History Characters / DeathBattleGokuVsSuperman

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--->'''Superman''': ''"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard. Always taking constant care not to break something, to break someone. What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to cut loose and show you just how powerful I really am."''\\

* SupermanSubstitute: [[ZigzaggedTrope It's... complicated]]. Goku was originally inspired by ''Journey to the West'', making him more of a MonkeyKingLite, and only later gaining parallels with Superman by way of discovering that he was an alien from a doomed planet. This perception of him was not helped by early english dubs of ''Anime/DragonballZ'' [[EnforcedTrope intentionally drawing parallels to Superman that didn't exist in the source material]].

* BoxingLessonsForSuperman: He's the TropeNamer. Supes is incredibly powerful and he does not spend much time physically training, but despite this he has taken boxing lessons and has knowledge of Kryptonian martial arts, one of which allows him to resist the mind games that he would normally be susceptible to. Even so, while he's no mindless brawler, his battle instincts don't quite measure up to Goku's martial arts mastery.

* NighInvulnerability: Superman is a Made of Diamond example, except for things that work outside the laws of physics. He's capable of surviving multiple supernovas (each with the force of 10 octillion megatons) and surviving two planets slamming into each other, and his durability increases further as he absorbs solar energy with no known upper limit. Anatomy-wise, his denser molecular structure and his bio-electrical aura are key factors as to why he can take so much damage. Since Goku has hard physical limitations that he has to work through with extended training sessions.

* ThePowerOfTheSun: His powers are fueled by solar energy, the closer he is to the sun, the more power he will absorb. In daylight, he is constantly recharged and can mostly use his powers without issue, but in the dark, his supply is cut off--only opponents with power comparable to his run the risk of depleting his reserves. Notably, there seems to be no upper limit for how much sunlight he can absorb and utilize.

* StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Said verbatim when covering his limitless strength; it's also a major factor in his victory over Goku, who ''has'' limits to worry about.

* ClothingDamage: In the third fight:
** Both Goku's gi top and undershirt end up being destroyed, and his pants get pretty roughed up too, once Superman stops holding back and pummels Super Saiyan Blue to the point he loses the transformation.
** Superman meanwhile gets his BadassCape torn up something fierce once Goku manages to activate Ultra Instinct and get some momentum back.

* LightningBruiser: Both fighters are [[ExaggeratedTrope some of the most legendary Lightning Bruisers in all of fiction]]. Both have the strength to destroy countless universes, the toughness to endure those attacks, and speed too great to be measured.

Superman has so far won all three times, and both Wiz and Boomstick conclude that this is unlikely to change in the future due to a difference of setting and story: Goku's story casts him as a [[StockShonenHero Shonen Protagonist]] who wants to push past his limits to be the best fighter he possibly can, while Superman's story casts him as a BigGood CosmicKeystone defending and helping others with his impossible strengths: [[UnstoppableForceMeetsImmovableObject Goku can break any limit, while Superman ''has'' no limits]].

'''Voiced by:''' [[WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC Michael Agrusso]] (1st and 2nd match_), Creator/XanderMobus (3rd match)\\

-->'''Goku''': ''You're holding back! Give it your all!''\\

* DeathOrGloryAttack: He has an ability known as the Super Flare, where he consumes the vast majority of his stored solar energy to create a quarter-mile solar explosion. In the third fight, he uses it to get some breathing room from Goku's relentless onslaught in Ultra Instinct by forcing the Saiyan to dodge backward.

** In the third fight, after using his Solar Flare to give himself room from Goku, Superman flies through every star in the galaxy to supercharge himself.

* UnskilledButStrong: Zig-Zagged. While Superman has the power advantage, he's not a martial arts master, which is one of Goku's main advantages going in here. However, Superman is deemed to have more combat experience and has been able to beat similarly skilled fighters as Goku through combat prowess alone.

** Superman attains these when he stops holding back - either through the static electricity of vibrating muscles, or solar-powered from empowering himself in the cores of stars.

* CombatPragmatist: Despite preferring a fair fight by letting his opponents fight him at their best and refusing to take advantage of any crippling weaknesses, Goku has no problems with [[CaughtMonologuing Catching People Monologuing]] in the middle of said fights.

* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In the first round, Clark was arrogant, full of himself, and a CombatPragmatist who attacked his opponent from behind while being rather dismissive of Goku as a person. In the second, he's much more affable and nice, and is generally more respectful towards the Saiyan, genuinely complementing Goku with no backhanded meanings, and by the third, he has settled into a full blown FriendlyRivalry with the Saiyan, as Goku is one of a few people he can go all-out against without the stakes such an opponent would normally imply.
* CombatPragmatist: In the first battle, he attacks from blind spots, uses all sorts of {{Improvised Weapon}}s, destroys the Senzu Beans immediately after learning about them, and tosses the Power Pole over the horizon when it proved it can hurt him. [[CharacterizationMarchesOn none of this is present in the following matches]].

* PowerOfTheSun: His powers are fueled by solar energy, the closer he is to the sun, the more power he will absorb. In daylight, he is constantly recharged and can mostly use his powers without issue, but in the dark, his supply is cut off--only opponents with power comparable to his run the risk of depleting his reserves. Notably, there seems to be no upper limit for how much sunlight he can absorb and utilize.

* SpiritedCompetitor: Even moreso than his BloodKnight tendencies, Goku is this: While he loves fighting, he loves even more to push himself further against a challenging opponent. This shows up in all three battles, but especially in the third, where Goku is almost always the first one to power up to the SuperMode to push Superman and constantly encourages him to use his full potential even if it means he surpasses Goku.

!![[Franchise/DragonBall Son Goku]] (Kakarot)

[[folder:Son Goku / Kakarot]]
!![[Franchise/DragonBall Son Goku]] / Kakarot

[[folder:Superman / Clark Kent / Kal-El]]
!!ComicBook/{{Superman}} / Clark Kent / Kal-El

* WorthyOpponent: By the time of the third fight, Goku has nothing but respect for Superman's power and fighting ability, and by the end of the fight, Superman reciprocates the feeling. Despite losing, Goku comments on how fun the fight was and demands a rematch, which Superman says he looks forward to while fist-bumping him.

* PowerOfTheSun: His powers are fueled by solar energy, the closer he is to the sun, the more power he will absorb. In daylight, he is constantly recharged and can mostly use his powers without issue, but in the dark, his supply is cut off--only opponents with power comparable to his run the risk of depleting his reserves.
** In the first fight, Goku doesn't know that Superman is powered by the sun, and his attempts to blind him with the Solar Flare and launch him into the sun backfire horribly. Superman does start to run low on solar energy while fighting Super Saiyan 4 under a storm but ascends above the clouds before it becomes a problem.

* PunchCatch: Does this to Goku's Power Pole before throwing it over the horizon.
* PyrrhicVictory: Superman wins his first fight against Goku at the cost of destroying the Earth. Thankfully, Goku vs Superman 2 shows he rounded up the Dragon Balls and wished everything to be restored.

* TheSlowWalk: In the second fight, he walks right through SSGSS Goku's Kamehameha wave without a scratch, [[NeckLift grabs him by the throat, and incinerates his brain]].
* StoryBreakerPower: This is the hosts' central argument for Superman winning again. He has no limits, can lift infinity, and is deliberately written to be the most overpowered character in fiction. His lack of limits trumps Goku's ability to break any limit.

* SuperMode: Enough exposure to solar energy results in this for him, where he becomes supercharged with solar energy and is way stronger for it.
* SuperSenses: he can [[SuperHearing hear sounds millions of miles away,]] [[XRayVision Can see through anything except lead]], can see things moving faster than light and can hear through the vacuum of space. He can even see [[AuraVision a person's soul.]]

* YoureInsane: Says this verbatim when Goku challenges him for no other reason than for a good fight.

* WillfullyWeak: After learning of his heritage, Superman placed subconscious mental blocks on his powers, locking him out of his full potential for years until he discovered them himself. He spends a good deal of the fight holding back before finally deciding to get serious.
* WorthyOpponent:
** Compared to their first battle, in which Superman was rather dismissive and saw Goku as a brash, cocky maniac, here he shows much more respect to the Saiyan. He also gives Goku quite possibly the least brutal death on the show and [[DueToTheDead even refuses to let his body fall in an undignified heap at the end]].
** In the third fight, he outright states that he look forward to fighting Goku again, even doing a friendly fist bump with him.