Krillin Might Be Weak, But He's Still Stronger Than These Characters

Since the introduction of Super Saiyan, the human characters of Dragon Ball seem to become increasingly irrelevant over time. With their potential far behind the Saiyans, Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien Shinhan (or Tenshinhan) are apparently powerless when compared to Goku, Vegeta, or Gohan. Even Goten and Trunks seem to easily surpass them in terms of powers.

However, while they are no match for overpowered aliens or hybrid aliens, these characters are actually very strong when compared to other humans. Krillin, for instance, is one of the most powerful Earthlings in the Dragon Ball universe, as confirmed by Yamcha at the end of the Buu Saga, when we could beat some tough guys.

Krillin Post-Buu Could Easily Defeat the Ginyu Force

During the Namek Saga, He Couldn’t Match Ginyu

Krillin got his potential unlocked by the Great Elder during the Namek Saga, and considering he got stronger later on in the series, by the end of the Buu Saga, he could likely beat the entire Ginyu Force.

Did someone get the number of that bus? I’ve never felt anything so painful in my life. It’s as if all my bones… are totally crushed. But don’t worry about me, no sir, I’m going to be totally fine. I hope I’m not being rude, but I’m gonna take a little nap.

In the Namek Saga, he was already stronger than any member of the Force, except Ginyu himself. So it makes sense that he could beat any of them after some training.

Early Vegeta and Other Saiyans

Krillin Almost Killed Nappa in the Saiyan Saga

During the Saiyan Saga, Krillin was almost able to kill Nappa with his Kiezan/Destructo Disc attack. In fact, Nappa only survived it because Vegeta interfered to help him. Therefore, it is safe to assume that after having his potential unlocked, even without any more training, Krillin would defeat Nappa. Since Nappa is stronger than Raditz, Krillin would also defeat him.

Furthermore, Krillin could also likely defeat Vegeta from this saga. While he is no match for what Vegeta has become in the series, he might have been able to defeat even early Vegeta with his potential unlocked, although it would definitely be a tough battle. This might not seem impressive, but a human beating the prince of a warrior race is a great deed.

Any Human Earthling

Yamcha and Tien Are Weaker than Him

This one goes without saying. Krillin can beat any “pure human” on Earth at the end of the Buu Saga, This is confirmed by Yamcha, who explicitly stated that Krillin is the strongest Earthling. Therefore, all the other Z-Fighters who are not overpowered aliens (Yamcha, Tien/Tenshinhan, for example) would need to train a little bit more to defeat Krillin using his full powers. Perhaps he would not defeat Launch/Lunch, but mostly because she is unpredictable.

All Classic Dragon Ball Villains

At Least, in Their Early Forms

Since Krillin would defeat even some Saiyans (though in their weakest forms), it is also safe to presume he can defeat any Dragon Ball villain by himself. The antiagonists in Dragon Ball Z are much stronger than the ones in Dragon Ball, so it would actually be an easy fight for Krillin (considering none of them got relatively stronger in the meantime, of course).

Even the old King Piccolo would be easily defeated by post-Buu Krillin, although Piccolo has always been stronger than him.

Androids from the Cell Saga

But He Would Have a Tough Time

Given his powers in Dragon Ball Super, it is possible that Krillin would be able to beat some of the Android from the Cell Saga. Even though they have an infinite supply, DBS Krillin would at least stand a chance against the older versions of Android 17 and Android 18. Of course, given the current levels of everyone, then Krillin has little chance.

Perhaps Some Frieza Forms

But He Would Struggle Against 100% Full Power Frieza

This one is the most debatable one, but Krillin, with his potential unlocked and using his full powers, might have been able to defeat some of the weaker forms of Frieza. He would struggle to beat 100% Full Power Frieza from the Namek Saga, although he would perhaps give even this Frieza a little more work than he already did; he could arguably defeat a few Frieza forms, especially if he caught Frieza by surprise.

By the end of the series, Krillin can defeat many of the classic Dragon Ball villains in their older forms.
While this might not seem impressive, it’s hard for any Earthling to reach the same power level as him.

In sum, although Krillin is weak when compared to Saiyans, he is very strong for a human. Considering that Dragon Ball Super introduced transformations that aren’t specific to a singular race, the human characters could perhaps unlock some new forms as the story advances. Fans joke that Yamcha should be the next to awaken Ultra Instinct, but, honestly, giving them some transformations would not be a bad idea at all.

Dragon Ball Z

Release Date: 1989 – 1996
Network: Fuji TV
Directors: Daisuke Nishio, Shigeyasu Yamauchi, Osamu Kasai
Writers: Akira Toriyama, Neil Bligh, Hiroshi Toda, Katsuyuki Sumisawa, Aya Matsui, Keiji Terui, Reiko Yoshida, Toshiki Inoue