Frieza’s Most OP Moments, Ranked

Dragon Ball has had plenty of incredible villains drive its story over the years. From the often goofy antics of the Pilaf Gang, to the very real threat of Demon King Piccolo, to the Saiyan invasion, Cell and his Cell Games, and the universal threat that was Majin Buu, Dragon Ball has benefited from incredibly memorable antagonists. But none are as popular and impactful as Frieza.

Though he didn’t seem to be all that intimidating at first, Frieza showed fans just how strong a villain he was on Namek. There, he proved to be the most devastating opponent Goku and company had faced up until that point. Now that Frieza looks like he’ll be an active part of Dragon Ball’s narrative once the series continues, why not look back on some of his most overpowered moments?

Toying With Nail on Namek

Plenty of Frieza’s best moments happened on Namek. While this might not be the most iconic fight he had on the Namekian homeworld, it served as an early show of force for Dragon Ball’s most iconic villain. Like everyone on the planet during the Frieza Saga, Frieza was both looking for the Dragon Balls and the way to unlock them. This led him to Guru and a one-on-one confrontation with Nail. Though Nail was considered to be the strongest Namekian on the planet at the time, he still had no chance against someone as strong as Frieza.

Though Nail gives his all trying to stop Frieza from learning how to access the power of the Dragon Balls, he still ends up being defeated pretty easily. Frieza doesn’t really have much trouble fending off Nail, seemingly toying with him by taking his arm and holding off from delivering any fatal blows. Thankfully, Nail does manage to hold off Frieza long enough for Dende to pass the password for the Namekian Dragon Balls along to Gohan and Krillin. Frieza might’ve fallen for Nail’s stall tactics, but this fight showed fans just how formidable a foe Frieza would be for the rest of the arc.

Unleashing His Multiple Transformations on Namek

One thing that really made Frieza stand out during the Frieza Saga was his many transformations. Frieza’s strength already made him an intimidating villain, but the fact that he had so many forms he could make use of in battle showed just how much of a challenge he would be for Goku and the rest of the gang. Transformations weren’t anything new to the series. From Goku, Gohan, and Vegeta’s Great Ape transformation and Piccolo’s Great Namekian transformation to the Monster Form Zarbon shows off earlier in the Saga, they’d been featured pretty regularly. But no character up to that point had shown off as many transformations as Frieza had managed in his fight against Gohan, Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, and Goku.

Though not very intimidating, Frieza’s first form was enough for him to take on most fighters he came across. He was able to easily defeat Nail without powering up and managed to fend off Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta for the most part. When in his Second Form, Frieza was able to take the three of them on with ease. He did struggle against Piccolo, causing him to move on to his Third Form, which was more than enough to handle Piccolo and the rest before he finally changed into his iconic Final Form. This was Frieza at his strongest, though Goku thankfully arrived on the scene and managed to put up a better fight, eventually unlocking his own iconic transformation and defeating Frieza.

Taking on Jiren With Goku

Though he was initially defeated on Namek and later on Earth, Frieza would return to the series a couple of times in Super. First as the main villain in Resurrection ‘F’ and later as a begrudging ally of Goku and the rest of Universe 7 during the Tournament of Power. This decision was understandably met with some pushback, especially from Vegeta. And though Frieza never got a redemption arc (rightfully so), he did manage to help out Universe 7 throughout the tournament. As one of the strongest fighters in Universe 7, Frieza was a huge asset who played a key role in Universe 7 winning it all. But his biggest contribution came against Jiren.

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Though Jiren easily overpowered Frieza, he was still able to play a part in defeating the Pride Trooper by teaming up with Goku. Under any other circumstance, that would have never happened, but with the fate of their universe on the line, Goku and Frieza showed just how good a duo they could make. With neither being strong enough to take Jiren out on their own, they managed to combine their strength and drive Jiren out of the ring, resulting in a nail-biting triple knockout that left Android 17 as the last man standing.

Surviving in Space After His Fight With Goku

By the end of the Frieza Saga, Goku had managed to completely surpass Frieza and was able to easily outmatch him while in his Super Saiyan form. As Planet Namek was on the verge of destruction, Frieza was left completely broken by his fight with Goku. Even at 100% Full Power, Frieza seemed to lack what it took to keep up with the legendary transformation. After accidentally slicing off his torso, arm, and tail with his own Death Saucer, Frieza is seemingly vaporized by one last Kamehameha wave. But that’s not where his story ended.

Though he was essentially defeated by Goku, Frieza didn’t die on Namek, nor did he perish in its destruction. Instead, he floated through space, gravely injured and missing most of his body. Luckily, he was found by his father, King Cold, and given cybernetic replacements for the body parts he’d lost. Not only was Frioeza an incredibly powerful opponent, but it seems that even in the vacuum of space, he can find a way to stubbornly survive without breathing.

Achieving Golden Form With 4 Months of Training

Bringing Frieza back was definitely a fan service-y move. Even though Cell and Buu were more powerful when they served as villains in their own respective arcs, Frieza remained a character fans wanted to see more of. They finally got their wish with the release of Resurrection ‘F’. But it wasn’t the same old Frieza fans were used to seeing. This time, he was back with a completely new transformation. Instead of going with Cooler’s iconic Fourth Transformation and making an old movie favorite canon as he would do with Broly years later, Akira Toriyama opted to give Frieza a new power-up.

Dubbed Golden Frieza, the new transformation once again made Frieza one of the strongest beings in the universe, despite having been dead for so long and having been left in the dust by characters like Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Gohan, Trunks, the Androids, and others in the years since his death. What’s more impressive is how long it took Frieza to achieve this new form and substantial boost in power. As a young prodigy, Frieza never felt compelled to train the way that characters like Goku and Vegeta did. But having put in some effort over the course of a few months, Frieza was once again one of the biggest threats in the universe.

Destroying Planet Vegeta And Most of the Saiyan Race

Long before Destroyers were introduced, the destruction of a planet was seen as an incredibly impressive and fearsome feat that only the most powerful characters could pull off. Frieza changed the course of history in the Dragon Ball universe with his decision to destroy the Saiyan race, who, up to that point, were forcefully subservient to him. Despite being stronger than any Saiyan alive, and the Saiyans being incredibly valuable members of the Frieza Force, Frieza was scared enough of their potential to not only destroy their whole race, but their homeworld as well.

The decision would affect the lives of two of Dragon Ball’s most important characters, Goku and Vegeta, while also reducing the Saiyan race to a small handful. Frieza made destroying the planet and its inhabitants seem like child’s play. Bardock and other Saiyans did try to stop him, but were consumed by Frieza’s Supernova, wiping out everyone left on Planet Vegeta. The Saiyans might not have been the best people, but Frieza definitely showed that he was the biggest threat to the universe when he wiped them out.

Taking Out UI Goku and UE Vegeta With One Shot

The latest development in Frieza’s story also stands as his most overpowered moment. In the Granolah the Survivor Saga, Goku and Vegeta are put through the wringer, taking on powerful new opponents in Granolah and Gas. Gas seems to be an incredible challenge for the duo, even in their strongest forms. But right toward the end of the conflict on Planet Cereal, Frieza comes in and destroys an already dying Gas before taking out Elec. He then reveals to Goku and Vegeta that he used a room similar to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to get in 10 years’ worth of training and achieve a new transformation he dubbed Black Frieza.

You’d think that with Goku and Vegeta both using Ultra Instinct and Ultra Ego, respectively, that this would be a long, drawn-out battle between old foes. But it doesn’t go that way at all. Frieza takes the Saiyan duo on and immediately puts them down in a shocking turn of events. He doesn’t kill them, so they, and a newly powered-up Gohan, will get their chance to once again put Frieza down once the series resumes. But fans have been waiting to see what else Frieza will get up to for years at this point. It’s tough to imagine that anything will top this, though.

Dragon Ball

Release Date

1986 – 1989

Network

Fuji TV

Directors

Osamu Kasai, Daisuke Nishio, Kazuhisa Takenouchi, Minoru Okazaki, Mitsuo Hashimoto, Yoshihiro Ueda, Yutaka Satoh, Yûji Endô

Writers

Akira Toriyama, Keiji Terui, Toshiki Inoue, Takao Koyama, Michiru Shimada, Yasushi Hirano, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Yuichiro Oguro, Miho Maruo, Shunichi Yukimuro

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  Masako Nozawa

  Son Goku (voice)

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  Mayumi Tanaka

  Krillin (voice)