There aren't many challengers who can say they've bested Goku in a fight. We've seen our super Saiyan face off against the best of the best, the creme de la creme of fighters across the galaxy but somehow, in Dragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle, the second movie in the Dragon Ball franchise, the movie's antagonist Lucifer, turns out to be a worthy opponent whose strength easily matches up to that of Goku's.
How could this be possible? Well, there are a few factors.
It's worth noting that Lucifer is the very first demon king in the Dragon Ball series. The narrator introduces him as the "darkest and most sinister liege of the Underworld". Don't let this dapper-demon Lord fool you, he is a lot more problematic than you think and when Goku takes Lucifer head on, he's unprepared for the challenge that he's up against. Even our young Saiyan has his limits at this point in the series.
Before his face off against Lucifer, in an effort to earn an apprenticeship with the great Master Roshi, Goku (and Krillin) are given tests of strength and resilience. They're both tasked with heading to the gloomy and ominous Devil's Hand, the lair of our movie's villain, and retrieving the legendary Sleeping Princess for Master Roshi.
Since he was sent to Devil's Hand in search of a Sleeping Princess with no warning of the overseeing Lord, his army of demons, or their possession of Bulma, it is clear that Goku's run in with Lucifer catches him off-guard leaving him without a plan for action. Lucifer gains the upper hand and Goku is assaulted by his entire army of monsters, leaving him limp and powerless. Goku, along with Yamcha, Oolong, Launch and Puar, who arrived at Devil's Hand on their own missions, are then held captive and bound in a wall made of stone.
Luckily for our crew, a full moon appears and Goku transforms into his Great Monkey form,
He destroys the wall, wreaking havoc and destruction, freeing himself and the gang. After his tail is chopped off,
Our heroes arrive mere moments before Lucifer executes his plan of bringing eternal darkness to the World, which of course is inspired by nothing more than finding the Sun to be a bit bothersome. They try their luck at hand-to-hand combat but, it's no use, Lucifer is able to fight both Goku and Krillin with ease, swatting away their punches with minimal effort. When it seems like all hope is lost and our assailant succeeds at triggering his deadly laser cannon, Goku focuses his attention on the cannon instead. He blasts it with a Kamehameha wave veering it off course and the energy blast hits Lucifer, killing him. I guess those sunglasses didn't come in handy after all.
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