Dragon Ball: 5 Super Saiyan Transformations Goku Never Achieved

Being the main hero of the Dragon Ball franchise, it’s not too surprising that Goku tends to lead the way when it comes to new transformations. He was the first to obtain the power of a Super Saiyan and to this day remains the only unfused character who is capable of transforming into a Super Saiyan 3.

However, there are still a handful of Super Saiyan transformations that Goku never mastered on-screen or in the manga. He certainly has the skill and aptitude to do so, but, for one reason or another, anime’s most iconic hero never uses these forms in any of the canon Dragon Ball media.

Gohan’s Potential Unleashed and Beast forms will not be included on this list as neither is considered a Super Saiyan transformation. The same is also true of Vegeta’s Ultra Ego transformation.

Legendary Super Saiyan

First introduced in the 1993 Dragon Ball Z movieBroly – The Legendary Super Saiyan, the Legendary Super Saiyan transformation is one of the series’ most powerful. In fact, in one issue of the Dragon Ball Super manga, Vegeta expresses his belief that it may well be the true form of a Super Saiyan, with its users able to draw from a seemingly endless supply of power while in this Berserk state.

Given Goku’s status as the franchise’s main protagonist, it makes sense that fans have never seen him use this Super Saiyan form. It’s known for its mindless destruction, after all, which is something that wouldn’t be at all befitting of a hero like Goku. Its only known users are Broly and Kale, though it’s widely assumed that the Legendary Super Saiyan Yamoshi would have also had access to this form.

Golden Great Ape

Another Super Saiyan transformation tied to rage and destruction, the Golden Great Ape is effectively a Super Saiyan in Oozaru form. When Goku first transforms into a Super Saiyan on Namek, Vegeta reveals that the very first Super Saiyan was only able to maintain the transformation while he was in Great Ape form, though this is clearly not the case when it comes to Goku.

Strictly speaking, fans have seen Golden Great Ape Goku before, though his use of the transformation came in Dragon Ball GT, which is generally considered to be non-canon due to Akira Toriyama’s lack of involvement. Goku uses the form during his fight with Baby Vegeta before transforming into a Super Saiyan 4: a refined and more controlled version of the Golden Great Ape.

Super Saiyan Rose

Goku Black is arguably one of the best Dragon Ball villains since the introduction of Cell and the Androids way back in the early nineties. With that in mind, it seems only fitting that the body-snatching bad guy has access to his very own Super Saiyan transformation, and it’s undoubtedly one of the very coolest, not to mention, one of the most powerful.

Super Saiyan Rose is the result of a divine being transforming into a Super Saiyan and shares many similarities with Super Saiyan God. However, Goku Black’s transformation is considerably more powerful owing to it being infused with Godly Ki, helping it to surpass Super Saiyan Blue when it comes to raw power.

Super Saiyan Rage

The Goku Black storyline introduces several new Super Saiyan transformations that Goku doesn’t have access to, the second of which is Super Saiyan Rage. This anime-only transformation is achieved by Future Trunks after he grows angry at the destruction and pain wrought by Goku Black and Zamasu and is shown to be on par or stronger than Super Saiyan Blue.

There are plenty of similarities between the Super Saiyan Rage and Legendary Super Saiyan forms, but a few key differences. For starters, Trunks never completely succumbs to his rage and thus maintains a reasonable level of control over his actions. Additionally, the Super Saiyan Rage form is characterized by a gold and blue glow rather than a green and gold one.

Super Saiyan Blue Evolution

Super Saiyan Blue Evolution (or Super Saiyan God SS Evolved, as it’s referred to in the manga) is one of only a handful of Vegeta-exclusive transformations in the Dragon Ball franchise. It’s showcased during the Tournament of Power and is shown to be considerably stronger than the regular Super Saiyan Blue form that Vegeta and Goku had been using up to that point.

If the need ever arose, Goku could probably master this form, but the mighty Saiyan has several other options at his disposal. Initially, he chooses to combine Super Saiyan Blue with the Kaio-ken technique, which seems to be around the same level as Blue Evolution. Later on in the arc, Goku is able to tap into Ultra Instinct: a much more powerful technique that effectively renders the Super Saiyan God SS Evolved transformation useless to him.