Goku's Strongest Techniques In Dragon Ball (2024)

Goku's most powerful attacks have devastated foes and saved the day many times in the Dragon Ball franchise, and here are the best techniques he's used so far. The incredible variations and sheer scale of attacks that Goku has pulled off often see an effective combination of skills that he's learned, but he wouldn't have been able to use them without mastering the core techniques on this list.

From the beginning of Dragon Ball to the more recent Dragon Ball Super anime series, Goku has continued to increase his abilities and surprise his fans. Many of the series' best surprises come from new attacks its main character pulls off.

There have been many Dragon Ball series, films, and even video games that have shown entertaining techniques from Goku. The most iconic is the Kamehameha wave, which even has new generations of fans mimicking it on playgrounds today. However, there is more in the beloved character's arsenal, some even more powerful.

8 Instant Transmission Is The Ultimate Utility Of Surprise

Debuted In Dragon Ball Z Episode #123

Many of Goku's attacks have the power to cause significant damage to anything in his path, but the Instant Transmission technique is one of his best for a different reason. After learning the technique on the planet Yardrat, Earth's greatest hero gained the ability to lock onto an energy signature and essentially teleport to it from distances as far as light-years away instantly. It has helped Goku, and anyone he's touching, get out of many dangerous situations. However, he has found other ways to use the technique with devastating results.

The anticipation for the battle between Perfect Cell and Goku was palpable for both the audience and the Dragon Ball Z arc's confident villain. When the fight finally arrived, it surpassed expectations with its top-tier animation, direction, and surprises. While the battle's ending was shocking, Super Saiyan Goku's Warp Kamehameha (which combined the Instant Transmission with the Kamehameha Wave) attack holds up as many fans' favorite moment in the entire series. Since then, the Instant Transmission has been used to confuse enemies and land powerful attacks that foes have almost no time to react to.

7 Mimicry - Monkey See, Monkey Do

Debuted In Dragon Ball Episode #8

The genius of Goku's martial arts abilities is often spoken about, but several instances demonstrate it perfectly, such as his ability to copy almost any technique or fighting style after only watching it once. While it was nowhere near the level of effectiveness as Master Roshi's Kamehameha Wave in Dragon Ball episode #8, the very young Goku could execute a small-scale version of the attack after watching Roshi destroy an entire mountain range. He used the mimicry ability again when he fought Jackie Chun during the World Martial Arts Tournament to create his own Drunken Fist fighting style.

Goku's ability to mimic skills speaks to his natural gift for martial arts. While some people have a photographic memory that allows them to memorize extreme details in pictures and writing, Goku can copy his opponents' movements and energy flow. This is even more impressive after learning that attacks such as the Kamehameha took Roshi 50 years to develop. Dragon Ball Super expanded the franchise considerably by including the God of Destruction, Beerus, who helped introduce God Ki and Destruction Energy known as Haikai, another technique that Goku was close to mimicking after watching it demonstrated.

6 Super God Shock Flash Provides Close-Range Devastation

Debuted In The Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F Movie

Many of Goku's most famous techniques manipulate ki to create large-scale and flashy attacks, which is one reason why his brutal one-inch punch, aka the Super God Shock Flash, against Frieza, was so entertaining. The 2015 movie featured the debut of the iconic villain's Golden Frieza transformation, which proved strong enough to rival Goku's newest god-like forms. However, as the battle went on, it became clear that stamina was not Frieza's strong suit. This became apparent when he launched a rage-filled punch into Goku's face, who took it head-on and responded in kind with a cold glare and one of the franchise's coolest punches.

The legendary Bruce Lee helped popularize the one-inch punch attack directly referenced in the twenty-sixth Dragon Ball movie. After Goku tanked Frieza's punch, the often-feared and now-stunned villain did nothing when Goku raised his index fingers to his chest, puzzling Frieza until it was too late. Goku's fist clenched, and one inch in front of his mark delivered a vicious punch into Frieza's icy heart. The shockwave from the strike shot out of Frieza's back, and while it is not an attack that Goku has often used, it is an attack that shook Golden Frieza, a form almost as strong as a god.

5 The Trusty Kamehameha Wave of the Turtle School

Debuted In Dragon Ball Episode #8

The Kamehameha Wave of the Turtle School was the very first energy blast attack shown in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Over the years, it's become one of the world's most famous attacks from fiction. It was first demonstrated in an incredible display of power when the seemingly skinny Master Roshi bulked up considerably to launch the attack that destroyed an entire mountain. Goku's first attempt with the technique damaged a small car, but after several story arcs, his version of the Kamehameha Wave proved capable of destroying planets.

Over the course of Goku's life, he's used his signature attack in many creative ways while also finding ways to increase its output by boosting it with other techniques and transformations. Arguably, the most extraordinary showcase of the technique was in the Saiyan Saga when Vegeta attempted to destroy Earth with his own signature attack, the Galick Gun. Despite King Kai's warning, Goku pushed himself to use Kaio-Ken times four to multiply his Kamehameha to save the world. And the low-class Saiyan has only improved it since then.

4 Super Dragon Fist Leaves A Massive Impression

Debuted In Dragon Ball Episode #122

Goku has faced more than a few powerful opponents who put the warrior in a tough and desperate situation. The Dragon Ball series showed him getting more severely injured than most battles in the sequel series, especially against his battles against King Piccolo and Piccolo Jr. at the end of the series. One of the series' most desperate battles had almost all of Goku's limbs broken and injured except for one arm. To King Piccolo's dismay, it was all Goku needed to deliver one of his most epic attacks that left a massive hole in his opponent's chest.

The attack's name is debatable, but popular video games like Dragon Ball Z: Budakoki Tenkaichi 3 named the attack Super Dragon Fist. The same attack is used in Dragon Ball GT but with more flair against Super Android 17 when the miniature Goku shoots himself through the energy-absorbing enemy's torso. Super Dragon Fist is arguably Goku's most brutal technique. Most finishing techniques in the series obliterate the losers, but this technique literally has the main character charging through his opponent's chest—chests belonging to world-feared villains who each were responsible for killing beloved characters like Master Roshi and Krillin.

3 Goku's Perfected Ultra Instinct Giant Form Technique Makes Him A Big God

Debuted In Dragon Ball Super Manga Chapter #66

The Ultra Instinct transformation allows Goku to perform several incredible attacks and boost his iconic abilities, but in the Moro Saga, he unlocked a new powerful technique that made him bigger than ever. Much like the Naruto series' huge Susanoo, Goku's Perfected Ultra Instinct Giant Form Technique is a manifestation of energy that's made solid. After Dragon Ball Super's intense Tournament of Power, Goku unlocked the form that saw his divine Ultra Instinct energy surpass the confines of his physical body to form the enormous avatar.

Like many of the new abilities that Goku learns, he still needs to learn how to control his latest technique fully. The two times he's been able to manifest the Ultra Instinct Susanoo, he did so unconsciously when all seemed lost against cosmic-level threats Moro and Gas. It allows Goku to form solid limbs to extend the range of his physical attacks, which he's been able to use to hold back and pin even giant-sized foes. With more training, Goku could combine it with his other techniques to boost their effectiveness.

2 The Spirit Bomb Works Better If Fans Raise Their Arms

Debuted In Dragon Ball Z Episode #21

Another iconic technique that works brilliantly on a narrative level is the Spirit Bomb. Often saved as a last resort, the Spirit Bomb is another technique Goku learned from King Kai that's played an enormous role in saving the world on multiple occasions. By raising his arms into the air, Goku can absorb life energy and condense it into a physical orb that gets larger and more powerful, depending on how much power he can gather. The formidable attack takes time to pull off and leaves Goku vulnerable as he prepares it, so it's not used often.

Goku's first time using the technique during the Saiyan Saga did not go as planned. After Vegeta defeated Goku, he could still gather enough energy that Krillin and Gohan could use to deliver the vital strike against the Prince of All Saiyans, who was shot into the air screaming after the Spirit Bomb's energy sent him flying. The attack is most effective against evil opponents, so it proved more effective against foes like Kid Buu than Jiren in Dragon Ball Super. After enough people lend their energy to the Spirit Bomb, it can increase to a colossal size.

1 Kaio-Ken Multiplies Power Levels and Viewers Tension

Debuted In Dragon Ball Z Episode #29

Dragon Ball Z started with a bang and spared little time to provide Goku with new, challenging foes that he stood no chance of defeating without leveling up his skills. He did just that after Piccolo killed Goku and his brother Raditz, sending them both to the afterlife. While on the other side, Goku gained the trust of the deity King Kai, who taught him two vital techniques that would prove helpful in many scenarios. One of them was the Kaio-Ken technique, which was ultimately as risky as it was useful.

Goku's Kaio-Ken technique effectively multiplies its users' ki, allowing those with firm ki control to reach incredible levels of strength and speed. However, if the user is not careful, the attack can backfire significantly by causing horrendous damage to their body and muscles, effectively leaving them paralyzed. The technique is a brilliant narrative tool that accentuates the idea of high risk with high reward. Because of this, seeing Goku use the skill has the added ability to raise excitement levels for fans and put the hero in a tension-filled position if it fails to get the job done.

Sources: Jacob, AboodXD,/YouTube

Dragon Ball

From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.