Dragon Ball Super: How Strong Is Orange Piccolo & Could He Beat Goku?

Few anime or manga franchises have grown as far beyond their humble roots as the "Dragon Ball" series has. What began as a little boy traveling around the world looking for the titular artifacts in hopes of having his wish granted has morphed into an intergalactic struggle between rival groups of aliens, androids, and gods in the years since its inception.

Nowhere is this more clear than in the "Dragon Ball Super" series, which sees the concepts from "Dragon Ball Z" evolving further than ever. With returning villains, fighting tournaments that know no bounds, and new power forms, the series has become the wildest iteration of the franchise yet, a fact that's handily demonstrated in the film, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero."

One of the biggest examples of this change comes toward the end of the film. There, Piccolo (Takeshi Aono/Christopher Sabat) gains a massive new form that is similar to the Giant Ape Saiyans can transform into (provided they still have their tails). While Orange Piccolo doesn't have the most creative name, he is exceedingly powerful, which naturally makes fans wonder whether he could defeat the central hero of the franchise, Goku (Masako Nozawa/Sean Schemmel). Unfortunately, as with much of the lore behind "Dragon Ball," it's ultimately pretty tough to predict.

In a "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" post-credits scene, Vegeta (Ryo Horikawa/Christopher Sabat) is able to finally beat Goku in a sparring session, something that the vain Saiyan prince has long hoped for. While Goku is generally regarded as the strongest character in the franchise, this does offer some debate about whether Orange Piccolo could potentially defeat Goku.

Piccolo got his new form by asking Shenron, one of the titular dragons connected to the Dragon Balls, for assistance, and was then able to grow enough in stature and power to help save the day at the end of the film. According to "Dragon Ball" creator Akira Toriyama, this does indeed put him on par with the most powerful heroes in the fictional universe, including Goku.

However, whether he would actually win against the heroic Saiyan is still debatable. After all, Goku has regularly been able to dig deep and push himself to the limit or beyond when a situation calls for it. This could explain why Vegeta beat him in a sparring session but would likely be defeated in an all-or-nothing brawl. With this in mind, the same is probably true of Piccolo, but the only way to know for sure would be for both heroes to be taken to the absolute brink in battle.