The Research of Goku VS Superman
Hi! I'm Ben Singer. I direct, write, and edit DEATH BATTLE and play the character Wiz. Chad James plays Boomstick and co-writes. Jordan Lange is our talented animator who builds the eye-candy fight scenes… and that's the DEATH BATTLE team for you! Yep, there's just us three.
The upcoming episode of Goku VS Superman is the definition of legendary. Wiz and Boomstick have been doing this for over 2 years, and have gotten real good at being experts on weird, nerdy stuff. However, we knew if we were going to get this one right - and I mean 100% irrefutably right in a way that would change the web forever - we would have to find some more experts on weird, nerdy stuff. We contacted several qualified consultants in all things Dragon Ball and Superman. It didn't take long for this episode to suddenly turn into a massive collaboration between all sorts of different websites!
So let me introduce you to the team!
Our first Dragon Ball consultant is Derek Padula, a Dragon Ball analyst and author of "The Dao of Dragon Ball" and "Dragon Ball Z: "It's Over 9,000!" When Worldviews Collide." You know that one meme about that one number that everybody thinks is hilarious? Yeah, he wrote a whole freakin' book about it!
Padula has been instrumental in researching and discussing the Taoist philosophy and psychology of Son Goku. With his help, we are 100% confident in our representation of everyone's favorite Super Saiyan. Click here to check out our review of Padula's book.
But we couldn't stop there. We reached out to Kanzenshuu.com, the biggest collective resource of Dragon Ball on the web. Kanzenshuu is actually the combined merging of two separate Dragon Ball resource sites: Daizenshuu EX and Kanzentai.
Kanzenshuu was suggested to me by a couple g1s through my Twitter and Facebook, and I couldn't have predicted just how HUGE this website is! They cover news, write guides on animators, rumors, the original endings of DBZ and more, and have one of the most insightful Dragon Ball podcasts on the net. They also take great care in translating the Japanese content for us English speaking people, like the encyclopedic Daizenshuu guides. Boy, those are handy.
Mike LaBrie and the rest of the Kanzenshuu staff went above and beyond investigating the limits and specifics of Goku. They were instrumental in ensuring our research and calculations matched the original Japanese manga. We've caught dozens of game-changing mistranslations solely because of them. Like how Goku's Instant Transmission is not light-speed like the English dub says. And you won't believe how long we spent debating how many nuclear warheads Goku could survive! . . . yeah, we're all a bunch of dorks.
But even with all the mistranslating and misconceptions, Superman was just as difficult to pin down the facts for! There are so many different comics, books, movies, shows, and games all with slightly different depictions, I had no idea how we could cover every single thing on our own. Luckily, the staffs of two huge Superman sites were up to the challenge!
I call the Superman Super Site the "Mom N' Pop Superman Site." Not really sure why, I guess it just has that feel of authentic devotion and trust. It's run by Neil and Jennifer Cole, and is a complete database of Superman in entertainment. They've got troves of information on even the most obscure Superman stories, including entire movie scripts for Superman films that never took flight! (Pun intended)
Neil and Jennifer are the nicest Superman fans in the world, digging deep to find the facts and answering all my questions even when they had to leave town unexpectedly. They were vital in covering "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," which was the the one television show I had difficulties getting 100% coverage of. Yeah. We covered EVERYTHING. When we say "No page unturned, no scene unwatched," we mean it.
If Kanzenshuu is the ultimate database for Dragon Ball, then Superman Homepage is the equivalent for the Man of Steel. I don't even know where to begin with this site! If you're interested in something Superman, you'll find it here! Superman Homepage has made a huge impact on not only fans, but also the official creators and writers. They even had a cameo in the television show Smallville. Some of my research about Superman came from listening to their podcast, where they talk about Superman's stories, themes, and depictions in detail.
Superman Homepage is headed by Steve Younis AKA possibly the most knowledgeable Superman fan on the planet! He and his staff of experts and enthusiasts were a big help pinpointing exactly what kind of limits Superman has… which became a key factor in the final decision.
We're also excited to have MasakoX of Dragon Ball Z Abridged fame starring as Goku, and It'sJustSomeRandomGuy and his famous "I'm a Marvel… and I'm a DC" voice taking the role of Superman. And for the first time in DEATH BATTLE history, you will hear an original musical theme score setting the stage for the epic duel, courtesy of Blake Robinson's Synthetic Orchestra. Not to mention the fine folks of Team Four Star have been a tremendous help in communication and finding talent.
Needless to say… we've been busy.
This wonderful group of people has accomplished far more than I initially thought possible. Be sure to see the result of our research/analysis/writing/acting/composing/designing/animating/work this Friday, as the ultimate DEATH BATTLE premieres on December 21st, 2012.
So long as the world doesn't end first, I suppose…
» Tagged In: #Death Battle, #Goku, #superman
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g1 DISCUSSIONS
supesis
so judging from this It appears it went from Goku from all incarnations (anime, movies, etc) to just manga Goku being used? b
lordseshomaru86
Goku might have something to say about his speed and strength (but I still think Supes has him beat), but does anyone seriously think Supes is going to wait while goku does his KAAAAAAAAA....MEEEEEEEEEEEEHH...HAAAAAAAAAAA...MEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH...HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!??????
ZomBrony
Siiiigh.. Goku doesn't have to use it like that.. it's just probably easier for him to channel his power if he goes through the whole bit. He's been shown several times to use Kamehameha instantaneously. In fact, one of the earliest times was when he fought Nappa and Nappa tried to blast him with that beam from his mouth at close range.
hart7668
"Not as fast as the speed of light" Instant transmission isn't really speed as it is teleportation. Otherwise how would you explain traveling from King Kai's planet to Namek in mere seconds?
Jack_Red89
Why do so many of you don't understand how Instant Transmission works.
Super Sayian 101
MINATO vs FLASH
gojirafan430
-_- your not serious
The Warrior of Many Faces
The sad thing is, he probably is serious. But that's Stupid 101 for you. LOL
i_caveman
Ok, here is my comparison.
Superman at his most powerful, including both pre and post crisis, achieved godly status, and was capable of blowing away entire solar systems with a single sneeze.
Goku, has been trained by multiple gods and in the newest movie coming out March 2013 (written by Akira Toriyama) he is battling ancient gods from ages ago. Goku also defeated Majin Buu, a creature so powerful that it would destroy entire galaxies on a whim.
Superman does have time travel and time stop, but these powers are accredited to Superman's inhuman speed. Once he reaches quick enough speeds he can reverse time. This requires him to break the light speed barrier. Plus these powers require time for him to build up speed. Superman's time travel is also forbidden and if used to frequently can create time paradoxes capable of destroying the universe.
Goku is said to have broken the light speed barrier by Jeice and Burter in the Ginyu force saga prior to reaching Super Saiyan 1 form. Goku is also a martial arts genius and has to see a move only once to know how it works and to copy it. Something he does quite frequently in the Dragon Ball saga. If Superman does use time travel, there is a high chance Goku would discover it as well, and manage to keep up with him or even stop him. If superman manages to do this without getting caught, he would only have one chance of defeating Goku, and if he makes any mistakes, Goku never falls for the same trick twice.
Superman's freeze breath may be able to stop Goku only momentarily, but Goku has been frozen several times and always manages to break free. Although he has never done so, his instant transmission could possibly speed up his escape route. His instant transmission is also know to travel as far as the Planet Namek, which is 4,339 light years away (episode 36). Considering the milky way is about 3,500 light years long, this makes his instant transmission intergalactic. In the end though, it would probably not be very helpful using in a fight, unless Goku wants to move the fight somewhere else, or run. Something which he never does.
Superman is capable of surviving in the center of a sun, but not due to his strength, but due to his immunity to Solar radiation. This results in his ability to absorb its power at an enormous rate, but even that can take time. Unless Goku permits it, he can easily destroy the sun. Sudden fluctuation of solar radiation have also been known to tamper with superman's powers changing them, weakening them, enhancing them, removing them like in the Blue Superman series.
On Goku's trip to Namek he is faced with the challenge of escaping a sun, and he manages to use his own Kamehameha blast to rocket himself away long before reaching his maximum potential, so both can resist the gravity of a sun.
Superman's heat vision is comparable to Goku's Kamehameha wave, but Superman has the benefit of precision point heat vision. With this he might be capable of lobotomizing Goku like in the movie "Superman vs the Elite," but Goku can sense energy and would most likely see this coming. Plus since Goku's power is raw earned energy, it can not be removed the same way it was with the elites.
Superman can also possibly use pressure points on Goku which he could discover by using X-Ray, but Goku has also been rendered immobile before, even to the point of being a small piece of candy Majin Buu saga, and still was capable of fighting effectively.
Lastly, when Goku dies he is capable of using his instant transmission to transport back into the living world and continue fighting. This is something he does several times including the Cell fight, one of the movies, and in the mini continuation saga, Dragon Ball (Hey ya! or Yo!) also written by Akira Toriyama.
When Superman dies, he requires extended periods of sunlight exposure to recover, and if there is none present, he poses the risk of eventual body decay over long periods of time, resulting in a final death.
Both heroes have a strong sense of humane compassion and refuse to kill their opponents, but only one of them has ever obeyed that rule loyally. Superman has never killed any animal, alien, or human. Goku however throws that rule out the door after he reaches the first Super Saiyan level, killing every major villian from then on. This is possibly due to the root of Super Saiyan power being fueled by rage.
Supermans most powerful move is a move where he runs around the planet several times gaining enough momentum to punch a person or object so powerful, they vaporize or fly into orbit. This exact same move is so powerful it kills The Flash after he tries using it himself in the Crisis on Infinite Earth series. (Goku's son Gohan is capable of using this exact same move without a running start in the Cell saga, by reaching Super Saiyan 2 status)
Goku's most powerful move is the Spirit Bomb. A ball of energy which draw from the sun and all life. But can not hurt anything good and pure like superman.
My final conclusion is that Superman is at Super Saiyan 2 level, but once Goku reaches Super Saiyan 3 Superman is outmatched in every way. Superman would have to fight dirty and be prepared for murder or worse to be capable of defeating Goku. I do not count Super Saiyan 4 in the series because that was not written by Akira Toriyama, but in the end, Goku is already far more powerful than he needs to be either way. Lets also not forget, Goku also has his magical power bow. Superman is very weak against magic and even an average person could hurt Superman with a little bit of magic. Goku's staff has been accredited by some to be the legendary staff of Ruyi Jinju Bang which can extend indefinitely and shrink to the size of a needle which can be stored behind the ear. Which would explain why sometimes Goku seems to pull it out of no where. This staff was also said to weigh 8 and a half tons and was used to measure the depths of oceans. With the combined magic and weight, it could quite possibly cripple Superman.
supesis
The 'galaxy sneezing' Pre Crisis Superman got knocked out by Muhammad Ali in a boxing match. and has more showings like that than the shit like sneezing out a galaxy.