In the world of Dragon Ball, the protagonist Goku is said to be the strongest Saiyan even surpassing the limits of other Saiyan characters such as Vegeta and Broly. His Super Saiyan blue form and ultimately his Ultra Instinct are known to be above the level of Gods and thus defeating him becomes next to impossible.
However, there is one character who has proved that he could have easily surpassed Goku if he was given a chance in the canon series. The character is none other than his own father Bardock. In the series, Bardock is a low-class Saiyan warrior who is Goku’s father. He first appears on television as the lead character in Dragon Ball Z: Bardock – The Father of Goku, but later he was not given much importance.
However, the character has returned in the Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga and his return is marked by him battling his own son, and even surpassing him in Super Saiyan 3 form. This was an unexpected twist that was not at all anticipated by the Dragon Ball fans and thus has turned out to be quite a moment.
Bardock’s Power in Super Dragon Ball Heroes Manga
In the Super Dragon Ball Heroes manga, Bardock appears to have attained never before seen levels of power. Goku and Bardock face off in Super Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultra God Mission Chapter 8 which was a rare but a great fight for Dragon Ball fans.
Bardock, who could only assume Super Saiyan 3 form, faced off against Jiren, one of Goku’s fiercest opponents. However, he fights and outperforms his son even in that state. Due to its high energy consumption, Super Saiyan 3 is a transformation that is rarely used.
Bardock needs to have a tonne of incredible energy reserves at his disposal in order to be able to sustain the transformation for as long as he does and at a higher power level than Goku. This proves that Bardock has reached a power level that would have surpassed Goku easily if he had been given a chance in the other series.
Bardock’s Super Saiyan 3 Can Even Surpass Goku
Although Bardock, as portrayed in canon, was never able to reach the highest Super Saiyan tiers, his time-traveling version demonstrates that he is capable of transformation. When Bardock finally faces Goku in the manga, Goku changes into Super Saiyan 3 form to match Bardock’s current state.
However, Goku soon discovers that, even with the same transformation, his opponent is far more powerful than he is. Despite using Ultra Instinct, Goku eventually defeats Bardock’s Super Saiyan 3; however, even with a much more potent form, Goku still faces challenges in this fight.
Bardock could be the strongest Saiyan in the series if he had the opportunity to acquire higher-level transformations, which would allow him to take on Goku and surpass him making him the strongest Saiyan in the entire Dragon Ball history.
