History Characters / DragonBallSonGokuTropesPToZ

[[redirect:Characters/DragonBallSonGoku]]

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[[WMG:[[center:[-''Franchise/DragonBall'' '''[[Characters/{{DragonBall}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
'''Major Characters'''\\
[[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Son Goku]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesAToC A-C]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesDToH D-H]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesIToO I-O]] | '''P-Z''') | [[Characters/DragonBallBulma Bulma]] | [[Characters/DragonBallKrillin Krillin/Kuririn]] | [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan Son Gohan]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegeta Vegeta]] ([[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesAToD A-D]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesEToN E-N]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesOToZ O-Z]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks Future Trunks]] | [[Characters/DragonBallAllies Allies]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFamiliesAndFriends Families & Friends]] ([[Characters/DragonBallChichi Chi-Chi]] | [[Characters/DragonBallAndroids17And18 Androids 17 and 18]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTrunksAndSonGoten Trunks and Son Goten]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMrSatan Mr. Satan/Hercule]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallFusionCast Fusions]]-]]]]]

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[[folder:P-R]]
* PacifismBackfire:
** During the Saiyan Saga, he gives in to Raditz's [[VillainsWantMercy pleas for mercy]] and lets go of his tail, only for Raditz to [[ISurrenderSuckers knock him down]] and mercilessly break his ribs all while openly mocking him for falling for such a trick.
** Much later, during the Frieza Saga, despite having every right in the world to just kill Frieza and be done with it, he spares Frieza's life not once, but twice, and both times, Frieza just keeps trying to kill him when his back is turned. Of course, to be fair, Goku's attempts to spare him were more out of CruelMercy than pacifism, and [[GoodIsNotSoft the very ''second'' Frieza betrays his last chance, Goku blows him away]].
* PalsWithJesus: Besides being on casual speaking terms with the Kais, Kami before he merged with Piccolo, and Dende (the current God/Guardian of the Earth that he hand-chose), Goku and company also befriends Beerus, the God of Destruction, after the ''Battle of Gods''. Goku and Vegeta regularly train on his planet, and he and Whis regularly stop by Earth to hang out and eat delicious food. Goku then one-ups that by becoming pals with [[TopGod Zeno]], King of the Multiverse -- much to the shock of all the other gods he's already friends with, who are all terrified into abject formality when around Zeno [[AllPowerfulBystander and]] [[BewareTheNiceOnes for]] [[TheDreaded good]] [[StoryBreakerPower reasons]].
* PainfulTransformation: Goku going Super Saiyan for the first time is this mentally for him, mostly in the anime. In the manga, Goku transforms almost instantly after Krillin is killed. In the anime, however, Goku suffers for several minutes of slowly losing control of his mind and flashing in and out of Super Saiyan. He finally can't hold it in any longer and he gives one last scream in rage before transforming.
* PapaWolf: Messing with Gohan is a sure way to anger [[BewareTheNiceOnes the normally cheerful Goku]]. When Raditz kidnaps Gohan, Goku loses his fear of his brother and is ready to fly after him despite being barely able to move after Raditz kneed him. He also sacrifices himself to stop Raditz because he was about to kill Gohan. He beats up Nappa and Recoome after they both hurt Gohan (along with the rest of his friends) and, while it's remembered that Frieza killing Krillin triggers Goku to ascend to Super Saiyan, what really set him off was Frieza [[AndYourLittleDogToo threatening to kill Gohan too]]. [[spoiler: He also goes into an UnstoppableRage and tries in earnest to ''kill'' Goku Black after Zamasu tells him that his other self killed Goku's family along with him while acquiring his body, and even after that incident, was still fixated on killing him.]]
* TheParagon: He tries to become this after he recovers from his heart virus. Instead of directly handling threats himself, he tries to act as a beacon of encouragement and wisdom towards his sons and others to make them become guardians who can protect the Earth. Unfortunately, Gohan, Goten, nor Trunks have the drive to continue to grow stronger if there is no immediate threat, so Goku is forced back into active hero duty by the end of the Buu Saga.
* ParentalHypocrisy: When Gohan reaches Super Saiyan 2, Goku is shocked when Gohan chooses to deliberately drag out the fight with Cell to prolong his suffering and make him pay for his crimes and gets on his case over it, despite the fact that he did the same thing when he fought Frieza on Namek. [[JustifiedTrope Of course]], this is a case of Goku learning from experience, since he barely escaped Namek's explosion because he dragged the fight with Frieza out for [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge]] and knows that if Cell gets desperate, he may very well do what Frieza did and blow up the Earth rather than admit defeat; [[HypocriteHasAPoint he's soon proven right]].
* ParentsAsPeople: There is no denying Goku loves and cares for his family and in times of peace, he ''does'' make a genuine effort to be a breadwinner... but at the end of the day, Goku is simply put in situations where he can't be around his family (due to his many deaths), as well as not having an inborn nesting instinct nor having ever really had a long-term parental figure himself. In the anime, Goku is consistently more openly affectionate with his sons whereas the manga usually has him act more distant towards them. That being said, he does seem to understand the relationship between a father and a son to some extent. For example, when he orders Gohan to leave Namek with Piccolo after transforming into a [[SuperMode Super]] [[EleventhHourSuperPower Saiyan]] for the first time, Gohan objects to that and Goku's retort is along the lines "Don't talk back to your father, boy!" He also suffers a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when he realizes that he was ignorant to Gohan's desires were not the same as his own, and immediately tries to get a senzu bean to take his son's place. When that fails, he takes an opportunity to sacrifice himself for Gohan and the people of Earth, but not before letting his son know that what happened wasn't his fault, and apologizes for what happened.
* PassedInTheirSleep: How Future Goku is depicted to have died to the heart virus in the anime. He dies in his bed and was most likely comatose given how main timeline Goku remained in a coma while he was ill.
* PassingTheTorch: Constantly trying to do this after the Cell Saga. Realizing that he wouldn't always be around to protect the Earth, he tries to make Gohan his successor, though it doesn't pan out too well because Gohan doesn't have the same drive to fight or become stronger like he does. In the Buu Saga, he even deliberately passes up a chance to destroy Buu so that Goten and Trunks will be the saviors of Earth, but eventually he realizes as they grow up that they don't have any interest in fighting either, which is why he seeks a new successor in Uub as he trains his granddaughter Pan.
* PayEvilUntoEvil: Goku was merciless towards his enemies when he was a child. If you harmed his friends, someone he liked, or just got him mad enough, he paid it back with violent retribution, not really caring if he ended up killing or crippling the person. If you, god-forbid, actually killed someone he cared about, then your life was practically forfeit.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Like almost every character in ''Z'', Goku is this trope. Just him transforming into a Super Saiyan 3 nearly shakes the Earth apart and he isn't even touching the ground. However, ''Super'' takes this to a whole new level when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God. His fight with Beerus nearly destroys the universe.
* PhysicalGod: Goku was already powerful enough to fight against beings that are considered to be godlike in power. However In ''Battle of Gods'', and it's ''Super'' retelling, he becomes a literal god by preforming a ritual to become a Super Saiyan God, a divine transformation that allowed him to fight on par with Beerus. He also has another godly form called Super Saiyan Blue, which is a more powerful transformation than Super Saiyan God. And then, [[spoiler:Goku transcends the power of the Gods by acquiring the legendary Ultra Instinct. All of the Gods of Destruction present at the Tournament stand up in respect at the sight of this. After training during the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga, he seems capable of accessing it at will in order to face Moro.]]
* PintSizedPowerhouse: As a kid, Goku is the third shortest character in the series. However, he is also one of the strongest in the world, easily beating people who tower over him.
* PoliteVillainsRudeHeroes: A common theme since Goku is a country bumpkin with NoSocialSkills and is often prone to BrutalHonesty. Most of the primary villains such as King Piccolo, Piccolo Jr., Vegeta, Frieza, Perfect Cell, Super Buu after he absorbed Piccolo, Beerus, and Black are all FauxAffablyEvil who have polite mannerisms and often compliment their opponents, before mercilessly torturing and killing them.
%%* PoliticallyIncorrectHero: In an outtake of the Funimation dub, Goku calls Gohan a "faggot" six times.
* ThePollyanna: Goku is an unrelentingly optimistic and happy person. At the start of the series, he tells Bulma that his parents abandoned him in the woods where his grandfather found him. His grandfather died years ago, stomped to death by a giant monster, and he was left alone in the mountains with no human contact the entire time. He says all this with a huge grin on his face and never shown any visible signs of trauma. Bulma outright ask him how can he be so happy. Even during the most hopeless of times, [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry he can be seen smiling, despite saying he's afraid]].
* PoorCommunicationKills:
** During the Red Ribbon Army Saga, Goku utterly fails to tell Bulma that the Army is hunting him down; it's not until General Blue's crew ambushes them at the bottom of the ocean do they realize that they have a notoriously bloodthirsty army pursuing them. When they call him out on this, Goku's response amounts to YouDidntAsk.
** During the Cell Saga, he fails to explain his plan for defeating Cell to anyone, not wanting to put undue pressure on Gohan or worry his friends. Had he taken the time to explain that he intended for Gohan to fight Cell, someone - Piccolo or Gohan - could have told him the flaw in his plan. Gohan may have been the only one strong enough to beat Cell, but he isn't mentally ready for the responsibility. If Goku had known this, he could have better prepared Gohan for what was going to happen. Instead, Gohan gets cocky after ascending to Super Saiyan 2, and takes a long time to get there in the first place due to not wanting to fight, which results in 16's, Future Trunks', and Goku's own deaths.
* PowerCopying: Ironically, despite being TheAce, Goku never really creates his own original ki technique in the series. All of his [[SignatureMove signature techniques]] are moves [[AwesomenessByAnalysis he adapted from his friends]], or learned from his masters. The technique he uses to kill King Piccolo (called either the Monkey Fist or the Fist of Son Goku) was his only original technique for a long time, along with possibly the Dragon Fist [[note]]which, on top of being canonically debatable since it's only used in the movies and ''GT'', is more or less a stylistic adaptation of the Monkey Fist anyway[[/note]]. In ''Super'', he also used an unnamed, one-off 'ki landmine' move against Jiren, but it's debatable how original it is. He finally comes up with one in ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'' when he uses God Bind, which uses his Ki to stop the opponent in their tracks.
* PowerFloats: [[spoiler:In the game ''Battle of Z'', as a Super Saiyan God, Goku is constantly floating just inches above the ground, unlike other forms which are usually standing unless prompted to fly.]]
* PowerHigh: In ''Super'', when Goku becomes a Super Saiyan God, he's all but giddy with delight and proclaims that he has been reborn and he has never felt anything like this.
* PowerIncontinence
** Goku sometimes has this problem after gaining a lot of power. [[DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength He break things around him and hurts his friends by accident]]. He tends to controls himself better when he's in battle, however.
** In ''Super'', Goku takes some time to get used to being a Super Saiyan God. He flies past Beerus, nearly harms his friends with a stray Kamehameha, and nearly destroys the universe from the sheer force of hitting Beerus. This being [[TheAce Goku]], he quickly gets the hang of his new power. This problem pops up again after using his [[spoiler: Super Saiyan Blue Kaioken combo]], as while amazing, the results ''really'' did a number on his body, to the point of 'Delayed Onset Ki Syndrome' - ie major-but-temporary loss of control over his strength, flying, and all techniques requiring ki. Though he's still fine enough to gently play with his granddaughter.
*** Later on, [[spoiler: Goku is close to knocking off Jiren after defeating him full in his Mastered Ultra Instinct form. However, before he could, his power backfires and causes him hideous pain, paralyzing him long enough for a demoralized Jiren to try to return the favor. It's only Frieza's last minute save that saves Goku from ring out.]]
* PowerLimiter: From reaching Kami's Lookout until he leaves North Kai's planet, he wears a heavily weighted undershirt, wristbands, and boots. In his fights with Tien, Piccolo Jr., and Raditz, he took them off to have a better chance. After training with King Kai, he has the weights in his uniform removed since his ability to use the Kaio-ken and later Super Saiyan form allows him to increase his power without the need to be weighed down.
* PowerMakesYourHairGrow: When Goku transforms into Super Saiyan 3 and 4, his hair gets longer, especially Super Saiyan 3 where his hair goes down to his knees.
* PowerMakesYourVoiceDeep: In the dub, Goku's voice drops when he becomes a Super Saiyan 3 and 4 to the point of becoming extremely low. In the ''Kai'' dub, his voice becomes deeper as a Super Saiyan, although nowhere near the extent of Super Saiyan 3 or 4.
* ThePowerOfHate: His hatred of Freeza for killing Krillin is what causes him to turn Super Saiyan.
* PrecisionFStrike:
** In ''Kai'', when Frieza kills Krillin:
--->'''Goku:''' You ruthless, heartless... BASTARD!
** Also in ''Kai'', in the English dub, when the people of Earth refuse to give him energy for the Spirit Bomb:
--->'''Goku''': Hey! What are you waiting for?! Or do you not care what happens to the ''entire universe''?! Dumbasses!
** In the Latin American Spanish dub, Goku's voice actor Creator/MarioCastaneda noted that the only time Goku said something ever remotely close to a curse was during his fight with Frieza in Planet Namek, when he called Frieza "''Estúpido!''" ("Stupid!") twice: Once when Frieza unveiled his ultimate technique, a DeadlyDisc that, to add insult to injury, resembled Krillin's (who Frieza had just killed) Destructo Disc, and later when Frieza uses the energy Goku gave him to escape Namek's destruction to attack Goku while he's back is turned and Goku fires back. While that's the kind of word that other characters probably used normally in the dub, the way he said it (and the fact that such word came from [[AllLovingHero Goku]] at all) was a clear indication that Frieza pushed him into a whole new level of UnstoppableRage.
* PrehensileTail: When he had a tail, Goku used it like a fifth limb, using it both to grab stuff and in combat. He knocks Colonel Silver out with just a tail slap and he hits Tien with it during their match at 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament after Tien successfully restrains his arms and legs.
* {{Precognition}}: At least in the anime, Goku have a mild form of precognition. He felt Krillin was in danger after he left to retrieve his Dragon Ball and Power Pole, [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness to the point that he couldn't eat]], and ran to help him once he had a vision of Krillin calling for him. He also have dreams about enemies he has no knowledge of, like him seeing Vegeta, Nappa, Androids 17, and 18, before he even meets them. In ''Super'', he physically jolts when he feels Frieza being revived, despite being far away.
* PresentAbsence:
** From the TV special ''History of Trunks'', Goku's absence is greatly felt. He dies within the first minute of the special, leaving a gaping wound as the other heroes are mercilessly slaughtered by the androids. Gohan wears a replica of his father's gi in his memory and Bulma often talks about him, saying how he could have changed things if he had lived. A big part of the special is Bulma making the time machine to give Goku the medicine that will save his life.
** His second death have long-term consequences for some of the cast. Gohan gives up fighting to study, Chi-Chi mellows out and trains Goten, and Bulma and Vegeta get married. It's also Vegeta lacking a rival for seven years that makes him go to such extremes to have one last battle with Goku that he willingly sells his soul for power.
* {{Pride}}: Goku has a more subtle case of pride, but it is still noticeable. He refuses to ask for assistance, even when he's being beaten up. When he was sick fighting Android 19, he refused any help and kept fighting until he was physically knocked down and had his energy sucked.
* PrimalStance: As a kid, Goku took this stance a few times, mostly before RunningOnAllFours. Fitting since Goku is both based on ''and'' named after [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]].
* PrimaryColorChampion: His primary outfit is red-orange with hints of blue, while the vast majority of his transformations are yellow, red, and blue.
* ProtagonistPowerUpPrivileges: He is usually always the first to train at a new training ground or method of training, then moves on to a new one when the rest of the heroes make it there. Next to Master Roshi, he was one of the few characters with an energy range attack. He's also the first to reach Super Saiyan, Super Saiyan 3, Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, and [[spoiler:Ultra Instinct as a transformation (outside of Gods of Destruction and Angels, who attain it as more of a mental state)]]. Before Cell took it and the Supreme Kai's appearance, he was also the only character able to teleport. However, Vegeta was the first Super Saiyan 2nd grade and the first to train with Whis, along with his exclusive [[spoiler: Super Saiyan Blue Evolved form]], and Gohan was the first Super Saiyan 2.
* ProudWarriorRaceGuy: Zig-zagged. When Goku first learns that he's a Saiyan, he disowns his race since they were a bunch of murderous SpacePirates who regularly committed planetary genocide. After learning about Frieza's genocide of the Saiyans and Vegeta's backstory, he makes peace with his race and embraces some of their philosophies. At the same time, he's quick to tell anyone that [[ImmigrantPatriotism he's a Saiyan raised on Earth]]. However, despite not being raised in Saiyan society, he still has many of their ingrained attitudes like [[BloodKnight their love for fighting]], their pride, and honor. Vegeta hints that a Saiyan sense of honor is inherent in pure-blooded Saiyans since Goku knows nothing of Saiyan culture, and still would've rather died (or gave up the fight) than achieve victory over an opponent by eating a senzu in a middle of a match.
* PsychicPowers: Demonstrates every now and then. Through telepathy, he tells Gohan to deflect the Spirit Bomb after Vegeta dodges it, mentally guides his son to attack Vegeta after he transforms into a Great Ape, asks Krillin to spare Vegeta's life specifically because it's more painful to use his voice, and he gets up to speed with everything that happened on Namek by touching Krillin's head and reading his mind. He only shows telekinesis in {{Filler}} when he tries levitating the water in the glass with his mind, and once did this to a ''massive'' pyramid. Also the Spirit Bomb works by mentally connecting with everything on the planet/solar system, up to and including potentially the sun itself, and politely asking them to give him some energy to smack the current villain in the face with it.
* PsychologicalProjection: During the Cell Saga, he ends up doing this to Gohan, automatically assuming that Gohan, in addition to his potential as a fighter, [[BloodKnight wants a good and]] [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction challenging fight with Cell]] purely because it's what he would do in such a situation, going so far as to [[HonorBeforeReason give Cell a Senzu Bean before the fight]]. It takes getting a major WhatTheHellHero from Piccolo (who by this point understands Gohan more than his own father), and seeing the danger he's put Gohan in firsthand, for Goku to realize that this is ''not'' the case.
* PublicDomainCharacter: Son Goku from ''Literature/JourneyToTheWest'' is probably the most frequently used Public Domain Character in East Asia. In the West, there's massive AdaptationDisplacement as the ''Dragon Ball'' version of Goku is much better known than the original.
* PureIsNotGood: Beerus holds this opinion of Goku, seeing his naive, trusting nature as a danger to the universe after he refuses to see how dangerous Zeno is. He goes as far as to threaten to kill Goku on the spot. Toriyama even discussed this trope at length in regards to Goku:
-->"At any rate, I wanted him to have the sense of being that rare guy [[SpiritedCompetitor who seeks only 'to become stronger than before']], so much so that it feels like 'there's no one as pure as this person'. And while he does end up saving everyone as a result of that, he himself at least has a very pure sincerity about 'wanting to become stronger'. [[AmbiguousInnocence What I wanted to depict the most was the sense that he might not be a good guy at all, although he does do good things as a result]]."
* PyrrhicVictory: He reluctantly blasts Frieza into oblivion after giving him several chances to walk away throughout their conflict. While he may have [[NotQuiteDead (seemingly)]] extinguished the greatest evil in the universe, Goku gazes at the gaping crater with a look of pure sorrow while visibly trembling, clearly shaken by the fact that an extraordinary opponent's life has just been tragically wasted.
* RageBreakingPoint: Goku has a very long temper. He's hard to truly anger and tends to go into TranquilFury when mad. ''However'', [[BewareTheNiceOnes when he snaps]], he ''[[UnstoppableRage snaps]]''. His rage is noticeably different from Gohan's in that Gohan tends to go off like an explosion, while Goku is more like an out of control wildfire that someone dumped gasoline on.
* RaisedByDudes: He was raised by an old hermit in the woods, which is frequently brought up when Chi-Chi gets frustrated with him.
* RaisedByHumans: For most of his life, Goku was raised by humans and even thought he was one of them. It isn't until he's an adult that he learns that he's a HumanAlien from a warrior race. Outside his love for fighting and physical training, he's closer to being a human than a Saiyan.
* RaisedByWolves: He lives out in the wilderness for an untold number of years after his grandfather dies.
* RealMenEatMeat: One of the most badass characters in the show, and a ''huge'' meat eater
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech:
** After he turns Super Saiyan, he gives a lot of these to Frieza:
--->'''Goku:''' The fact is, I don't see the point in fighting you any more. Your pride is already shot, and in the end I guess that's good enough for me. You were so sure of your own power that you never imagined anyone in the universe could bring you down...especially a Saiyan. Heh. Now you know what failure feels like. See, I don't need to keep fighting you because I've already won. So go crawl off someplace and hide; I don't really care.
--->'''Goku:''' Although you brought this all on yourself, it's a shame that your life has to end in such a miserable way. I wanted to save you, Frieza, but you wouldn't let me. Now share the fate of the Planet Namek, which you yourself destroyed.
** Goku gives Frieza a short, but sweet response after Frieza mocks him for showing him mercy and how the legendary Super Saiyan can't even beat a dead planet:
---> '''Goku''': Maybe not. [[ShutUpHannibal But it was enough to beat you, Frieza]].
* RedBaron: After he defeats Frieza on Namek, he becomes known as the Super Saiyan or just the Saiyan within Frieza's empire.
* TheRedeemer: A lot of Goku's friends started of as enemies before Goku's nature started rubbing off on them. Even the villains that don't reform develop a sort of begrudging respect for him. [[spoiler: Zamasu is the only aversion, who went on to make their feud '''VERY''' personal.]]
* RedEyesTakeWarning: {{Downplayed}} with Super Saiyan God, which is a reference to when the original Sun Wukong/Son Goku had red eyes in some adaptations. Goku doesn't looks more fierce, especially compared to the other Super Saiyan forms and Super Saiyan God is only attainable to righteous Saiyans.
* RedIsHeroic: He typically wears clothing in shades of red or dark orange, the Kaioken and [[spoiler: Super Saiyan God]] transformations are both red, and he's TheHero of the series.
* RelativeButton: Threatening Goku's family, especially his sons, is a surefire way to get your ass kicked:
** In ''Z'', Frieza threatening to kill Gohan after blowing up Krillin is what triggered his first Super Saiyan transformation, leading to Frieza [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge being beaten senseless, blown to pieces, and left for dead]].
** In ''Super'', this button gets triggered again when Goku Black, [[spoiler: having been revealed to be an alternate version of Present Zamasu, reveals that after he used the Super Dragon Balls to [[GrandTheftMe switch bodies with Goku]], [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied the very first thing he did after killing Goku was go on to slaughter his family]]]]. Goku promptly flies into an UnstoppableRage and briefly manages to beat Black into the ground. To note, this marks one of the few times in the series, especially as an adult, where Goku actively tries to ''kill'' someone rather than simply defeat them.
-->'''Goku''': You [[spoiler:took my body]]. You [[spoiler:took my life]]! Then you even [[spoiler:killed Chi-Chi and Goten]]! You're gonna regret telling me that, [[spoiler:Zamasu]]. 'Cause now I'm mad. I'm really, ''really'' mad. ''[[SuddenlyShouting And now it's time...]] '''[[SuddenlyShouting to PAAAAAYYYY!!!]]'''
** In ''GT'', Eis Shenron using Pan as a HumanShield against him pisses Goku off ''royally''.
-->'''Goku''': Using my granddaughter as a shield is the most despicable thing you could've done, Eis! '''''So don't think I'm gonna let you off easy!''''' [''tosses Eis into a building'']
* RemovedAchillesHeel: When he was a kid the only sure-fire way to put Goku down in a fight was to grab his tail which would sap his energy and make him vulnerable. While he has his tail chopped off at the end of the Pilaf arc, it quickly grew back for the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament making his weak spot a real problem again. After his fight with Grandpa Gohan in the Baba arc he is reminded of this problem and spends the next three years before the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament strengthening his tail, to the point that when Krillin tries to exploit his weakness in their fight, he is able to NoSell it.
* RenownedSelectiveMentor: He is one of the few primary characters to take in students to be his successor. So far, he has only trained Gohan, Pan, and Uub.
* ReputationApathy: During the Tournament of Power, TheMultiverse at large grows to hate him and view him as a villain because he gave Zeno the idea for the multiversal tournament in the first place, especially because each universe that loses will be [[DeaderThanDead erased]]. As long as he can [[BloodKnight fight powerful opponents]], Goku doesn't care what they think of them and actually ''embraces'' being seen as evil, openly challenging the gods to bring their best fighters so he can beat them.
* RequiredSecondaryPowers: He has a powerful sense of smell that is as sharp as a dog according to Goku, yet he isn't bothered by strong smells any more than a normal person outside of Bacterian, who has never bathed a day in his life and can cause even a normal person to nearly faint, showing that Goku can filter out what he's smelling. He also has sensitive hearing, given that he can hear people whispering behind his back and through walls, but loud noises don't get to him.
* ResistTheBeast: Done during his first Super Saiyan transformation. Goku's fully aware that he's [[SanitySlippage being overwhelmed]] by [[UnstoppableRage rage and bloodlust]], and the first thing he does after transforming is order Gohan to take Piccolo and run before he completely loses his mind; at this point, he doesn't trust himself ''not'' to hurt his own son.
-->'''Goku''': Do as I tell you right now! Before I lose what little sense of reason I have left!!
* ResurrectedForAJob: Both times he's brought back to life, it's to fight off threats to Earth; first the Saiyans (where technically his death was a part of that job), and then Buu. This last one is noticeably since it was the gods that brought him back.
* {{Revenge}}: His motive for killing Tambourine, after Tambourine killed Krillin. This was definitely justified as Goku was riding Nimbus (which takes a pure heart to do) while he finished off Tambourine in the appropriately titled Dragon Ball episode "Goku's Revenge". It was also his motive during the last part of the Frieza fight after Frieza murdered Krillin. ''Super'' has him falling into this ''hard'' after learning that [[spoiler: an alternate timeline version of Zamasu used his body to kill Chi-Chi and Goten]].
* RevengeBeforeReason: He falls into this after becoming a Super Saiyan the first time. He wanted to make Frieza ''pay'' for killing Krillin. To that end, he lets Frieza power-up to his max level for the sole purpose of humiliating him with the knowledge that even at his best he couldn't beat a "mere monkey". This was around the time when the planet was going to blow up in a few minutes so defeating Frieza as fast as possible would have been reasonable. He also refused to leave when King Kai planned to wish everyone to Earth, because he wanted to finish the fight. By that point, King Kai considered Goku a lost cause.
* RevengeByProxy: Goku is not above of this. He wanted to kill Cymbal because he guessed he was friend of the monster who killed Krillin.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: Goku tells Bulma he is fourteen, back before he learned to count. Later, when he did learn, he thought he was twelve. ''Dragon Ball Minus'' would go on to show that Goku's initial guess was correct: he is only two years younger than Bulma, and was fourteen.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: Despite Goku's kind and gentle nature, if he is sufficiently pissed off, he can engage in these against people like Tao, Piccolo, the Saiyans, and [[spoiler: Goku Black and Zamasu.]]
* RunningOnAllFours: As a child, he occasionally ran on all fours, usually when he's after food or using a type of stance like his Crazy Monkey style.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:S]]
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: It wasn't intentional but Goku being raised almost totally in the wild made his natural fighting instincts stronger but left him with NoSocialSkills whatsoever. Master Roshi at least defies the trope and makes sure to give him some basic education during the year he spends under his tutelage.
* SanitySlippage: When Goku went Super Saiyan the first time, he is notably not completely sane. He is nearly consumed by hatred and rage that puts defeating and humiliating Frieza above escaping an exploding planet. His shifts from his normal TranquilFury self to him [[TheBerserker screaming in anger]] also shows how unhinged he is. Goku is fully aware of his mental state during this time, and even warns Gohan to get away from him before he completely loses it.
* SarcasmBlind: As a child, he doesn't understand when someone is being sarcastic. Krillin often insults him this way and Goku takes what he says seriously or as playful banter, like calling Goku 'smart' during his more dim moments. As an adult, he not only understands sarcasm, he will engage in it himself, seen more specifically in the English dub.
* SayingTooMuch:
** When confronted with Super Buu [[WombLevel inside Buu's own body]], Goku proceeds to chew Vegeta out on destroying the Potara earrings and ensuring that they can never fuse again... ''while Buu is standing right in front of them''. Vegeta even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] how stupid that was.
** After the fight with Beerus in ''Battle of Gods'', Goku playfully teases Vegeta about how he lost it when Beerus slapped Bulma, which allows the group to deduce that Goku had been watching Beerus put the smackdown on the Z-Fighters from a distance the whole time.
* ScarilyCompetentTracker: Not only can he sense energy from across several galaxies and even the afterlife, making him the most outstanding in energy sensing, but [[TheNoseKnows he can find people and objects by their scents]].
* ScarsAreForever: Goku mentioned in the second episode of ''Z'' that he still has a scar on his head from when he fell down the cliff as an infant, and this is some 20 years after the fact.
* TheScapegoat: Thanks in part to Bergamo's words, Goku's own attitude and friendship with Zeno, and the fact that no one can outright defy/protest Zeno's decision(s) on the matter, Goku has become a target for all the participating universes for the upcoming tournament. Despite giving at least one universe [[spoiler: the chance to save itself from destruction when there was none before]], Goku takes all the blame for the Tournament of Power's [[spoiler: universal destruction rule]].
* ScrewDestiny: When Gohan asked if him becoming a Super Saiyan will make a difference against Cell and the androids since his future counterpart was easily killed despite being a Super Saiyan, Goku answered that the future has already changed since he was supposed to die to the heart virus. This is {{Subverted}} somewhat since Goku does ends up dying anyway, [[HeroicSacrifice although it was on his terms]].
* SelfMadeOrphan: Goku honestly hadn't meant to kill Grandpa Gohan. The poor guy simply had his SuperpoweredEvilSide activated by the full moon and went berserk, crushing Grandpa Gohan underfoot.
* SecondPlaceIsForWinners: At the 21st and 22nd World Martial Arts Tournaments. He lost both, but still managed to do so well that everyone was proud of his efforts. In the first tournament, he fought Jackie Chun for ''four'' hours and had a technical tie with him, forcing the officials to use a tie-breaker. The second, he would had won if he wasn't hit by a truck at the last possible second. Additionally after the first tournament, it's {{Lampshaded}} how even though Goku lost the tournament, he still ultimately got to used the prize money, as he was so exhausted from fighting that he ate everything at a restaurant during the group's celebratory dinner. The bill was so high that Roshi had to pay with all his winnings.
* SecretKeeper: He along with Piccolo were the only ones who knew Future Trunks was Bulma and Vegeta's son during the three years time-skip before the Android Saga.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan:
** The Sensitive Guy to Vegeta's Manly Man. Goku is cheerful and childish, while Vegeta is aggressive and stoic. Ironically, Vegeta is more emotional than Goku. Vegeta cries more times on-screen and loses his temper easily, while Goku is usually calm and almost never cries. In the case of appearances, the characters are inverted, with Goku being taller and more physically imposing than Vegeta, who's roughly the same height as his wife.
** In the ''Universe Survival Arc'', he's the Sensitive Guy to [[EnemyMine Frieza]]'s Manly Man. Goku is cheerful and childish, and Frieza is ruthless, callous and violent.
* SenselessSacrifice: Zigzag. He warped Cell away from Earth to King Kai's planet (it was the only place he could think of at the time) before Cell could pull off his TakingYouWithMe EarthShatteringKaboom, and soon after died in the explosion... only for Cell to regenerate FromASingleCell, [[CameBackStrong emerge stronger than ever thanks to his Saiyan "Zenkai" genes]], and go right back to Earth to menace it again. It wasn't completely senseless, though... he ''did'' save Earth either way.
* SensoryOverload: Goku nearly passes out when he gets a whiff of Bacterian, a fighter that has never taken a bath in his life and causes people with a normal sense of smell to cover their nose and cry in disgust. Since Goku has a [[SuperSenses heightened sense of smell]], Bacterian's stink hits him even harder.
* SerialEscalation: Goku started off as a weak Saiyan who could be beaten by a moderately-skilled Earthling martial artists. Through a lifetime of hard work, determination, and his own natural talent, he'd end up attaining [[PhysicalGod legitimate godhood]] and beyond. Not a bad run.
* SeriesMascot: Goku, along with Luffy from ''Manga/OnePiece'', are the mascots for ''Magazine/ShonenJump''.
* ShapingYourAttacks: His Dragon Fist from the non serial movies and ''GT'', where he shapes his ki into a massive Shenron-esque dragon. It's based off the original ''Dragon Ball'' adaptation, where he kills King Piccolo with an attack that took the form of a Great Ape.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: Everyone's in Goku's family shares his shares his love for [[BigEater food]], nature, [[ChronicHeroSyndrome helping others]], and [[IncorruptiblePurePureness pure heart]]. Gohan is more mature and serious, while Goten is like Goku as a child except with some social skills. [[BewareTheNiceOnes They all also have powerful tempers]] that flare up [[RageBreakingPoint when their love ones are in danger]].
* ShirtlessScene: Of everyone, Goku takes the most {{clothing damage}} in the series.
* ShonenHair: Incredibly spiky, rendering it in 3D is near impossible, but it ''had'' to be done somehow (how else would he get all those action figures on shelves?).
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: Savvy readers of both Chinese and Japanese should realize it's no secret that Son Goku's name is simply the name "[[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]]" written in on'yomi, with the same exact Asian characters used (孫 悟空). [[BilingualBonus In other words, it's the exact same copyrighted name. Just in a different reading]]. The Chinese dubs make this much more apparent, and it even applies to both his Nimbus (Jindouyun/Kinto'un, lit. Somersault Cloud) and Power Pole (Ruyibang/Nyoibou, lit. Compliant Pole) as both of those were abilities/possessions of the original Wukong; though as of ''Z'', he's somewhat been paying less homages to the original monkey king ever since his popularity.
* ShutUpHannibal:
** Vegeta tries to demean Goku by telling him that he was cast out and sent to Earth because he's weak. Goku just tells him that he's grateful to be raised on Earth since he grew stronger being away from the Saiyans.
** Goku didn't even wait for Jeice to finish his BadassBoast before [[TalkToTheFist punching him in the face]].
** Frieza calls him a hypocrite for being mad about him murdering Krillin when the Saiyans were an entire race of killers. Goku's response:
---> '''Goku''': They paid for their mistakes.
** He gives Frieza a short, but sweet response after Frieza mocks him for showing him mercy and how the legendary Super Saiyan can't even beat a dead planet:
---> '''Goku''': Maybe not. But it was enough to beat you, Frieza.
** After listening to Vegeta's MotiveRant about why he sold out his friends and family for power, Goku punches him in the face while calling him a fool.
* SiblingYinYang: With Raditz. Goku is a selfless, sweet-natured NiceGuy, while Raditz is an evil {{jerkass}}.
* SignatureLaugh: Has one for both the Japanese and English dubs. Creator/MasakoNozawa gives him a low, 'He, He, He' laugh, while Creator/SeanSchemmel gives him a fast and happy 'Ha, Ha, Ha' laugh.
* SignatureMove: Like many martial artists in his 'verse, over his lifetime, Goku has accrued a number of fairly unique abilities.
** The Kamehameha is something he learned as a child from Master Roshi and it remains his go-to attack.
** He also learned Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb from [[PhysicalGod King Kai]]. Though the limitations of Kaio-Ken [[SoLastSeason meant that it was obsoleted]] by the Super Saiyan transformation until he learned a compatible variation later in life; and [[AwesomeButImpractical the Spirit Bomb]] was incredibly powerful but had a ''long'' wind up time which left Goku vulnerable, and even then it was successful only once if you [[LooseCanon don't count the movies]].
** He was also the only Super Saiyan for quite a time if you discount Future Trunks's [[OutsideContextProblem time travelling shenanigans]], and he's usually the one paving the way for new Super Saiyan forms.
** He's the only character we see who learned Instant Transmission [[MundaneUtility which he uses mostly for traveling]].
** He also gains the Dragon Fist [[LooseCanon from supplemental material]].
** On a more simple level, Goku favors a devastating shot to the solar plexus as an opening or finishing move. It landing almost invariably leaves his opponent doubled over and coughing up blood, if not KO'ed entirely.
* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: Opposing Jiren's SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids, Goku is quick to tell Jiren that [[ThePowerOfFriendship his friends are the ones that got him to where his is now]] and to call Jiren out on his IneffectualLoner stance. [[VillainousBreakdown This gets Jiren angry]] ''[[FreakOut very quickly]]''.
* SingleEpisodeHandicap: In ''Super'', Goku temporarily loses control of his ki because he's sick with Delayed Onset Ki Syndrome. He can't even fly or teleport properly, making him useless when Pan goes missing. He gets over it by the next episode.
* SkewedPriorities:
** Sometimes, Goku believes that "fair fights" are more important than saving the world. Examples of this include refusing Kami's help to defeat Piccolo in the 23rd World Tournament when ''no one'' probably not even the announcer would have cared about disqualification when Piccolo threatened the world, and gave Cell a Senzu Bean in order to make things "fair" with his fight with Gohan.
** [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge Because of his anger and hatred towards Frieza after becoming a Super Saiyan]], he prioritized beating him over escaping an exploding planet and making sure his remaining friends escaped alive.
* SkilledButNaive: In the beginning, he's a powerhouse of brute strength, agility and endurance AND a genius in all things related to martial arts. However, he lacks even the most normal skills, such as personal hygiene, math, social skills and the like. He gets better along the story but remains naive enough to fall for the oldest and dumbest tricks in the book. Case in point: he falls for Raditz's [[VillainsWantMercy pleas for mercy and claims he'll leave Earth peacefully]], and is genuinely ''shocked'' that Raditz was lying.
* SleevesAreForWimps: Even when he starts wearing weighted training clothes, the sleeves never come past his triceps. The only exception is when he briefly wore Saiyan armor.
* SmallStepsHero: Goku will NOT sacrifice anyone, not even villains, unless he's sure that they can come back from the dead, unless it's their own choice, or unless he's tried everything else. Seeing as he's a classic example of an IdiotHero, he falls back on this trope a lot.
* SmitingEvilFeelsGood: In his youth, Goku really enjoyed beating and even killing people he deemed bad. This can be seen where he mercilessly beats up Mercenary Tao for murdering Bora, chased down Officer Black when he tried to retreat, [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown plummets]] Tambourine within an inch of his life and stops short of outright killing him just to drag out his suffering, and smiles as he beats on King Piccolo. In the dub, King Piccolo lampshades [[NotSoDifferentRemark how they both delight in causing pain to their enemies]]. He gets over this trait as he grows up, and he shows mercy and even sympathy towards his enemies.
* SmugSmiler: [[SmugSuper At his cockiest]], he will give these kind of smiles. He gives one to King Piccolo after he throws him into a building and to his son, Piccolo Jr, after he waste a bunch of energy on a blast that barely harmed him. After he went Super Saiyan, this becomes his default smile to Frieza when he did smile. When he tells Vegeta up front that he is ''way'' stronger than him and he will need an entire year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber just to keep up, he gives Vegeta this smile.
* SmugSuper: Goku himself is prone to this, such as after he defeated Demon King Piccolo, while fighting the Ginyu Force, and telling Vegeta point-blank that he's much stronger than him. Though, unlike the others, he's usually smart enough not to let it override his common sense.
* SoProudOfYou: For all of the debates on his effectiveness as a parent, he truly ''does'' love his sons, and quotes this trope verbatim after Gohan defeats Cell and Old Kai unlocks his full hidden power. He also expresses this to Goten before heading back to the afterlife.
* SparingTheAces:
** This is the reason why Goku spared Vegeta in the original manga and ''Kai''. He thought it was a waste to let such a brilliant fighter die and wanted to fight him again. With that said, Goku stated several times that he would kill Vegeta in their rematch. He only lost the desire after Vegeta was brutally murdered by Frieza and he stopped seeing Vegeta as an enemy.
** In ''Resurrection 'F''', [[spoiler: Goku offers to spare Frieza so he can come back and challenge him again. He even laments that if Frieza wasn't evil, he would make a good rival]]. Unlike the above with Vegeta, this decision did not end well for Goku.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS:
** Pronounced "Son Gokū" (with a long vowel "o" and a long vowel "u"), but usually it's spelled "Son Goku" (without any indication of a long vowel), while Toriyama himself writes it as "Son Gokuh". Bandai actually spells it "Son Gokou" in most of their toys and games in what seems to be an attempt to anglicize his name (think of the "cou" in "cougar"), but it only makes thing more confusing since "Gokou" can be mistaken for an entirely different Japanese name ("Gokō"). (Also, in one episode, Pilaf reads a sign that says "Welcome back, Goku!", but mispronounces Goku's name as "Go-cow".)
** However, a very rare way to write his name is "Son Gokuu" with two u's to style after the circumflex, which is arguably a lot closer than the "Gokuh" or "Gokou" writings.
** His Saiyan birth name is also subject to variations, with most English adaptations using "Kakarot". However, the fact that his fused form with Vegeta is called "Vegetto" (the spelling used by Bandai) and not "Vegerot" seems to suggest that "Kakarotto" is the preferred spelling. Funimation uses the spelling "Vegito", despite them using the Kakarot convention otherwise, while Viz actually changed it to "Vegerot", only to changed it back to Vegetto in later reprints (while oddly enough keeping the "Kakarot" spelling).
** The ''Dragon Ball Z Deformation'' figurine of the infant Goku actually spells his birthname as "Kacarrot", which is inconsistent with the way Bandai spells "Vegetto".
* SpiderSense: All the major characters eventually learn how to sense energy, but Goku is the most proficient at it since Kami specifically trained him to use his sixth sense. Not only can he sense an enemy's location and 'see' how events are unfolding, but he can also sense a person's morality ailment, something that is limited to the Namekian race, and can even feel if the person has any killing intent, which is why he didn't move when Trunks first attacked him.
* SpiritedCompetitor:
** He loves finding new opponents to fight, especially if they're really powerful and a good challenge, and even when is on the brink of death from a ruthless and monstrous opponent, he goes out of his way to say "I'm having fun with this." [[MartialPacifist He also only fights people who are willing (most of the villains), and rarely ever kills anyone unless it's a last resort.]] This is his primary motive in sparing Vegeta's life at the end of the Saiyan Saga. He also expresses a wish (later granted by Yemma) to see Kid Buu reincarnated as a good guy just so he can fight him again.
** Along with protecting his friends, he agrees to become a Super Saiyan God, despite hating how he achieved it, so he can finally fight Beerus on equal grounds.
** [[spoiler: In ''Resurrection 'F''', he offers mercy to Frieza, yet again, because he sees him as a WorthyOpponent for becoming so strong within such a short amount of time. This being Frieza, he's beyond any redemption and is killed by Goku's hand]].
* SternTeacher: Not to Gohan (at least at first) who he trains with kid gloves [[WhatTheHellHero until Gohan get on him]]. He is, however, much harsher on Goten and Trunks when he is trying to teach them the FusionDance. He yells at them for crying, despite them just learning that Vegeta and Gohan were killed. His time is limited and he didn't have time to fool around.
* StillWearingTheOldColors: He continues to wear modified versions of his old Turtle School gi for years after surpassing Master Roshi. It's not until the final episodes of ''Z'' that he does away with it. Ironically, he trades it in for his [[CallBack even older]] blue outfit from way back in the [[BookEnds first story arc]].
* StockShonenHero: The TropeCodifier, as most of the traits in the trope description are ones he introduced. As a kid, he's a simple-minded KidHero who is naive to the point of stupidity at times, and a BigEater that can put away 40+ full course meals in one sitting. As an adult, he shows mercy to his enemies, gets excited at almost any challenge, and masters techniques after one glance that took other people years to develop. Even after becoming a master, he still trains, believing there's no upper limit to self improvement, and is soon on par with literal gods (and on a first name basis with them). He also becomes very HotBlooded when he sees the opportunity to get into a fight. However, he's also an [[UnbuiltTrope unbuilt]] example, since [[DownplayedTrope while Goku's an unambiguously heroic character and a genuinely good person in every adaptation and sequel]], he's also not necessarily as noble or unselfish as other shonen heroes inspired by him; if his friends or the world are threatened, he'll surpass any and all limitations to pull out a win, but he fights primarily for the thrill of it and his final goal is always something for his own benefit.
* TheStoic: He gains this trait by design in order to tap into Ultra Instinct, which is described as a state in which the user focuses on nothing but the battle and his opponent. The reasons for fighting, what's at stake from the outcome, and other emotions such as fear, uncertainty or anger all become irrelevant; everything is put into attacking and countering the opponent.
** [[spoiler:Xeno Goku]] from ''Dragon Ball Heroes'' also seems more cold and calculating than [[spoiler:his [[ManChild Dragon Ball Super counterpart.]]]]
* StoryBreakerPower: Considering all the times Goku arrives late, is dead, or just not in the picture for whatever reason, Toriyama seems to think he's a story-breaking character. He's one of the strongest, most dependable beings in the series, and later he can teleport instantly anywhere in the universe as long as he can sense energy. Many of the sagas would end early if Goku was around from the start, and the time he wasn't around once was enough to plunge Earth into a Bad Future.
* StrongAndSkilled: Goku is probably the TropeCodifier for anime characters. He possesses both advanced skill in martial arts and the natural fighting power from his Saiyan physiology. He would continuously ascend the power hierarchy until he was the WorldsBestWarrior of his universe.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Looks just like Bardock (his father) and Goten looks ''exactly'' like a young Goku. That changes when Goten gets into his teenage years (and cuts his hair a bit), and there's only a strong resemblance as with Gohan. Goku points it out when he meets Goten for the first time (during his one day on Earth):
--> '''Goku''': Hey, I think there's a little me hiding behind your legs, Chi-Chi.
** [[DownplayedTrope Downplayed]] with [[CainAndAbel Raditz]], but as a Super Saiyan 3, his long hair and ForeheadOfDoom makes him slightly resemble his older brother. The constant [[DeathGlare scowl]] also helps. He lacks the Widow's peak, though.
* SuperiorSuccessor: Goku to all his masters not named Whis. He mastered all of his teachers' techniques and did them better such as the Kamehameha, After Image, Kaioken, and the Spirit Bomb. He is also ''far'' superior to his father, who was outstanding for a lower class warrior.
* SupermanSubstitute: While Goku has long been compared to Superman, his actual origin is tied far more into that of Sun Wukong. It wasn't until Z that we learned he was an alien sent to Earth as a baby - from a planet that was blown up mere days later. The twist is that he was meant to wipe out human civilization, but thanks to a bump on the head and a good upbringing, he became a Martial Pacifist and the Earth's greatest defender.
* SupernaturallyYoungParent: In ''GT'', thanks to Pilaf's reckless wish, he's younger than his two adult sons and the same age as his preteen granddaughter.
* SupernaturalMartialArts: One of the [[TropeCodifier best known examples]]. Through intense training, Goku has achieved countless superpower abilities. See ComboPlatterPowers for the full list.
* SuperHero: Goku is often seen as the Japanese's Superman thanks to their similar backstories and heroic qualities, especially in the English dub. He also fits since Goku is both based on and named after [[Literature/JourneyToTheWest Sun Wukong]], one of the original classical super heroes in the East.
* SuperMode: His Kaioken technique, and later the Super Saiyan transformations serve as this. In ''Super'', he can combine the [[spoiler: Kaioken]] with [[PhysicalGod Super Saiyan Blue]] to create a whole new super mode.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: When he transforms into a Great Ape since he loses all sense of himself and becomes a real monster. Also, when he first becomes a Super Saiyan, he is nearly overcome with UnstoppableRage.
* SuperpowerLottery: Even for a Saiyan, who are an entire race of lottery winners, Goku comes out ahead. He can learn and copy techniques just from seeing them once or twice and his uncanny adaptability gives him immunity to techniques he'd seen before because he knows how to counter them. On top of that, he's one of the handful of characters in the series who can teleport. He is also a genius when it comes to fighting, able to outsmart people who are many times more intelligent than him. He becomes an even bigger winner after he absorbs the power of Super Saiyan God, pushing his ability to new levels and later [[spoiler: being able to combine Super Saiyan Blue with the Kaioken]].
* SupportingProtagonist: During ''Z''. If one looks closely, ''Z'' chronicled ''Gohan's'' life, despite Goku being TheHero. This has echoes of the relationship between the protagonist and his son in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV''; notable because of how much they look like Goku and Gohan, [[Creator/AkiraToriyama for good reason]].
* SurpassedTheTeacher: By the end of the original series, Goku surpasses all his teachers, becoming the strongest thing on the planet; Master Roshi, Master Korin, and Kami. He explicitly has to surpass King Kai in order to have even a remote chance against the Saiyans since they're stronger than him. This is {{Subverted}}, however, with Whis. He remains far more powerful than Goku ever after all his training and Toriyama states that it will remain that way for a long time.
* SuperReflexes: [[spoiler:The primary benefit of his Ultra Instinct transformation is, along with a massive power boost, Goku's subconscious ability to see, move, and dodge faster than he ever has before. He went from being ganked by Jiren's ki pressure alone, even as a Kaioken x20 Super Saiyan Blue, to dodging him at close range and returning the favor.]]
* SuperSenses: Goku has a very keen sense of smell, being able to find people or objects by their scents. He says his sense of smell is as sharp as a dog's. He also has very good eyesight, being able to see people from great distances. In ''Super'', it seems Saiyans have better hearing than humans since Goku heard Bulma talking through a wall when she wasn't talking that loud.
* SuperToughness: Goku's body, in and on itself, is bulletproof, can get hit by a speeding car, and survive at least in Earth's upper atmosphere among other feats. For the big, planet-busting stuff he endures during battles, however, he has to charge his body with his ''Ki'', which is a martial arts discipline. When caught by surprise while he was relaxed, a common ray gun once pierced his chest.
* SympathyForTheDevil:
** During the Frieza Saga, Goku ends up feeling this way towards Vegeta after the latter dies tearfully begging him to defeat Frieza and avenge the Saiyan race, to the extent that he takes time out before fighting Frieza to [[DueToTheDead make a grave for Vegeta]].
** After Buu goes on a rampage after killing Babidi, Goku states sadly that this may be the only thing Buu knows how to do. Piccolo is quick to rebuke this, saying that one's background doesn't excuse an act of evil.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:T-Y]]
* TakeAThirdOption:
** At the very beginning of ''Z'', he's given a SadisticChoice by Raditz; either he kills 100 humans within the next 24 hours and joins Frieza's army, or Raditz kills Gohan. Instead, Goku forms an EnemyMine with Piccolo and goes after Raditz directly.
** When Majin Vegeta threatened to kill everyone at the World Martial Arts Tournament if he didn't fight him and the Supreme Kai warning him that such a battle would revived Majin Buu, Goku decides to fight Vegeta and beat him quickly before Buu's awakening. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero It didn't work out]].
** As Goku continues to train his usage of Ultra Instinct in the ''Super'' manga, he realizes that his Saiyan BloodKnight tendencies and personality isn't suited for Perfected Ultra Instinct (the silver-haired form), which requires a completely calm and stoic mind. He instead decides to master Ultra Instinct Sign, allowing him to channel his emotions into the fight and be stronger than with Perfected Ultra Instinct.
* TakeUpMySword: The reason why Goku wanted to train Gohan as soon as possible in the event he can't save the world. The reason he decides to train Gohan and become a Super Saiyan is because in the future, he was already dead, all of his friends were killed, and Future Trunks was the only Saiyan left. In order to mold Gohan as his SuperiorSuccessor, he makes sure to train him in the event he is incapacitated or dead, and make sure Earth isn't defenseless.
* TalentVsTraining:
** This is the main factor in Goku and Vegeta's iconic rivalry. While both are members of the exceptionally powerful warrior race known as the Saiyans, Goku was born with a very low power level and became the impressive fighter he is known as today thanks to the training and trials he went through on Earth. Vegeta by contrast was born with the high power level expected of a Saiyan elite, and while he was a powerful fighter in his own right, he frequently finds himself playing second to Goku when it comes to getting stronger. That Goku unlocked the fabled Super Saiyan form before Vegeta only inflames Vegeta's wounded pride.
** Goku himself can be on the other end of this trope, particularly when it comes to human fighters. While it took Roshi nearly a century to master the Kamehameha, Goku was able to pick it up just by seeing Roshi do it once.
* ATasteOfHisOwnMedicine: Frieza's entire fighting style consists of torturing and toying with his opponents, and ensuring that they die in pain and despair, knowing they never stood a chance against him. After Goku goes Super Saiyan, he spends the entire fight toying with and brutalizing Frieza just as Frieza had done to all of his victims, wanting to ensure that Frieza realized that even at full power, he never stood a chance against a Super Saiyan. In the end, the ''only'' reason Goku tries to spare Frieza is because [[CruelMercy he felt that letting Frieza live with his pride ripped to shreds was a far worse punishment]].
* TearsOfJoy: One of the few times Goku cries is when he sees his grandfather again. The other time is when he avenges Krillin and Master Roshi by killing King Piccolo.
* TechnicalPacifist: After CharacterDevelopment, while he loves fighting and training to become stronger, he doesn't kill his opponent if he can help it, giving even his worst enemies a LastSecondChance.
* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Although Goku is a well-trained martial artist who put in decades worth of hard work to become the best fighter in the universe, his technical skills are below Piccolo, Tien, and even Vegeta. He never invents his own techniques outside the move he used to kill King Piccolo and the canonically questionable Dragon Fist. Instead, [[PowerCopying he relies heavily on learning or copying techniques from his enemies, friends, and teachers]] and improving upon them or creating variations to make them his own. He is also very playful when fighting and coming up with creative ways to outmaneuver his opponent. When he's not training, he's often relaxing with his family. He tends to be too relaxed even in battle, a weakness that Whis says will be his undoing.
* {{Telepathy}}: He has shown the ability to communicate with his friends through talking to them with his mind. This is how he is able to tell Gohan to redirect the Spirit Bomb, get Gohan to attack Vegeta when he's a Great Ape, and get Krillin to spare Vegeta. He even listens in on King Kai and Guru's telepathic conversation during a lull in his fight with Frieza, which shocks King Kai since he's also able to telepathically talk to them as well. Also on Namek, he shows that he can read minds by physically touching Krillin.
* TeleportationRescue:
** After Tien busts Cell's attempt to absorb Android 18, Cell retaliates and knocks Tien unconscious. Fortunately, Goku uses his Instant Transmission technique to teleport there, grab Tien (and Piccolo, who was also there) and (since Goku knows he isn't powerful enough to fight Cell yet) quickly teleport back to the Lookout.
** In his second HeroicSacrifice, Goku saves everyone by teleporting Cell to another planet before he self-destructed.
** Goku attempts to escape this way when Kid Buu released an energy ball strong enough to destroy the Earth ten times. He couldn't get a signal lock onto, however, and the Supreme Kai had to saved Goku, Vegeta, Mr. Satan, and Dende by using his teleportation technique.
* TelescopingStaff : The Power Pole/''Nyoi-Bo'', which can also extend to extraordinary lengths, even reaching ''the moon''.
* TermsOfEndangerment: In the dub, Super Buu calls Goku 'dad' after he absorbs Gohan. Goku isn't amused by this at all.
* ThinkNothingOfIt:
** Goku did a version of this when he arrives on Planet Namek looking for a new Guardian of the Earth to revive the Dragon Balls. The Namekians recognizes him as the Super Saiyan that defeated Frieza and saved their race. Goku's response is more-or-less, 'don't thank me, your planet still blew up'.
** When Mr. Satan tries to give Goku the prize money he received for killing Majin Buu, Goku initially turns it down, saying that he didn't beat Buu alone. He only changes his mind after Goten points out that if he takes the money, he can quit his farming job to train.
* ThisIsUnforgivable: It takes a ''lot'' for Goku to decide someone's [[MoralEventHorizon crossed the line]] given how [[AllLovingHero forgiving he is and is a firm believer in second chances]]. The named characters who successfully crossed this line are: King Piccolo for his murder of Krillin and Master Roshi, Raditz when he tries to kill [[PapaWolf Gohan]], Frieza when he killed Krillin and threatened Gohan, Goku Black when he reveals that he [[spoiler: took his body and murdered his family in another timeline]], and a space poacher when he brags about stealing animals and selling them on the black market.
* ThouShaltNotKill: {{Zigzagged|Trope}}. When he was a young boy, [[GoodIsNotSoft Goku had no problem killing his opponents]], even when they were retreating. He only really restrained himself during tournaments where killing isn't allowed. After training with Kami, he refuses to kill even the most evil opponents. Some of this is because he wants to fight them again like Piccolo and Vegeta (although he swears to kill Vegeta the next time they fight), and Frieza is a case of CruelMercy. Although most are a cases of real mercy like him trying to spare Raditz, Nappa, the Ginyu Force, and Mr. Buu. After the Frieza Saga, he becomes more willing to kill like him actively trying to destroy Cell and encourages Gohan to do the same, to him atomizing Kid Buu, even if he did wish for him to be reborn as a good person. He takes no pleasure in killing and will try to spare opponents if possible, like him giving Frieza mercy ''again'' after he returns to life.
* TimeToUnlockMoreTruePotential:
** After his defeat to Mercenary Tao, Goku climbs Korin Tower, hoping to drink the water that will increase his power. It's not until he gets the water from Korin that he learns that the suppose divine water is just tap water and the skills he gains trying to obtain the water is what really increases his strength,
** When he is defeated by King Piccolo, he returns to Korin Tower hoping to train with Korin. Korin sends him to get the Ultra Divine Water, which will increase his power once he drinks it.
** After waking from being comatose for ten days, Goku decides to spend a year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber to surpass the level of Super Saiyan.
** Goku tries this when he briefly trains to become a Super Saiyan God. He isn't happy when he learns that he has to go through a ritual to obtain it and it isn't something he can gain on his own.
** This is actually hilariously lampshaded by Present Zeno in Chapter 29 of the ''Super'' manga. When Future Zeno asked how many times he'll transform, Present Zeno started counting on his fingers.
* ToBeAMaster: At the start of the series, Goku wants to become the strongest fighter on Earth and fight powerful opponents. He achieves this goal when he's a teenager. After learning that he's an alien and is pitiful weak compared to the true monsters in the universe, he refocuses his goal to becoming the strongest in the universe.
* TooDumbToLive: Discussed by Frieza in ''Resurrection 'F'''. Goku [[spoiler: gives Frieza the chance to walk away a second time instead of just killing him, and gets near-fatally shot by Frieza's henchman Sorbet for his trouble; while he's badly wounded and helpless, Frieza proceeds to literally kick him around like a football, all while [[LampshadeHanging rubbing in Goku's face how stupid he was to show him mercy again]]]].
* TooHungryToBePolite: A combination of a childhood spent isolated from society and Saiyan instincts results in Goku having no table manners whatsoever: he wolfs down any food he can get his hands on with such speed and savagery that, no matter how many times his friends bear witness to his voracious eating, they always end up staring silently at his ghastly eating etiquette.
--> '''Piccolo''': "Ugh...y'know, I don't think I'll ever get used to this..."
* TookALevelInBadass: This can easily define Goku's entire character, to be honest, as nearly every time Goku has to take on a major villain, and gets his Saiyan tail handed to him on a silver platter, he has to undergo some form of training to boost his power levels beyond what was previously thought possible.
* TookALevelInDumbass: He falls into this by ''Super''. He's far more dimwitted, naive and prone to InnocentlyInsensitive comments than he ever was in previous series. In ''Dragon Ball Super: Broly'', he even [[spoiler:greets Frieza warmly, genuinely believing that they're now friends after fighting alongside each other during the Universe Survival arc]].
** In the ''Super'' manga he's willing to damage his body to have more power to use against Jiren. While Goku has used techniques like Kaioken, that damage his body to be able to defeat a villain, those were desperate life or death situations, and he clearly didn't want to push himself that far, but had to do it to survive. Against Jiren it was ego driven. And to make Roshi look more competent by reminding Goku of his previous teachings.
** He also became much worse at training, likely so Whis looks more competent as a teacher, to the point in the ''Super'' manga, when Whis says he should start his training from basics, Goku showed some annoyance at it, while back in Cell saga he tells Gohan they should start over from basics in Super Saiyan form for better training and doesn't seem to mind doing so. And in [[Anime/DragonBallSuperSuperHero Super Hero]] it's Vegeta who lectures Goku about the importance of meditation as training, and Vegeta talks about Jiren's power being around his' and Goku's level, but he was a fighter who remained relaxed until the moment he striked, making his attacks save stamina, unpredictable, and powerful, with Goku clearly being oblivious to all of this, even though usually Goku is the better one at analyzing his opponents, and in Cell saga he medidated in the Room of Spirit and Time, and in Buu saga he was medidating as part of his training before the tournament.
* TookALevelInKindness:
** It happened before the beginning of the original ''Dragon Ball'', but Goku was once a terrible toddler who terrorized Gohan Sr. despite the latter's best efforts to raise him. It is not complete clear thanks to [[AllThereInTheManual additional information]] if it was the head-injury alone, Gohan's kindness along with inheriting his mother's gentle heart, or a little bit of both that causes Goku to become the good-hearted boy we know and love.
** He also becomes more merciful to his opponents, willing to spare their lives and offer them {{Last Second Chance}}s instead of outright killing them like he did with Officer Black, King Piccolo, and all Piccolo's children outside Piccolo Jr.
* ToughLove:
** Gohan gets on Goku for not doing this to him while they are training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He wants his father to push him to the point of death so he can become a Super Saiyan and surpass him. Although Goku isn't happy about this, he does oblige.
** He orders Goten and Trunks to stop crying after he informs them of Gohan and Vegeta's deaths to Majin Buu. While harsh, Goku's time is limited and he needs to teach them the FusionDance before he returns to Otherworld for good.
* TragicKeepsake:
** The Four-Star Dragon Ball, one of the mementos his grandpa left him before he died. Goku's exploits during the Red Ribbon Army Saga centers around tracking down the ball. He later retrieves the ball for his son's hat, saying he wants Gohan to have it. His Power Pole is also a keepsake from his grandfather. Ox-King immediately recognizes it as belonging to his old friend.
** In the ''Dragon Ball Super'' manga, Monaito gives Goku a scouter that belonged to his late father, Bardock. The scouter contained Bardock's audio and just listening to him say "Stay alive" brought back his amnesiac memories of his family. By the end of the arc, Monaito reminds Goku to take back the scouter, then he looks into the scouter and smiles as he sees his late father's reflection.
* TrainingFromHell: Although born with nearly endless potential, Goku had a very low battle power for a Saiyan and was classified as a lower class warrior. It's through years of hard and dedicated work that he has become so powerful. Goku even cites this as the reason why he, a lower class warrior, can surpass Vegeta, the Saiyan Prince, during their first battle. He also disliked Super Saiyan God because it's a level given to him and not something he earned himself.
* TranquilFury: When he's pissed, this is what you'll expect from him aside from the occasional UnstoppableRage. Moments where this is most apparent is when he comes back from training on King Kai's planet and beats the shit out of Nappa for murdering his friends and when he goes [[SuperMode Super Saiyan]] for the first time and decimates Frieza, which is a mixture of this and UnstoppableRage. In ''Super'' where, unlike the movie where Goku is rather uncaring about Frieza, he shows more emotions given that Frieza murdered Piccolo, badly wounded Gohan, and keeps trying to kill his friends during their fight. Although he never raises his voice except once, he tells Frieza that he feels nothing but contempt and anger towards him, and doesn't even feel his normal excitement at facing a strong opponent to boot. [[spoiler: There's also his UnstoppableRage against Goku Black after he admitted with glee that he had murdered his family, which manifests as a quiet wrath that made him single-minded in his new goal of slaughtering him in retribution.]] This is his default state [[spoiler: when he taps into Ultra Instinct]], as he becomes perfectly calm, composed and mostly taciturn, while his opponents bear the brunt of one of the most savage beatdowns that they will ever get.
* TraumaCongaLine: The King Piccolo Saga was this for Goku. First, he loses the tournament because he's hit by a pick-up trunk at the worst possible moment, and then his best friend and training partner is murdered because he forgot his Dragon Ball and Power Pole at the stadium. When he tries to avenge his murder, he's beaten to a pulp because he's tired and hungry from the tournament. When he does avenge Krillin, he's beaten near death by King Piccolo and has the Dragon Ball that he was protecting stolen. He later learns that his master and father figure is also killed by Piccolo (although indirectly). By the time Goku is lying on the ground because Piccolo disabled both of his legs, you can tell that he's reached his breaking point.
* TraumaticSuperpowerAwakening:
** He achieved Super Saiyan after watching Krillin die a second time and Frieza threatening to kill his son Gohan next.
** Something similar happens in ''Battle of Gods'', where [[spoiler: he reactivates the Super Saiyan God form after remembering that he isn't just fighting to prove himself against Beerus; everyone ''needs'' him and if he dies, his family and friends will all die as well.]]
** Happens again during his fight with Jiren in the Tournament of Power. [[spoiler: After his own Spirit Bomb is reflected back at him, desperate to survive against it, Goku awakens Ultra Instinct to combat Jiren's immense power. After this moment, he reawakens the power to use Ultra Instinct when pushed to his limit and at the edge of losing, as seen with his fight against Kefla, and when he awakened it for real in the final battle with Jiren]].
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior: Before his head injury, Goku was a violent toddler who attacked Grandpa Gohan and tried to kill him upon meeting him. While these traits are normal for Saiyan children, who are normally sent to wipe planets, Goku's behavior is outright terrifying for a human.
* TrueCompanions: Tends to form them [[DefeatEqualsFriendship with his former enemies]] and [[RageBreakingPoint hurting his friends is a sure-fire way of pissing him off]].
* TurnTheOtherCheek: Is willing to forgive ''anybody'' and give them a second chance: Yamcha for trying to rob him blind, Krillin for starting out as a bully, Piccolo Jr. for being the son of a demon who attempted to TakeOverTheWorld, Vegeta for commanding the murder of almost everyone he loved, and Majin Buu for destroying the human race. All of them [[DefeatMeansFriendship eventually became noble heroes and protectors of life]]. The only people he has ''never'' forgiven in his adult years are Frieza, Cell, and Super Buu. In ''Super'', when Frieza is brought back to life, Goku still clearly hates him and personally notes that it's rare for him to feel that way. And even ''then'', he expresses disappointment that Frieza isn't a good person.
* {{Tykebomb}}: As an toddler, he was sent to Earth with the intention that he would wipe out the inhabitants as he grew up, which was standard practice for all weak Saiyan babies. However, hitting his head as a kid caused him to lose his memory along with the Saiyan race's characteristic bloodlust. In ''Dragon Ball Minus'', it's revealed that Goku was actually sent to Earth for his protection since Bardock suspected Frieza was up to no good when he recalled all the Saiyans back to Planet Vegeta. Even then, he was still horribly violent and often attacked the senior Gohan. Part of the reason why Goku was sent to Earth was because no one would care if he wiped the planet.
* UnbuiltTrope: Goku is this for the StockShonenHero, since he wound up being a [[DeconstructedCharacterArchetype deconstruction of the archetype]] he would unwittingly [[TropeCodifier inspire]]. His motivations for fighting are largely self-centered, with nearly everything he does being a means of getting stronger, [[DownplayedTrope and while he is willing to lend a helping hand to people in need]], his final goal is always something for his own benefit. ''Z'''s anime adaptation would downplay his more self-centered traits and make him [[AdaptationalHeroism more heroic]], which the English dub would then [[DubPersonalityChange take even further]]; Toriyama has criticized this decision since he had always intended for Goku to have a self-centered side.
* TheUnchosenOne:
** He more or less calls himself this when Vegeta dismisses him as lower class trash who was thrown away because he was born a weakling. As Goku puts it, being raised on Earth allowed him to grow up and surpass an elite through hard work. Ironically, it later turns out that despite his birth, he's a more talented warrior than Vegeta, which actually causes them to switch roles with Goku being TheChosenOne and Vegeta being TheUnchosenOne.
** If you count Broly's existence, Goku becomes this since Broly is the [[ChosenOne true Legendary Super Saiyan]]. Doesn't stop Goku from beating him, although he needed the help of his friends to do it.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Despite Goku's sportsman-like nature, he does underestimate his opponents at times, leading him to have to recover from a loss and then adapt for the rematch. This also applies to himself, as a lot of his enemies underestimate just how powerful he really is.
* UngratefulBastard: Toward King Kai in ''Super''. After all of King Kai's training and guidance, Goku repays him by constantly using King Kai's planet to train (tearing up the place as a result) without even asking permission first. He also expects King Kai to feed him afterwards - and insults his cooking to boot. And that's not even getting into the fact that Goku keeps forgetting to use the Dragon Balls to wish his old teacher back to life.
* UnskilledButStrong: {{Downplayed|Trope}} In his youth, Goku did have formal training, but his Grandpa died before it was completed. Because of that, Goku relied heavily on his brute strength, speed, and his [[AwesomenessByAnalysis natural ability]] [[PowerCopying to mimic the skills and moves of his opponents]]. Master Roshi actually called him wild and strong during the 21st Tournament. His skills were refined under Master Roshi and Korin respectively, who taught him how to predict his opponent's movements, but he still remained fairly undisciplined as Mr. Popo notes when he calls Goku out on his wasteful movements and energy. By the time he rejoins his friends during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament, he's not only stronger and faster, but he learns how not to waste energy and used minimal force to take down weaker opponents.
* UnstoppableRage: When he is ''truly'' pissed off. He is close to foaming at the mouth in anger when Tambourine murders Krillin and didn't calm down until he killed the monster. After turning Super Saiyan the first time, he [[SanitySlippage switches]] between this and TranquilFury. [[spoiler: Also, there was his rage-fueled rampage after Goku Black and Future Zamasu decided to twist the knife and admit to to him that Black had murdered his other self's family.]] [[spoiler: When Jiren tries to murder his friends and family in the stands all because he didn't like what Goku had to say about his habits as a cold loner, Goku loses all patience with him and proceeds to soundly crush Jiren in one of the most brutal and one-sided fights in ''Dragon Ball'' history.]]
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom:
** He let Vegeta train first in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. When Vegeta left the chamber to fight Cell, he is so arrogant in his new power that he allows Cell to become complete to stroke his own ego, which leads to the deaths of Goku, Future Trunks, and Android 16 .
** Goku could have killed the Fat Majin Buu at Super Saiyan 3, but chose not to because he wanted Trunks and Goten to be able to handle it on their own. Goku's inaction leads to the birth of Super Buu.
** Goku holding back during his fight against Majin Buu causes Vegeta to believe that he can defeat Buu and leads to his SenselessSacrifice.
** [[spoiler: After seeing how Goku, a mere mortal, could become powerful enough to challenge the gods, Zamasu begins a downward spiral. He distrusts mortals and sees them as foolish before eventually turning on them.]]
* UpbringingMakesTheHero: Along with his head injury and inheriting his mother's gentle heart, being raised by the kind-hearted Grandpa Gohan makes him into a hero.
* UseYourHead: As in a headbutt. In his younger years, it was practically his finishing move. Goku uses this to finish off Staff Officer Black and ring out Piccolo. He does it again in ''Super'' when Vegeta tells him to [[LiteralMinded "use his head"]] to beat Botamo.
* VibrantOrange: Goku wears an orange gi and is friendly, adventurous, and [[BloodKnight always excited for a challenging fight]].
* VictoryByEndurance:
** How he ends up defeating Major Metallitron at Muscle Tower. Metallitron just keeps coming at Goku no matter how much damage he takes, even after Goku blows his head off; he only stops when his batteries run out.
** Although he is stronger than Frieza after becoming a Super Saiyan, he mostly beats Frieza because his power began to rapidly drop after he uses his full strength. As a result, he burns himself out more quickly than his opponent.
* VillainKiller: Son Goku has taken on all manner of enemies from mortal men to alien warlords to horrifying demons. Many if not most have been slain by him with those he doesn't kill either [[HeelFaceTurn becoming his allies]], [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork getting killed by other villains]], or just being [[NotWorthKilling too weak to necessitate killing]].
* ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer: During the Saiyan and Frieza Sagas, Goku repeatedly refuses to kill even the most evil of opponents and often spares them, something Vegeta calls him out on after Goku subdues the Ginyu Force only for Vegeta himself to kill them. It comes back to bite him more than once; for example, during the battle with Frieza, despite all of the horrible things Frieza has done, including personally killing Goku's best friend Krillin, Goku spares his life ''twice'', which only prompts Frieza to try to stab him in the back both times. From that point onwards, Goku becomes more willing to kill his opponents, actively trying to kill Cell and openly encouraging Gohan to do the same.
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** Bulma and Goku starts with this kind of relationship. Goku is quick to point-out how weak and useless Bulma is, while Bulma often yells about how naive Goku is. This is especially apparent in the first story arc where they both show little respect for one another. Despite that, they do care for each other with Bulma worrying about Goku's safety and Goku rescuing Bulma when she's in trouble, even if he sometimes complain about it. By the time of ''Z'', the vitriolic part is all but gone, although it does pop up every blue moon, such as the ending to ''Battle of Gods''.
** Goku and Krillin also started as this, although it's mostly on Krillin's part. He was jealous of Goku's natural fighting talent, often annoyed by how naive he was, and often embarrassed with Goku's antics like him stripping in public. By the introduction of Piccolo Jr, the vitriolic part with Krillin was all gone, never to return.
** With Vegeta after the events of the Buu Saga. The two fight and bicker LikeAnOldMarriedCouple.
* VocalDissonance:
** In the Japanese version, Masako Nozawa voices him as a child, and [[ChildLikeVoice keeps voicing him as an adult]]. While she does deepen her voice somewhat as adult Goku, he's still pretty high-pitched. This is {{averted|Trope}} in almost all foreign dubs (including English) where the grown-up Goku has a more mature sounding voice since he's voiced by a man, although Peter Kelamis (his second Ocean voice actor) and Creator/MasakoX (his voice actor in [[WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged the abridged series]]) replicate Nozawa's performance fairly faithfully. This has the side-effect of casting Goku in a different light depending on the version, even when faithfully translated; while Japanese Goku is essentially his old 12-year-old self trapped in a man's body, English (and international) Goku comes across as more of an adult man who happens to be amusingly childish.
** The infamous AB Groupe dub, on the other hand, goes in the exact opposite direction by giving Goku a ''very'' gruff, manly voice that completely ignores his boyishness and sounds more similar to Creator/SonnyStrait's Bardock.
* VoiceOfTheLegion: In general, when in his [[spoiler:Ultra Instinct form]], Goku has this. Whenever he's not outright speaking, his voice is accompanied by his ''Oozaru voice''.
* WackyParentSeriousChild: The Wacky Parent to Gohan's Serious Child. Goku is quite childish, immature, and goofy, while Gohan is more down-to-earth and serious to the point that he acts more mature than his dad, when he's only ''five'' years old. Unlike most, however, Gohan is rarely embarrassed by his dad, except when he freaks out over seeing a needle.
* WalkingTheEarth: After the events of the Red Ribbon Army Saga, he was told to travel around the world and experience life by Master Roshi. The catch, he had to travel the world by foot because he couldn't use the Flying Nimbus. He walked the Earth for three years.
* WeDoTheImpossible: The primary reason why he is seen as TheAce and the HopeBringer. He is known for doing the impossible from single-handedly destroying an entire army, defeating the Demon King and all his children, doing it again three years later, thwarting an alien invasion from members of his own race, taking down the most elite fighting force in the universe, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu regularly defeats those called the strongest in the universe]], and escaped an exploding planet, twice. At times, his friends truly believe that he is invincible. After ''Battle of Gods'' Goku can be considered [[DeityOfHumanOrigin a deity of Saiyan origin]] with his mastery of Super Saiyan God, therefor making his actions a case of DivineIntervention.
* WeakButSkilled: Compared to the Saiyans at the beginning of ''Z'', Goku is this. Since he was raised on Earth which have weak fighters compared to the rest of the universe and low gravity, Goku lacks any real strength when Raditz comes looking for him. However, Goku has actual martial arts training, which allows him to sense energy, hide his power, and have great control of his ki, something that surprises Raditz when Goku bends his Kamehameha and raises his battle strength at various points.
* WeaksauceWeakness: In the Otherworld Tournament filler, Goku shows that he's exceptionally vulnerable to being tickled given that Caterpy is able to hold Goku in place and [[TickleTorture torture]] him for several minutes despite Goku being many times stronger than him without becoming a Super Saiyan. In ''GT'', he loses to a weak child by being distracted by Vegeta and tickled out of the ring.
* WeaponizedTeleportation: Goku's Instant Transmission and Kamehameha combo.
* WhatTheHellAreYou:
** Happens quite a bit in Goku's childhood. He would do something so over the top or extraordinary that people, including his own friends, would question what the hell was he and question if he was human.
** King Piccolo has this reaction after Goku survived a blast that nuked an entire city:
--->'''King Piccolo''': This can't be happening! This isn't supposed to happen! There's no way a mere human can stand on equal ground with King Piccolo!
--->'''Goku''': [[{{Foreshadowing}} I have a tail, you know. Maybe I'm not human, after all.]]
** Frieza has a moment after he realizes what a Super Saiyan is capable of. Frieza blasts Goku square in the face with his Death Beam (the same technique that killed Vegeta), sending his head reeling backwards. But Goku [[NoSell just slowly lowers his gaze back to normal like nothing happened]]. It's at that moment Frieza [[OhCrap realizes]] just what he's dealing with:
--->'''Frieza:''' You...you...''what are you''?!\\
'''Goku:''' You haven't figured it out yet? I'm the Saiyan who came all the way from Earth for the sole purpose of beating you. I am the warrior you've heard of in legends, pure of heart and awakened by fury. That's what I am. I AM THE SUPER SAIYAN, SON GOKU!!!
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: When Chi-Chi says that she loves him, he asks what did that mean. She responds by kissing him.
* WhatsUpKingDude: Goku rarely treats kings or even gods with any greater respect than he would show to anyone unless told to do so by someone else. This gets him in trouble in ''Super'' where his treatment of Zeno the [[GodEmperor King of All]] is typically casual. While Zeno likes his approach, everyone else is horrified by it, and Beerus warns that treating Zeno so lightly when he has the power to destroy entire universes in an instant is a disaster waiting to happen. [[spoiler: Though it also ends up saving the multiverse when his friendship with Zeno allows Goku to summon him to deal with Infinite Zamasu, who'd merged with the Future Trunks timeline and was threatening all the others.]]
* WhatTheHellHero:
** The final battle with Cell. As Gohan's busy getting beaten to death by Cell (with Goku and the others just standing there watching), Goku wonders out loud what Gohan is waiting for, expecting the fight to bring out Gohan's full power. TeamDad Piccolo calls out Goku for healing Cell and then just standing there watching him pound the life out of his son. Cue the MyGodWhatHaveIDone reaction from Goku.
** Krillin also calls Goku out for letting Vegeta escape after he facilitated the deaths of their friends and beat the living hell out of them.
** Vegeta gets pissed at Goku for leaving behind Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Piccolo behind on Earth to die when Buu destroyed the planet.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: During his training with Korin where he was trying to get the holy water from Korin, Goku considered to get it while he thought Korin was sleeping, but decided against it, since he wanted to get it fair and square. Fittingly in the manga, he was initially covered in shadows while trying it.
-->'''Goku''': Nyah, no way. I'm definitely gonna take it... But I'll do it fair and square!\\
'''Korin''': ''(Thinking to himself)'' Hohoho... What a refreshingly honest lad... Quite a change from his mentor...
* WhiteSheep: To the entire Saiyan race after his head injury. All Saiyans, except for a named few, are violent, ruthless, cold-blooded murderers. Goku is kind, good-natured, and only takes a life when he has no other choice (or someone killed Krillin, wherein he ''will'' be out for blood).
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: A rare non-villainous example. For most of ''Z'', Goku avoids killing his enemies as much as possible, which comes back to bite him more than once, most notably when he stupidly falls for Raditz's [[ISurrenderSuckers pleas for mercy]]. It's taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Resurrection 'F''', in which, despite his previous attempt at giving Frieza mercy having backfired spectacularly, he [[spoiler: gives Frieza the chance to walk away and master his new GoldenSuperMode so they can fight again]].
* WildChild: He was raised by his grandfather, but he died when Goku was still young. So, Goku spent a lot of his early childhood in the mountains, picking up traits and instincts of the animals around him. Because of this, he has {{No Social Skills}} by the time Bulma finds him.
* WideEyedIdealist: As a child, he was extremely naive and innocent to the point of not being able to sense bad intentions in people and thinking of the best of everyone he meets, even when they have shown themselves to be shady and untrustworthy. For example, he considers Bulma his friend, while at the same time [[BrutalHonesty telling her that she isn't a good person]]. He's happy to see Yamcha when he was fighting Boss Rabbit and figures he's here to help, despite Yamcha trying to rob and murder him just days before. He also calls Krillin his friend, after he constantly tricks him and cost him dinner. As an adult, he's still idealist to the point of being ThePollyanna, but he's usually aware of ill-intentions, mostly because he can sense ki and feel hostility.
* WillfullyWeak: Goku always holds back his full power even when he's in the middle of a tough fight. He does this either to conserve energy, or to keep from killing or seriously hurting his opponents. Unless pushed, he won't go beyond a basic Super Saiyan. Goku tells Pikkon during their match in the Otherworld Tournament filler arc that his skill in combat is directly proportional to the seriousness of the threat he's facing. This can also be seen in ''Super'' during the Champa arc, where he fights Botamo and Frost, and didn't use his god power-up. This is deconstructed during the Buu Saga, where his holding back and hiding Super Saiyan 3 led not only to Vegeta's SenselessSacrifice against Buu, but the birth of Super Buu.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: When Goku went Super Saiyan the first time, he is not completely sane. He is so overtaken by rage that he prefers torturing Frieza rather than escaping the exploding Namek.
* TheWorfBarrage:
** The Kamehameha Wave, once considered one of the most powerful energy attacks in the series, gets hit with this over time; Mercenary Tao suffers nothing but ClothingDamage, and King Piccolo doesn't even suffer that much from a direct hit. There was even the Super Kamehameha he used during the 23rd tournament against Piccolo, all it did was damage Piccolo's clothes.
** The Spirit Bomb. Despite being hyped up as all-powerful, last minute countermeasure, Goku has only succeeded in killing ''one'' opponent with it: Kid Buu. That being said, in the [[NonSerialMovie movies]], it has a ''much'' higher success rate.
* TheWorfEffect: The best way to know that the cast is in really deep trouble, is when Goku gets beaten badly by the latest threat. This doesn't happen too often, so when it does the impact is quite powerful.
* WorfHadTheFlu: That being said, whenever Goku does lose a fight, there is usually some external force at play, whether it be hunger, tiredness, or illness.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Despite being surpassed by various people at different points, most of the characters agree that Goku is this, including Vegeta who outright calls him the best near the end of the series. Gohan calls him the 'Greatest Fighter Ever' and the 'Strongest in the Universe', even during the times he surpasses his father in power. Perhaps his nearly perfect success rate when fighting an opponent, even ones stronger than him, has something to do with this. [[spoiler: Shown in ''Battle of Gods'' where he is chosen to become a Super Saiyan God over the equally qualified Vegeta and Gohan, and he performs better against Hit during the Universal Tournament in his base form than Vegeta did when he was going at full power. The manga version justifies this by stating that Vegeta actually wasn't at full power, having stupidly wasted 90% of his strength just by transforming twice, but the fact Goku knew not to make that mistake just makes it an even stronger example of this trope]].
* TheWorldIsJustAwesome: After going on his first adventure for the Dragon Balls, Goku is enthralled by everything on Earth and will often sightsee on the Flying Nimbus. This trait is {{Downplayed}} when he grows up, but he still become wide-eyed when he sees something interesting.
* WorldsStrongestMan: He holds this title at various points throughout the series although he has been upstaged several times, he almost always manages to regain this status at the end of each Saga (with some exceptions such as the Cell and Buu Sagas where Gohan was still stronger at the end and most notably [[spoiler:the Granola Saga where Frieza upstaged him]]).
* WouldHitAGirl: If she attacks him first, she's capable/strong enough to give him problems, and she's not Chi-Chi or Bulma, he will fight back. The most prominent example being him knocking out Launch (in her violent "Kushami" personality. {{Inverted|Trope}} when he does fight Chichi in the 23rd World Tournament, though; he only dodges her attacks and [[WouldntHitAGirl refuses to lay a hand on her]], so he defeats her by using his fist to create a wave that knocks her out of the ring. Then again, considering she claimed that he promised to marry her, he might just have not wanted to hit his potential ''fiancée'' (and immediately did propose after learning it's the truth).
-->'''Roshi''': Y-you don't hold back... Even against women... What a simple fellow...
** This is most evident during the Tournament of Power, whereupon Goku has no issues whatsoever with fighting Califla, Kale, or any of the other female fighters with no hesitation.
* WouldntHurtAChild: Initially, he refuses to fight [[Manga/DrSlump Arale]] since she's a child, even if she's strong enough to knock base form Vegeta through a wall. It's not until he remembers her after she headbutts Vegeta over the horizon that he changes his mind and goes all out.
* WowingCthulhu: Goku [[spoiler: lost to Beerus in the end]] despite his best efforts, but he left a noticeable impression on the God of Destruction, which gets him to spare the Earth and see Goku as a WorthyOpponent.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs: An anime filler has him use a Boston Crab. He also uses the giant swing, though he uses more as a hammer throw than as a dizzying technique. Likewise, he holds Raditz in place with a Full Nelson so Piccolo can take him down.
* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood:
** During the Namek Saga, he tried to convince Captain Ginyu to switch sides after seeing that he had a [[NobleDemon sense of honor]], but Ginyu [[RedemptionRejection blatantly refused]] on the grounds that [[EvilFeelsGood hurting and lording over other people was what made him happy]].
** In ''Resurrection 'F''', upon seeing how strong Frieza had become in such a short amount of time, Goku remarks that Frieza could have been a perfect sparring partner for him if he wasn't pure evil, and outright declares his newfound power a "waste of talent". In response, Frieza states that that kind of attitude is just one of ''many'' reasons he can't tolerate Goku's mere existence.
* YouDidntAsk: During the Red Ribbon Army Saga, this is his response to Bulma and Krillin realizing that the Red Ribbon Army was after him:
-->'''Goku''': No one ever asked me about the Red Ribbon Army.
* YouFool:
** When Frieza shoots Goku when his back was turn, Goku screams this before mercilessly blasting Frieza, nearly killing the tyrant. Given that this was Frieza's ''second'' BackstabBackfire after [[UngratefulBastard Goku gave him enough energy to escape the dying Namek]], you can understand why Goku lost his patience.
** He calls Vegeta a fool once he realizes that Vegeta purposely let himself fall under Babidi's control for power.
* YourMom: When Uub gets stagefright at the 28th World Tournament, Goku plays the heel and goads the boy into fighting by mocking his mom ("she's a dingleberry!"), dad ("a bedwetter!") and his entire village.
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* WouldHitAGirl: If she attacks him first, she's capable/strong enough to give him problems, and she's not Chi-Chi or Bulma, he will fight back. The most prominent example being him knocking out Launch (in her violent "Kushami" personality. {{Inverted|Trope}} when he does fight Chichi in the 23rd World Tournament, though; he only dodges her attacks and [[WouldntHitAGirl refuses to lay a hand on her]], so he defeats her by using his fist to create a wave that knocks her out of the ring. Then again, considering she claimed that he promised to marry her, he might just have not wanted to hit his potential ''fiancee'' (and immediately did propose after learning it's the truth).
'''Roshi''': ''Y-you don't hold back... Even against women... What a simple felow...''

-->'''Goku''': ''Nyah, no way. I'm definitely gonna take it... But I'll do it fair and square!''\\
'''Korin''':''(Thinking to himself) Hohoho... What a refreshingly honest lad... Quite a change from his mentor...''

'''Goku''': ''Nyah, no way. I'm definitely gonna take it... But I'll do it fair and square!''

* TragicKeepsake: The Four-Star Dragon Ball, one of the mementos his grandpa left him before he died. Goku's exploits during the Red Ribbon Army Saga centers around tracking down the ball. He later retrieves the ball for his son's hat, saying he wants Gohan to have it. His Power Pole is also a keepsake from his grandfather. Ox-King immediately recognizes it as belonging to his old friend.

* WorldsStrongestMan: He holds this title at various points throughout the series although he has been upstaged several times, he always manages to regain this status at the end of each Saga.

* ParentalHypocrisy: When Gohan reaches Super Saiyan 2, Goku is shocked when Gohan chooses to deliberately drag out the fight with Cell to prolong his suffering and make him pay for his crimes and gets on his case over it, despite the fact that he did the same thing when he fought Frieza on Namek. [[JustifiedTrope Of course]], this is a case of Goku learning from experience, since he barely escaped Namek's explosion because he dragged the fight with Frieza out for [[RevengeBeforeReason revenge]] and knows that if Cell gets desperate, he may very well do what Frieza did and blow up the Earth rather than admit defeat; he's soon proven right.

* ParentsAsPeople: There is no denying Goku loves and cares for his family and in times of peace, he ''does'' make a genuine effort to be a breadwinner... but at the end of the day, Goku is simply put in situations where he can't be around his family (due to his many deaths), as well as not having an inborn nesting instinct nor having ever really had a long-term parental figure himself. In the anime, Goku is consistently more openly affectionate with his sons whereas the manga usually has him act more distant towards them. That being said, he does seem to understand the relationship between a father and a son to some extent. For example, when he orders Gohan to leave Namek with Piccolo after transforming into a [[SuperMode Super]] [[EleventhHourSuperPower Saiyan]] for the first time, Gohan objects to that and Goku's retort is along the lines "Don't talk back to your father, boy!"

** The Kamehameha Wave, once considered one of the most powerful energy attacks in the series, gets hit with this over time; Mercenary Tao suffers nothing but ClothingDamage, and King Piccolo doesn't even suffer that much from a direct hit.

* TechnicianVersusPerformer: Although Goku is a well-trained martial artist who put in decades worth of hard work to become the best fighter in the universe, his technical skills are below Piccolo, Tien, and even Vegeta. He never invents his own techniques outside the move he used to kill King Piccolo and the canonically questionable Dragon Fist. Instead, [[PowerCopy he relies heavily on learning or copying techniques from his enemies, friends, and teachers]] and improving upon them or creating variations to make them his own. He is also very playful when fighting and coming up with creative ways to outmaneuver his opponent. When he's not training, he's often relaxing with his family. He tends to be too relaxed even in battle, a weakness that Whis says will be his undoing.

* StockShonenHero: The TropeCodifier, as most of the traits in the trope description are ones he introduced. As a kid, he's a simple-minded KidHero who is naive to the point of stupidity at times, and a BigEater that can put away 40+ full course meals in one sitting. As an adult, he shows mercy to his enemies, gets excited at almost any challenge, and masters techniques after one glance that took other people years to develop. Even after becoming a master, he still trains, believing there's no upper limit to self improvement, and is soon on par with literal gods (and on a first name basis with them). He also becomes very HotBlooded when he sees the opportunity to get into a fight. However, he's also an [[UnbuiltTrope unbuilt]] example, since [[DownplayedTrope while Goku's an unambiguously heroic character and a genuinely good person in every version of the show]], he's also not necessarily as noble or unselfish as other shonen heroes inspired by him; if his friends or the world are threatened, he'll surpass any and all limitations to pull out a win, but he fights primarily for the thrill of it and his final goal is always something for his own benefit.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Being a PhysicalGod might make you close to invincible, but unless you're from a species that can survive without oxygen, you still need to breathe. And if Namek's exploding didn't kill Goku, suffocating in space would have.
** No matter how powerful you become, [[NotSoInvincibleAfterAll you can still succumb to illnesses]]. In the future timeline, Goku dies of a heart virus and in the main timeline, Goku is laid flat for over ten days.
** While training to stay in his Super Saiyan form, he wrecks his house and sends Chi-Chi flying after playfully patting her on the back because he's forgotten how fragile people and things are.

* StupidSacrifice: When Cell freaks out and tries to self-destruct, Goku teleports him away to King Kai's planet and dies when Cell blows up, despite the fact that he could have just teleported back to Earth before that happened (at least in the anime, where it takes Cell several seconds to blow up where it was instant in the manga). However, it's heavily implied that Goku allowed himself to be killed, seeing his death as an overall good thing since he was responsible for many of the threats to Earth and it was only luck that Cell survived his self-destruction. Which then brings up the point that Goku's sacrifice, while well-meaning, was pointless in that regard too. Frieza and the Saiyans were always a wide scale threats that could someday come to Earth even if Goku wasn't there and all the other villains who were just doing their own thing in the original series before Goku ever showed up. The point is driven home when the following threat of Majin Buu has ''nothing'' to do with Goku at all, as well as the reveal in ''Resurrection 'F''' that his presence on Earth, as well as his status as TheDreaded, was the ''only'' thing keeping Frieza's army from returning to Earth.

[[Characters/DragonBallSonGoku Son Goku]] ([[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesAToC A-C]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesDToH D-H]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGokuTropesIToO I-O]] | '''P-Z''') | [[Characters/DragonBallBulma Bulma]] | [[Characters/DragonBallKrillin Krillin/Kuririn]] | [[Characters/DragonBallPiccolo Piccolo]] | [[Characters/DragonBallSonGohan Son Gohan]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegeta Vegeta]] ([[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesAToD A-D]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesEToN E-N]] | [[Characters/DragonBallVegetaTropesOToZ O-Z]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallFutureTrunks Future Trunks]] | [[Characters/DragonBallAllies Allies]] | [[Characters/DragonBallFamiliesAndFriends Families & Friends]] ([[Characters/DragonBallChichi Chichi]] | [[Characters/DragonBallAndroids17And18 Androids 17 and 18]] | [[Characters/DragonBallTrunksAndSonGoten Trunks and Son Goten]] | [[Characters/DragonBallMrSatan Mr. Satan/Hercule]]) | [[Characters/DragonBallFusionCast Fusions]]-]]]]]