Gods have been a part of the Dragon Ball world since the debut of Akira Toriyama’s original manga, but, for these old-school deities, the ability to decimate planets is now dwarfed by the power to annihilate entire galaxies possessed by newer characters.
While the power of any god in the Dragon Ball series is nothing at which to scoff, after decades of expansion and universe-building, the franchise has come to host a broad pantheon of deities with vastly different powers and abilities.
Dragon Ball plays host to perhaps the most important characters in shonen history, and its gods are easily the mightiest ever depicted. That said, they weren’t all created equally.
The Strongest Dragon Ball Gods
Fusion Zamasu
Zamasu is the main villain of the Future Trunks Saga, and he first appears as Goku Black, a mirror entity that resembles Goku in black clothing. In the original timeline, Zamasu takes control of Goku’s body through the Dragon Balls in an attempt to destroy humanity. Though this is prevented by Beerus, Goku Black is kept from being erased from existence with the help of his Time Ring. He’s able to meet up with the Zamasu from Future Trunks’ timeline—who appears as a green-skinned humanoid—and the two join forces and eventually fuse into one.
Since Zamasu wishes for eternal life with the Dragon Balls, he’s already terrifyingly powerful, and, with the combined strength of Goku, he’s definitely a deity even some of the Gods of Destruction might not mess with. Still, immortality aside, he’s still outranked by some superior deities.
Champa
Champa may look like Lord Beerus if he lived on his couch binge-eating junk food, but this God of Destruction is still nothing to scoff at whatsoever. As the brother of Beerus and the Universe 6 God of Destruction, Champa is said to be one of the strongest gods in existence. Despite his pudgy build, it’s implied that he has a power that nearly rivals his sibling’s.
Champa has also been trained by Vados, an Angel who is even more powerful than her brother Whis. Given his teacher’s amazingly high power level, it can only be assumed that Champa has reached a high level of strength, as well. Still, even though Champa may be a God of Destruciton, his poor diet and lack of training and exercise holds him back from his true potential.
Beerus
While Champa is incredibly strong, his brother Beerus outranks him thanks to his slimmer build and greater level of stamina. First seen in the Dragon Ball movie Battle of the Gods, Lord Beerus is one of the scariest fighters who’s ever gone up against the likes of Goku. After awakening from a long slumber, Beerus goes out of his way to journey to Earth and fight its mighty Saiyan protect, swatting away a Super Sayain 3 Goku with just his finger.
Beerus is strong enough to wipe out any planet he feels like depending on which side of the bed he woke up on. The only reason he spared Earth after Goku’s defeat is because of his love of human food. Although he wields wildly destructive powers, his might is still trumped by some Angels and a few other divine beings.
Belmod
Belmod is the God of Destruction of Universe 11. With his orange hair, white skin, and deranged smile, this creepy clown from outer space makes his first appearance during the Universal Survival Saga. This scrawny, pale humanoid resembles Bozo the Clown and looks like he haunts the dreams of his rivals. However, Belmod is surprisingly one of the more peaceful Gods of Destruction.
Unlike his deity counterparts, Belmod gets along relatively well with his Kais and is far humbler when it comes to his fighting ability than Beerus or Champa. Though it’s difficult to compare the power levels of the various Gods of Destruction, it’s hinted at by Whis that Belmod’s power surpasses that of even Lord Beerus, making Belmod a viable contender for one of the strongest gods out there.
Vados, Whis, and Alternate Universe Angels
The Angels are blue humanoids who serve as the entourages/aides of the Gods of Destruction. Though they take commands from them, the Angels are actually much more powerful than the gods they serve. Technically speaking, the Angels themselves are not gods. However, they do possess a godlike power and are vital to the framework of the divine pecking order, so they are deserving of mention.
Out of the bunch, siblings Whis and Vados are said to be the most powerful Angels. Whis is famous for his ability to travel through space at light speed and is seen effortlessly sparring with a Super Saiyan Goku and Vegeta at one point. Even more powerful is Whis’ sister Vados who, although not quite as fast, is believed to possess a destructive power even greater than that of her brother.
Zen-Oh’s Bodyguards
The Omni King is said to be the strongest being alive, so it can be inferred that the guys watching his back have to be approaching that same level of strength, as well.
However, with such alleged power, the Bodyguards don’t do much. It’s believed that each of the guards has a power level as high as Vados and Whis, and it’s tough to even fathom what they’re like when they all enter the fray together. Fans haven’t seen the Attendants get into any brawls yet, but their reputation is more than enough to earn them a high ranking.
The Grand Priest
Whis and Vados might be two of the strongest Angels, but they’re still nothing compared to their father. The Grand Priest is said to be the most powerful of all the Angels, and he serves as the right-hand man to the Omni King himself.
In addition to being Zen-Oh’s attendant, the Grand Priest is considered to be one of the most powerful fighters in the universe. Like a lot of other gods in Dragon Ball, the Grand Priest hasn’t really gotten the chance to strut his stuff, but Whis has stated that his father’s power is far beyond that of his own.
Zen-Oh
Sure, Zen-Oh—also known as The Omen King—might look cute, but that little guy actually has the power to erase the entire universe without lifting a finger. Not even Goku’s toughest opponents could muster a fraction of that kind of raw strength.
Zen-Oh is the ruler of the entire multiverse and watches over all 6 Universes. While Beerus points out that the Omni King does not fight, he states that it’s because he possesses a power that’s beyond comprehension. According to Whis, there were originally 18 Universes until Zen-Oh got bored and destroyed 6 of them.
The Weakest Dragon Ball Gods
Supreme Kai
The current ruling Supreme Kai of Universe 7, Shin, first makes an appearance during the World Martial Arts Tournament in the Majin Buu Saga. Just like the many Supreme Kai that came before him, Shin is endowed with the power to create and destroy life. He has the ability to conjure entire planets out of nothing, and he is also endowed with enough strength to wipe out those planets if he so chooses.
Unlike most of the deities in Dragon Ball, fans actually get to see Shin in combat, albeit rarely. He’s been said to be stronger than Frieza, but, compared to some of the super-powered gods introduced in Super, Shin just barely winds up on the weaker half of the power scale.
Old Kai
Old Kai looks like the nursing-home version of the Supreme Kai, and that’s no coincidence given that he was once the Supreme Kai himself. He might not be much to look at, but Old Kai is given major points for his wisdom and vast magical powers. This stems from the result of accidentally fusing with an old witch, which zapped Old Kai of some of his godly might but endowed him with some magical gifts.
After being freed out of the Z-Sword by Goku and Gohan, Old Kai spends his days as counsel to the current Supreme Kai Shin, helping out the Z-Fighters, and he is responsible for unlocking Gohan’s full potential. Though he’s able to lend a helping hand with his magic, Old Kai is still on the lower tier of gods at this point.
Grand Kai
The Grand Kai is responsible for looking over the four other Kais of Universe 7. Though he’s absent from Akira Toriyama’s original manga, he does make a couple of appearances in the anime. This is another god whose power is a little hard to gauge; fans don’t really get to see him in action much. But, given his position as a head Kai, it can be assumed that he’s stronger than the other four of Universe 7.
However, given his Rip Van Winkle-esque beard and scrawny build, the Grand Kai probably hasn’t kept up with his training over the years. He might be the teacher of some of the most powerful Kais in the universe, but, given their own laissez-faire nature, that’s not saying much.
King Kai
King Kai is introduced in the first season of Dragon Ball Z, and he’s the first in a long list of Kais—a Japanese word meaning “world king”—who make an appearance throughout the series.
After dying during his battle with Raditz, Goku seeks out King Kai in the afterlife in order to learn new fighting techniques from this master. Though King Kai is responsible for teaching Goku the legendary Kaio-Ken attack as well as the spirit bomb, fans have never actually seen the stumpy blue deity fight anybody. In fact, King Kai is usually more concerned with cracking one of his corny anecdotes than he is with demonstrating his fighting ability. He might be a master of innovative techniques, but, if he had to square off against another god, we doubt a lame joke would save his skin.
Guru
Grand Elder Guru is a deity who was the wisest and oldest living Namekian at the time of his existence. He’s responsible for creating Namek’s Dragon Balls and for leading his race of people before their brief destruction at the hands of Frieza. Guru may be troublingly aged and out-of-shape, but there’s more to true power than being able to punch a hole in an opponent.
Unlike almost every other Dragon Ball god, Guru was largely a pacifist who would use his divine powers to help others. In fact, he’s probably one of the most benevolent figures in the series. Still, kind as he is, he certainly wouldn’t hold up very well in a fight against the franchise’s most powerful characters.
King Enma
Fans of Dragon Ball have debated for years if King Enma is really a god at all. Either way, the guy is in charge of deciding who goes to heaven or hell, and that definitely qualifies him as a divine being, albeit a pretty weak one.
Aside from his role as a glorified clerk, King Enma does have some traits that indicate his level of power. He’s said to have been the only other person besides Goku to run the entirety of Serpentine Road, and he was even able to subdue Raditz fairly quickly after the Sayian’s death. However, aside from a few tidbits of info, there’s not much that supports the theory that Enma has a high power level. He’s only used on a handful of occasions, and it’s usually only for some well-timed comic relief.
Kami
One of the oldest characters of the series, Kami was the guardian of Earth for over 300 years, and, despite looking disheveled enough to keel over at any moment, he had a pretty decent track record until the time of his death. Before he was the planet’s ancient protector, Kami was part of the psyche of a nameless Namekian who separated his personality into two. The evil portion spewed out and became King Piccolo, while the righteous half became Kami.
Kami is an old, wise sage who also has divine healing powers and an extensive knowledge of magic. While that definitely counts for something, the guy couldn’t last five minutes in a fight against any of Dragon Ball’s heaviest hitters.
Dende
Born on the planet Namek, Dende was never a fighter; though his brother was a skilled warrior, this little guy was always more interested in helping people using his healing abilities. Along with his therapeutic powers, Dende also has the ability to create Dragon Balls, a handy skill that’s helped the Z Fighters out of a jam on more than one occasion.
However, even with all of his talent, Dende is probably the weakest of the gods in Dragon Ball. Sure, he’s the protector of Earth—appointed by Goku, no less—but, if one of the other deities wanted to annihilate the entire planet, there really isn’t much Dende could do about it.
