Dragon Ball has been a staple of Japanese manga and anime since it first hit the stores back in 1984 as a serial in Weekly Shōnen Jump. Since that time, the series has developed into more than 500 chapters collected across 42 volumes and has since been developed into nearly 20 animated films and more television episodes than we care to count. The series is widely known for its principal character Goku as well as the numerous other people sprinkled about the 12 Universes of the Omniverse.

With so many powerful characters, it can be difficult to keep track of them all, but above each and every one of them exists a being not many people know a lot about: Zenō, the King of All.

Zenō was first introduced in Dragon Ball Super in an episode titled “A Decision at Last! Is the Winner Beerus? Or Is It Champa?” Since that time, he hasn’t popped up as much as fans would like, but there are some amazing episodes featuring this diminutive yet adorable deity. While he may be all-powerful, Zenō isn’t as well known outside the manga and anime as other characters, which begs the question, how well do you know Zenō?

Test your knowledge and learn all about who this character is with Dragon Ball: 15 Strange Facts About Zenō 

HE’S NOT A FIGHTER

You might think that in a series all about fighting, the one above all would be the best fighter there is, but you would be mistaken!

Zenō may be all-powerful, but he doesn’t have any inherent strengths when it comes to fighting, he lacks any fighting styles of his own, and he is devoid of any fighting senses. This may have something to do with the fact that he never needed to learn or acquire those skills.

When you are the most powerful there is, what is the point of learning the fighting techniques of lesser beings?

That isn’t to say Zenō doesn’t have a great appreciation for people who demonstrate a prowess in combative skills. In this sense, Zenō is more of an observer or even a fan than an active participant. In many situations, you might find Zenō sitting around with a blank expression on his face, but when he is engaged in watching a tournament or a particularly interesting fight, he perks up and can appear childish and even endearing.

Don’t let his exterior fool you: Zenō is not a god to be trifled with. While he won’t jump into an arena and swap kicks with you, he could just as easily remove you from existence.

HE’S CARELESS, IRRESPONSIBLE, AND AMORAL

You know the saying from Spider-Man, “With great power comes great responsibility”? That should apply to just about anyone, anyywhere— it’s not a bad rule to live by. When it comes to a being who is the most powerful of them all, it should be a way of life.

Unfortunately, Zenō hasn’t always been the most responsible immortal being in the Omniverse and his actions have been careless, irresponsible, and even amoral at times. This has led people to see his actions as random and impossible to predict, but Zenō does appear to have a reason for just about everything he does, even if it’s not apparent to others. Much of this demeanor can be attributed to Zenō’s childlike behavior, but it does go deeper than that.

When it comes to his role in the tournament of Power, this behavior has led to some unusual outcomes. He has permitted what would otherwise have been rule violations, such as the use of the Potara Earrings and the Evil Containment Wave. While this may seem indiscriminate and irresponsible at times, he can change gears without warning. In one instance, when Frost attempted to attack from outside the ring, Zeno erased him from existence— even going so far as to threaten the entirety of Universe-6 if such a thing should happen again.

HE’S RULED THE OMNIVERSE FOR OVER 8 MILLION YEARS

There is no shortage of powerful beings in the Dragon Ball Omniverse, but even with powerful people like Goku, Jiren, Vegeta, and Android 17, there must be one who stands above them all. That is, of course, Zenō.

As the most powerful being in the Omniverse, there is nobody beneath him who could challenge his power in any way.

He is the only being in the Omniverse capable of Erase, which essentially means he can remove anything he desires from existence without any effort at all. This ability (and his penchant to use it on a whim) has ensured those beneath Zenō fear him.

Because Zenō is the ruler of pretty much everything, he has taken on the title of Omni-King, though he is called by other names from time to time.

His power makes everyone beneath him - which is literally everyone - fear him to the point of reverence. This reverence does bother Zenō as he prefers people to speak plainly in his presence and not treat him like absolute royalty.

There are some exceptions to this rule depending on who he is speaking to, but in most situations, the god above all else in the Omniverse remains an uncontested king of everything. According to the Grand Minister, Zenō has been the King of All for 3,135,500,603+ days, which equates to around 8.6 million years.

HE CAN ERASE ANYTHING FROM EXISTENCE

If you are going to have a superpower everyone fears, you might as well make it the ability to remove things from existence. The power in question is called “Erase” and the only being(s) in the Omniverse capable of doing it are Zenō and his future self.

This ability appears to come without any strain or difficulty. Zenō simply wishes something or someone to no longer exist and that becomes reality. What scares people the most about Zenō is not only this ability but his constant use of it.

Over the course of the series, Zenō has erased a number of powerful beings, including Sidra, Gowasu, Champa, Heles, Kuru, Belmid, and countless others.

Zenō’s Erasing activities are, by no means, limited to just people. He can also remove entire Universes from existence, which he did on multiple occasions following the Tournament of Power. Because of this power to Erase anything and everything on a whim, Zenō has the highest body-count of any being in the Omniverse (besides his future self, of course) and it is this ability that makes him the most feared of any being in the Dragon Ball Omniverse.

Zenō can even Erase beings who have been granted immortality via Super Dragon Balls, which he demonstrated with Infinite Zamasu.

 WHY HE CREATED THE TOURNAMENT OF POWER

As any fan will tell you, tournaments are where it’s at in the Dragon Ball Omniverse and the one guy who loves them more than anyone else is Zenō.

The Tournament of Power first came into being by Zenō after he witnessed the Tournament of Destroyers, which was held by Beerus and Champa. Zenō enjoyed the tournament so much, he decided to expand upon the concept and created the Tournament of Power as a means of involving all of the Universes. He said: “I got an idea that was very good. A tournament with all the universes together. I think we should try it sometime; wouldn’t that be fun?”

When it was originally conceived and presented, Zenō stipulated that the losers’ Universes would be deleted making the competition of desperate importance to pretty much everyone involved.

The Tournament of Power is, by no means, the only tournament held across the Omniverse, but it was certainly the most important when it was held. Once it was all said and done, several Universes were erased from existence, though this was later erased by Android 17 who used Super Dragon Balls to revive the Universes and everyone within, passing the test of virtue, which was the true point of the Tournament of Power.

HE LOVES HIDE & SEEK

If you have only ever seen the animated series and not read the manga that inspired it, you may not know Zenō has a bit of a whimsical side.

This was expressed when he decided to host an All-Universe Hide and Seek Tournament. He set up the Tournament to feature his subjects, the Gods of Destruction as the contestants with the entirety of the Omniverse as their playground. All 12 of the Gods of Destruction took part in the Tournament, but there was a bit of a snag when Beerus took a nap after finding a particularly good hiding place.

Unfortunately, Beerus’ nap lasted for a good 50 years, which led to Zenō having to cancel the whole thing. Up until that point, Zenō was really enjoying himself and was loving the Tournament so the need to cancel enraged him. This is not a good disposition for a being who can Erase anything from existence with a whim.

It took all 11 of the Gods of Destruction to calm Zenō down so he wouldn’t do anything too rash. Ever since that time, the Gods of Destruction haven’t held the highest opinion of Beerus whose extended nap nearly wiped out all of existence.

HE DESTROYED SIX UNIVERSES

Within the Omniverse, there exist 12 separate and distinct Universes, but did you know there used to be 18? At an unknown point in time, Zenō destroyed six of the existing Universes, but there is little known as to when or why this happened.

There is a theory that Zenō wanted to create the Tournament of Power so he would have an excuse to eliminate more Universes due to the fact that managing 12 was becoming burdensome. Perhaps, sometime in the past, he felt the same way and simply removed those six Universes from the Omniverse.

All we know of Zenō’s frame of mind when he Erased those six Universes is that he was in an “unpleasant mood” when he got rid of them.

This is further evidence that you really don’t want to make him angry. The Hulk may get bigger and stronger when he’s mad, but Zenō will just Erase you, your family, and while he is at it, your entire Universe. Throughout the course of the series, Zenō and his future self have Erased a total of 24 Universes, but thanks to some handy Super Dragon Balls, many of those have been returned. Unfortunately, the original six have remained Erased and we know little to nothing about them.

 THE HIDDEN MESSAGE ON HIS ROBES

Zenō can appear tricky at times and he is sometimes childish in his behavior, but when it comes to the nature of his position of King of All, he takes it pretty seriously. As the ruler of the Omniverse, Zenō’s primary goal is balance, which is something he displays without the reader/viewer even realizing it - unless they can read Japanese.

Zenō’s typical outfit combines a magenta and yellow coat with similarly colored shoes and pants. Beneath his coat, he wears a black and white shirt with the kanji 全 displayed prominently.

This translates into the word “All”, which is appropriate for a being who is above all else.

While it may not be clear from the surface, Zenō’s habit of removing people and Universes from existence likely has to do with his desire to manage a perfect Omniverse. He never makes his intentions absolutely clear, but he goes about doing his duties– whatever they may be at the time, with balance in mind.

His prominent display of the kanji for “All” suggests his desire to maintain his presence and purpose over everything. He can seem indifferent in his actions to others, but he has a purpose and it drives him to accomplish his goals as the King of All.

HE CANNOT BE ERASED

You don’t get to be the One Above All without having a few tricks in your back pocket. The obvious advantage Zenō has over everyone else is that he cannot, under any circumstances, be removed from existence. Not only is he immortal and millions of years old, but he can Erase anyone and everyone else from existence.

An interesting aspect of this power is that Zenō has the ability to Erase other immortal beings from existence, but he remains immune to their attacks.

In the manga, Zenō and his future counterpart were both entirely unaffected by Rumsshi’s Battle Roar, which is an effective attack that renders its victims paralyzed.

It’s essentially a rule of the anime and manga that Zenō cannot be eliminated by any measure. When Goku Black destroyed all the gods of Future Trunk’s timeline alongside Future Zamasu, Zenō remained unharmed. Even destroying the future itself doesn’t cause any harm to Zenō, who exists outside of reality in his own realm.

Zenō’s immortality is yet another reason the other gods fear him to the level they do. When you have absolutely no hope of defeating an enemy who can easily wipe you out, that fear is certainly warranted.

HE’S A LONELY GOD

If there’s one thing that seems clear about Zenō, it’s that he is a lonely god. This makes sense when you consider the fact that he lives apart from pretty much everyone and everything in the Omniverse.

His level of supremacy in the Omniverse effectively renders him unknown to lesser forms of life so that hardly anyone even knows that he exists. When Goku first met Zenō, he didn’t know who he was or what his level of power was in comparison to the Gods of Destruction, who treated him with reverence and humility. This reverential treatment may be another reason Zenō is often a lonely god, which may explain why he doesn’t always appreciate the formality.

Anyone around Zenō treats him with a level of formality that keeps them at arm’s length.

Whenever he says anything, people just go along with it without engaging in any sort of conversation. Because of this treatment and the fear many beings have when dealing with him, he has opened up to very few people. Sadly, this has led Zenō to be alone for much of his existence with even his attendants skirting around him for fear they might trigger his ire and become yet another being he has erased out of frustration.

HIS BFF IS GOKU

It’s certainly lonely at the top and it is never easy making friends when each and every person in the Omniverse lives in utter fear of someone like Zenō. It’s not as if many people even know of his existence, and the ones who do would never entertain the notion of befriending the King of All. That is until Zenō met a young man you may have heard of who goes by the name Goku.

The two met when Zenō appeared unexpectedly following the Tournament of Destroyers when he popped in for a chat with the Gods of Destruction. He didn’t say much at the time, but proposed a new Tournament, which would test the might of beings from each of the 12 Universes.

Goku thought it was a great idea and when he spoke to Zenō, everyone around him freaked out. He ended up shaking his hand and the two went on to develop their relationship and become friends. Zenō even created a special button he gave to Goku so he could easily summon him whenever he wants.

Goku even hugged his future counterpart, and it’s clear throughout the anime and manga that Zenō respects and even admires Goku.

They aren’t hanging out every night drinking at the local pub or anything, but when it comes to friends, Goku is certainly the only one Zenō truly appreciates.

ZENŌ’S PALACE

When you are the King of every Universe in the Omniverse, it’s important you live in a place appropriate to your station. Zenō’s pad doesn’t exist within a particular Universe, but rather, it is outside of them all.

Zenō’s Palace isn’t just a nice-looking building, it is  in the shape of the kanji “全”, which is the same symbol found on his undershirt. This style continues his overall theme of balance and supremacy and is certainly appropriate for him. It is not known exactly where Zenō’s Palace is, but given that it exists outside of the 12 Universes, its location isn’t necessarily important.

Most importantly, his palace sits atop a giant jellyfish!

The gigantic jellyfish is located somewhere between golden clouds in a space-like setting. Wherever it is located, it is far from the normal realms such that it takes Angels two full days travelling at top speed just to reach it.

The Palace floats just above the surface of the jellyfish and is surrounded by 12 stone pillars. Above each of these pillars sits a single Universe, which effectively places Zenō’s home at the center of the Omniverse, with access to each of the 12 Universes surrounding it. Inside the palace, there exists a dark void, which is lighted by a glowing floor and spotted with white pillars spread about the place.

HE IS THE MOST FEARED BEING IN THE OMNIVERSE

When Zenō made his first appearance in the animated series, it was something of a surprise to the Gods of Destruction. They hadn’t seen the King of All in quite some time so his arrival following the conclusion of the Tournament of Destroyers was a bit of a shock.

When they see him, they throw themselves down kneel before their god who arrives with a sweet smile and a childlike voice. The fear each and every member of the Gods of Destruction have on their faces is apparent. They look like they are about to be devoured by a Great White Shark.

Their fear is not unwarranted either; the Gods of Destruction know that Zenō could simply Erase them from existence should he find a whim to do so. The only person who doesn’t fear Zenō - besides his future self - is Goku, who approached Zenō and spoke to him as if he was just a regular person. Watching Goku do this, the Gods of Destruction shook with fear even asking him what he thought he was doing, but it was no big deal for Goku who held out his hand to shake Zenō’s.

After a brief moment, the Omni-King takes his hand and is lifted in the air. The Gods of Destruction squealed with fear, but Zenō ended up leaving without Erasing anyone.

 HE HAS ONLY ONE EQUAL

During the “Future Trunks Saga,” Goku finds Zenō’s Button and summons Future Zenō, whom he promptly hugs. The Zenō who arrived was Future Zenō from an alternate timeline who found the state of the Universe to be unhealthy.

This is due to the state of the Earth and other parts of reality thanks to Infinite Zamasu, who has become so powerful that he has damaged everything. This doesn’t sit well with Future Zenō, who agrees to fix things by Erasing Zamasu, but he doesn’t stop there. He destroys the entire future timeline before joining Goku to return to the present, where he introduces Future Zenō to the Zenō of the present.

At first, Zenō and Future Zenō are surprised by one another, but after Goku suggested they be friends, they agreed and the two have been much happier ever since.

In terms of power, they are equal and are the only beings capable of Erasing others - but not each other, as far as we know. While the two come from alternate timelines, they have both been known to cause some trouble from time to time. Future Zenō has a higher body count than his present-day counterpart having Erased Universes 13-18 and all Future Universes when he erased the timeline.

THE ONE ABOVE ALL

You don’t get the title “One Above All” by being second best. As the Ruler of Existence, Zenō sits above every other being in existence across the 12 Universes and throughout all of time. He is only second to himself, thanks to his future incarnation being brought back to the present by Goku, but the two are equal in power.

There is no shortage of powerful characters in the Dragon Ball Omniverse, but even the Gods of Destruction, Supreme Kais, Kais, and all the inhabitants of the 12 Universes pale in comparison to Grand Zenō, the Omni-King.

Throughout his 8+ million years sitting on the throne as King of all reality, Zenō has played a major role in shaping the Omniverse.

His penchant for Erasing anything that doesn’t suit him led to the destruction of six whole Universes and his future self didn’t shy away from destroying an entire future timeline. There is not a single being anywhere else in the Omniverse who has this level of power and the very nature of the Omniverse suggests there never will be.

Zenō is, and will always be, the highest being in the Omniverse, with only his future self being his equal.

Do you have any other trivia to share about Dragon Ball’s Zenō? Let us know in the comments.