Goku becoming a Super Saiyan God in Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods was an undeniable game-changer. It was the first Saiyan transformation that used god ki and looked drastically different than any previous Super Saiyan form, giving the user a leaner physique (rather than a more muscular one) and turning their hair and eyes red, rather than gold and green.
Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F, however, introduced the even-stronger Super Saiyan Blue, which became Goku’s predominant transformation in Dragon Ball Super. Yet he would still use Super Saiyan God once in a while —not just as an Easter Egg, but also for practical purposes.
10 When He Fought Beerus (Movie, Anime & Manga)
In all versions of Battle of Gods, Goku summoned Shenron to ask him about the Super Saiyan God, who explained it was a transformation a kindhearted Saiyan could perform by taking part in a ritual with five other benevolent Saiyans. With the surprise help of the not-yet-born Pan, Goku became a Super Saiyan God himself.
In the movie and the Dragon Ball Super anime, the transformation eventually wore off without Goku realizing it, but the experience had made Goku’s base and Super Saiyan form much stronger, allowing him to continue battling Beerus. In the manga, however, Goku stayed a Super Saiyan God the whole fight.
9 When He Stopped Beerus From Destroying Earth (Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods Movie)
While Goku had unwittingly powered down from Super Saiyan God in the Battle of Gods movie and the Dragon Ball Super television series, he did use the transformation one last time in the former to stop Beerus from annihilating Earth. Yet while Goku’s strength as a regular Super Saiyan had grown immensely thanks to his body “learning” from having been a Super Saiyan God, he was unable to stop Beerus’ attack in his first golden-haired form.
Only when Goku saw an image of Chi-Chi and his friends calling his name was he able to once more become a Super Saiyan God and finally nullify Beerus’ attack.
8 When He Fought Hit In The Tournament Of Destroyers (Manga)
During Beerus and Champa’s tournament, Goku only used two of his transformations in the anime: the original Super Saiyan form and Super Saiyan Blue. When fighting Hit in the tournament’s penultimate match, Goku even boosted Super Saiyan Blue’s power with the Kaio-Ken.
Goku did not use the Kaio-Ken in the manga, however, instead adding one more transformation to the fight: Super Saiyan God. The change finally forced Hit to stop holding back and reveal his full power. He then performed one last Time-Skip, but Goku actually “broke through” it by becoming a Super Saiyan Blue at the last instant.
7 When He Sparred With Future Trunks (Manga)
In the Dragon Ball Super anime and manga, Trunks and Goku began their sparring match as Super Saiyan 2s. The match abruptly ended in the anime when Goku became a Super Saiyan 3, easily exceeding Trunks’ power.
As for the manga, however, Vegeta claimed Trunks’ Super Saiyan 2 form equaled Goku’s Super Saiyan 3. Goku, perhaps agreeing, ended the match quickly, dodging Trunks’ sword strike before kicking the back of his head. Though Goku’s full body was not fully shown, the telltale sparkles of the Super Saiyan God aura could be seen around his foot… something Beerus and Whis both noticed, but Trunks did not.
6 After Failing To Trap Zamasu With The Evil Containment Wave (Manga)
Super Saiyan God returned in the manga version of the Future Trunks arc. Replicating Goku’s strategy from the Tournament of Destroyers, Vegeta became a Super Saiyan God to conserve stamina but kept turning Super Saiyan Blue momentarily before hitting Goku Black.
Goku, conversely, used the Super Saiyan God form out of necessity, rather than strategy. Unable to trap Future Zamasu with the Evil Containment Wave as a Super Saiyan Blue, Goku continued fighting as a Super Saiyan God instead, as the containment technique had depleted his energy. The form was enough against Zamasu, however… that was, until he Potara fused with Goku Black.
5 When He Fought Top At The Zeno Expo (Manga)
When Goku and Top fought in anime’s Zen Expo, Goku only used the Super Saiyan transformation, which Top easily overpowered, and Super Saiyan Blue, which Top struggled to keep up with.
In the manga, Goku used all his available transformations, at the Omni Kings’ request. This included Super Saiyan God, which Goku turned into when he saw that even Super Saiyan 3 was ineffective against Top (a.k.a. “Toppo”). Beerus then pressured Goku into becoming Super Saiyan Blue for a quick win; instead, Top defeated Super Saiyan Blue Goku with one kick… but admitted he would have lost had Goku hit him instead.
4 When He Fought Dyspo & K’nsi With Hit (Anime)
Hit had finally turned the tables on Dyspo during the Tournament of Power, tricking the rabbit-like warrior into falling out of the ring. Yet Dyspo’s fellow Pride Trooper, K’nsi, used his energy threads to pull Dyspo back up and inhibit Hit’s movements. Just as Dyspo was about to attack Hit, Goku rocketed onto the scene in his Super Saiyan God form, blocking Dyspo’s punch.
From there, Goku largely remained in the Super Saiyan God form, switching briefly to Super Saiyan Blue to catch Dyspo off-guard and to block K’nsi’s threads, as well as to outrace their explosions.
3 When He Fought Broly (Dragon Ball Super: Broly Movie)
As fans know well, Goku rarely fights at full power right away, preferring instead to first study his enemy. Things were no different in Dragon Ball Super: Broly, where Goku began fighting Broly in his base form. After watching Broly’s power rise dramatically, however, Goku upped the ante, first becoming a regular Super Saiyan before finally awakening his Super Saiyan God form.
Goku then held Broly still for several moments in an energy field and tried to talk him down. Yet Broly was too consumed by his own rage to listen, actually turning the God Bind field back on Goku and giving him quite a thrashing.
2 When Moro Absorbed His & Vegeta’s Energy (manga)
After fighting the evil wizard Moro in space, the Grand Supreme Kai (in Buu’s body) teleported the villain to the planet’s surface so Goku and Vegeta could join in.
By then, however, Moro had already asked Porunga to grant his three wishes… including freeing the Galactic Patrol’s fiercest prisoners. The escaped convicts joined Moro, causing Goku and Vegeta to immediately power up to Blue. Yet they unwillingly retrogressed to God form, as Moro had begun absorbing their energy. Goku and “Buu” were eventually forced to retreat with Merus and Jaco’s help, while Vegeta left with Galactic Patrolman Irico to Yardrat.
1 When Sparring With Merus At Galactic Patrol Headquarters
Goku quickly realized Galactic Patrol Officer Merus was concealing his true power. After Merus dodged one of his punches, Goku suggested they find a place where he could get a better feel for Merus’ strength. Merus took them to a training room aboard the Galactic Patrol’s main base, where they started their match.
Unable to hit Merus even as a Super Saiyan 3, Goku powered up to Super Saiyan God, but stopped when Jaco noted that the room was unable to withstand Goku’s power for much longer. Goku then asked Merus to help him perfect Ultra Instinct: fitting, as Merus was secretly an Angel.
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