Thanks to Dragon Ball Heroes and plenty of non-canon stories, just about every popular Saiyan has turned Super Saiyan at one point or another – but multiverse shenanigans aside, there are a number of surprising Saiyans who've never unlocked the form in canon, or even spin-offs. Between Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, and Dragon Ball GT, it's kind of shocking which characters the franchise has chosen to skip giving forms to.
5 Dragon Ball Super Characters Stronger Than Ultra Instinct Goku
As of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Ultra Instinct Goku is weaker than his rival, his son, and even the series' next main villain.
By the end of the Majin Buu Saga, transformations turn into a "Super Saiyan bargain sale," to quote Vegeta. Even Goten and Kid Trunks can turn Super Saiyan with minimal training despite never having undergone the major stressors their fathers did to achieve their forms. Throw in S-Cells from Dragon Ball Super, and Super Saiyan becomes even less special. Ironically, this just makes it more special for those few Saiyans who've never gotten the chance to turn SSJ.
5 Paragus is Just Barely Stronger Than Nappa in Dragon Ball Super: Broly
Since Nappa only has a Power Level of 4,000 in Dragon Ball Z, this technically makes Paragus stronger with his Power Level of 4,400 in Dragon Ball Super: Broly. It's possible Paragus was even stronger in his prime, given his son Broly was born with a staggering Power Level of 10,000 and eventually became strong enough to nearly defeat Super Saiyan God Goku in his base form.
Either way, Paragus himself does not have the potential or raw power Broly has. By the time of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Paragus is a tired old man just trying to keep his son in control. The closest he comes to Super Saiyan is when Frieza kills him in order to force Broly to transform while fighting Goku and Vegeta near the film's climax.
4 Bardock Was Never Strong Enough to Turn Super Saiyan in Dragon Ball's Canon
While Bardock does turn Super Saiyan in the non-canon (and frankly terrible) Episode of Bardock, the actual Bardock from both Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super simply never had the potential to turn Super Saiyan. The Saiyans from Bardock's time rarely, if ever, underwent Zenkai boosts. They either curb-stomped all their battles, or died in the process.
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In Dragon Ball Super, the only major Zenkai boost Bardock experiences is during his fight with Gas where he unlocks a new state very similar to Ultra Instinct. Unfortunately, Bardock gets this boost shortly before he returns to Planet Vegeta, sends Goku to Earth, and then is killed rebelling against Frieza.
3 King Vegeta Was Surpassed By His Own Son When Vegeta Was Just a Child
King Vegeta may be the ruler of Planet Vegeta, but he is hardly the strongest Saiyan in existence. According to Vegeta during the Frieza Saga, Vegeta already surpassed his own father by the time he was a boy. Considering Vegeta's Power Level is 18,000 at the start of Dragon Ball Z, it's safe to say King Vegeta was in the low five-digit range and never got any stronger than that.
Dragon Ball Super: Broly doubles down on this idea by having King Vegeta react in shock when scouters pick up baby Broly's Power Level at 10,000. Like Bardock, King Vegeta never had the potential to turn Super Saiyan. Vegeta himself wasn't even a fighter, primarily sticking to politics while letting Lower Class Saiyans and his son's royalguard do the heavy lifting. In all continuities, King Vegeta is effortlessly killed by Frieza during the destruction of Planet Vegeta.
2 Turles' Power Level of 300,000 Made Him Even Stronger Than Goku on Namek (Pre-Frieza Saga)
Turles is the non-canon villain of Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might and one of the only Saiyans in the entire series who has never been given a Super Saiyan form in spin-off material like Dragon Ball Heroes. Instead, Turles is almost always given his own unique transformations rooted in the Tree of Might's Fruit. The Fruit of the Tree of Might has the power to boost the consumer's Power Level to absurd proportions.
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In Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might, eating one fruit is enough to raise Turles' Power Level from 19,000 (just barely stronger than Vegeta in the Saiyan Saga), to a whopping 300,000 (just barely weaker than Frieza at the start of the Namek Saga). If Turles kept eating the Fruit of the Tree of Might, his Power Level would have skyrocketed into the millions, surpassing not only Final Form Frieza, but even Super Saiyan Goku. No wonder Turles has never needed a Super Saiyan form.
1 Pan is the Strongest Saiyan in History to Never Turn Super Saiyan
If there's one thing Pan in Dragon Ball Super has in common with Pan from Dragon Ball GT, it's that neither character has ever turned Super Saiyan. Despite being the single strongest female Saiyan in Dragon Ball history, Pan is a long ways away from unlocking her first transformation. Dragon Ball GT infamously refused to give Pan a Super Saiyan form as the writers wanted to use her as a damsel in distress for Goku to save.
This is especially baffling considering Pan has multiple moments in DBGT where turning Super Saiyan would have made perfect sense. As of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, Pan is the character with the most potential in the series, save for Uub. Once Dragon Ball Super returns and passes the Peaceful World Saga, Toyotarou needs to correct Dragon Ball GT's mistake and finally let Pan turn Super Saiyan.
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- Akira Toriyama
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- February 26, 1986
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