Even though Goku has proven time and again that he is perhaps the most powerful hero in the Dragon Ball universe, there is one fighter who actually managed to outshine Goku in terms of heroism–and ironically enough, this fighter-in-question is easily DBZ’s weakest.
Goku made his first appearance along with the series itself in Dragon Ball chapter 1. Upon his debut, Goku immediately set off on an adventure that would shape him into the hero he has since become. When Goku met Bulma in that first chapter, the two of them set off to find the wish-granting Dragon Balls–a quest that would force them to face down a number of crooks, gangs, and despicable villains along the way with each one being a unique challenge for Goku to overcome. Eventually, Goku begins training with Master Roshi to refine his martial arts skills, and when he completes his Turtle School training, Goku fights in a number of World Martial Arts Tournaments–and even wins on one occasion. These early trials are how Goku became strong enough to stop King Piccolo, defeat Frieza, and take on Cell–but even with all of those wins under his belt, his last fight with Kid Buu shows that another hero is perhaps even more deserving of the spotlight than Goku.
In Dragon Ball chapter 515 by Akira Toriyama, Good Buu is battling his evil counterpart, Kid Buu, in an effort to give Goku enough time to charge up a Spirit Bomb strong enough to kill Kid Buu once and for all. This battle is taking place on the planet of the Kais and far away from Earth–which was just restored by the wish granting magic of the Dragon Balls after it was destroyed by Kid Buu in a previous chapter. Since a Spirit Bomb uses the energy of those surrounding the person charging it, Goku needed the people of Earth to willingly offer their energy to him to make it strong enough to work against Buu. When Goku speaks to everyone on Earth telepathically, hardly anyone pays attention to what he’s saying and ignores him, leaving the Spirit Bomb weak and ineffective. However, when another fighter speaks to them, they listen immediately and give Goku the energy he needs to kill Kid Buu and save the universe–and that fighter is none other than Mr. Satan.
Goku Wouldn’t Have Beaten Buu Without Mr. Satan, & Goku Knows It
While he may be heroic in this chapter, Mr. Satan aka Hercule is notorious in Dragon Ball for being a complete and total fraud. Aside from the matches that made him famous–i.e. those where he fought against and defeated regular humans–he’s lied about winning every single one of his most spectacular fights. Mr. Satan lied about beating Cell, he paid 18 to throw their match at the Tenkaichi Budokai, and he constantly allows people to believe he is more skilled and powerful than he actually is just to maintain his fame. However, in this particular instance, Mr. Satan is worthy of praise.
While Kid Buu could not have been defeated if not for Goku’s Spirit Bomb, that attack would have been powerless without Mr. Satan. In fact, this chapter gives us a direct comparison between Goku’s and Hercule’s effectiveness in getting people to give up some of their energy to stop Buu, and Mr. Satan blows Goku out of the water. Plus, when it is all said and done and Kid Buu is defeated at last, Goku says that Mr. Satan is the savior of the world, thereby admitting that Hercule is Earth’s greatest hero. So, from Mr. Satan’s effectiveness to Goku himself essentially admitting that Hercule is the greatest hero alive, it becomes clear that Dragon Ball’s weakest fighter is actually a better hero than even Goku.