Another day, another character showdown. Whenever we do these Character VS pieces, it brings me back to that one meme of ‘Oh X could defeat Goku’. (Though personally, I totally believe Sailor Moon can beat Goku.) Because is there a show more chaotic about overpowered characters than Dragon Ball? So today, let’s tackle the absolute beasts of the show: Zalama VS Zeno!
I know, I know. Dragon Ball is known exclusively for its over-the-top leveling system. Frankly, how they manage to one-up Super Saiyan levels every time, is beyond me. But that’s why it wouldn’t be very fun pitting someone like Goku against Vegeta. Why? Because we already know their story!
Goku is the protagonist of a beloved Shonen from the 90s. Of course, he’s going to be the most powerful fighter. Vegeta will always play second fiddle to that and then so on and so forth. The fighters in Dragon Ball have a clear hierarchy set but do you know who don’t? The Deities. The ones who brought the world of Dragon Ball to life in the first place!
Who might they be, you ask? Welcome Zalama, the Dragon Lord and creator of the wish-granting Dragon Balls. And he’ll be going against the Multiverse King himself, Zeno. That’s right, today we’ll be putting the Gods of Dragon Ball to the test and see who comes out best!
The way this Character VS will work is a little different from our previous one, considering neither characters we are focusing on are a fighter. So we’ll be judging them based on their supernatural abilities, which is more convoluted than ranking sheer skill or power. With that said, let’s begin!
Zalama: The Divine Dragon Of The Super Dragon Balls
First, we have the one who started it all, the OG Zalama. Zalama is the Dragon God who created the Super Dragon Balls, objects that can grant a single wish of any scale when collected. Now that kind of claim requires a lot of power, which Zalama has in spades. But that’s about all we know so far.
Now, here’s the confusion: It is not clear whether Zalama created Super Shenron, the Divine Dragon held in the Dragon Balls, or whether it’s an extension of Zalama itself. In the dub, it is implied that Zalama is Super Shenron. So, if we go by that, we can gauge Zalama’s power levels.
Super Shenron is canonically the largest character in the entire Dragon Ball franchise. With powers like resurrection and bestowing immortality, Shenron is certainly formidable. And when you factor in how he can literally warp reality itself? Combine that with Super Dragon Balls’ power, and Zalama/Shenron is basically Omnipotent.
However, there is the matter of the fact that Shenron has been killed before, which extends back to Zalama’s own mortality. This means Zalama probably has a weakness, however little-explored it may be.
Zeno: The Supreme Ruler Of The Multi-Verse
It’s the Omni-King’s turn! Known as the ‘King of All’, Zeno enjoys sole propriety of all the 18 universes combined. Despite looking like a feeble alien child, Zeno is possibly the closest thing to a God in the Dragon Ball franchise.
I mean, just look at how Whis talks about him. He claims that there is no one more powerful in the universe than Zeno, with his ability to wipe out beings, planets, and even entire universes, if he wishes. That’s all thanks to his Erase power, which he has used before to destroy 6 universes, solely because he was in a bad mood. Talk about extreme!
But that’s the thing, all we know of Zeno’s power is his ability to be a cute atomic bomb capable of destroying the multiverse on a whim. Which, granted, is a huge power to have but we haven’t seen a full roster of what he can do. We have seen that he can override immortality granted by the Super Dragon Balls. So in a way, his power trumps that.
Then there is the fact of how every other deity is scared of him. In the Future Trunk’s timeline where Goku Black and Future Zumatsu killed all the Gods, Zeno was still alive, alluding to his impressive immortality. If we look at the body count alone, Zeno is only second to his future self. Shin claimed Zeno is undefeatable, hence his future self-wreaking havoc in the timeline.
Verdict: Zeno Wins!
So, this isn’t going to be a hard pick. We don’t have a lot of information available about Zalama beyond his power being unlimited. Sure, he created a wish-granting medium but even then, he has proven to not be immortal. At least, when it comes to Shenron. Whereas Zeno has been established multiple times as being the most powerful character in Dragon Ball, by various characters.
When we look at the facts we have on hand, it’s clear that Zeno wins this one! All hail the Supreme Omni-King!
