Goku is clearly the most beloved Dragon Ball character, and he’s also one of the strongest in the history of the legendary franchise. But when someone says stuff like “Dragon Ball is boring because Goku always wins,” he clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
It’s hard to say who is the main Dragon Ball character ever. It could be Goku, but he still received a lot of help for defeating some of the villains. Also, the famous Saiyan lost some important battles throughout his history, and we’ll present below five of them:
Losing against King Piccolo
King Piccolo was a purely evil being who terrorized the Earth by imposing dictatorship. Goku was only a kid at that point, but he still had the guts to confront King Piccolo. Goku barely made it out alive from that fight, as not even the Kamehameha wave had any effect. However, the little boy Goku came back for revenge, and he obtained it. But still, he lost a battle against King Piccolo, a villain who took over the entire world.
Quitting against Cell
Back in Dragon Ball Z, when Goku was only at basic Super Saiyan level, our hero engaged in an exciting battle against Cell, an evil android created by Dr. Gero. Goku gave everything in that battle, but still, he realized that he can’t win and chose to quit, leaving everyone shocked. We’ve seen Goku in much worse shape in battles, and he still fought until the last drop. But the famous Saiyan quit against Cell, letting his son Gohan confront the android next. Goku was extremely confident that Gohan was stronger and capable of defeating Cell, which turned out to be true in the end.
But still, quitting at that point was a risky and slightly cowardly thing to do by Goku.
Getting defeated by Jiren
At the Tournament of Power from the Dragon Ball Super anime, Goku had to face Jiren, probably the most powerful opponent ever at that point. Each fighter had to fight for the survival of his own universe, which means that Jiren wasn’t evil. During the fight, it turned out that not even Super Saiyan Blue or the Spirit Bomb was enough to defeat Jiren. This fellow was even stronger than the gods, and he wiped the floor with Goku until our hero first achieved the Ultra Instinct technique. The two fighters were pretty much even, but still, Goku ran out of fuel and lost.
Later on, during the same tournament, Goku had his revenge. But still, the famous Saiyan lost an important battle for the Universe that could have led to his elimination from the Tournament.
Goku vs. Vegeta
When Vegeta first came to Earth, he didn’t have any orthodox thoughts at all. The Saiyan Prince was evil to the core, and he had to face Goku. After a long battle, an unforgettable beam struggle, and a transformation of Vegeta into Oozaru, Goku was severely beaten to the ground. Vegeta had to fly away from Earth in his spaceship, as he got extremely wounded as well. But even so, the Saiyan Prince won this one, and the victory could have resulted in a complete catastrophe for Earth. But it was up to the combined efforts of Gohan, Krillin, and Yajirobe to make Vegeta leave.
Beerus won
In the beginning of Dragon Ball Super, Goku had to face Beerus, the God of Destruction. This deity wanted to destroy the Earth, but not exactly for evil purposes. Some balance in the Universe had to be maintained, and Beerus was up for it. Even so, Goku lost against this fellow twice.
Feel free to tell us about your own favorite moments of Goku’s battles!