all the power in the world would do no good if you can't even hit the guy." Instead of persevering harder to simply increase power output, Goku decides that simply mastering the Super Saiyan form to suppress its downsides and make it a natural state is the best way to fight and gain power. This form is never used after its initial unlocking along with 2nd Grade Super Saiyan, as a result.

Full-Power Super Saiyan
After realizing the weaknesses inherent to the higher grades of Super Saiyan, Goku concluded that mastery over the basic Super Saiyan form would be more advantageous and went on to improve his endurance in that form, thus achieving this state.

Goku can use some of his Super Saiyan power in his base form without having to make the full transformation

Super Saiyan 2
Goku achieved this transformation while training on King Kai's Planet in the Other World where he could put unlimited energy into his transformation. It was first seen when Goku powers up to overflow Yakon with energy, and Vegeta notes that Goku has achieved the same form that Gohan used to defeat Cell. In his fight against Majin Vegeta, both transform into this state before the battle begins. Goku later transforms into this state before showing the Super Saiyan 3 transformation to Majin Buu and Babidi.

When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 2 he has some noticeable changes, such as his hair growing longer and becoming even more spiky, making his hair more defined than his other previous Super Saiyan forms, along with disappearing hair strands surrounding the forehead which are exclusive to this form, like Gohan (but in a different way). He also gains electricity in his aura surrounding his body, and his aura grows markedly larger and more vibrant in the manga. A saiyan's physical abilities are multiplied by 100 in this form.

Super Saiyan 3
Goku achieved this level in Other World, where he could put more energy into his transformation, it took him many years to achieve the form. Goku is first seen using this transformation against Majin Buu during the Majin Buu Saga. Once in this form, Goku was able to easily overpower Majin Buu in his first form and stood up to Kid Buu for a fair amount of time. However, the transformation is extremely draining in terms of energy, as it cut Goku's time left on Earth from hours to a stated thirty minutes after performing the transformation for a short time. When attempting to gather enough energy to defeat Kid Buu during their final battle, he was unable to sustain it as he had not taken into account the strain overcoming his living body, and soon reverted to his base state. Altogether, these heavy disadvantages make it impractical to use the transformation out of the afterlife. This state is four times more powerful than a Super Saiyan 2

Super Saiyan God
Super Saiyan God is a Super Saiyan form even beyond Super Saiyan 3. Goku achieves this form in the movie Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods, and uses it against the God of Destruction Beerus. In several media, Goku is called God Goku in this state. When Goku powers up to this form, he has flame-like aura. He then appears with his hair glowing red and with a shape similar to that of his base form, red eyes, slightly thinner, and he has a flame-like aura. The power of this ultimate warrior excites even the God of Destruction Beerus. The form allows Goku to sense godly ki and he can absorb attacks by consuming ki, but he reverts to his regular base form due to the form's time limit.

God Goku
This is not actually a transformation but instead a powered-up state that Goku achieved upon mastering the power of Super Saiyan God. Goku perfected this state at some point during his training with Whis, and uses it in Revival of "F" during his battle against Frieza.

In this state he has become a "Saiyan beyond God". This state appears in Dragon Ball Heroes as a transformation.

Goku previously used an unmastered version of this form during the events of Battle of Gods and the Saga of the Demon God Démigra, in these appearances he required his Super Saiyan and Super Saiyan 3 forms respectively to utilise his full god power.

Vegito
Vegito is the product of a Potara Fusion between Vegeta and Goku. With unrivaled power, Vegito is one of the most powerful beings in Dragon Ball Z and is created as a desperate plan by Old Kai to stop the powerful Super Buu, when he was winning against Ultimate Gohan after absorbing Gotenks and Piccolo. It has been theorized that Vegito could easily attain the form of Super Saiyan 2 as well as Super Saiyan 3. However, neither was necessary to finish his task of defeating Super Buu, as his Super Saiyan state alone berthed enough in battle that he single-handedly pummeled Buu blithely without even needing to use his fists or any effort. It was obvious he had the physical power to maintain such feats, but he only appeared for a short time before his strategy to deliberately be absorbed into Buu's body (whilst keeping a barrier on to avoid being assimilated into his being) resulted in his diffusion, after which Vegeta crushed his earring, vowing to never fuse with Goku again regardless of the circumstances. Goku follows suit reluctantly, and as a result, despite Old Kai's offer for the two to merge into Vegito again and take care of Kid Buu in a flash, the two decide to fight alone, and Vegito is never again seen.

Goku's relaxation, and Vegeta's strategic mind enabled Vegito to be quite an intelligent fighter without being overcome by arrogance as Vegeta alone would be but possessing the ruthlessness to kill Super Buu that Goku would lack. In addition, Vegito also possesses the immense power and speed of both Goku and Vegeta amplified to great degrees, as well as the tactics and skill of both.

(Canon)

 * Wiped out the Red Ribbon Army in a day at the age of 12.
 * At 15 years old, he defeated the recently de-aged King Piccolo after King Piccolo had just taken over the Earth.
 * Won the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai at 18 by defeating King Piccolo's stronger son, Piccolo Jr.
 * Prevented Vegeta's Galick Gun from destroying the Earth with his Kaio-ken Kamehameha.
 * Curb-stomped Ginyu Force members Recoome, Jeice, and Burter.
 * Became the first Super Saiyan in the series during his fight with Frieza.
 * Barely escaped the exploding planet Namek after being the first person to defeat Frieza.
 * First to unlock Super Saiyan 3.
 * Fought off Majin Buu.
 * Defeated Kid Buu with a Super Spirit Bomb.
 * Pushed the galaxy-destroying God of Destruction, Beerus, to using 70% of his full power after becoming a Super Saiyan God.

(Non-Canon)

 * Blasted Frieza's more powerful brother, Cooler into the Sun.
 * Took down the insane Super Saiyan, Broly, with one punch after absorbing power from a half-dead, base form Gohan, Vegeta, Future Trunks, and Piccolo.
 * Destroyed Super Android 13 by after absorbing a Spirit Bomb.
 * Killed Hirudegarn with the Dragon Fist after the monster defeated Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks and Ultimate Gohan.
 * First to become a Super Saiyan 4.
 * Killed the Tuffle Virus, Baby, by blasting him into the Sun.
 * Destroyed Omega Shenron with the Universal Spirit Bomb.
 * Combated Superman in an epic rap battle of history.

(Canon)

 * Avoids unfair advantages
 * No formal education
 * Sometimes too forgiving
 * Super forms drain energy
 * Limited amount of ki

(Non-Canon)

 * Fear of needles

Voice actors and actresses

 * Japanese version: Masako Nozawa
 * English Harmony Gold dub: Barbara Goodson (credited as Betty Gustafson); child - DB ep. 1-5, DB movies 1 and 3)
 * English BLT Productions dub: Saffron Henderson (child - DB ep. 1-13, DB movie 1)
 * English Ocean Group dub: Ian James Corlett (adult - DBZ ep. 1-49, DBZ movie 3), Peter Kelamis (adult - DBZ ep. 50-67, 108-158, DBZ movies 1-3; child - DBZ flashbacks), Kirby Morrow (adult - DBZ ep. 159-291)
 * English dub of Dragon Ball GT: Final Bout: Steven Jay Blum (adult), Brianne Siddall (child)
 * English FUNimation dub: Sean Schemmel (teen/adult), Ceyli Delgadillo (child - DB movies 2-3), Stephanie Nadolny (child/baby - most media), Colleen Clinkenbeard (child/baby - DBZ Kai flashbacks, DB movie 1)
 * English Blue Water dub: Zoe Slusar (child), Jeffrey Watson (teen - DB), Jeremiah Yurk (adult - DBGT)
 * Spanish dub (Latin America): Laura Torres (child/baby, episode 1 of DBZ Kai), Mario Castañeda (adult - DB, DBZ, DBGT), Enrique Mederos (†) (DBZ movie 8), Edson Matus (DBZ Kai), Karina Altamirano (child, DBZ Kai - flashbacks)
 * Spanish dub (Castillian): Juana Molina (child - DB ep. 1-26), Ana Cremades (child - DB ep. 26-153; DBGT, Movies), Adolfo Martínez (adult - DB; DBZ ep. 1-58), José Antonio Gavira Cortés (adult - DBZ ep. 59-167; DBZ Movies), Miguel Ángel Montero (adult - DBZ ep. 168-291), Alejandro Albaiceta (adult - DBGT)
 * Catalan dub: Maria Moscardó (child - DB ep. 1-26), Mònica Padrós (child - DB ep. 27-153; child - DBGT), Marc Zanni (adult - DBZ, DBGT)
 * Danish dub: Caspar Phillipson
 * Hebrew Dub: Avi Maor (adult - DBZ, DBGT)
 * French dub: Brigitte Lecordier (child/baby), Patrick Borg (adult)
 * German dub: Corinna Dorenkamp (child - DB), Frank Schaff (adult - DB), Ann Vielhaben (child - DBZ flashbacks), Tommy Morgenstern (child - DBZ and DBGT), Amadeus Strobel (child - DBGT)
 * Polish dub: Krzysztof Banaszyk
 * Portuguese dub (Brazil): Ursula Bezerra (child), Wendel Bezerra (adult)
 * Portuguese dub (Portugal): Henrique Feist (both child and adult)
 * Tagalog dub: Jefferson Utanes
 * Greek dub: Themis Psihogios (adult)
 * Italian dub: Patrizia Scianca (child); Paolo Torrisi (adult); Lorenzo De Angelis (child- Dynit dub); Andrea Ward (adult- Dynit dub)
 * Albanian dub: Julian Cenameti (adult - DBZ)
 * Hungarian dub: László Lippai
 * Croatian dub: Igor Hamer

Major battles

 * Goku (Kid) vs. Pterodactyl
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Bear Thief
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Oolong
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Yamcha
 * Goku (Kid), Yamcha and Puar vs. Monster Carrot
 * Great Ape Goku vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu and Mai
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Giran
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Nam
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Jackie Chun
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Colonel Silver
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Major Metallitron
 * Goku (Kid) vs. The Five Murasaki Brothers
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Buyo
 * Goku (Kid) and Android 8 vs. General White
 * Goku (Kid) & Krillin vs. Pirate Robot
 * Goku (Kid) vs. General Blue
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Captain Yellow
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mercenary Tao (rematch)
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Staff Officer Black
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Bandage the Mummy
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Spike the Devil Man
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Grandpa Gohan
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Emperor Pilaf, Shu and Mai
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Chappa
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Pamput
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Krillin
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tien Shinhan
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Yajirobe
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Tambourine (rematch)
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo (old)
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Drum
 * Goku (Kid) vs. King Piccolo
 * Goku (Kid) vs. Mr. Popo
 * Goku vs. King Chappa
 * Goku vs. Anonymous (Chi-Chi)
 * Goku vs. Tien
 * Goku vs. Piccolo Jr.
 * Goku and Piccolo vs. Raditz
 * Goku vs. Nappa
 * Goku vs. Vegeta
 * Goku vs. Vegeta (Great Ape)
 * Goku vs. Recoome
 * Goku vs. Burter and Jeice
 * Goku vs. Captain Ginyu
 * Goku vs. Frieza (4th Form, 1-50%)
 * Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Frieza (4th Form, 70%-100%)
 * Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Frieza (4th Form, 100%)
 * Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Future Trunks (Super Saiyan)
 * Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Android 19
 * Goku (Full-Power Super Saiyan) vs. Gohan (Full-Power Super Saiyan)
 * Goku (Full-Power Super Saiyan) vs. Perfect Cell
 * Goku (Base/Super Saiyan) vs. Yakon
 * Goku (Super Saiyan 2) vs. Majin Vegeta (Super Saiyan 2)
 * Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Majin Buu
 * Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Kid Buu
 * Goku (Super Spirit Bomb) vs. Kid Buu
 * Goku vs. Uub (World Tournament)

Movie battles

 * Goku (Super Saiyan) vs. Aka
 * Goku (Super Saiyan 3) vs. Beerus
 * Goku (Super Saiyan God/Base; god power/Super Saiyan; god power) vs. Beerus
 * God Goku and Vegeta (Base) vs. Whis
 * God Goku vs. Frieza (4th Form/Ultimate Evolution)

Pre-Dragon Ball

 * Grandpa Gohan – Was accidentally killed when Goku lost control as a Great Ape.

Dragon Ball

 * Giant Fish – Killed with a single kick.
 * Pterodactyl – Whacked in the back of his head with his Power Pole.
 * Wolf – Killed many of them with punches, kicks, and Power Pole hits.
 * Centipede – Grilled and eaten for dinner.
 * Many Red Ribbon Army soldiers.
 * Buyon – Frozen and then smashed.
 * Octopapa – Fried by a Kamehameha.
 * Captain Yellow – Punched out of his plane.
 * Staff Officer Black – Killed when Goku plowed through his robot suit, causing it to explode.
 * Tambourine – Vaporized by Goku's Kamehameha.
 * Drum – Killed by Goku with a single kick that knocked his head off.
 * King Piccolo – Killed by the Penetrate! attack.

Dragon Ball Z

 * Yakon – Goku purposely gave the light-eating beast too much to absorb, causing him to explode.


 * Kid Buu – He is obliterated by the Super Spirit Bomb.

Alternate Future

 * Future Frieza and Future King Cold – Future Goku returns on Earth via Instant Transmission and successfully defeats Future Frieza and Future King Cold.

Assists

 * Raditz – Put into a Full-Nelson by Goku, allowing for Piccolo to accurately kill him.
 * Nappa – Disabled by Goku's Kaio-ken Finish, and viciously killed by Vegeta.
 * Burter – Knocked out by Goku, brutally finished off by Vegeta.
 * Recoome – Knocked out by Goku, terminated with extreme prejudice by Vegeta.
 * King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory – Brought Cell to King Kai's planet just as the android was about to explode, killing all three.
 * Cell – Assists Gohan in the Father-Son Kamehameha.

Trivia

 * In the original Japanese anime, Goku is voiced by the same voice actress throughout the series' run, Masako Nozawa. Additionally, Nozawa voices every biological male relative of Goku, with the exception of Raditz. In the FUNimation dub, he has been played by four actors: three as a child (one for the entire main series, and two others for miscellaneous projects) and only one for adult Goku. In the various Ocean/Blue Water dubs, eight actors have played him: three as a child, and five as an adult at various points of various different projects. In the Filipino dub, he was played by one actor. Goku is voiced by Jefferson Utanes in the Tagalog, Hiligaynon, and Cebuano dubs.
 * Despite being the main character, Goku has only officially won one World Martial Arts Tournament, and that was the 23rd against Piccolo. In all others, he either loses (to Jackie Chun and Tien Shinhan), or quits (due to the threat of Majin Buu, as well as later to train Uub). During Dragon Ball GT, he fights in the Jr. Division due to his child body, and loses when his competitor tickled him, causing him to fall out of the ring. Even in the Other World Tournament, the match ends in a draw because both Goku and Pikkon had touch the ceiling during their fight, which was technically a ring-out. He also loses the Cell Games when he forfeits.
 * Goku has shown an act of mercy to every major manga villain he battles from Piccolo onward. These acts of mercy include:
 * Giving Piccolo a Senzu Bean after narrowly defeating him in the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament
 * Letting Raditz's tail go when holding him in place for Piccolo's attack
 * Giving Nappa a chance to leave Earth after defeating him
 * Pleading with Krillin to keep him from killing Vegeta with Yajirobe's samurai sword
 * Merely wounding Recoome and Burter, giving them a chance to recover
 * Telling Vegeta not to kill Captain Ginyu after he turns into a frog
 * Giving Frieza some energy so he could flee Namek before it explodes
 * Giving Cell a Senzu Bean before letting Gohan fight in his place to guarantee that Cell would be fighting at his fullest
 * Telling Dende to heal Majin Buu and using the Dragon Balls to make sure that the majority of Earth's population would forget about the evil things done by Majin Buu so that Buu could live on Earth in peace.


 * On one occasion, in an interview with Shonen Jump in 1995, Akira Toriyama stated that Goku is his favorite character from the series. In previous statements, he claimed that Piccolo was his favorite, and before this, that Tien was his favorite.
 * Goku appears in every anime feature in the series with the exception of Dragon Ball: Episode of Bardock. He does however appear on the cover of the manga that the OVA was based on.