A DC writer wants to settle the Goku versus Superman debate. Debates over who would win in fights across different franchises occur regularly among fans. The internet is running rampant with various theories as to why one hero would beat another. The debate over whether Superman could beat Goku or vise versa is particularly contentious.
DC's Superman and Goku from Dragon Ball are both iconic and incredibly powerful characters. They have been pitted against one another in numerous fan debates and battles. The likelihood of these two characters ever being part of a crossover that allows them to face one another is incredibly low. However, one DC comic writer has brought up a way to settle the debate in his own way and eventually would like to do so.
Gene Luen Yang was recently in a Q&A session on DC Community - a branch of DC Universe Infinite. He co-created the new DC hero, Monkey Prince, who debuted in DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1. During the interview, Gene Luen Yang answered questions about his work on Superman Smashes the Klan, Batman/Superman, and the Monkey Prince. When asked by a fan if there were "any Asian elements" Yang would like to incorporate, the writer responded by saying he would like to settle the debate of Goku versus Superman, using the Monkey Prince.
The quote is as follows:
The Monkey King is hugely popular in Asia. Dragonball, for instance, is based on the legend of the Monkey King.
On the Internet, there's been a debate about Goku vs. Superman. Who would win? I'm hoping to answer that by having Monkey Prince vs. Superman at some point in the future.
Both Goku and the Monkey Prince are inspired by Journey to the West and the story of the Monkey King. Goku is an extremely powerful character who continues to get even stronger as his adventures continue. His change from a young boy in Dragon Ball to a Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball Z is massive and his drive to continue improving is admirable. Superman is also very powerful, with numerous abilities that he also gains from being an extraterrestrial being. However, Monkey Prince has only recently been introduced and many of his abilities are still not known. Thus far he has been shown to be a shapeshifter with impressive martial arts skills. Given he has barely begun his journey and only just had his debut, there will still be a lot to learn about this character in the future. At the moment it is impossible to say if Monkey Prince will be a match for Superman - or if he'd even be a match for Goku! In that regard, only the future could tell.
This interview does lead to a very interesting question, however: how would Monkey Prince and Superman get into a fight? Superheroes fight each other in a cliché trope rather regularly - typically as a result of a misunderstanding. However, Monkey Prince has been revealed to hate superheroes, despite potentially being one himself. He quickly despised Shazam. Given that Superman is one of the best representations of a superhero, it seems certain that the newcomer would find himself disliking the Man of Steel just as quickly. This match-up may never come to fruition, but the idea that a writer actively working on DC projects would want to tackle this is very interesting. Fans would definitely have a lot to look forward to if Gene Luen Yang ever gets approval from DC for Monkey Prince - as a similar figure to Goku in terms of inspiration and potentially power - to directly take on Superman and finally settle the debate once and for all.
Source: DC Community