[[quoteright:317: http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/SSJreee_9742.png]]
[[caption-width-right:317:[-I'm a proud Saiyan who calls Earth home, and I'm here to defeat you. I am the warrior you've heard of in legends, pure of heart, and awakened by fury. That's what I am. I AM THE '''SUPER SAIYAN, SON GOKU!!!'''-] ]]

''Dragon Ball'' has many awesome moments per character, but putting down the crowning ones is a tough job to do.

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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:The Show]]
* ''Dragon Ball Kai'' Uncut... oh man, the way Goku's transformation was handled was simply amazing. It made it an even more awesome moment than it was.
--> [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeXUgF2qEuk "YOU RUTHLESS... HEARTLESS... BASTARD!!! I WILL... MAKE YOU.... SUFFER!!!]]
* There is this scene in the fifth movie (The Incredible Mightiest vs. Mightiest) where [[BigBad Cooler]], Frieza's older brother, goes OneWingedAngel and [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown completely beats]] the life out of Goku. His power is such that the earth trembles and shatters as he [[EvilGloating boasts]] his strenght. Just then, a small bird lands in front of the badly beaten Goku, flaps it's wings once and becomes still. With great effort, Goku stands up, holds the bird with between his hands and let's out a mighty scream. Suddenly, the earth stops shaking; we see a pair of hands glow with a golden light before releasing a revitalized bird which flies past Cooler, now staring in horror as Goku has transformed into the Super Saiyan and is ready to give him a much deserved [[CurbStompBattle beatdown]].
* The very first Kamehameha. It was in that moment that Kame Sen'nin went from a perverted old rascal living on a tiny island with a sea turtle for company to a full blown RetiredBadass. To elaborate, the kooky old geezer who gave Goku his magic cloud up and blew away a mountain THAT WAS ON FIRE. ''By accident.''
* The only two villains to have beaten Goku in a straight fight (As in, not get torn apart by him) are Taopaipai and King Piccolo.
* SeanSchemmel's ABSOLUTELY EPIC screaming for Goku '''alone''' can rank among top of the charts! His contribution to the awesomeness of DBZ's scenes ''cannot be underestimated''.
* FUNimation, the most renowned anime dubbing company in America, did a pretty…terrible job of sticking to the original script from the Japanese in their first attempted dub of ''Dragon Ball Z''. Of course, subsequent box set and video game dubs would show a marked interest in improving that. This all culminated when they decided for the ''DragonBallKai'' dub to be truer to the original idea than they'd ever been before (of course, the voice actors getting better over a decade doesn't hurt). The point of this spiel? The following scene from ''Kai'' vindicated [=FUNimation=] forever:.
--> [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov0sx1-NrMg "I AM THE SUPER SAIYAN, SON GOKU!!!"]]
** To give credit where credit is due, the dub was a good case of PragmaticAdaptation and {{Woolseyism}} on their part. At the time, what they did made more sense. Now? Go ahead and go for accuracy on translation (so long as it is not a CutAndPasteTranslation).
[[/folder]]

[[folder: The Z Fighters]]
* One moment that is overlooked is in the very first episode of Dragon Ball. When Goku and Bulma first meet go off to begin their quest, a Pterodactyl kidnaps Bulma. At this point, Goku does not know how to fly, and he even doesn't have the Nimbus yet. So what does he do? He uses Bulma's motorcycle to launch himself off a hill like a ramp in a similar way we saw a few minutes before, bashes the Pterodactyl's head with the Power Pole, and throws the Pole like a Javelin to pin Bulma safely on a cliff. This was just an early example of Goku's Determinator skill. No matter what happens, he will give it his all to keep his friends safe. (And pray to Kami if you get in his way as most of the examples on this page show.)
* The first duel between Goku and Vegeta. That battle was memorable as it started out their rivalry in the first place, which served as a basis for the VegetaAndKakarot trope, and Vegeta reminisced about it while seeing Goku go Super Saiyan 3 to fight Kid Buu [[{{Determinator}} ...again.]] Goku began the duel and learned that Vegeta [[MyKungFuisStrongerThanYours was still stronger than him]], even after going through the TrainingFromHell in Heaven, so he decides to take it up a notch with the Kaio-ken. And when that doesn't work, he does it further to Kaio-ken x2 simply to escape one of Vegeta's moves. From then on, Goku's newly learned technique turns into a DeadlyUpgrade when he goes Kaio-ken x3, complete with massive DramaticWind, PowerEchoes and ChunkyUpdraft, right before Goku gives him an ass-kicking that his own father probably didn't give him, showing exactly who is truly the [[MyKungFuisStrongerThanYours better of the two]]. Then it turned into a [[BeamOWar massive beam struggle]], which Goku gives extra juice by pushing to Kaio-ken x4, firing him up into the stratosphere.
* Both Goku and recently [[HeelFaceTurn reformed]] Tien both get one during the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament.
** First Tien, realizing that Goku could beat him in a fight what does he do? Simple He DESTROYS THE RING. Mind you this was back in the Original Dragon Ball, where things weren't as common back then. He flies up and uses the Tri Beam to destroy the ring so that Goku would be disqualified for landing on the grass since he couldn't fly yet.
** Then Goku gets his as well, He jumps up avoiding the Tri Beam yet it looks like it only delayed the inevitable as he falls down to the ground. Tien takes that time to get close and rub it in his face that he won. Goku then at the last moment fires a Kamehame and then reverses it at the last second to slam himself into Tien and knock them both down. If it hadn't been for a passing truck that Goku hit the window of and caused him to hit the ground first seconds before Tien and giving Tien the win and the title of Strongest Martial Artist In The World.
* Trunks. His future self is considered even more {{Badass}} then the present, having singlehandly defeated Frieza ''and'' his father just ''after'' the former was resurrected too.
* The episode when Trunks goes back to his original time and completely ANNIHILATES Androids 17 & 18, saving his world from the over 20 years of suffering. He then destroys Cell with the immortal line "THE NIGHTMARE IS OVER CELL, DIE!"
** More than that, he toys with Cell first so he knows just how outmatched he is before he dies.
** Taunting him too. "You're so lame, sneaking around like the Boogieman!"
** "How do you know all this?!" "I read your palm, big guy! You have a short life line."
** And even before that, when he departs to fight the androids for the last time. "Nightmares never last, Mom. One day you wake up and they're gone for good."
* In the World Tournament Saga (the prequel to the main meat of the Majin Buu Saga), the tournament requires everyone to hit a special machine that will gauge their strength and select the finalists. The Z-Fighters agree to go easy on the machine, so they won't seem suspicious. Even with love taps, they still get huge scores, prompting the officials to declare the machine broken. As they prepare to move the old machine aside, Vegeta (who hasn't gone yet) orders them to stand aside. In his usual uncompromising fashion, he punches the machine with full power, obliterating both it and anyone's belief that the machine was getting false readings.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Goku]]
* Goku decimated the entire Red Ribbon ARMY at age 12.
** The most badass part of that is how ''casually'' he did it. He was just looking for the Dragon Balls and just happened to stumble across various RR leaders on his search. Colonel Silver, General White, General Blue and Captain Yellow, along with all of their men, were taken down as a means to an end. Once he was determined to actually ''confront'' the army he simply stormed their base, killed everyone in his way and killed their leader.
* [[http://mangafox.me/manga/dragon_ball/v16/c003/1.html Goku Vs Ma Junior/Piccolo]]. Goku using the Super Kamehameha against Piccolo's Bagenkimaha and returning it to him. Piccolo had a OhCrap moment for about 3 seconds and it was enough to make him rage.
* Goku's "I am truth" speech:
-->'''Goku:''' "You can destroy whole planets, but you can never destroy what I am...''friend.''
-->'''Frieza:''' "(stunned) Y-you... what ''are'' you?"
-->'''Goku:''' "I am the hope of the universe. I am the answer to all living things that cry out for peace. I am protector of the innocent. I am the light in the darkness. I am truth. ''Ally to good! Nightmare to YOU!''
** The Burst Limit version is enough to give one goosebumps at how amazing it was.
*** Interesting enough, the Burst Limit version is the exact dialogue straight from the original manga.
** Goku's [=SS3=] transformation sequence in the dub. A CrowningMusicOfAwesome paired with one of the biggest powerup {{Kiai}}s ever? Hell yeah.
** The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7U8nE683BBc Remastered]] version of the scene cranks it all UpToEleven, by increasing the volume of Goku's screaming while also adding [[PowerEchoes an echoey effect]] to his voice.
* Goku's entrance on Namek, which would've been completely in place had [[Music/{{Metallica}} Enter Sandman]] been playing [[{{ECW}} though, without thousands of people singing along...]] yeah. First, his "fight" with Jeice...
---->'''Jeice''': We've had enough of this, you coward! Now make a move--''(gets decked by Goku)'' OWWW!\\
'''Burter''': What? Is it bleeding?!\\
'''Jeice''': You... cheap shot!\\
'''Goku''': ...you said to make a move. I thought you meant you were ''ready'' to go at it.
** ...and his CurbStompBattle with Recoome:
---->'''Goku''': I saw an opening that seemed to scream out "attack." So... I did. Ha!
** The awesomeness of his arrival on Namek is maintained in DragonBallAbridged when the music of {{Hulk Hogan}}'s theme tune is playing in the background in Episode 20.
* The emergence of the first Super Saiyan would have to be Goku's crowning moment (I am the hope for the Universe! etc.) in Z, but in Dragon Ball there are just too many.
** The Instant Transmission Kamehameha during his fight with Cell is also remarkable.
** Another big reason why it's so awesome is this: Frieza had been smacking everybody around like they were nothing for upward of 20 episodes (10 in ''DragonBallKai'') and once Goku finally transforms, it's satisfying as hell to see Frieza get his just deserts and [[OhCrap finally, genuinely know what it feels like to be nigh-powerless against an enemy]].
** As a shining example of how outclassed Frieza was, Goku's dodging a myriad of Frieza's trademark Death Beams, and Frieza calls him out on it, saying that only because he's dodging them, he's staying alive. Goku's response? He ''stays still and takes one in the face''. After emerging unscathed, he says this gem.
---->'''Goku:''' ''You can destroy whole planets, but you can't destroy '''one man'''''.
** Goku's entire [[BReakThemByTalking verbal beatdown]] of Frieza at the end of their fight on Namek was '''ALMOST''' better than the entire fight. This is after Frieza has thrown '''EVERYTHING''' he has at Goku, verbally and physically.
--->'''Goku:''' "Your energy level is decreasing with every blow. In fact, you're not even a challenge to me anymore. It wouldn't be fair for me to keep fighting you. I'm satisfied now. Your pride has been torn to shreds. You've challenged and lost to a fighter who is superior to you and to make it worse, he's just a monkey, right? It would be meaningless to fight you now, you're too scared and ashamed. Live with the shock. Keep it bottled up inside you. Silently. Goodbye, Frieza, never do mischief again. May you live the rest of your life in peace."
** Typically, when a hero goes berserk and begins to decimate a villain, something happens that makes them stop. An ally calls out to them to stop, or some external factor helps the hero comes to a realization that breaks their rage. What makes Goku's battle with Frieza as a Super Saiyan all the more amazing is that this ''doesn't happen''. Everything until this point suggests that Goku's then new-found power, rage, and battle lust has eclipsed his common sense, there's no one on Namek aside from him and Frieza, and the planet's impending destruction makes an all-out battle to the death seemingly the only option. But once the fight gets the point where Frieza is struggling, Goku realizes he doesn't have to kill him, as the tyrant's ego has been shot to pieces. He breaks ''himself'' out of his rage.
** More impressive, Goku let Frieza power up to 100% of his power for the ''expressed purpose'' of proving he never had a chance against him. And succeeds. Even though Frieza is able to keep up with him for a short while, it becomes obvious towards the end of the fight that Frieza had no chance at all against him.
* Goku's epic defeat of King Piccolo. Something about that moment, with so little left to lose, being all but broken, with one final gamble left... and bursting ''straight through'' the Demon King with quite possibly the most EPIC ki-powered punch ever. What seals the moment? The honest joy the young Goku expressed as he ''somehow'' succeeded in felling what was at that time, ''the single most powerful foe he had ever faced''.
* Goku's Super Kamehameha in ''Path To Power''. Sure, it doesn't exactly compare to the other awesome moments, but it's still a fairly cool moment.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Gohan]]
* Gohan. He was most definitely the epitome of epic and everything about DBZ. Let's list his awesome feats shall we?
* In the hopeless battle against Nappa he charges the bald headed brute and fells him with a single kick. Even though he still rises up again it's amazing nonetheless.
* Vegeta impulsively presses Gohan's BerserkButton when he knees Goku in the gut while he's down. Gohan enraged kicks him in the face then engages Vegeta in a mini awesome battle while Krillin prepares to nail him with the Spriit Bomb. When Krillin sees the opportunity to strike Vegeta (which is ruined by Yajirobe's outburst and Krillin's bad timing) with the Spirit Bomb who jumps in the air dodging it. The Spirit Bomb then heads in the direction of a fatigued Gohan. Everyone looks on in fear as Gohan is about to be struck by it but Goku telepathically communicates with Gohan and tells him to bounce the Spirit Bomb at Vegeta who is unable to avoid it and is shot up to sky. How BadASS is that?
* Gohan gets one when he's 5 years old. When Chi-Chi (well she was right, but she was overreacting) yells at him about going to Namek, he shouts "I'M GOING!!" Notice almost everyone was terrified of Chi-Chi in this Saga and Gohan actually stands up to her without hesitating. This is ''awesome.''
** Taken up a notch in the ''Kai'' dub, where he actually tells her to ''shut up''.
* Arriving on Planet Namek Gohan and Krillin watch as Frieza terrorizes a Namekian village's villagers for the location of the Dragon Balls. After ordering henchmen Dodoria to kill the Namek soldiers that come to the villagers aid Frieza backs out on his deal to leave him alone and kills the village elder's son and then him. Now eyeing the village elders other son who is petrified with fear tells Dodoria to dispose of him as well. Let's say Gohan wasn't to please with this and springs into action and kicks Dodoria's fatass through a house. Even when Dodoria gets back up Gohan stands his ground and tells him to bring it on.
* Frieza pushes another one of Gohan's buttons and impales Krillin and sadistically tortures him. After tossing Krillin into the sea Gohan goes berserk and beats the everliving fuck out of Frieza while the theme song plays, then Masenko's Frieza's ass.
* Or the scene where he during the early Frieza saga.* When Piccolo is losing to Frieza's third transformation Gohan interferes in the battle and does a gigantic Masenko and nearly becomes the one who puts an end to him.
* Although filler, after Frieza buries Goku under a hundred feet of lava he presumes that he wins. Gohan, sensing his dad's defeat, heads back to the battlefield and attempts to pull a TakingYouWithMe. However, Frieza realizes this when Gohan keeps on trying to run away and explains to him how he's able to survive anywhere. Gohan frustrated lashes out at Frieza and punches him a dozen times and finishes his MeteorMove with a Masenko. This attack doesn't work but it does push Frieza to use his powered up final form he used against Goku as a Super Saiyan.
* Gohan gets another one after Goku's fight with Frieza when he's willing to defend his father's honor by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nv9Q0rBnJi8 taking on]] ''[[{{Jerkass}} Vegeta.]]'' Vegeta presses Gohan's BerserkButton by [[KickTheDog making fun of the fact that Goku is dead.]] Gohan then gets angry. At first, Gohan looks like he's winning [[KickTheSonOfABitch by punching Vegeta, kicking him and headbutting him.]] Unfortunately, it doesn't end well for him because [[WouldHurtAChild Vegeta ends up defeating him.]] Regardless, it was still awesome and it took a lot of guts and bravery for Gohan to fight Vegeta.
* The ''entirety'' of the Garlic Jr. Saga is one big MomentOfAwesome for Gohan.
* Gohan's is, of course, his complete mental breakdown followed by his handing Cell his ass as a Super Saiyan 2. The transformation was accompanied by a [[ThemeMusicPowerup song created just for that moment]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx2vMyVkmLE&feature=related in the original Japanese]]. And it was sung by Hironobu Kageyama. [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Do the math]].
* In the Cell Games, Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. He embarrasses Cell by copying his fighting style and matching him move for move. Preceding that he effortlessly destroys the Cell Juniors. Hell, he's the reason Krillin got Android 18 back.
** And *drum roll* There's the final climatic battle between Gohan and Cell who injures him after covering for Vegeta after Cell knocks him out. It's Kamehameha vs Kamehameha. Gohan is somewhat reluctant to unleash his full power on Cell because he thinks he'll destroy the world and is doubting himself. In the anime everyone helps him out until he finds the power to destroy Cell. Cell tosses aside the rest of Z-fighters like ragdolls and is nearly about to win until Vegeta steps in, badass, and strikes Cell from behind giving Gohan the chance to kill Cell. The SlasherSmile on Gohan's face as he's blasting cell away with a ONE HANDED Kamehameha is simply orgasmically satsifying.
* What makes Gohan so awesome in general is that most of his Moments of Awesome happen '''BEFORE''' he turns 10. While Goku was frolicking in the forest at that age, Gohan was going up against the likes of Vegeta, Frieza, and Cell.
** This is best summarized by what the Narrator says at the end of the scene when Gohan goes Super Saiyan 2:
--->'''Narrator''':"It is a secret we have known before Gohan could even form words in his mouth. Through fights with Raditz, Garlic Junior,The Ginyu Force, and even Frieza, we've caught glimpses of the child's explosive power. But like an explosion, it always vanished with the moment; it couldn't be controlled... until now.At last, the beastly power has been harnessed. Gohan has awoken. Now Cell will battle a warrior eleven years in the making, on the next ''Dragon Ball Z''!"
* Movie 9 (Bojack Unbound) stands as one of Gohan's highlights in and of itself. Gohan's about a year (maybe 2) older than he was when he fought Cell (he's subtly taller and also noticeably more muscular, even in his untransformed state). Along with Garlic Jr. and Cell, this is the third and probably last occasion where Gohan comes off like the main protagonist. First off, some of the main supporting characters (Krillin and Piccolo) don't want any part of fighting him in a tournament - in his ''base form.'' It's one thing for [[PhysicalGod Goku]] to get that sort of treatment, but Gohan, at this point, is probably about 13 ''at most.'' First, his initial power-up after transforming causes an earthquake and ''nearly rips the planet in two''. Then he pours on the {{Badass}} in spades. He starts an ''EPIC'' UnflinchingWalk right through the middle of Bojack's minions, who gave Piccolo and '''Future Trunks''' (who has already curbstomped Future!Cell and BOTH Future!Androids and is no slouch himself) no end of trouble. Of course, in true, [=SSJ2=] Gohan fashion, he makes one explode with a single punch... and then ''kicks the other so hard that it cuts him in half.'' Then, he puts his fist right through Bojack's stomach and punches him to bits, too.
** And of course, there's this line:
--->'''Bojack''': Any last words before you die?
--->'''Gohan''': Actually, Bojack, there is one word that comes to mind: KA-ME-HA-ME-HA!
* A runner-up would have to be in Movie 12, when final form Frieza emerges from Hell leading an army of warriors Goku and his crew have defeated over the course of the series. Gohan, now an adult, confronts Frieza, flies right at him, circumventing the entire army, and punches Frieza ''one time.'' The force of the blow is enough to make Frieza ''explode into a million pieces'', and send his army running in fear.
* Another one would have to be when he comes back to confront Super Buu. Buu asks if he really wants to fight him, and Gohan comes back with "Fight you? No; I wanna kill you." That was so badass, considering Gohan's usually nice nature.
** This one is even more badass when you consider Gohan beat the ever living hell out of Super Buu ''without even trying''.
** During the entire arc, no, ''series'', The Z-Fighters used KiAttacks to fight their enemies. In Gohan's fight against Super Buu, he didn't fire ''one''. That alone cements his growth from DoggedNiceGuy to {{BADASS}}.
** Forcing Super Buu to literally ''eat'' his own mouth beam by clamping his mouth and pushing the ki blast back into Buu's throat when Buu tried to surprise him with a point-blank shot also deserves a mention. All of this after Buu boasts about how he nearly killed Gohan back when he was Majin Buu. Now, the shoe is on the other foot and Gohan's most certainly giving Buu quite the asskicking with it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Krillin]]
* Even Krillin has moments of awesome. In both the Vegeta and Frieza fights, there's a point where he keeps the villain busy (holding out absurdly long given the difference in power) and buys desperately-needed time for the big guns.
* When one thinks about it, he was actually pretty badass on Namek. With all of the conventionally heroic/badass characters either dead or on another planet somewhere, the fate of the universe was left in the hands of ThoseTwoGuys. He and Gohan manage to survive for an absurdly long time on this planet surrounded by bad guys, outsmarting Vegeta, and even Frieza until help arrived.
** Special mention should go to the scene where he stomps Recoome's mouth shut, interrupting his Recoome Eraser Gun attack (a powerful mouth beam). This knocked nearly all of his teeth out, giving Gohan valuable time to save a badly battered Vegeta's skin in the nick of time.
* In the Cell Saga, he even manages to keep the much more powerful Cell from killing a girl and her brother. He holds him off long enough for Piccolo and Tien to arrive, and the kids to escape. He even pounds Cell with an awesome headbutt that gives the Android ''visible pain''.
* Krillin's best moment however, is probably the entirety of the Saiyan fight:
** He singlehandedly defeats almost all of the saibamen with a single attack.
** He gives NAPPA a run for his money, nearly killing him with the Destructo Disc.
** He nearly finished off Vegeta in the end (Goku talked him out of it).
** He (with Gohan's help) nailed Vegeta with a spirit bomb.
** After the end of the fight, he was the only surviving Z fighter who could still walk.
* He's also inexplicably popular with the ladies. He dated Maron and eventually marries Android 18. Pretty smooth for a little guy.
* His HeroicSacrifice against Buu qualifies. When Buu shows up at Kami's lookout, Krillin tries to fight him anyway just to give everyone else a chance to escape, even though he KNOWS he doesn't stand a chance. Everyone ends up dying anyhow, but you gotta give Krillin credit for at least trying.
** In another scene later on, Krillin risks his very existence to protect denizens of Otherworld and takes on Kid Buu. He is already dead at this point, so if had died here, he would have completely ceased to exist. No resurrection, no reincarnation, nothing. HE ACTUALLY HITS Kid Buu with the destructo disc. Sadly, Kid Buu can regenerate, nulling his efforts. The sad thing is, that would have worked on almost anyone else.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Vegeta]]
* Vegeta is 1 of 2 characters to [[NeverSayDie get up and keep fighting]] after being hit with a [[CombinedEnergyAttack Spirit Bomb]]. The OhCrap from Kuririn, Goku, Gohan, Yajirobe, and King Kai is telling.
* Vegeta fighting Frieza, all the way from his first punch to [[ManlyTears his]] [[TearJerker tearful death]] speech when he's dying at the hands of Frieza. First of only two time he cries, and the only time we get a glimpse at what made him what he is today. And they said DBZ couldn't get dramatic. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCD4PDz4JNQ here]], partway through. (The original dub, so while there is plenty of {{Narm}} what with the inexperience of the voice actors at the time, it's still a TearJerker.), pretty much attracted most of his fans to the character.
* His fight with [[SmugSnake Cui]] on Namek, revealing he discovered how to hide his energy and also how that he has surpassed him, when Cui tries a Sneak Attack he reveals he's gotten faster as well and intercepts him when he tries to run and blows him up. His PreMortemOneLiner in the Original Dub is awesome as well. "See ya, (Blows Cui up) If I cross you in the next dimension."
* Vegeta saving Kuririn and Gohan from Guldo was pretty awesome. Nothing like a good decapitation for a warm-up.
* There was also his fight with Recoome. He knew from the very beginning that he was completely outclassed, yet he still beat the shit out of him various times by using every trick in the book. Recoome seemingly won the battle at various points, yet Vegeta would pop right back up and lay the smackdown some more.
** What really makes this scene is Vegeta's awesome power-up in the anime. No one screams better than [[RyoHorikawa Vegeta]]. After the screaming, he kneels the way football players kneel at the line of scrimmage... and '''THEN''' takes off.
* Vegeta blowing Jeice to bits is certainly a Crowning Moment of BadAss. Or a crowning moment of KickTheDog, because at that point, Jeice was ''not'' fighting back. He also delivered a CoupDeGrace to every member of the Ginyu Force sans Ginyu himself.
** Made even more awesome when you think about the fact that Vegeta is responsible for the deaths of basically Frieza's entire army on Namek sans Frieza and Captain Ginyu. Yes, that's right. Vegeta kills everyone. Cui, Zarbon, and Dodoria? All done in by Vegeta. Gohan and Krillin owe him their lives.
* His sadistic and stunning IAmNotLeftHanded execution of Android 19 was pretty spectacular too. After Goku is incapacitated for a good chunk of the arc by a heart virus, Vegeta steps in to finish the job. After revealing he can go Super Saiyan himself, he thrashes 19, and tosses off some awesome lines in the process:
--->''"So tell me...does a machine like you experience '''fear'''''?"\\
''"Fresh out of the factory with no warranty, and already broken. What a pity."''\\
''"My, my. What do we have here? Oh yes, the ultimate tub of [[LargeHam LARD BUCKET OF BOLTS!]]"''
** At one point, #19 tries to absorb Vegeta's energy. Vegeta anticipates this, and grabs the android's wrists, shoves his boots in its face and starts pulling. What follows is an exchange that averts and lampshades NeverSayDie.
---->'''Vegeta:''' Still think you can hang on long enough to steal my energy?
---->'''#19:''' I, will, never, let, you, go!
---->'''Vegeta:''' Yes! That's the spirit, android! [[NeverSayDie NEVER SAY DIE!]]
** This is followed by Vegeta ''ripping off #19's arms.''
* Admittedly, for a character that doesn't have as many victories as the main characters, his CrowningMomentOfAwesome tends to be the insane amount of damage he can take and still be up like in the one minute of beatings he took that Goku then proceeded to waste. But his being a tank with attitude is probably what makes this character a BadAss. But he does have his moments such as his owning Imperfect Cell and then his [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8JqbvjyUxU FINAL FLASH]] against Perfect Cell. It didn't work, but it was one of the most epic and ridiculously over-the-top attacks in the series (that is saying something).
** Besides, this is the attack that makes Cell scream out "OH SHIT!" in basically every language but English.
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=s008URT4SBI#t=190s BUT English, you say?]]
* And his actions at the end of the Cell saga, despite being a HopeSpot, were incredibly awesome especially given what it meant for Vegeta's CharacterDevelopment. Goku had attempted to stop Cell with a HeroicSacrifice, but failed. And Cell's first action after coming BackFromTheDead was to blast a hole in Trunks's heart. Vegeta goes ''ballistic'', and ''[[PapaWolf attacks Cell head on]]''. This is a guy who, just ten days before, utterly beat the crap out of Vegeta without even trying. But what really makes this noteworthy is that this is the first time that Vegeta has ''ever'' lost his temper for the sake of another person.
** And following that, during Gohan's BeamOWar with Cell, the other Z Fighters leap in and try to distract Cell. Vegeta stays behind. The other warriors are overwhelmed, and it looks like Cell's about to win... then a blast out of nowhere hits Cell from behind. Cue shot to Vegeta, hovering in midair, palm outstretched. That one action gave Gohan the opportunity he needed to overwhelm Cell.
** Let's talk about his fight with Pui Pui. Conditions arise where he and Vegeta were transferred to Pui Pui's home world (briefly as it was), where he feels the planet's higher gravity -- ten times that of Earth's -- will incapacitate Vegeta. Vegeta, who had spent the entire length of the time skip -- ''seven years'', mind you -- training in progressively stronger gravity simply remarks, "Perhaps if your planet had five ''hundred'' times gravity, you'd have a slight advantage. But ten? I don't even feel it!" He then hops around in a boxing stance before annihilating Pui Pui.
--> '''Vegeta:''' ''"Welcome to the end of your life. [[PreAssKickingOneLiner And I promise; it's going to hurt]]."''
** Mentioned early on during Z: planet Vegeta also had ten times Earth's normal gravity. So Pui Pui's choice to fight on his homesoil thinking he had an advantage was an error of judgement.
* Resisting Babidi's mind control through sheer force of will. No one had ''ever'' done that. His speech about [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEXWx9GTjww pride]] when he refuses Babidi's order to kill the Supreme Kai anyone? Enough to make the Supreme Kai, Babidi, and Dabura go "WTF?" (and to demolish the surrounding mountains with beamspam while standing still). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEXWx9GTjww
* It has to be his final line against Buu while he was Majin Vegeta and he had just gotten thoroughly pummeled. "I'm going to crush you... and throw you into the wind!"
** The other cry was when he blew himself up to try and kill Majin Buu (it didn't work). He admits that it was the first time he fought for someone other than himself.
* [[HowMuchMoreCanHeTake How much of a beating can he take and keep fighting?]] In the fight against Kid Buu, he gets pounded into the ground not once, not twice, but three times. Buu thinks he's won, when Vegeta stands up, covered in blood, slowly walks toward him, and starts making a speech about how he can't be defeated by such measly attacks. Buu is frozen with a look of utter shock on his face, and then he ''takes a step back in fear''. When you scare the fight out of ''Majin Buu'', you know you're BadAss.
---->'''Vegeta:''' "What did you think, huh? That I was gonna roll over and die from an attack like that? You're nothing. Just a trickster. [[PunctuatedForEmphasis I am a warrior... the Saiyan Prince... VEGETA!!!]]"
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU6j1b9YPKs Vegeta's theme music]], if it wasn't for the fact that it was used all the time, because everytime it plays, you know Vegeta's either gonna do something insane, or give an equally insane speech.
* And [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqudRLb4r4M Vegeta's newer theme music ]] from the Dragon Ball Kai OST.
** Vegeta doing the impossible and for a brief moment surpassing Goku after Beers hits Bulma. Sure he got taken out instantly after laying the beatdown on Beers, but, he lasted longer then Goku or any of the Z-fighters, who all got Curbstomped in literally less than half a minute.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Piccolo]]
* Piccolo exudes so much awesome:
* Callously killing Sancho in the movie Dead Zone, then double-teaming Garlic Jr. with Goku.
* Blasting a hole through both Goku and Raditz.
* When Gohan turned into a Oozaru and started rampaging, Piccolo casually decided to BLOW UP THE MOON!!!
* His HeroicSacrifice for Gohan, TakingTheBullet (or better said, the blast) meant for the kid. That scene marked his last step into HeelFaceTurn, and was also a peak point in his CharacterDevelopment. His teary eyed speech about how he didn't expect Gohan to change him so much and that the boy was his first friend ever is still one of the series greatest CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming.
** Fighting Frieza in his second form and putting on one hell of a fight. Also, his booting Frieza into a lake to buy Goku enough time to form a Spirit Bomb was pretty badass as well. He literally came out of ''nowhere''.
* In ''Cooler's Revenge'', shooting the last surviving minion with the Special Beam Cannon just as he was about to attack the exhausted Z-Fighters... from so far away nobody could see him.
** Also from ''Cooler's Revenge'', Goku literally ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp6ASmA88S8 blasts Cooler into the sun.]]'' Having {{Deftones}}' "Change (In the House of Flies)" on the Funimation dub's background makes the ass-kicking twice as awesome.
* Utterly crushing Dr. Gero and then severing his arm.
** The fact that Piccolo was able to increase his strength to the extent that he did leading up to the android confrontation is a CMOA itself. The last time Piccolo was in combat he was only able to match second form Freeza. The next time he fought he was more than capable of taking down Androids 19 and 20. Considering he had no Super Saiyan transformations or even increased gravity (he trained with Goku and Gohan at their house) it was an incredible leap to make, even if he wasn't on par with the Super Saiyans.
* Reuniting with Kami to become the Namek that he once was.
* Basically any movie where he shows up to make the save for Gohan and beat up the henchmen of the BigBad.
* How about the first Broly movie? While Vegeta was [[HeroicBSOD completely frozen in fear]] due to Broly's strength while everyone else desperately fought the losing battle, Piccolo quite literally yanked him up by the hair and told him to either man up or stand back and let the real warriors fight. Though it didn't take right away, it's quite possibly due to this pep talk that Vegeta remembered his [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Saiyan pride]] in time to help Goku save the day.** This (mixed with a Crowning Moment of Funny) is seen in the second Broly movie. Gohan looked like he was done for, and then someone saves him from Broly's attack. He looks up and sees Piccolo in his blurred vision, but what he actually saw was Krillin dressed as Piccolo.
* Going after Ultimate Perfect Cell when Cell and Gohan were locked in a [[BeamOWar Kamehameha Wave clash]], even though Piccolo was nowhere near Cell's power. Until he acted, everyone still able to fight was just watching as Cell began to beat Gohan down.
** Going from the above, Piccolo, Tenshinhan, Yamucha, and Krillin's struggle to hold out against Cell's energy as they blasted him in an attempt to give Gohan some help.
** Before that, [[WhatTheHellHero calling out]] Goku for just sitting there watching as his eleven-year-old son got squeezed to death by a monster, even going so far as to ''cuss him out'' in the Kai dub.
* Slicing Babidi in half.
* His very first one, back in Dragonball. King Piccolo had been deathly afraid of the Evila Containment wave, considering it the only thing that could defeat him. When Kami tries this in the World Martial Arts Tournement, Piccolo reveals that he can reverse it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Chi-Chi]]
* Chichi may be an [[OverprotectiveDad overprotective]] [[EducationMama education]] [[TheScrappy mama]], but she's definitely one of the strongest characters in the series. Sure, she's a normal human, except for the fact she can
---> 1. Bully both Goku AND Piccolo into taking driver's ed in a filler episode (all for the sole purpose of driving ''her'' around).
---> 2. Terrorize both her husband and son (and by extension Yamucha, Tenshinhan, Piccolo, AND Vegeta) into obedience by threatening to not feed them.
---> 3. Trained Goten to the point where he went Super Saiyan... without teaching him how to fly. In the anime, she even took a punch from him in that form when he first transformed.
---> 4. Although it also counts as a TooDumbToLive moment, she could [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu stand up to]] [[BigBad Super Buu]] (granted it didn't end well for her, but it was still pretty awesome.)
* Shame most of that didn't happen in canon storyline though. Chichi's greatest moment of the series actually happens offscreen: How she managed to get [[ChasteHero innocent]], [[IdiotHero naive]] Goku to have sex with her ([[HappilyMarried at]] [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex least]]) twice, we will ''never know!''
** How she managed to SURVIVE that is an entirely different story. At several points Goku shows difficulties in controlling his ever growing strength. She's a walking crowning of awesome just for that.
*** [[FridgeLogic You know, she could've been on top both times...]]
*** When Gohan was conceived, Goku was stronger than any human, but not by that much, and Chi Chi was fairly strong in her own right. The ManOfSteelWomanOfKleenex does apply to Goten's conception, but not Gohan's.
* Despite being in the anime filler, she got one big time in the Trunks Saga. Gohan's {{Jerkass}} tutor learned one hard lesson... [[BerserkButton Never talk smack about her family, or her husband!]]
* Don't forget her dropping the {{jerkass}} mother of the {{Jerk Jock}}s during the Junior World Tournament (Who Goten and Trunks beat easily) with one punch.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Bardock]]
* Bardock does it twice. First when he finds his comrades dead, and [[BadAss takes his bandage and wipes the blood off his dead friend's face before wrapping it around his head.]] Right before unleashing a can of whoop ass on Dodoria's men. Of course, Dodoria comes himself and [[BreathWeapon blasts him with his mouth]], [[LeftforDead leaving him for dead]]. Afterwards, he returns to his homeworld, and after [[CassandraTruth failing to convince his fellow Saiyans that Frieza is planning to wipe them out]], he charges towards his spaceship himself blasting past several henchmen and Mooks he shouldn't able to fight, and just to top it off, [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu he fires a ''ki'' blast at Frieza!]]. Although then again, he was probably planning to kill him with that move, but Frieza replied by creating a massive Death Ball while laughing maniacally, easily nullifying the Saiyan's attack as he fired the ball at him, his soldiers who failed to hold him, and Planet Vegeta, killing all life as he [[EarthShatteringKaboom annihilated the planet.]] [[GoOutWithASmile At least he went out with a smile.]]
* Speaking of Bardock, Burst Limit has a Moment of Awesome (yes, the game has a Moment of Awesome) with the first of its post game arcs which finishes in a dream match between Bardock and Goku with [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome the theme song playing in the background]].
** The trigger to become a Super Saiyan is anger, and Bardock's rebellion is initiated by the discovery that Frieza's men have killed his fellow Saiyans, and under orders from Frieza himself. Sure they were as a race raised to be ruthless, but having clearly fought alongside them for a long time, they were probably the closest thing Bardock ever had to friends. When you consider this, and then his anger when finally face-to-face with Frieza, suddenly the idea of 'Super Saiyan Bardock' seems to have actually been very close to happening.....
** All he was lacking was ''power level'' at the time (Toriyama outlined that Saiyans over 100,000 have enough strength to become Super Saiyans, and the Saiyan average goes between 1200 *Raditz* to 8000 *Bardock's level at the start of his special*, thus how rare it is and why there hadn't been any Super Saiyans in millennium). In the special below, Bardock recovers from a near death experience that claimed the life of his planet and its moon...and that pushed his power level up to 100,000 possibly, making him able to access Super Saiyan abilities through righteous anger.
* A 2011 spinoff manga showed that Bardock didn't die, but instead went back in time somehow. He then proceeds to become the ruler of what becomes planet Vegeta, defeats Chilled (Frieza's ancestor) and ''begins the Super Saiyan legend''. As an added bonus, he uses the same technique that got him killed in the movie to take Chilled down.
* The way Bardock becomes a Super Saiyan in the anime is quite awesome too. After being knocked about by Chilled and seeing him supposedly kill a young native, he kneels in the dirt, feeling pathetic to the point where he is implied to be crying, remembering what happened to his friends and his race, and blaming himself for being too weak to save them. Then his sadness turns to anger, and you get that moment where ''his shadow flashes yellow.'' Then, after repeatedly glowing yellow, he turns around to face Chilled, seeing both him and Frieza at the same time. Chilled laughs, Bardock screams to the heavens, and finally becomes a Super Saiyan. He then proves that [[LamarckWasRight Goku inherited his badass gene from him]] by doing to Chilled what Goku did to Frieza: ''completely thrash him.''
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqaIX7W0kzs See for yourself.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mr. Satan]]
* Where is Mr. Satan on this list? The true Moment of Awesome for Mr. Satan has got to be his first appearance during the Cell Games Saga. Mr. Satan is played up as a complete BadAss (by normal human standards), who unfortunately is probably weaker than Kamesennin's pet turtle. Despite all of this, he takes a punch from Cell, flies a good distance before being slammed into a mountain hard enough to leave a good sized crater, and SURVIVES. FullStop.
* In the Cell Saga, Mr. Satan is ready to leave the place with his students, his arm candy and the TV crew when suddenly they hear a voice. They turn and see 16's head who pleads to them to take him to Gohan so he can talk to him. Everyone is convinced that this is a bad idea, yet 16 keeps asking this of Mr. Satan. Everyone says to Mr. Satan that he should not do it, since Cell is standing next to Gohan and can kill him, and that no one will think less of him if he decides to walk away. His response? "Leave me alone. All this nobodies out there and even now a kid is fighting Cell, it would be shameful of a World champion to run away." He then proceeds to cross hell to get 16 close to Gohan. Awesome.
** To be fair to Cell, he probably wasn't trying his best, but still, Mr. Satan did manage to survive that and the carnage wrought by the battle.
* During the Buu saga, he ''commands the whole world'' to send their energy to Goku for his [[CombinedEnergyAttack Spirit Bomb]]. Which they do. Said moment is then followed by a high point of the series: See, it seems Goku doesn't have enough energy to throw the Spirit Bomb, right? Well, his buddies, who have one Dragon Ball-related wish left, ask the Dragon to restore his energy. The Dragon states that in light of all their other ridiculous wishes, that one is child's play, and fulfills it. Goku launches the Spirit Bomb. Goodbye, Buu.
* In that fight, he got a load of them, even just for being there. When Vegeta was about to be double-killed in a way that would subvert DeathIsCheap, he steps in against the being ''who can make war on the gods with reasonable impunity'' to buy Goku some time to power back up.
* Similarly, in the Buu saga, after he has finally convinced the rest of the species to lend Goku their power for the Spirit Bomb, Buu manages to beat down and trap Vegeta underfoot, knowing that Goku would not let off his ultimate attack and kill Vegeta once again. Fat Buu tackles Kid Buu and Mr. Satan sprints in to get Vegeta out of range so Goku can finally let 'er rip.
* A more subtle one for Mr. Satan, also in the Majin Buu saga. He actually manages to stop Buu's first form and (temporarily) saves the world! How does he do it? A new special move? Not likely. A bag of explosive tricks? No. (Although he does try that...) So, how then? Easy: [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming he makes friends with Buu.]] And helps him [[PetTheDog make friends with a puppy.]] Then he teaches Buu the basics of right and wrong, first and foremost not to kill people anymore. [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu Did he just win a battle against Majin Buu that none of the Z Warriors could win with their fists]] by using [[PowerOfFriendship compassion]]? Uh, yeah. And it was kinda cool.
* The moment when Mr. Satan [[CurbstompBattle curbstomps]] the two gunmen who shot Buu's dog is the only time he's really shown kicking ass, and it is awesome.
** It is also worth knowing that aside from those of the Z-Warriors and his own daughter, Mr. Satan is the strongest and most skilled human on Earth. So to take down a pair of gunmen without the evident fear in his eyes when faced with such greater threats like Cell and Majin Buu? That may seem trivial compared to everything else in this show, but consider this from a simple human's point of view. This was truly an inspiring moment for him.
** Even more impressive is during this time we see the one legit superpower Mr. Satan has, the ability to perform a FlashStep. That might not seem like once, but the fact he can do it with ''no superhuman training'' the rest of the Z-Fighters have and purely his own ability, it is.
* Mr. Satan even gets an amazing moment in GT during the Baby Saga. Giant Golden Ape Baby has just supposedly wiped out every big hero... including his granddaughter Pan. What is Mr. Satan's first and only reaction? He stands his ground, takes up a fighting stance and threatens to kill Baby; no joking, no running away. He's dead serious and Goku himself even says that Mr. Satan has impressed him.** Even ''Piccolo'' admits to the greatness of this. When explaining to Videl about what her father did, he calls him a "true champion of Earth". Later, when Gohan, Piccolo, Goten, and Trunks find Mr. Satan wandering on the desolate Earth, Trunks says to just ignore him, to which Piccolo says "No, we should take him with us. He really does have the beginnings of a hero in him."
* He may not be all that strong (although to be fair, he's still one of the more powerful pure-humans in the series, but he's [[OvershadowedByAwesome waaaay outclassed by all of the aliens and androids and whatnot]]...), but he definitely has the heart of a hero. Even Goku has said he deserves to be called the Champ.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Other Characters]]
** In a later episode, the Red Ribbon Army descends on a small island, inhabited by "an old man and a girl." Unfortunately for them, that old man is Master Roshi, who [[CurbStompBattle beats the shit out of the whole crew in short order,]] only stopping when the remaining soldier takes Launch as a hostage. (Although Launch then sneezes, [[SplitPersonality transforms]], and kicks his ass too.)
** When Roshi fights the Demon King Piccolo, the old master actually makes [[TheDreaded him]] [[OhCrap show fear]] for the first time, and doesn't hesitate to use [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique the Mafuba]] in an attempt to seal him away. [[SenselessSacrifice Even though it didn't work]], and Roshi died from using the technique, the fact that he terrified the series' equivalent of the devil is certainly worth a spot on this page.
** The very first Kamehameha. So Awesome it blew away a mountain that was on FIRE.
** On the subject of the Goku-Jackie Chun match, it should be noted that in one issue of the US Shonen Jump, it was voted the best battle in the series. Both Goku and Chun pull out every move they had up until then, Chun coming very close to winning twice before the end; the first time he hypnotized Goku into falling asleep (Foiled by Bulma shouting "Dinner time!") and then trapping Goku in a cage of lightning (More or less), which Goku could only escape from by seeing the moon and transforming. Chun stops Oozaru-Goku by wiping out THE MOON, and in the end the match is decided by a CrossCounter in which Chun prevails by having a ''slightly'' deeper kick than Goku.* Believe it or not, Puar and Oolong, Yamcha's and Bulma's shapeshifting sidekicks, got theirs, too.
** Oolong's is the very first on-screen wish ever made on the Dragon Balls, when he interrupts Pilaf's wish for world domination by asking for a pair of girls' panties.
** Puar's is when she transforms into a giant pair of scissors to lop off Oozaru Goku's tail (of course, she was also the one who drew his attention to the moon and made him transform in the first place...).
* "King Kai" and "Awesome" are usually not said in the same breath, but oddly enough, he gets one. After the deaths of the Ginyu force, they arrive at Kai's place unexpectedly and start wreaking havoc, but are soon dispatched in a fun little match between them and Tien, Yamcha, and Chaotzu, something even Vegeta couldn't do at first. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV_8t0lL_Vw&feature=related Watch it here.]]. We then find out that Kai ''invited'' these terrors of the universe in order to test his students' abilities.
** Tenshinhan got an even better one during the Cell saga, just after Cell absorbed 17. To sneak up on the android, Cell had traveled underground...so Tenshinhan blasted him back into that hole, and every time Cell tried to fly out, Tenshinhan just knocked him right back in. No, he wasn't doing any lasting damage, but he managed to stall for a good amount of time so 16 and 18 could escape and Goku could arrive to rescue Piccolo -- and, by that point, Tenshinhan, who had used up most of his energy.
* Tenshinhan comes out of ''nowhere'' with a moment of awesome in the final fight with Buu. (Alas, this didn't make it into the video game retelling ''Legacy of Goku: Buu's Fury''.)
** Come to think of it, Tenshinhan did the very same thing with Semi-perfect Cell, showed up out of nowhere and blasted him into a hole in the ground over and over and over again. "There you go, Cell. A little greeting from the no-count."
*** Especially since that blast is supposed to kill whoever uses it once and using it twice is supposedly near impossible.
** Perhaps Tien's greatest moment comes at the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament. After years of atonement for his sins while working under Master Shen and General Tao, Tien shows up at the tournament and comes face to face with Cyborg!Tao, eager to get revenge on Shen's behalf. Tao unleashes every attack in his arsenal, and [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spek4X1uNNw Tien proceeds to conquer him with ONE.]]
* Let's give Yamcha his props, too, shall we? He also saved everyone from Oozaru Goku, grabbing the creature's tail and paralyzing it long enough for Puar to cut it off, as seen below.
** His fight against Tenshinhan is seen by many as one of the finest examples of more serious hand-to-hand combat in the series. Of course it doesn´t work quite well for him, but the fight is very nice to look at and it shows that he is no pushover even for future champions.
** In the initial battle with the Saiyans, Krillin initially volunteers to fight the Saibamen first, but Yamcha stops him, saying that if Krillin dies, he can't be wished back by the Dragon Balls. Of course, Yamucha was the ButtMonkey before Krillin made it cool, so die he does... but it was still awesome, and it's no wonder Krillin is upset enough to obliterate nearly every other Saibaman around.
** It may be [[{{Filler}} non-canon by modern standards]], but Yamcha fighting Olibu, one of the North Galaxy's greatest warriors, on equal footing in the Afterlife, proves that while he may be far from the Universe's strongest being, he is still a serious contender, albeit a retired one.
* Yajirobe. In that battle, he comes out of nowhere and cuts off Vegeta's tail after he becomes an Oozaru at the (huge) risk of his own life, after being portrayed as a coward who doesn't want to fight Vegeta. And earlier in Dragon Ball, when he kills and ''eats'' Cymbal, one of Piccolo Daimaou's kids.
** On the topic of Cymbal, note that Yajirobe finishes him off with a ''single stroke.'' This is one of the henchmen that were able to rival the winners of the World Martial Arts Tournament. Yajirobe wasn't always just comic relief.
** Don't forget, in that same battle with Vegeta, when the Saiyan noticed that Gohan's tail had grown back, he made to finish him off quickly so he wouldn't transform. But before he can kill Gohan, Yajirobe leaps at him from behind again, slicing through Vegeta's armor and actually coming very close to killing him.
* Of all people, Kami gets one -- and of all times, in the Garlic Jr. saga. He has to journey into the underground depths of his home, where he is apparently absolutely not allowed, in order to save earth. While there, he encounters the deranged souls of the former guardians, who attempt to kill him for going there, despite his intentions. He is basically tortured for several episodes in a row, barely clinging to life. Finally, realizing the danger at hand, the former guardians heal him of the damage done to him. The peaceable Popo, with great relief, realizes that they're going to be let go, but Kami stands up ''screaming insults'' at the people who had just barely decided to let him live. That's pretty epic, and the cheesy mildness of his words somehow only makes it all that much cooler.
-->'''Popo''': You've been pardoned for coming here. They've forgiven you!
-->'''Kami''': (looks winded for a moment, then stands up scowling) Oh, yeah? Well, I haven't forgiven them. GET A LIFE, YOU STUBBORN OLD FOOLS!
* Android 18. It's a toss up between her utter ''mauling'' of Vegeta in the Android Saga, and her hilarious extortion of Mr. Satan in the Buu Saga (and the NonSerialMovie's expansion on it, when she goes and tries to collect her prize...).
** Also, in GT, when she is confronted by 17, she tells him that the people he is hurting are innocent, and he kills Krillin, she attacks 17 in a fit of rage, and stands in the way of 17's attack when he tried to kill her daughter. This shows that she is truly redeemed, and shuns her former, murderous ways.
*** [[CanonDiscontinuity But that moment was in GT! It never happened.]] Besides, 18 and 17 never had any real "murderous ways" in DBZ except in Future Trunks' timeline.
*** Trying to kill Goku isn't murderous? And if you go by the anime, they also blew up a bunch of cops.
*** OK, OK, so they weren't ''as'' murderous. And they only attack if they feel someone is bothering them. Unlike Trunks' timeline were they killed ForTheEvulz.
*** Then she comes back when Super 17 is about to finish Goku with his [[FinishingMove Shocking Death Ball]] and gives a rousing speech about what a coward 17's become now that he's deferring to some MadScientist in his decisions when he used to defy Dr. Gero at every turn. [[HeelRealization 17 is in clear emotional turmoil over this]], which leads to Dr. Myu [[VillainBall running his mouth in trying to order 17 to fire already]]… and getting 17's attack turned on him to be obliterated as a result. Too bad she and her bro keep fighting after this.
* Given what was going on in the rest of the Cell Games arc, it’s easy to discount this one—particularly given the fact that it’s, technically, filler—but someone has to give the Ox King some serious credit. During Gohan’s fight with Cell, Chichi is, predictably, going off on one of her “My little boy shouldn’t be fighting” tangents. By this point, the Ox King has gotten fed up with it, and [[TakeThatScrappy tells her exactly what she’s been ignoring for the rest of the series: that Gohan and Goku are fighting for a better cause, and that the former isn’t a child anymore.]] The cherry on top is that he still manages to be the loving grandpa we’ve seen thus far (“Oh, sure, I wish it was me instead of him”) while doing so. Of course, this doesn’t take, but it’s the thought that counts, right?
* Videl has one when she lands in a bus and beats the shit out of the hijackers. Too bad nobody was driving the bus, and the bus drove over a cliff. Thankfully, Gohan catches the bus.
** Videl's first and only major fight in the main series against Spopovich counts as one. Despite [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown being beaten and broken against an enemy with infinite energy]], she refuses to give up and personifies the [[HumansAreSpecial human spirit]] in the Saiyan-dominated series. Bonus points for the fact she essentially killed him by breaking his neck (which would've disqualified her), but he was able to recover indefinitely since he was being powered by Babidi's magic.
*** She also gets one in the tenth movie, where she hurls a crystal at Broly. Does it hurt him? No, he breaks it without breaking a sweat, and it wouldn't have done anything had it hit anyway. But that wasn't the point. Prior to that, Broly was ''squeezing the life out of Gohan'' and stopping to break the crystal distracts Broly enough for Gohan to kick him in the chest, wrench himself free of his grasp, and then proceed to begin the Kamehameha Wave that ends the battle.
**** The fact that she was, only a short while after being healed from the above, willing to fight someone that had overpowered Gohan might not be a ''crowning'' moment of awesome, but having the guts to do that (particularly since this is DBZ) when you're only ability with ki is flight, and immediately after getting the crap kicked out of you, is pretty damn awesome.
* Vegetto, the fusion of Goku and Vegeta, seems to be this trope incarnate, plus CrazyAwesome.
** Same with Gogeta.
--->I am neither Goku or Vegeta, I am Gogeta! It's over Janemba, I've come for you!
** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJDneVLUI9w "I'm no ordinary candy! I'm a JAWBREAKER!"]] (The original line is "I AM THE STRONGEST CANDY IN THE UNIVERSE!")
** Buu creates a massive ball of energy made from tiny bits of the energy of every planet he's destroyed. He's chucks it at Vegetto. How does Vegetto reflect it? Does he counter with a blast of his own? NO! He catches it, then [[{{Badass}} starts running with it like damned football, faster and faster before]] punting it out of earth's atmosphere!
* Master Roshi has a couple of moments that cement his BadassGrandpa status, such as winning the World Martial Arts Tournament (while in disguise as Jackie Chun) after taking young Goku to the limit for ''four hours.''
* Piccolo and Android 17 get a series of these when the two go head to head. This fight alone is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome because this comparitely piddy battle, two episodes in the anime, frequently makes the top five DBZ fights and is something of a fan favorite and butts heads with Gohan vs. Perfect Cell and Goku vs. Frieza.
* A moment that often gets overlooked is during the Cell Games, Gohan has just turned [=SSJ2=] and is beating the crap out of Cell. Meanwhile, Mr. Hercule Satan having run his mouth all this time throughout the arc and proclaiming everything that happens to be nothing but tricks says that Gohan is skilled but he needs training and will take him under his wing to be a truly great fighter. At this point The Color Commentator for the Cell Games tells him who is he trying to fool? That Gohan and the others are clearly more powerful than he is. Even his own pupils realized he was a phony. (Except for the BrainlessBeauty Valet) It doesn't last but it was nice for somebody to realize that Satan was full of it.
* Android 16. Unlike everyone else, this ginger had no soul and wasn't revived. He sacrifices his very existence to give Gohan the will to fight. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LzbOXWZvYA&feature=related Yet his reassuring smile never leaves his face even as Cell crushes him.]] Obviously overlaps with TearJerker.
* Pan gets one in the episode "Granddaughter Pan." On her way to the stadium when she attempts to win a teddy bear, she picks up the hammer and ''breaks the freaking machine.'' Cue a WTF face that the bystanders have, [[CrowningMomentOfFunny while Goku smiles unsurprisingly.]]
** Also, when she beats up Wild Tiger with only two blows.
* Bra, Bulma and Vegeta's daughter, is basically a LivingProp. She's the only Saiyan-related character who doesn't fight, and she was probably created as a visual cue to manga readers that, yes, Bulma and Vegeta were still together after all these years. Despite this, she's an incredibly popular EnsembleDarkhorse and LauncherOfAThousandShips among fans. While she probably gets points for her [[LadyInRed pretty clothes]] and mixing the worst of her parents' incredible tempers, there is no possible arguing whatsoever that the main thing that endeared fans to her was her ''epic'' CallingTheOldManOut... because she thought his mustache was stupid. Vegeta shaving the stupid thing off was a major AuthorsSavingThrow and arguably the point where GT [[GrowingTheBeard grew what little stubble]] it was going to get.
** There is another GT moment related to Bra, but this one is enacted by Vegeta. He is driving her somewhere along a mountain road, and a car full of guys drives alongside the car and start flirting with Bra. They tell her to ditch the "old guy" and ride with them. Vegeta gets a surly look, and he reaches over and pulls their steeling wheel off. Then he rams their car and drives away. The guys can no longer steer and thus drive off the mountain (with Bra amusingly not seeming to mind.) Don't call Vegeta old, don't insinuate incest with his daughter, and [[PapaWolf do NOT flirt with his daughter]].
* While GT had its issues, it had some good moments. One is when Omega Shenron is about to attack a defenseless Goku, until a brick comes out of nowhere, hitting him square in the head. Cut to Vegeta, bouncing another brick idly in his hand.
* Also in that saga, Vegeta says that if the press hassles him he will kill them. His wife, Bulma, simply tells him to behave.


* Pikkon. When Goku and Pikkon travel to Hell to fight Cell and the other [[BigBad villains]], Pikkon is able to defeat Cell ''with only two hits'', then knocks out both Freeza and King Cold ''with a single blow''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Villains]]
* Credit needs to be given to pre-Z Dragon Ball here, considering it gave us Tao Pai Pai. The man killed General Blue [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/dragon_ball/v08/c001/9.html with]] [[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/dragon_ball/v08/c001/10.html his]] ''[[http://www.mangafox.com/manga/dragon_ball/v08/c001/11.html tongue]]''.
** When Tao Pai Pai says "Who needs a jet when when we've got a perfectly good pillar." He taps the pillar and breaks it out, while leaving the building completely intact then throws the pillar and jumps onto it while it's moving.
** Also, he deflects a bullet with his shoe, and then just lets the shoe land back on his foot without even turning around or stopping. One must admit that Tao's pretty badass.
* While Piccolo Jr. gets a lot of moments, serious props have to go to Demon King Piccolo in the original ''Dragon Ball''. After he gathers all the Dragon Balls and has Shenron restore his youthful strength, he decides to fix it so that nobody can ever use the Dragon Balls against him, so he shoots a Ki blast that ''blows Shenron, the Eternal Dragon into [[LudicrousGibs meaty chunks]]''! At that point in the story, that was roughly equivalent to ''killing God''! And he did it with ''one attack.'' He actually gets a lot of moments, such as...
** Beating down Goku in his old, out of shape state. [[LetsGetDangerous From the minute he took off his cloak]] [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to the minute Goku's heart stopped beating.]]
** Casually and callously killing Chiaotzu.
** Performing ''another'' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown (again, in his old state) on Roshi, who then dies after botching his one attempt to re-seal King Piccolo.
* Props must also be given to Piccolo's son, Tambourine. After beating Krillin to death (a notable feat in and of itself), he proceeds to assassinate every martial artist he can find under the orders of King Piccolo, killing them all, usually with just a single hit. Highlights include snapping Krillin's neck with a kick, countering King Chappa's Eight Arm technique with his own ''Hundred'' Arm technique, and ramming his fist straight through Giran.
* Captain Ginyu deserves mention for the reveal of his {{Grand Theft Me}} power. The moment when you realize he'd actually been letting Goku beat the crap out of him so he'd be stuck in a weakened body after the switch is quite the {{Oh Crap}} feeling.
* Frieza. He [[ShootTheMedicFirst kills Dende]] [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy because he can heal people]].
** His "fight" with Vegeta. Vegeta is always smug, arrogant, and overconfident. Even when it's clear he's outmatched, he still always stands up from a beating and spits in his opponent's face. But not against Frieza. Frieza gives him possibly the most brutal beating in the entire series, pummeling him to the point where he couldn't even move from the pain, and actually makes him cry TearsOfFear. As mentioned above, Vegeta is so persistent and fearless that he actually frightened a god-killing monster. And Frieza ''terrifies'' him.
*** At one point, just to make Vegeta feel extra helpless before killing him, he stands still and let's Vegeta shoot him with his most powerful attack. And then, without even using 2% of his power, he casually kicks the blast away. After that, all Vegeta could do was just stare in disbelief. King Kai said that was the first time Vegeta truly felt fear.
** He [[BerserkButton kills Krillin in front of Goku.]] [[CurbStompBattle He paid for it, though.]]
** Also awesome is the fact that, before he resorts to BeamSpam, he actually showcases the widest variety of attacks & techniques of anyone in the series, besides maybe Goku. Especially cool is his Crimson Sphere attack, which freezes an opponent in a ball of ki [[MadeOfExplodium that will blow up if it touches anything but Frieza himself]], which he then kicks around until he's bored, then detonates it.
** Also, he's got Ryusei Nakao as his Japanese seiyuu. That voice alone is a Crowning Moment Of Sexy.
* Cooler might have had the most awesome villain moment in the series. After showing Goku his ''[[OneWingedAngel fourth transformation]]'', Goku tries to hit him with a Kamehameha. Cue Cooler flying ''into'' the blast and popping out of the beam to punch Goku.
** Right before that was Cooler's beatdown of Goku. Even when Goku uses a kaio-ken x20 (which, by this point, made him stronger than even his Namek Super Saiyan self), he's completely unable to hurt Cooler, who proceeds to destroy him with ONE PUNCH. After that, he flies through the Kamehameha as mentioned, and KO's Goku with another punch.
-->'''Cooler''': ''Hah! So this is the mighty Super Saiyan who defeated my brother? How ridiculous.... Freeza deserved to die for getting beaten by a weakling like you.
** His suitably epic return as Metal Cooler. Not only does he completely destroy two Super Saiyans and a Super Namek, he toys with them the whole time. And just when it looks like our heroes might've beaten him, [[spoiler: he spawns an entire army of clones.]]
* Cell deserves a mention, for his "training exercise" after achieving perfection. It includes, among other things, taking out a football team without breaking a sweat.
** There's also him destroying Android 16 in front of Gohan, and killing Trunks after narrowly escaping his own self-destruction and returning to Earth.
* Broly's epic beatdown on Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Trunks, and Piccolo deserves special mention; not only were the Z-Fighters at full power, Broly WASN'T EVEN TRYING, and merely toys with them the entire movie.
** Broly taking a Kamehameha wave ''point blank'' and not even so much as a scratch from it.
--->'''Broly:''' (''grabs Goku's head and lifts him up'') What the hell was that?!
** He also punched Vegeta so hard that he left a double-dip impact crater in the wall that Vegeta hit. Needless to say Vegeta was NOT amused.
* How does Beers cement himself as the most powerful Dragon Ball Z villain ever? [[CurbStompBattle He defeats Super Saiyan 3 Goku effortlessly]]. [[FingerPokeOfDoom With a flick of his finger]]. [[PressurePoint And karate-chopping the back of Goku's neck to knock him unconscious.]]
*** He goes a bit fuhrther and defeats Super Saiyan God Goku while only using 70% of his power. It should be noted that Super Saiyan God Goku was able to wound Beers, something nobody else could do.
*** Having the latest villain curb-stomping most of the cast is hardly unusual for this series, but Beers does it with ''class''. He incapacitates most of the cast who tries to take him on with quick, efficient strikes, including striking Piccolo's pressure points with ''chopsticks'', which, it should be noted, he was carrying for most of the fight.
[[/folder]]

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