Beasts, apes, and Super Saiyans, oh my! These are the iconic power-ups Gohan has
gotten during his decades in the world of "Dragon Ball."
Any Saiyan with a tail who lays eyes on a full moon or a Power Ball in "Dragon Ball Z" transforms
into a Great Ape — an enormous cross between a chimp and a wolf that amplifies the Saiyan's power
tenfold. Thanks to an early bedtime, however, Gohan never changes into a Great Ape until
Piccolo forces him to live in the wilderness, where he wakes up in the middle of a full-moon
night. Stunned and panicked by Great Ape Gohan's destructive and uncontrolled power, Piccolo zaps
the Moon into nothingness and yanks Gohan's tail off, removing the child's means of transforming.
Roughly a year later, the tail regrows, and Gohan becomes a Great Ape again thanks to
a Power Ball created by Vegeta. Vegeta cuts the new tail off as well, but Gohan's Great
Ape form reappears once more in "The Tree of Might" before losing his tail for good.
"Ha! And as they say: monkey see, monkey do."
Gohan gains quite a few advantages in the Great Ape form, but it also has plenty of
drawbacks. Because he's never taught how to control his fury as a monkey,
his behavior is completely unpredictable, making him as much a danger to his friends
as he is to his foes. Gohan's tail is also a huge liability for the form, as removing it
neutralizes the transformation. Applying enough force to it can also temporarily paralyze him or
induce drowsiness. This ape may be great, but he's still got some pretty glaring weaknesses.
In Vegeta's early mentions of the Super Saiyan, he makes it pretty
clear that such a powerful being isn't said to come along very often. However,
mere months after Goku first reaches Super Saiyan, Future Trunks appears, wielding the transformation
with ease. About three years later, Vegeta manages to achieve the enhanced form as well.
It's not long after that a fourth Super Saiyan debuts: Gohan. While training in the Hyperbolic
Time Chamber, Goku makes it a point to have Gohan learn how to go Super Saiyan. Of course,
Goku's savvy son realizes that he'll never become a Super Saiyan as long as his dad keeps treating
him with kid gloves. Gohan's instincts prove to be right on the money, as Goku attacking
with a lethal Kamehameha is exactly what the half-Saiyan needs to awaken his true power.
While the scene is handled more plainly in the manga, the anime version is extremely emotional,
featuring a powerful flashback montage of all the times Gohan feels like he's failed.
In both versions, it's the first time a child is shown becoming a Super Saiyan,
proving age isn't a prerequisite for transforming. It's not Gohan's
strongest transformation, but it's powerful regardless and the easiest for him to use.
In the seven years that pass after Gohan's victory over Cell, the young man more or less puts martial
arts behind him. As a result, he's defeated pretty easily when Majin Buu hits the scene. Luckily,
Old Kai has an ability that can bring every last drop of power in his body out
to the surface. With that, Ultimate Gohan — also known as "Mystic Gohan" — is born.
His debut is positively ferocious, as he humiliates Buu's latest stage,
Super Buu, with next to no effort. Gohan's cockiness gets the better of him, however,
as his deliberate delay in vanquishing Buu allows the evil being to add Gotenks' and
Piccolo's powers to his own, dramatically flipping the fight back in Buu's favor.
Regardless, Gohan's "Ultimate" state is undeniably impressive. It features all
the power from his two Super Saiyan forms and then some. Better still,
as long as Gohan keeps his training up, his Ultimate state remains his default form,
meaning he never has to waste energy changing into it. However, Gohan doesn't continue training
regularly after Buu is defeated, and he has to go to Piccolo for help transforming again.
"Ha! I wanna see something more powerful than just Super Saiyan.”
For many years, Ultimate Gohan appeared to be the strongest state Gohan would ever reach. However,
the return of the Red Ribbon Army in "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero'' proves that assumption wrong
in a big way. While fighting the monolithic Cell Max, Piccolo comes up with a plan:
he tells Gohan to charge an energy attack of his choice while the Namekian distracts their
opponent. Unfortunately, Cell Max is still quite a handful, even when Piccolo combines his Orange
state with his giant form. As a result, Cell Max actually subdues Gohan's mentor,
lifting him up while roaring in triumph. That turns out to be the wrong move, as Gohan's
fury at seeing Piccolo badly hurt summons a brand new power he didn't even know he had.
Gohan Beast is the most visually unique of all of Gohan's transformations. Unlike his Super Saiyan
forms, which turn his hair gold and eyes green, Gohan Beast gains gray hair and bright red eyes.
His aura is a stunning mixture of white, pink and blue, with magenta electricity crackling around
him. The Special Beam Cannon he uses on Cell Max is an equally jaw-dropping blend of red and blue
energy. Beast is Gohan's most powerful form to date, and the first he undergoes in which he's
fully in control of himself from the start — though it does somewhat affect his personality.
"Gohan! It's do or die time, so draw out all of
your strength!" "AAAAHHHH!"
Goku's plan to have his son win the Cell Games hits a major snag when Gohan reveals
that fighting just doesn't agree with him. As a result, Gohan doesn't know how to act
when Cell attacks him and tortures his friends with the Cell Juniors. Unexpected guidance comes
from Android 16, but just as the robot finishes imparting his words of wisdom,
Cell crushes him. A switch seems to go off inside Gohan: energy erupts from his being,
changing him into a state that previously even eluded his father — Super Saiyan 2.
A whirlwind of events follows, culminating in Gohan destroying Cell with a massive Kamehameha.
Super Saiyan 2 Gohan isn't as strong as Gohan Beast or Ultimate Gohan,
nor is it as second-nature to him as his base Super Saiyan form. So why does it top the list?
Because of the significance of its debut, of course. This is the first time Gohan has
ever surpassed Goku in both power and skill, setting the stage for him to assume Goku's
place as Earth's main defender when his dad decides to stay in Other World. Super Saiyan
2 Gohan's introduction will forever be viewed as a badass passing-of-the-torch and coming-of-age
moment — plus, the long, upright gold hair, gold aura, and sparkling blue electricity
look incredibly cool. Its only real downside is that, like almost all of Gohan's transformations,
it brings out a blood thirst on first usage, leading him to make some unfortunate mistakes.