Goku has been Dragon Ball’s guiding light across multiple franchises and hundreds of episodes, all of which support the premise that he’s the series’ greatest hero. Goku is incredibly powerful on his own, but he’s also experienced a plethora of transformations that upgrade his strength and abilities to unimaginable places. Goku’s transformations have become a popular way for Dragon Ball to celebrate its biggest battles and most challenging enemies. Goku’s use of extreme transformations became a staple to the series ever since his feud against Frieza and there’s been no turning back.

Goku’s prolific transformations have only grown more impressive throughout Dragon Ball Super. Dragon Ball Z’s transformations have a very telegraphed trajectory, but Goku’s new abilities in Dragon Ball Super are much more unique. There’s no longer a clear-cut numbering system and audiences are instead left to make their own conclusions regarding how these contrasting forms all rank up. Casual Dragon Ball fans have no doubt about bold transformations like Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue, but it’s actually Ultra Instinct that becomes Goku’s strongest upgrade.

What Is Super Saiyan God?

Dragon Ball Super functions as a satisfying sequel series to Dragon Ball Z that quickly makes a name for itself through its Super Saiyan God introduction. Lord Beerus, Universe 7’s God of Destruction, travels to Earth for the express purpose of a satisfying skirmish against a Super Saiyan God. Goku eventually ascends to this status through the help of a five-person Super Saiyan God ritual. One would think that this factor alone would make Super Saiyan God the strongest form possible for Goku, but Vegeta later proves that this transformation can also be achieved solo. The clash between Super Saiyan God Goku and Beerus is so intense that the collision of their punches threaten to destroy the entire galaxy.

Super Saiyan God certainly seems like a stronger alternative to Dragon Ball GT’s Super Saiyan 4 form, which is its successor to Super Saiyan 3. The Super Saiyan God form exposes its user to godly ki, which is a major boost that trumps anything seen in Dragon Ball Z. Goku’s first foray with Super Saiyan God power equips him with advantageous healing powers, but they fail to return and shouldn’t be relied upon.

What Is Super Saiyan Blue?

Dragon Ball explains that after Goku achieves Super Saiyan God status for the first time he essentially incorporates godly ki into his base form. Super Saiyan Blue, which gets introduced during Goku’s fight against Golden Frieza, is treated like the Super Saiyan successor to Super Saiyan God. In fact, the form is initially titled Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan before it’s truncated to the more concise Super Saiyan Blue. These basic details confirm that Super Saiyan Blue is stronger to Super Saiyan God, but it’s also a more temperamental transformation. Super Saiyan God benefits from effortless stamina control and a minimal energy drain. Super Saiyan Blue is stronger and faster, but it’s more unstable when it comes to stamina and endurance. This turns Super Saiyan Blue into a form that’s somewhat comparable to Super Saiyan 3 in the sense that the user has a limited time to make it count.

Goku and Vegeta both expertly cycle between Super Saiyan God and Super Saiyan Blue in the manga so that they can maximize both transformations and eliminate their respective weaknesses. Super Saiyan Blue is at its strongest when Super Saiyan God is used to alleviate the strain and pressure. Curiously, Dragon Ball Super’s anime highlights a Super Saiyan Blue Evolved form that Vegeta taps into, while Goku instead combines his new form with the multiplying power of his Kaio-Ken Attack. Goku’s Blue Kaioken is stronger than any previous form, but it puts an even greater burden on his body that can leave lasting ki consequences.

What Is Ultra Instinct?

Ultra Instinct is a zen-like state of consciousness that becomes Goku’s saving grace during Dragon Ball Super’s Tournament of Power. Goku first experiences Ultra Instinct while he’s locked in combat against Universe 11’s Jiren. Admittedly, this is just Autonomous Ultra Instinct, which can be unintentionally triggered during moments of intense concentration and focus. Dragon Ball Super explains that Ultra Instinct is a dominant trait in Angels, which reflects their extreme mastery over existence. However, even humans like Master Roshi can temporarily experience Ultra Instinct when under the right circumstances.

One of the most unique details about Ultra Instinct is that it’s a graduated process with multiple stages before it reaches its apex potential. Goku experiences Autonomous Ultra Instinct, Ultra Instinct Sign, and Mastered Ultra Instinct all during the Tournament of Power. However, his future battles against Moro and Gas bring out Perfected Ultra Instinct, Completed Ultra Instinct, and True Ultra Instinct. These intimidating upgrades give Goku colossal power and abilities that would have otherwise been impossible. The strongest of these skills is Goku’s ability to conjure an enormous energy avatar that can take on planet-sized predators. True Ultra Instinct is also an incredibly cathartic moment for Goku since he loses the white and silver hair in favor of his traditional black hair.

Where Can Goku’s Transformations Go Next?

Goku has grown in tremendous ways since he’s mastered the ways of Ultra Instinct. That being said, Dragon Ball is built upon fancy transformations and it’d come as a serious surprise if Goku was suddenly at peak power with no further forms to go. It’s such a satisfying moment when Goku embraces his Saiyan roots and the core of his being as he shifts to his standard black hair in True Ultra Instinct. It’ll be difficult for Dragon Ball Super to top such an experience, but it’s also inevitable.

Any further Ultra Instinct transformations would feel gratuitous at this point. However, it’s possible that the series decides to canonically incorporate Dragon Ball GT’s Super Saiyan 4 form as the new Saiyan ideal. Dragon Ball Super has slowly expanded upon Saiyan history and Goku’s relationship with it, all of which makes a tail-based return to Super Saiyan 4 feel viable. It’s also important to remember that Ultra Instinct is not a Saiyan-specific transformation and that a dedicated focus on Saiyan power could potentially push Goku to unprecedented places. In the meantime, True Ultra Instinct is Goku’s strongest form.

Is Goku’s True Ultra Instinct The Strongest Transformation?

True Ultra Instinct Goku is essential during the heroes’ battles against Granolah and Gas. However, other formidable transformations have arisen from different characters, which in turn raises some compelling questions over their respective strengths. Dragon Ball Super has creatively turned to many character-specific transformations instead of every Saiyan matching each other’s milestones. Vegeta, for instance, develops Ultra Ego as his own Ultra Instinct equivalent. Ultra Ego appears to be just as powerful as Ultra Instinct and potentially have an even higher power cap due to the user’s strength being based upon how much damage they accrue. The fact that Vegeta can essentially create his own transformations indicates that Goku has the same potential. Goku’s combination of the Kaio-Ken Attack with Super Saiyan Blue raises questions of what might be possible if he were to attempt the same with Ultra Instinct or if he summoned a Spirit Bomb while in this state.

Alternatively, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero also gives Gohan and Piccolo impressive new transformations with Gohan Beast and Orange Piccolo. True Ultra Instinct Goku hasn’t encountered these new transformations, which makes it slightly harder to compare them to each other. That being said, True Ultra Instinct Goku still seems to be superior to Gohan and Piccolo’s new forms due to its energy avatar component and Goku’s immaculate impulses. Dragon Ball Super fans are hopeful that a proper Ultra Instinct, Ultra Ego, Gohan Beast, and Orange Piccolo collaboration is in the series’ future. Perhaps all of these top transformations will be necessary to defeat Black Frieza. Until then, all that Goku can do is grow stronger and further test True Ultra Instinct’s limits.

Source: Screenrant.com