When it comes to anime juggernauts, Broly has to be one of the first characters that comes to mind. This Dragon Ball powerhouse is an absolute colossus; all he knows is combat. When Broly’s onscreen, it usually means one of your favorite characters is about to get whooped. Hard. The character’s size and animal-like tenacity have made him an icon amongst fans.

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Broly’s whole character is literally based on his ability to beat people up. He rarely loses fights, and when he does, it’s usually to multiple opponents. We’ll get into that more soon.

Now, does this all mean Broly is stronger than Dragon Ball‘s all-star hero and ultimate protagonist? Well, Yamcha has a lot of heart and has trained – just kidding, we’re obviously talking about Goku.

Goku vs. Broly, who wins in a fight, one-on-one? Well, fans have seen them battle before, and everyone knows that Goku has technically emerged victorious each time. However, context is key here, so let’s dive into it.

Goku has beaten Broly, but never alone

Broly was first introduced in the 1993 film Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan. While Akira Toriyama, the creator of the Dragon Ball franchise, designed Broly’s initial look, he had no part in writing Broly’s first film or his next two: 1993’s Dragon Ball Z: Broly – Second Coming and 1994’s Dragon Ball Z: Bio-Broly (per IGN).

While these movies were never considered canon, they introduced viewers to Broly. More importantly, in The Legendary Super Saiyan and Second Coming, fans saw how ridiculously powerful this character truly was, especially when he made a mockery of Dragon Ball Z head honcho Goku.

In the first movie, the Z Fighters — Vegeta, Goku, Future Trunks, Gohan, and yes, even Krillin — are summoned to a planet supposedly called “New Planet Vegeta” by a Saiyan named Paragus. Long story short, it’s all a ruse; Paragus hates Vegeta’s family and wants revenge. Meanwhile, Broly hates Kakarot (Goku) because … Kakarot cried a lot when they were both babies (seriously, watch the movie).

The movie’s climax sees Broly transform into “The Legendary Super Saiyan” and absolutely dominate everyone. Vegeta is so in awe of Broly’s might that he falls on his knees and does nothing for most of the battle. During the fight, even Goku is no match for Broly. Even when Piccolo randomly shows up and gives everyone Senzu beans, Broly once again tears through the entire roster of Earth’s finest. Only when the badly injured Z Fighters give Goku their remaining energy does the fight finally turn around and end. A recharged Goku is able to land a piercing punch that simply makes Broly explode.

In the sequel, while it’s Gohan that primarily fights a returning Broly, along with Goten and Kid Trunks, Goku does offer a helping hand during the film’s climax. Gohan and Goten attempt to take Broly down with their combined Kamehamehas, to no avail. However, with the Dragon Balls nearby, Goten’s silent wish of his father being there with them appears to come true. Goku joins his sons and unleashes his own Kamehameha. Together, and with a helpful distraction from Kid Trunks, they are able to blast Broly all the way into the sun. Pretty hardcore stuff.

So, in the non-canon films, while Goku was able to put, or help, put away Broly, it always needed to be done in a team effort. Had Goku been by himself during these ’90s flicks, things would have gone very, very badly.

Okay, but what about the canon Dragon Ball stuff?

In 2018, Broly fans rejoiced. That year saw the canonical reimagining of Broly’s origin story, meaning a film written by Mr. Toriyama himself.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly gives the character a more traditional Saiyan look while still keeping the more significant elements of his background the same: Broly was born with immense power, so much so that King Vegeta exiled the baby out of fear, leading Paragus down a vengeful path. However, this version of Broly, along with his father, ends up in the service of Frieza, who unleashes them on Vegeta and Goku.

With some downright gorgeous and spectacular animation, this film displays how powerful Broly is and how great he is at adapting. For starters, when initially fighting Vegeta, Broly remains in his base form and eats some nasty licks. He’s still able to push Vegeta to his absolute limits. Meanwhile, the Prince of All Saiyans is forced to turn Super Saiyan (remember, Broly has never seen a Super Saiyan before). When that’s not enough, he goes Super Saiyan God. When that’s not enough, Goku gets involved.

Naturally, sorry Vegeta, Goku has better success. In his Super Saiyan Blue form, Goku is able to get the better of Broly. However, Frieza, being the dastardly mastermind he is, kills Paragus to trigger Broly’s own Super Saiyan transformation. And this is when things go sideways for Goku and Vegeta. Even with their combined efforts in their Super Saiyan Blue forms, they are no match for Broly. So, what do they do? They do the fusion dance, turning into Gogeta!

In an epic battle that sees them cracking different dimensions — again, absolutely stunning animation —  Gogeta is able to defeat his massive foe. Read that again. Gogeta is able to defeat Broly. Not Goku. Which brings us back to the main point.

While Goku has always left his fights with Broly victorious, it’s never been because of his own efforts. So, in every one of their encounters, canon or non-canon, Broly was always portrayed as the stronger and superior fighter. Heck, Goku even flat out admits this at the end of Dragon Ball Super: Broly. The character has always been the type of opponent that needs to be, in some way or another, outnumbered. Broly is not the type of fighter one simply beats alone head-on. So, in that sense, Broly was stronger than Goku. However…things can change, and probably have.

Recently, Goku has gone all Ultra Instinct on everyone. We haven’t seen Broly fight that Goku. MUI (Mastered Ultra Instrinct) Goku is another beast entirely. So, while it’s safe to say that Broly was stronger than Goku, we can’t for sure make that definite claim for the characters at their current levels. However, as stated earlier, canon Broly is a master at adapting, so it would be spectacular to witness how his body and power adapts when fighting the ultimate silver-haired version of Goku.