Goku of DBZ and Superman, the online debate on these 2 imaginary characters is ever raging based on their similarities, what are their differences?

              I knew about Superman since I was a little boy, although I preferred Batman and Spiderman to Superman among the Marvel superheros but later, in my adolescence when I came to know about anime, one of the animes that really caught my attention and grew on me was DBZ during Cartoon Network days here in India. Although I never had the chance to watch all the episodes, since not all of them were played on Cartoon Network India. I later had the opportunity to watch not only all of the episodes in DBZ but also in DB GT that came after it. Now, the Dragon Ball timeline is set in the future with DB Super and beyond. However, of late, there has been a lot of debate online about who is better - Superman or Goku and a lot of this centers on the lives of these 2 characters in their respective series. Those who are die-hard fans of Superman and Marvel comics would say that Akira Toriyama drew his inspiration for Goku's character from Superman. I personally prefer Goku's character compared to Superman for reasons I will explain below. We will take a look at Goku's quintessential predisposition in favour of testing out his strength with other villains and heroes via fights in the Dragon Ball franchise - something which has earned him more criticism for being a very violent man in the eyes of the superman fans. We have to look at the key differences between both of these characters to understand why they are the way they are from a cultural standpoint as well as in certain key areas that fans of Superman tend to miss out about Goku and the DBZ world in general. I would like to bring out those differences here - 

i) Western individuality (Superman) vs Eastern group-centered mindset (Goku):
     
      While most people tend to get fixated on the alien origins of both Superman - a Kryptonian and Goku - Sayan who moved to earth as babies to live and start their lives here in their respective fictional universes. Superman is about this 1 individual from another planet who stands out among a world of mortals with limited strength where crime thrives which sets the stage for Superman to fight crime and earn a name and a title for himself as a superhero using his otherworldly powers while working as a journalist and living the American dream - you heard it right, Superman is about Western Individualism where the individual takes all the credit through hard work - something that is further reflected in Superman's unlimited, boundless strength. We do not see Superman getting married to his love interest or having children with her or how these relationships made him stronger in conflicts with the forces of evil because Superman's strength is infinite and is already innate - a reflection of the American dream that is centered on self and successes of self whereas in Goku's universe, Goku lives out his life as a regular human although he is from another planet, falls in love with a girl called Chichi and has his own family with Gohan and Goten as his boys and how this along with all the bonds that he shared with earthlings like Bulma and the Z-warriors went on to be his strength even when he found himself in the most desperate situations when the odds were stacked against him in his fights against villains who had a clear edge against Goku in battle. In all of these fights, we see Goku drawing strength from the love that he had for his family and friends and how badly he did not want to see them destroyed by powers that were way stronger than him, so Goku, unlike Superman's American individuality with self being most powerful and harnessing the power of self to achieve dreams and success, reflects an Eastern Asian mindset where self does not take all the credit but success in life is something that is a summation of various factors beyond self like one's family's involvement and how good friends also play in a role in this. For me as an Indian, Goku grew on me better than Superman ever did, perhaps some from the US and Europe would prefer Superman to Goku because of their cultural proclivities towards individualism but for me, it is Goku who takes the cake and I can relate to Goku's character better than Superman's character.

ii) Alien Superhero in Earth vs an alien with extraordinary powers who always sees himself as a normal Earthling:

     This is yet another key difference between Superman and Goku because while both are imaginary characters who show themselves as good individuals who fight to uphold justice and protect the weak in their respective universes. Goku never took the spotlight the way Superman does. Even in the Cell games, Goku let Mr. Satan take on Cell before him which kind of shows his humility and modesty, even when the other Z-fighters mocked Mr.Satan for his strength, Goku watches on and does not belittle anyone whereas Superman always announces his arrival on the scene of the crime with a diamond shaped beam of light that lights up the night sky with an S inside it. Of course, I can understand that the beam is not there to boast of Superman's arrival as his fans would like to point out, rather to let the oppressed person know that help is on the way which brings us to the second crucial difference between Superman and Goku - that the former is a superhero with his own logo and the latter assumes the status of a normal human who helps out people in his life with his powers. Even Gohan, Goku's son plays the role of the great Sayaman who fights crime when Goku was not on Earth in the series but Goku never assumes the role of a superhero in the series. This is another positive takeaway about Goku's personality - humility and modesty, someone who is like a friend from your neighbourhood whom you can hang out with who is watching your back and those of others in trouble unlike a heady, branded individual who shows himself as someone who stoops down to help downtrodden earthlings in trouble, although he is on the side of good. Fans of Superman can use this as an argument in defense of superman because this is basically why Superman never fought with anyone, unless when it was absolutely necessary whereas this was not the case with Goku- something for which we will see a couple of reasons below

iii) Self-sufficient individuality vs hard work:

    Superman represents Western individuality in all its self-sufficiency implying that since he already possessed limitless powers, he only used them when necessary - when fighting crime which again ties up with his profile as a superhero unlike Goku. Goku on the other hand, in the DBZ franchise shows potential to grow in strength not just through training under very rigorous conditions but also in real time when he fights evil adversaries who were several times stronger than him, times when his memories of the time that he spent with his family and friends resurface and give him a boost that pushes  him over the edge and he eventually finds himself on the cusp of a new transformation as a Sayan. This nature of Goku, Vegeta and the Z-fighters  basically shows that nothing in life is easily obtained and that we will never be able to truly appreciate anything we get easily in life without having done anything for it - something that emphasises and ennobles work and effort as virtues in life and that work is the only acceptable way to find success. This is part of the reason why both Goku and his friends fight with each other to test out their strength - something that is not just seen in Goku and Vegeta as Sayans but also in the other Z-fighters.

iv) Superhero vs Martial artist:

         While superman fans would point out that Superman also specialises in a couple of Kryptonian martial arts - these are mostly related to the mind without any physical manifestations of combat like flashy kicks, arm bars, throws, ki-blasts etc. Basically superman's skills in those martial arts imply that nobody can control his mind, while Superman's physical fighting techniques involve a mix of Western boxing and wrestling, at least as Superman's Jewish creators from the 1930's envisaged him to use. Superman's powers are represented as such - individual powers related to certain specific areas of his physical body - manifestations of his physical strength like his X-ray vision, laser eye-beams, ability to fly, mental strength and overall physical strength whereas Goku besides portraying himself as a human among humans, wears a karate gi with a black belt and we see the same for Gohan and Goten as well as Kurillin and the other Z-fighters, even Vegeta's son Trunks from the regular timeline wears a green karate gi with what looks like an orange belt. Furthermore, we see widespread use of the term "ki" which is the Japanese equivalent for Chinese "chi" or the force of life flowing through specific channels and pressure points in the body that is regulated through breathing that improves strength and combat skills - an idea that is deeply rooted in Eastern combat systems and martial arts. Throughout DB, DBZ and the ensuing series, we see various kicks, hand-techniques, throws, arm locks etc. that are used in Karate and while Goku himself is trained in Karate by his grandpa Gohan who dies, Goku later travels and challenges various masters of martial arts while simultaneously being trained by people like Roshi, Popo and later King Kai and Whis which unlocks new transformations and levels of strength, also we see certain abilities like flying as a manifestation of ki manipulation unlike in Superman where flying is a separate power that Superman is endowed with. This explains why Goku and his friends are always fighting with each other as well as against villains who are insanely powerful as well as with friendly opponents - a martial artist would always use hardships to sharpen his skills and take on challenges by taking on new opponents both to avoid falling into stagnancy and losing his strength but also to become stronger through constant practice both through combat bouts as well as through personal training and meditation - this is why Goku always seeks out new opponents who are ever stronger to fight against - he wants to evaluate his own strength, grow stronger and also refine himself and his fighting techniques by taking on opponents with new fighting styles - anyone who has not had a grounding in Eastern martial art systems will see this mindset of Goku which is common among masters of Eastern martial arts as a channel of self-improvement and wrongly interpret it as violent as would most fans of Superman. 

v) Good vs evil as opposed to Good vs evil where good is reinforced by love: 

    Superman is a series wherein good is often portrayed as stronger than evil and evil ends up getting defeated, something that does not create suspense in the audience as much as Dragon Ball does this. The Dragon Ball series further adds an extra layer of love which reinforces the strength of good when good is confronted with overwhelming evil where evil usually appears to be stronger but good aided by love usually triumphs in the end. That is where Goku's family and friends play a crucial role in forming that ultimate, fail-safe impetus that pushes Goku beyond his limits whereas in Superman, you can be sure that Superman will win every time because of his infinite power something Superman fans will tell you is compensated by a quirky weakness of superman's 

vi) Kryptonite: 
  
      Superman's main weakness is when villains use a piece of his home planet - Krypton which when it exploded created small pieces called Kryptonites, If any of Superman's enemies did so much as slide this into his clothes or used this in some way, the radiactive rays emitted by the piece of Superman's home planet - the kryptonite would render his powers futile or weaken him, unless superman wears a lead suit. Goku has no such weaknesses unlike Superman, nor do Vegeta or any of the Sayans. This is a quirk about Superman that appears as a no-brainer. 

vii) My conclusion: 

              Sure, Superman might take the cake for infinite power compared to Goku in the eyes of Superman's fans but I can identify myself more with Goku based on his character alone, even without his imaginary powers. However leaving Goku and Superman aside as imaginary characters. For me as someone from India that is in Asia where everything is not merely about individuals and their successes in life but more value and emphasis is laid on family and friends and the roles that God and family play and have played in my life, I will never ascribe all greatness to myself as if I were a proud peacock that grew up on its own without anyone's aid or contribution. I would not be who I am, if it were not for my Lord Jesus Christ to whom I ascribe all glory, honour, power and praise and the Lord used my family as a means as well by which He has blessed me for which I am thankful. We all have so many things in life to be thankful for!, if everything is about only us, we would be in painful solitude!