Every Character Goku Has Killed in Dragon Ball

There's nothing more Goku loves than fighting, but he's not a killer like the rest of the Saiyans. Throughout Dragon Ball, Goku fights a lot, but his kill count is shockingly low in the grand scheme of things. Goku has no problems killing if that's what the situation calls for, but more often than not, Goku likes to give his enemies a chance at both redemption, and to get stronger so he can give himself a better rematch – that's the reason Goku spared both Piccolo and Vegeta in their iconic battles, and they've since gone on to become two of his closest allies.

Between Dragon Ball, DBZ, and Dragon Ball Super, Goku keeps his kill count low and never takes a life unless he absolutely needs to. Interestingly, Goku kills fewer and fewer characters as the franchise has gone on. Most of Goku's kills happened when he was a child fighting the Red Ribbon Army and King Piccolo's demons. After training with Kami and Mr. Popo, Goku mellows out considerably, and learning he's a Saiyan at the start of Dragon Ball Z forces him to make a concerted effort not to kill to prove to himself that he's nothing like Raditz or Vegeta.

1 Goku Kills Most of the Red Ribbon Army Single-Handedly

The Red Ribbon Army arc is Goku's most violent saga by a mile. He does not discriminate against his foes whatsoever, and packs up quite the body count when all is said and done. Goku's first kill is Ninja Murasaki, knocking him out of Muscle Tower into certain death. Goku then kills Buyon by freezing and shattering the monster. After that, Goku kills Captain Yellow when he makes it to the Sacred Land of Korin and seemingly kills Tao Pai Pai (though he's rebuilt by Tsuru Sen'nin later off-screen).

When Goku storms the Red Ribbon Army Headquarters, he kills dozens – if not hundreds – of Red Ribbon Soldiers in his pursuit of the Dragon Balls. It was later retconned that Goku also killed Dr. Gero son's, Gevo, which motivated Gero to dedicate his life to killing Goku (and rebuilding Android 16 in his image). Goku's last kill in the Red Ribbon Army arc is Staff Officer Black, who briefly becomes the army's Commander after killing Commander Red himself.

2 Tambourine Was Easily Killed By Goku After He Fed Himself

Goku's next kill isn't until the beginning of the Demon King Piccolo Saga. After Tambourine murders Krillin at the end of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku flies after him and is easily defeated since he's still exhausted from his fight with Tien Shinhan. Worse, Tambourine even destroys the Nimbus Cloud for good (but Goku gets another one later).

Goku gets a chance at a rematch after he eats Yajirobe's fish and restores his energy. In early Dragon Ball, eating was used as a way for Goku to regain his power and it's mentioned multiple times that he's weaker when he's hungry. After eating, Goku almost effortlessly kills Tambourine in their rematch. Unfortunately for Goku, killing Tambourine signals King Piccolo to his location, and Piccolo outright stops Goku's heart – nearly killing him for good during their battle.

3 Goku Obliterated Drum After Drinking The Ultra Divine Water

Upon just barely surviving his battle with Demon King Piccolo, Goku pleads with Yajirobe to take him to Korin. Yajirobe spends days driving and climbing up the tower, but when they arrive, Korin informs Goku that he unfortunately cannot train him to become strong enough to defeat Piccolo. What he can do, however, is have Goku drink the Ultra Divine Water – a poison which unlocks the drinker's full power, but only if they survive.

After a night of suffering, Goku powers through the poison, survives, and then flies off with a power boost to defeat King Piccolo. At the same time, Tien is being manhandled by Drum, King Piccolo's latest demon child. Showing just how powerful he's become, Goku arrives on the scene and kills Drum with a single kick, blowing up a foe who Tien Shinhan couldn't even stand up against.

4 Goku Just Barely Kills Demon King Piccolo After An Exhausting Battle

Goku and King Piccolo's final battle is one of the most violent and evenly matched fights in Dragon Ball. Even with his new power boost courtesy of the Ultra Divine Water, Goku is just equal with Demon King Piccolo in terms of Power Level. Goku does put up an excellent fight, but there are multiple times when he nearly dies. Things turn dire for Goku when Piccolo holds Tien hostage.

With no choice and no Dragon Balls to revive Tien, Goku allows King Piccolo to break almost all of his limbs. Unfortunately for Piccolo, he leaves Goku one arm, which he uses to fire a Kamehameha and launch himself at Piccolo. Using the full might of his power, Goku pierces through King Piccolo's body and kills him on the spot in an epic finish.

5 Goku Is Responsible For Killing King Kai & Bubbles During The Cell Games

Believe it or not, Goku doesn't kill anyone in Dragon Ball Z until the Cell Games. He does believe he killed Frieza on Namek, but it's quickly revealed that Frieza survived. When Cell is getting ready to self-destruct and destroy the Earth following his fight with Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, Goku quickly uses the Instant Transmission to get Cell off-world.

The problem is that Goku doesn't have much time, so he teleports Cell to the only planet he could lock on quickly enough: King Kai's. Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, (and Gregory in the anime) all die in the explosion. It's only through bad luck that Cell miraculously survives thanks to one lone cell that reconstructs himself, otherwise Goku would have taken him out with him.

6 Yakon Is The First Villain Goku Kills In Dragon Ball Z

The only villains Goku kills in Dragon Ball Z are in the Majin Buu Saga. After Babidi interrupts the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai, Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan invade his ship to try and stop Majin Buu's revival – not realizing that they're actively giving the energy that'll bring Buu to life. Goku fights Yakon in the second fight on the ship. A monster that can eat energy, Goku quickly devises a strategy to kill Yakon.

Goku willingly feeds Yakon his Super Saiyan ki, briefly tapping into Super Saiyan 2 mid-feed. Super Saiyan 2's power is so overwhelming, Yakon overeats and explodes on the spot. Sadly, Vegeta notices that Goku unlocked Super Saiyan 2 while dead and has since surpassed him, triggering a mid-life crisis which results in him allowing Babidi to possess him and turn him into Majin Vegeta.

7 Goku Kills Kid Buu Once & For All At The End Of DBZ

After a full arc of trying and failing to get the next generation to stop Majin Buu themselves, Goku and Vegeta realize they're the ones responsible for this mess and make it their responsibility to stop Buu once and for all. Goku technically was strong enough to kill Kid Buu in Super Saiyan 3, but unfortunately, the form's strain on his human body meant he couldn't keep the transformation active long enough to deal a killing blow.

Vegeta suggests that they use the Spirit Bomb to defeat Buu and channel the energy of everyone on Earth and Namek to help them. With extra help from the Dragon Balls, Goku is able to vaporize Kid Buu after a long fight, but not before requesting that he be brought back as a good guy someday so they can fight. Honoring his request, King Yemma reincarnates Kid Buu as Uub, and Goku reunites with him at the 28th Tenkaichi Budokai in the Peaceful World Saga.

8 Goku Finally Got To Kill Frieza In Resurrection F

While Goku does kill Frieza in Future Trunks' timeline (and by extension King Cold), things go differently in the main timeline due to Trunks' interference. Goku finally gets his chance to kill Frieza for real at the end of Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection F. After Golden Frieza destroys the Earth while fighting Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta, Whis rewinds time and gives Goku a second chance to kill Frieza before he can go too far.

Wasting no time, Goku transforms into Super Saiyan Blue and destroys Frieza with a well-timed Kamehameha. Vegeta is, of course, furious, but Goku's interference ends up saving the world and sends Frieza back to Hell. In Hell, Frieza uses his newfound hatred of Goku to start image training, making him far stronger when Goku brings him back to help fight in the Tournament of Power.

9 Goku Will Kill Moro At The End Of Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol

Goku's last kill in all of Dragon Ball took place at the end of Dragon Ball Super's Moro Saga. After an incredibly long and intense battle with Moro, Ultra Instinct Goku lands the killing blow on Planet Moro, albeit not without help from Vegeta's Forced Spirit Fission and a little Ki donation from Uub. Interestingly, Goku wanted to spare Moro and even gave him a Senzu Bean (a moment that's sure to be controversial once Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol adapts it).

Goku's final battle with Moro is one of the best fights in Dragon Ball Super, and is going to be downright legendary when it's finally animated in the Dragon Ball Super: The Galactic Patrol anime. Moro is one of the strongests enemies Goku has ever fought, and marks a major turning point in Goku finally mastering Ultra Instinct and learning to make the most out of the form.