Goku vs. Superman

About

Goku vs. Superman is an online fan-debate between fans of the DC Comics superhero Superman, and those of Dragon Ball protagonist Goku. The popularity of the debate is fueled by the fact that both characters are among the most powerful in their respective universes, and are even cited as being among the most powerful characters in fictional history.

Origin

The exact origin of the debate is unknown, but it is likely that it originated around the time that Dragon Ball Z was airing on Toonami in the United States. The earliest known example of the fight being used as the basis for a discussion online was on the Newgrounds forums in a thread titled “Goku VS Superman” created on January 23, 2003. ^[1]

That same year DeviantArt user mistermoster uploaded a colored version of an image drawn by fellow user chachaman (shown below). Mistermoster later began a webcomic series based around a fight between Goku and Superman. ^[2]

Spread

On June 28, 2006 YouTuber harsh29 uploaded a video depicting a fight between Goku and Superman within the 2D freeware fighting game Mugen (shown below, left). On August 3, 2009 YouTuber Vegito1089 uploaded a video depicting a fight between Goku and Superman using cropped clips from various episodes of Dragon Ball as well as the Justice League animated series (shown below, right). Due to the outcome of the fight many viewers, presumably Dragon Ball fans, disliked the video and left negative comments in the video’s comment section. As of July 2015, the video has over 4 million views, nearly 30,000 comments, and a 3:1 dislike-to-like ratio. Along with these, there have been various other fan-made fights, numbering around 127,000 results on YouTube. ^[3]

On May 19, 2014 YouTuber ERB uploaded a video titled “Goku vs Superman. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 3.” as a part of their Epic Rap Battles of History series with Ray William Johnson portraying Goku (shown below). As of July 2015, the video has over 54 million views.

Death Battle

On January 9, 2013 YouTube based entertainment company ScrewAttack in collaboration with various other individuals and groups, including Team Four Star, uploaded a video titled “Goku VS Superman | DEATHBATTLE! | ScrewAttack!” as a part of their Death Battle series (shown below, left). In the video the two hosts of the series analyze both Goku and Superman’s abilities in order to determine who would win in a fight between the two. Around two years after the original video, ScrewAttack announced at the end of their “Darth Vader VS Doctor Doom” video that a rematch between Goku and Superman would be released at SGC 2015. A trailer was later released on July 8, 2015 (shown below, right).

At the end of the fight Superman emerged as the victor, leading many Dragon Ball fans, as well as others, to post their reactions and counter-arguments (shown below).