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But Can He Beat Goku?
Confirmed 43,375
Part of a series on Son Goku. [View Related Entries]
![tali @cavareez MY MOM BEAT CANCER!!!! 16:24 15/07/2022. Twitter for iPhone 3,038 Retweets 403 Quote Tweets 73.2K Likes 22 Kushy @Kushyv2.23m Replying to @cavareez She can't beat goku tho 27 ←]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/626/386/d03.jpg "DBZ fans 🤷🏻♂️")
But Can He Beat Goku?
Part of a series on Son Goku. [View Related Entries]
About
But Can He Beat Goku refers to a catchphrase that has been used by some fans of the anime/manga series Dragon Ball to represent the strength of the main character Son Goku, asking if a given subject could beat him in a fight. It's also used as exploitable, for example, changing a character's dialogue to ask the question. The earliest known use of the phrase is a 2018 meme on 9GAG.
Origin
It is unknown when the phrase was first used online. The earliest recorded usage was on June 14th, 2018 by 9GAG[1] user stoney_stonface in which the user expressed their dismay at how Dragon Ball fans will often proclaim the strength of series 'main character Goku when discussing the strength of characters from other franchises.
Spread
On March 8th, 2021, an Average Fan vs. Average Enjoyer meme featuring the catchphrase was posted to iFunny [2] by casualfan, and garnered over 420 smiles in 2 years (shown below, left). On August 14th, 2021, Twitter[3][4] user @SupaChronicles posted a screenshot from an article stating that a St. Louis priest, Father Johnathan Samson, admitted that Goku would beat Jesus in a fight (shown below, right). The tweet received over 130 likes and 11 retweets in two years.
On March 27th, 2022, a meme mocking Goku fans was posted on FunnyJunk [5] by fappafappafap and received over 25 thumbs up in a year (shown below, left). On July 29th, 2022, Redditor DerekSH230307 posted a reaction image of Goku with the iconic catchphrase on r/DeathBattleMatchups[6] and garnered over 145 points in 11 months (shown below, right).
On October 17th, 2022, Death Battle host Boomstick referenced the meme in the "SpongeBob VS Aquaman" episode on YouTube,[7] claiming that SpongeBob SquarePants could beat Goku (shown below).
Various Examples
![But Can He Beat Goku Tho? [TRAP CARD ] S Use this card when someone talks about their favorite character and you don't know s--- about the anime BAZAART](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/626/367/d48.jpg "Trap Card")
![tali @cavareez MY MOM BEAT CANCER!!!! 16:24 15/07/2022. Twitter for iPhone 3,038 Retweets 403 Quote Tweets 73.2K Likes 22 Kushy @Kushyv2.23m Replying to @cavareez She can't beat goku tho 27 ←]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/002/626/386/d03.jpg "DBZ fans 🤷🏻♂️")
Search Interest
External References
[1] 9gag – Goku vs thanos
[2] iFunny – Average story and character development lover Average Can he beat Goku, tho questioner
[3] Twitter – He took Can he beat Goku though? to next level! 😳 No disrespect intended for anyone 🙏
[4] hard-drive.net – Even Priest Has to Admit Goku Could Beat Jesus
[5] FunnyJunk – but can he beat goku tho
[6] r/DeathBattleMatchups – Give me a character and I’ll respond with can they beat Goku tho and you have to say yes or no
[7] YouTube – SpongeBob VS Aquaman
![But Can He Beat Goku Tho? [TRAP CARD ] S Use this card when someone talks about their favorite character and you don't know s--- about the anime BAZAART](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/626/367/d48.jpg "Trap Card")
Top Comments
Z_2
Jul 21, 2023 at 07:17PM EDT
Pikazilla
Jul 23, 2023 at 08:43AM EDT