Are Kryptonians stronger than Saiyans?

Art by Brett Booth and Bruno Furlani

One of Superman's greatest opponents is one he will never actually meet: Dragon Ball protagonist Son Goku. The outcome of this dream match-up has been hotly debated by fans of both manga and Western comics, with no concrete answer being universally agreed upon. In fact, the argument is so divisive that it is now banned from most comic book forums. Despite being a big fan of both characters, I've never been able to confidently bet on one hero over the other - until now.

Perhaps the main reason why the debate continues to this day is that, by nature, each character keeps displaying new feats that could tip the scales. This is because of their alien physiology - Superman is Kryptonian and Goku is Saiyan, meaning they each have powers that put them at the very top of their respective fictional universes. Thus, the only way to truly end this mighty clash is not to focus solely on these heroes, but to look at the differences between each extraterrestrial race.

Planets Krypton and Vegeta before destruction

Kryptonians and Saiyans have a similar story - their planets were destroyed, with only a child in a spaceship (and a few others) managing to escape. These children grew up on Earth, discovering that they had incredible powers. The difference is how these powers emerged - Superman's flight, strength and other abilities were a direct result of him living on a planet with a yellow sun, converting its energy into power through his Kryptonian cells.

Goku's power, however, is internal. Saiyans draw their power out from within themselves, growing stronger as the situation requires it. This manifests in the form of different "Super Saiyan" transformations, including Super Saiyan God. On the surface, this makes it appear as if Saiyans are stronger - take Superman away from the sun, and surely he'll be much weaker than Goku?

Goku turns Super Saiyan for the first time

In fact, that's not completely true. Saiyans have a huge reservoir of energy within themselves, but it is finite. Dragon Ball Super's recent Tournament of Power had Goku master his best transformation yet, Ultra Instinct. For around 30 seconds, the Saiyan was able to perform at peak ability - he automatically reacted to attacks and hit with as much power as possible. Even with Ultra Instict, Goku could not beat his foe Jiren, which is evidence that the limit-breaking Saiyans do indeed have limits.

Therefore, Superman has the upper hand by being able to draw from an energy source outside of himself - and it's not limited to just yellow suns. It appears as if sunlight is the easiest form of energy for Kryptonians to absorb, and is necessary for them to move on to other energies. For example, when Superman is in his Electric Blue form (yes, he can transform too) he is able to absorb red sunlight, which previously took his powers away.

Superman learns he can develop 4-D vision

Superman is always as strong as he needs to be. This is made most clear in Superman Beyond, part of DC's Final Crisis event. In this story, Superman develops the power of "4-D vision" so he can comprehend travel between universes, possibly drawing from the energies around him. Later on, we even see Superman absorb the antimatter energies of Ultraman and become a living story, capable even of reaching out of the comic book and touching the reader.

He's the original superhero, the embodiment of the desire to grow stronger and overcome challenges. Superman would win against Goku because Kryptonians draw energy from fiction itself, becoming stronger or weaker based on what the story requires. Of course, this could also mean that there might be a situation where Saiyans would have the upper hand - the key to understanding this battle is knowing that by engaging in any "who would win" debate, you're telling a story. That story is yours, and anybody can win if you tell it well enough.