Dragon Ball 10 Times Goku Earned The Respect Of Other Saiyans

Goku's strength and tenacity proved his worth to his fellow Saiyans, even those who once looked down on him.

The Saiyans are a race of warrior people who spent their time traveling through the galaxy bending planets to their will in order to sell to their master Frieza. By their nature, they seek conflict, and that goes for all of them...even the ones who aren't evil, like Goku, the "low-class" Saiyan they sent to planet Earth in the hope that he would subdue the planet.

Goku never completed his mission, but he instead managed to become one of the strongest Saiyans who ever lived. And while most Saiyans don't care for his trusting nature, they've all learned to respect him because of what he's capable of in combat, whether he was humbling other Saiyans or defeating enemies they didn't think he stood a chance against.

10 When He Showed He Was Willing To Sacrifice Himself To Defeat Raditz

While the Dragon Ball Z world would be entirely different without Raditz, the character didn't really do all that much. Considering he was one of the last members of the Saiyan race, it’s unfortunate that he was never developed beyond his original arc.

When he arrived, Raditz was little more than a bully who spent his life forcing people to give him whatever he wanted because he had the strength to make it so. That's why Raditz was never able to show Goku any respect — until Goku had the guts to sacrifice his own life just to take Raditz out, proving he had what it took as a Saiyan to finish the job.

9 After Winning The Beam Struggle Against Vegeta

Vegeta watches his partner Nappa easily get defeated by Goku, and in response he simply kills Nappa. He doesn’t actually respect Goku — at least, not yet. Their fight scene is one of the most iconic in Dragon Ball Z, with Goku managing to hold on in an exchange of blows because of his access to the Kaio-ken.

But it isn’t until Goku wins the series' first beam struggle battle that Vegeta finally acknowledges Goku as a warrior worth his time. Granted, all this actually means is that he has to turn into a Great Ape to properly squash him.

8 When He Appeared Before Frieza In His Final Form And Matched Him In Combat

When Goku arrived on Earth, Vegeta instantly knew something was different about him. In just a matter of months, his power level had skyrocketed so much that he didn't even seem like the same fighter. He was able to put a stop to the Ginyu Force's most powerful soldiers with ease, leading Vegeta to suspect he had become the legendary Super Saiyan.

But when Goku returned from being healed after their battles with Ginyu, that's when Vegeta was truly convinced that Goku was on another level. Though it was a mistake to believe Goku was a Super Saiyan, Vegeta put his trust in Goku's power to defeat Frieza and get vengeance for what Frieza had done to the Saiyans.

7 When He Proved He Was Capable Of Surpassing The Tree Of Might's Power

It’s difficult to say that Turles respected anyone much, since the only reason he survived in the first place was because he deserted the Saiyan Army. He also didn't respect all the planets he wiped out to create the multiple Trees of Might he made in the name of getting stronger.

But the one thing he did respect was Goku's ability to defeat him in battle with the power of the Spirit Bomb, draining energy from the Tree of Might itself. When the character reappeared in the Dragon Ball Heroes storyline, he even helped Goku and Vegeta out in their quest, sacrificing his life in the process.

6 When He Matched Future Trunks' Power With Only His Finger

All Future Trunks knew was that his planet had been ravaged by the power of the androids. His mother assured him that if Goku had been around, things would have been different, but there wasn't any real proof of this. Still, he traveled to the past and saved the Z Fighters from being destroyed by Mecha Frieza and King Cold.

Doubting Goku's power, Future Trunks challenged him by transforming into a Super Saiyan and attacking him with his sword, but Goku was easily able to block all of his attacks with a single finger. Satisfied that Goku was strong enough to be useful, he explained his story to Goku and returned to the future.

5 When He Taught Caulifla How To Go Super Saiyan 2

Caulifla is perhaps most like Saiyans compared to every other fans have seen from Universe 7. The character arrives at the Tournament of Power eager to prove she's better than everyone else, and when she initially runs into Goku, she mocks him by calling him an old man.

But when Goku is able to show her how to achieve power levels beyond that of Super Saiyan, Caulifla acknowledges that the old man is pretty cool. She manages to go Super Saiyan 2, surpassing the power Cabba taught her to achieve, and promises that she'll learn how to go Super Saiyan 3 one day as well.

4 When He Helped Gohan Find The Power To Defeat Cell

Considering how much Gohan counted on Goku when Raditz kidnapped him, it’s obvious that Goku always had Gohan's respect. However, one time in particular that Gohan really saw the value of his father's advice was during his battle against Perfect Cell. After Perfect Cell managed to revive himself with Instant Transmission and gain a vastly increased power level, Gohan completely lost faith in himself.

But rather than allow his son to give up, Goku encouraged Gohan to believe in his own strength and to push himself to the absolute limit to finally evaporate Cell for good, trusting his son to take care of the Earth in the future.

3 When He Brought Food And Provided Shelter To Broly And His Friends

Dragon Ball Super: Broly features a far more tragic character than the original series' movie version. In the original film, Broly is just a psychopath who kills without remorse because Goku cried a bunch. In the new version, Broly has anger issues because he's only ever been valued for his immense strength, since that was the only thing his father Paragus cared about.

Beating Broly with pure strength was simply impossible, but once fused with Vegeta, Goku was far more powerful than anything Broly could tap into. Gogeta defeated Broly, but it wasn't until Goku arrived on Broly's homeworld to bring him food and help turn the planet into more of a home that Broly respected his fellow Saiyan.

2 When He Arrived On Namek To Save Everyone

Vegeta already had a grudging respect for Goku, but his massive power increases on Namek got him to believe he had surpassed Kakarot several times over. His battles against Frieza's army showed him capable of not only competing with, but besting all of Frieza's ace soldiers.

Except for the Ginyu Force. Despite Vegeta’s best efforts, he was easily beaten by Recoome — until Goku arrived, having recently trained under heavier gravity and becoming so much stronger than the last time the two fought that Vegeta became convinced Goku was a legendary Super Saiyan spoken of in myth.

1 When He Went Ultra Instinct To Take Kefla Out

Kale and Caulifla were already a threat separately, and the two of them thought they could get the drop on Goku after he was exhausted from fighting against Jiren. But Goku's sheer experience allowed him to out-duel the both of them working separately as he regained his breath and built his energy back up.

When they fused, Kefla's ego hit heights beyond anything Caulifla had shown, and she believed herself to be the strongest fighter in the tournament. She was easily able to overpower Goku...until Goku went into Ultra Instinct again and used the coolest Kamehameha ever to knock them both out of the tournament.