While Goku was definitely pushed to his limit in Dragon Ball Super, he had been defeating gods for a long time before Bills even stepped in.
It’s no secret that in the current Dragon Ball continuity, Goku has unlocked a power that arguably surpasses that of the most powerful gods in the multiverse (minus Zeno, of course). But what fans may not know is that Goku became stronger than several gods still in Dragon Ball long before Dragon Ball Super.
Goku is a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta who was sent to Earth as a baby by the hands of father Bardock to escape the destruction of his planet. By the time Goku was a child, the race of Saiyans had already established themselves as one of the most fearsome in the entire galaxy, and at the time, Goku was no exception. When Goku was sent to Earth, before the retcon suffered in the Dragon Ball Super: Broly movie (2018) it was known that his mission was to eradicate all life on the planet so that the world could be sold. In the two stories told (the old version and the retcon), Goku suffers a head injury that makes him forget all his past, becoming the greatest hero on Earth. In this effort, Goku trained hard to reach seemingly impossible levels of power until he finally encountered a being that presented a greater challenge than any he had ever fought before: The Great Frieza.
In chapter 310 of the Dragon Ball manga, Goku and Frieza are in the middle of their iconic battle, and it seems clear from the start that Frieza has the upper hand. While Goku trained heavily before fighting the villain, Frieza is still able to kill someone as strong as Vegeta as if it were nothing (and not long before, Vegeta had a very tough battle with Goku, so the victory over Frieza is frighteningly revealing. However, Goku proves that the training he went through was worth it, as it is revealed that he is not using all of his energy at this point in the fight, and is still able to keep up with Frieza. Goku is so impressive, Piccolo makes a point of saying, “He’s like a god…”
The fact that Goku apparently has a power comparable to divine energy before he even reaches the Super Saiyan is insanely impressive, and the fact that Piccolo is saying this (someone who is the other half of the Earth god, Kami) means that it is much more than just empty words from someone who is witnessing a power they cannot comprehend. While this seems impressive, and perhaps even premature, given how weak Goku is compared to the god of Destruction, Bills, when the two meet, Goku was actually stronger than the gods of Dragon Ball for a while before this chapter, and long before Dragon Ball Super. In fact, this has been proven many times.
When Goku needed to defeat the assassin Tao Pai Pai, he trained with the god Karin and didn’t leave Karin Tower until he overcame him. When Goku needed to defeat Piccolo, he trained with the Earth god, Kami, and overcame him to defeat Kami’s other evil half. When Goku needed to defeat the evil Saiyans, including Nappa and Vegeta, he trained and overcame Lord Kaioh of the North.
While Bills is indeed a truly powerful being on any scale, the gods of Dragon Ball have varying abilities, and Goku has long been climbing and escalating his power levels relative to divine powers instead of just entering recently. While Dragon Ball Super saw Goku get even stronger, he overcame many of the franchise’s gods long before he finally made it to Bills.
Source: Atualinerd.com.br
