10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (2024)

Dragon Ball has hundreds of diverse techniques on display and Goku consistently adds powerful abilities to his attack arsenal. Many of Goku’s attacks have become synonymous with Dragon Ball itself, whether it’s his Spirit Bomb, the Kaio-Ken, or his signature Kamehameha. These are all powerful techniques that have helped save his life on numerous occasions.

However, Goku is no stranger to unconventional abilities that defy convention – or are just downright weird. Some of these strange techniques are more helpful than others, and a handful are only used once before they fade away into obscurity. All that said, Goku’s willingness to think outside the box and resort to weird and unconventional attacks are exactly why he’s become a shonen legend and such a popular Dragon Ball character.

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Goku has spent the better part of 40 years in-story refining his martial arts, and it shows in how many techniques and transformations he's acquired.

10 Rock, Scissors ‘N' Paper Is A Confusing Surprise Every Time

Debut: Dragon Ball, Episode 3, "The Nimbus Cloud Of Roshi"

It's important to remember that early Dragon Ball is indebted to Akira Toriyama's gag comedy roots. This is evident in some of the series' earliest techniques, such as Goku's absurd Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper attack. This is actually one of the first attacks Goku uses in Dragon Ball. It's first revealed during his fight against an intimidating Bear Thief and returns shortly later during Goku's first fight against Yamcha. It's possible this perplexing technique would have been a permanent tool in Goku's repertoire if he never mastered the Kamehameha.

Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper is basically a fancy way for Goku to karate chop his target or poke them in the eyes. To add insult to injury, he confuses his enemy and throws them off their game by saying the incorrect name for the attack that he actually uses. Rock, Scissors 'N' Paper is also good for an easy laugh. It's a technique that Goku originally learned from Grandpa Gohan and he's able to keep its legacy going since Goten also knows the move in Dragon Ball video games.

Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Episode 123, "Body, Soul And Power Unleashed! Goku And Vegeta!"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (2)

Goku has incredible ki control by Dragon Ball Super, which leads to some creative skills. Goku has experimented with alternate versions of standard attacks by slowing down ki or other finding unconventional uses of his environment. The Tournament of Power is an excellent opportunity for someone like Goku to think outside the box. There’s little comedic value in Goku’s Energy Landmine ability, but it’s still fairly weird in regard to its implementation. Goku is a fairly direct fighter who bravely takes on opponents.

His Energy Landmine attack requires a little more patience and strategy on his part. He basically loads portions of the ground with intense ki, which then detonates when stepped on. Goku makes use of this unconventional strategy during his fight against Universe 11’s Jiren. Goku needs all the help that he can get against this resilient juggernaut and it proves to be an effective strategy. It’s an attack that Goku should use more often and it’s unfortunate it’s been reduced to a creative moment of inspiration during the Tournament of Power that hasn’t returned.

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10 Best Dragon Ball Techniques Goku Never Used

Goku is one of the most powerful characters in anime, but there are plenty of Dragon Ball techniques he never learned.

8 Goku Levels The Playing Field With Clones As SSJ4 Gogeta

Debut: Dragon Ball GT, Episode 60, "Super Saiyan 4 Fusion"

Cloning is actually a surprisingly common ability in Dragon Ball. Clones sometimes all share a portion of the same energy and the use of this technique forces the fighter to operate at a fraction of their strength, but this isn’t always the case. Cloning produces actual duplicates of the individual and is not a hallucinatory move like the Afterimage Technique. Cloning requires incredible ki control, which Goku masters during his training period on Yardrat.

Goku himself doesn’t directly use cloning, but it’s still an ability he knows. Goku Black surrounds Goku and Vegeta with intimidating clones, which indicates that Goku also possesses the skill, since Goku Black is just Zamasu in Goku’s body. Additionally, Goku makes use of cloning when he fights as Super Saiyan 4 Gogeta against Omega Shenron in Dragon Ball GT. In this scenario, Gogeta really leans into cloning’s comedic possibilities and uses it an opportunity for a whole crowd of him to mock Omega Shenron.

7 The Eight-Arm Fist Technique Turns Goku Into A Multi-Armed Menace

Debut: Dragon Ball, Episode 100, "The Spirit Canon"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (5)

Dragon Ball’s 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament features some of the original series’ most creative and compelling fights. Goku’s final fight against Tien is genuinely intense, especially when Tien turns up the heat and sprouts two extra arms with his Four Witches Technique. Ever the resourceful optimist, Goku responds in kind with the Eight-Arm Fist. The Eight-Arm Fist technique may make it look like Goku has six extra hands, but it actually involves fast-paced movements that merely create the illusion that the user has extra appendages.

Nevertheless, the Eight-Arm Fist proves to be an effective counter to Tien’s ability. Another interesting wrinkle about this weird ability is that Goku first witnesses it being used by King Chappa before he effortlessly adopts it against Tien. Eight arms appear to be plenty for Goku, but Tambourine heightens this ability to extreme places when he implements his One-Hundred strike against Chappa. Goku has become so much stronger since the original Dragon Ball that he could likely now use a Million-Arm Fist Technique if he were so inclined to do so.

6 Goku’s Perfected Ultra Instinct Giant Energy Avatar Turns Him Into A Kaiju-Sized Threat

Debut: Dragon Ball Super, Chapter 66, "Moro, Consumer Of Worlds"

Goku’s lengthy road to mastering Ultra Instinct is one of the Dragon Ball Super manga’s most enlightening journeys. A former Angel Merus helps Goku perfect UI and he finally unlocks Perfected Ultra Instinct’s abilities during his fight against Planet-Eater Moro. The climax of the fight involves Moro literally absorbing and fusing together with the Earth so he has a conduit substantial enough to withstand his stolen Ultra Instinct power. Perfected Ultra Instinct generates a gargantuan energy avatar, known as Goku's Giant Form, that is able to confidently battle against this planet-sized threat.

It’s a surreal spectacle to see a giant Goku wage war with the enemy on a scale that’s even greater than previous Great Ape battles. Goku returns to this tactic during his fight against Gas and it’s likely to be utilized in his inevitable final battle against Black Frieza. It’s an ability that would have felt impossible during the original Dragon Ball, but the franchise gradually eases the audience into such a ridiculous idea through its sustained use of Ultra Instinct.

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Why Goku Doesn't Have Any Original Techniques, Explained

If “good artists copy, but great artists steal” then it makes sense why Goku is such a great martial artist.

5 Goku’s Tornado! Turns Him Into A Spinning Sensation

Debut: Dragon Ball, Episode 25, "Danger From Above"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (7)

Dragon Ball’s 21st World Martial Arts Tournament is a great opportunity for the series to let loose with oddball opponents and strange battle strategies. Goku unveils some extremely weird techniques during the tournament. Some of which never return, but they're still a testament to his quick thinking and improvisational versatility. Goku’s semi-finals clash with Nam marks the debut of his Tornado! ability, in which Goku spins around at an incredible velocity with the intention of knocking his target out of the arena.

This strategy nearly works before Goku is rendered too dizzy and finds himself incapacitated. The Tornado! technique is emblematic of Goku’s care-free younger years as a martial artist. That being said, it does make a brief return during the 23rd World Tournament when he briefly uses it as a demonstration of his increased speed and strength upon shedding his weighted clothing. Goku also implements a similar tactic in Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn when he needs to dispose of copious Janemba clones.

4 Goku’s Crazy Fist Delivers A Burst Of Energy That Defies Logic

Debut: Dragon Ball, Episode 26, "The Grand Finals"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (8)

Dragon Ball has a lot of fun with its Jackie Chan allusions early on in the franchise. Not only does Master Roshi fight under the pseudonym, Jackie Chun, but he implements a chaotic fighting style – Drunken Fist – a playful homage to Chan’s Drunken Master martial arts movie. Jackie Chun fights with unpredictable movements that bombard his opponent with random punches and kicks, as if he’s intoxicated and stumbling.

Goku counters this madness with a similar form of mimcry that he refers to as his Crazy Fist fighting style. Goku’s Crazy Fist involves him running around the arena like he’s a rabid animal whose attack pattern subverts reason. It’s worth pointing out that Dragon Ball’s manga divides Goku’s Crazy Fist ability into two similar and complementary techniques, his Crazy Monkey Attack and his Mad Dog Fist.

3 The Bluff Kamehameha Is The Ultimate Trolling Technique

Debut: Dragon Ball GT, Episode 60, "Super Saiyan 4 Fusion"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (9)

Dragon Ball features dozens of Kamehameha variations, some of which even activated by feet. Dragon Ball’s fused characters are some of the series’ most obnoxious and arrogant fighters, particularly Goku and Vegeta’s fusion dance union, Gogeta. Dragon Ball GT’s sole use of Gogeta against Omega Shenron is basically one extended mockery session where the Super Saiyan 4 union seems more interested in Omega Shenron’s humiliation than his destruction. One of Gogeta’s weirdest techniques during this fight is his Bluff Kamehameha.

Gogeta sets his opponent up for a terrifying burst of power, only for him to undercut everything with frivolous trickery. The Bluff Kamehameha shoots out confetti and innocuous party favors, rather than a fatal energy blast. This is technically a Gogeta attack, but it feels like it must be a technique that’s also in Super Saiyan 4 Goku’s repertoire, considering that Vegeta doesn’t have any Kamehameha attacks to his name. It’s a technique that definitely comes from Gogeta’s Goku side.

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Goku is one of Dragon Ball Z's most skilled warriors, but some of his strongest techniques have only appeared in the series' movies and video games.

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2 The Tail-Helicopter Technique Helps Goku Take Flight

Debut: Dragon Ball, Episode 26, "The Grand Finals"

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (11)

Goku’s tail is one of his most prominent features in the original Dragon Ball. This appendage is often treated like a liability because of the Great Ape transformation that it triggers. However, there are a few instances where Goku demonstrates that he has control over his tail and that it can actually aid him in battle.

There’s a brief moment during the 21st World Tournament where Goku evades danger by taking to the skies through the use of his Tail-Helicopter Technique. Goku spins his tail at such intense speeds that it allows him to float through the air (a move that would later be co-opted by Tails in the Sonic the Hedgehog series). This technique is a wild sight and an ability that doesn’t stay with Goku for a long time, considering that he later permanently loses his tail and learns how to fly through ki manipulation, rather than a quickly-spinning appendage.

1 Goku’s Dragon Fist Literally Turns Him Into A Shenron-Like Menace

Debut: Dragon Ball Z: Wrath Of The Dragon

Dragon iconography has always been front and center in Dragon Ball, but one of the most surreal sights occurs during the climax of Dragon Ball Z’s 13th feature film, Wrath of the Dragon. Hirudegarn is a giant beast that feels like Dragon Ball’s rift on Godzilla. Conventional combat falls short against Hirudegarn and Goku manages to finally defeat this monstrosity through a random Super Saiyan 3 ability that comes out of nowhere. Goku’s Dragon Fist launches him through the air and temporarily turns him into a dragon upon making contact with his target.

Not only does Super Saiyan 3 Goku tear through the enemy, but his dragon form then endlessly constricts his victim to do additional damage. It’s a spectacle that’s akin to Goku’s finishing attack on Demon King Piccolo, but considerably weirder and more extreme. Goku’s Dragon Fist is rarely seen, due to how it debuted in an anime-only movie story, but powerful variations of it – the Super Dragon Fist and Dragon Hammer – do appear in Dragon Ball GT.

10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (12)
Dragon Ball

Dragon Ball tells the tale of a young warrior by the name of Son Goku, a young peculiar boy with a tail who embarks on a quest to become stronger and learns of the Dragon Balls, when, once all 7 are gathered, grant any wish of choice.

Created by
Akira Toriyama

First Film
Dragon Ball: Curse of the Blood Rubies

Latest Film
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

First TV Show
Dragon Ball
Latest TV Show
Dragon Ball Super

Upcoming TV Shows
Dragon Ball DAIMA

First Episode Air Date
April 26, 1989

Cast
Sean Schemmel , Laura Bailey , Brian Drummond , Christopher Sabat , Scott McNeil
Current Series
Dragon Ball Super
10 Weirdest Powers Goku Has in the Dragon Ball Series, Ranked (2024)

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