There are a lot of fan debates that get a lot of attention because fans are very passionate about certain characters. One of the biggest is a simple question–who would win in a fight? Most of these are comic book hero/villain debates, or even anime debates, or classics from the movies like Terminator vs. Robocop. The end-all-be-all in the minds of many is that of Goku vs. Superman. This is a classic debate about ultimate heroes who have insane powers and abilities, and for decades, no one has been able to decide who would win between the two.
Part of the reason for this is the character’s arcs. Superman is meant to be the “ultimate power” character who only reveals his true strength when needed, meaning when a worthy threat actually presents itself. As for Goku, his literal story is pushing beyond his limits to ensure that he can reach that next level of power to defeat foes like Frieza, Cell, Jiren, and so on. Here you have a being with no limits versus a man who can break virtually any limit. Who wins?
Before we answer that, let’s tell you what the English voice actor for Goku, Sean Schemmel has to say on this matter.
“Goku would ask Superman to get close to the sun and get [as] charged up as possible, and then he’d fight him. But if Earth was in danger, he would fight him as long as he could but then, probably, if he wasn’t having any success, he would probably just Instant Transmission Superman to a planet without a yellow sun – and then he would lose all his powers and Goku would win.”
He also noted that while Ki may not work on Superman, he felt Goku could outsmart him.
There are many problems with that analysis though. First, Goku would have to know that Superman is powered by the sun, not something he openly boasts in public (and most battles are a “they can’t plan ahead” kind of thing). Second, while Goku is smart, so is Superman, and even if Goku could realize that Superman is powered by the sun, using Instant Transmission isn’t a surefire win because Superman could just fly away and get to a place with a yellow sun, or even a blue sun.
Goku wouldn’t be able to follow him because Goku can’t breathe in space. Another argument of Schemmel’s is that Goku is a god and thus could beat Superman. However, Superman has beaten Darkseid, who is a god, and Superman has fought and beaten other gods before. Even in Ultra Instinct, it wouldn’t be a given win, because Superman has a martial art that allows him to react on instinct as well.
If you’re not convinced, go watch Death Battle–they did two episodes on this and proved definitively twice why Goku loses. Or you can just jump into Fortnite and make your own Goku vs Superman matchup.
Source: IGN
