Both the Dragon Ball and Attack on Titan manga/anime franchises prominently feature towering behemoths capable of trampling and devouring anything in their path, both boasting immense destructive potential. True to its title, Attack on Titan has an entire line of ravenous Titans of varying sizes and strength that devastate entire fantasy kingdoms, with the Founding or Progenitor Titan the strongest of them all. Conversely, Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball franchise has its Saiyan characters capable of transforming into a Great Ape to unleash the full breadth of their explosive powers.
With Attack on Titan's final season in full swing, as well as a new Dragon Ball Super anime film is set to debut in 2022, here's a quick comparison of who would triumph in a hypothetical fight -- Attack on Titan's Founding Titan or a Great Ape from Dragon Ball.
The Powers and Weaknesses of Attack on Titan's Founding Titan
As its name would suggest, the Founding Titan is the oldest Titan of them all and has grown considerably more powerful than its counterparts over time. Although not as tall as the Colossal Titan or possessing as much raw strength, the Founding Titan can maintain their form longer, as the Colossal Titan moves noticeably slower and burns through the energy required for the transformation at an accelerated rate.
The Founding Titan's greatest strength is their impressive telepathic abilities, able to command the other Titans while using telepathy to distort the memories and perception of its targets. This telepathy also gives the Founding Titan a heightened awareness, able to view multiple timelines at once, although this comes at the risk of the Titan being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of sensory input. All Titans' weak point is at the nape of the neck where their human controller rests.
The Powers and Weaknesses of Dragon Ball's Great Ape
Great Apes have been a fixture within the Dragon Ball franchise since the original series as Goku uncontrollably transformed after gazing directly into a full moon. Dragon Ball Z revealed this as a trait of all Saiyans retaining their tails, with Vegeta initiating the change by creating an artificial moon with an energy ball replicating its lunar light. The transformation is undone whenever the lunar light is extinguished or if the tail itself is removed from the Great Ape.
Great Apes were originally presented as uncontrollable in their transformed state, but Vegeta demonstrated that completely controlling the form was certainly possible with practice and power. While eventually rendered non-canon, the sequel series Dragon Ball GT revealed that a Super Saiyan transforming into a Great Ape would achieve a golden version with even more raw power, as Golden Great Ape Goku was able to knock around Super Baby, who was previously established as being far stronger than even a Super Saiyan 3.
DBZ's Great Ape Vs. AoT's Founding Titan: Who's Stronger and Who Wins?
Even just at face value, a base Great Ape is larger, faster and stronger than the Founding Titan. Instead, the biggest obstacle would be getting past the Founding Titan's telepathic tampering and a potential army of lesser Titans that the Founding Titan could command to fight on their behalf. This gives the advantage to the Founding Titan over a mindless, uncontrollable Great Ape that would be more susceptible to telepathic attack.
However, a Great Ape that's in control of their full faculties, capable of still unleashing their signature attacks and possessing their keen tactical mind, would have a clear advantage even against a small number of Titans also under the Founding Titan's command. Outmaneuvering opponents and blasting them in their weak points with energy attacks, the Great Ape is simply a much more agile and dangerous opponent. And if the Great Ape in question is a Golden Great Ape, this fight is over before it even began in the Great Ape's favor.
