'Invincible' Vs 'Dragon Ball': Are Viltrumites Really Stronger Than Saiyans?

For as long as there have been fandoms, there have been debates about which fandom’s characters are better than each other. Can Batman beat anyone with enough planning? Is The Flash faster than other speedsters? This type of discourse is always going on, including when talking about two of animation’s most popular series: Invincible (2021) and Dragon Ball Z (1996).

With the fourth season of Invincible having wrapped on Prime Video, and the introduction of the strongest Viltrumite of them all, Thragg, some subsects of the fandom have begun saying that the Viltrumites are stronger than the Saiyans from Dragon Ball Z. Viltrumites are certainly a force to be reckoned with in Invincible; they are undeniably the strongest species in the series, but as to whether they’re stronger than the Saiyans, that’s another story.

So let’s take a look at the match-up in more detail. Could the Viltrumites pound the Saiyans into the ground, or would they barely register as a threat to Goku and his friends?

How Strong Are The Viltrumites?

The Viltrumites have plenty of raw physical power and are capable of mass destruction, but they actually have a few unique abilities that not even Saiyans like Goku or Vegeta can match. First and foremost, the Viltrumites are incredibly durable. Mark gets absolutely decimated countless times in Invincible and still gets back up. Still, the innate toughness of a Viltrumite goes well beyond that.

They can survive the force of a nuclear blast, as well as the destruction of a small planet, which is something that your average Saiyan isn’t capable of if Bardock - The Father of Goku (1990) is anything to go by. They can also survive in the vacuum of space, which would instantly kill most living creatures like Saiyans. Just have a Viltrumite fight a Saiyan in space, and it’s all over. 

Even if they do get injured, Viltrumites have a healing factor that allows them to regenerate from most injuries. It may take a bit, but even a person like Omni-Man can survive having his organs ripped out if given enough time. They do have a few weaknesses, like how they’re vulnerable to extreme heat and noise-based attacks, but given how Saiyans don’t really employ either in their fighting, those are problems that Viltrumites won’t really have to deal with if facing one. Plus, the Viltrumites have numbers of their sides, with there being several dozen still alive as of Invincible Season 4, while there are only three pure-blood Saiyans still living as of Dragon Ball Super (2015).

What Powers Do The Saiyans Have?

From a numbers perspective and in terms of sheer durability, the Viltrumites seem like a pretty menacing force to the Saiyans, but don’t count them out entirely. When referring to Saiyans in a broad sense, as in any Saiyan that has ever existed and not just legendary Super Saiyans like Goku, Vegeta, and Broly, Saiyans have one unique strength all to their own: ki.

Being able to control ki allows Saiyans to accomplish several feats that Viltrumites simply can’t, most notably being able to shoot energy beams. Mastery of ki can also allow Saiyans to learn skills like Instant Transmission, which lets them teleport anywhere in the known universe or blind enemies temporarily with a Solar Flare.

Mastery of ki can also lead Saiyans to become Super Saiyans, but it’s important to note that doing so is extremely rare and difficult. The legend surrounding the Super Saiyan states that one will appear every thousand years, so the vast majority of Saiyans simply can’t transform into one. Every Saiyan can transform into a giant monkey called a Great Ape that’s capable of destroying several cities, especially if you have a squadron of them, but completely destroying a planet is out of the question. 

Viltrumites Beat Out Saiyans… But There’s A Twist

After assessing both species’ powers, feats, and abilities, the average Viltrumite can most likely mop the floor with your average Saiyan. However, the second they come into contact with a Super Saiyan, they have no chance.

Super Saiyans are simply a breed of their own. They take the innate strengths of a Saiyan and multiply them by at least 50, and that’s not even considering that Super Saiyans can multiply their strength even further with more powerful transformations like Super Saiyan 2, 3, 4, and even attaining Godhood. Of course, only a few Saiyans have ever achieved that, but even a single one would probably be enough to defeat all the surviving Viltrumites. 

But what about in a hypothetical match-up between Thragg and Goku? Both are considered the strongest of their species, and they certainly live up to it. Thragg has been able to fight while in the sun and is capable of near God-like endurance and strength. And yet, Goku surpasses him. While Goku may not be able to beat Thragg in his base form, given Thragg’s monstrous power and healing factor, once he transforms into a Super Saiyan, it’s all over. His strength, speed, and capabilities would continuously multiply to levels that Thragg simply couldn’t handle. 

Not only that, but Thragg really only has brute strength as his strongest asset, and Goku has a counter for that: Ultra Instinct, which allows him to essentially dodge any attack thrown at him without exhibiting any conscious thought. Thragg may be tough, but if he can’t land a single hit on his enemy, then he has no hope of defeating Goku. Viltrumites have plenty of abilities that may make it difficult for the average Saiyan to fight them, but put them up against a single Super Saiyan, and they don’t stand a chance.