Not too shockingly, the Dragon Ball franchise features some pretty iconic dragons. Collecting the seven mystical Dragon Balls leads to the epic arrival of an eternal dragon, capable of granting any wish the user desires. Over time, the Dragon Ball franchise has introduced numerous of these mythical creatures, each with differing looks and personalities. But which towers above the rest?
For this list, we will be ranking which dragons are the most memorable, awe-inspiring and iconic in the Dragon Ball universe, but without including their raw wish-granting abilities as a factor. It's all about coolness here.
8. Mr. Poko Poko (Dragon Ball Online)
Never heard of Mr. Poko Poko? For those who didn't play Dragon Ball Online, this enigmatic dragon created by the Dark Namekians might not have fallen under your radar. Mr. Poko Poko resembles Porunga, but unlike his iconic counterpart, this dragon has legs. Strangely, this makes him less intimidating and mystical, making him feel more grounded. He's a powerful threat, but a far cry from the other dragons.
7. Toronbo (Dragon Ball Super)
The most recent addition to the collection of eternal dragons, Toronbo hails from Planet Cereal and appears in Dragon Ball Super's manga. Toronbo resembles an amphibian, existing only to celebrate heroic champions of the peaceful Sugarian race. This dragon was created to grant generally beneficial wishes and never to be summoned for selfish intent.
So naturally, Toronbo is summoned by Granolah to become the strongest fighter in Universe 7. This is where his limits are tested, however, as this dragon can unlock a fighter's own greatest potential, but no further. On the other hand, Toronbo requires only two marble-sized Dragon Balls to be summoned as opposed to seven, so that's pretty cool at least.
6. Porunga (Dragon Ball Z)
Porunga is the second eternal dragon we encounter in Dragon Ball Z. However, he is also strangely underwhelming after the awe of his age and sheer size wears off. Porunga grants three wishes as opposed to the usual one, but they come with limits. While the Namekians removed those limitations after Frieza blew up planet Namek, they set a strange initial precedence. He's mighty and awe-inspiring, yet strangely less cool than his younger counterparts.
5. The Shadow Dragons (Dragon Ball GT)
The Shadow Dragons are a cool concept but executed awkwardly. In Dragon Ball GT, the Dragon Balls are filled with negative energy for each wish. The Shadow Dragons are the consequence of that energy building up over many years, each one being a wish manifested into a living entity. However, none of the individual Dragons are ever as interesting as the concept might indicate. Only Omega Shenron is the closest the Shadow Dragons come to a true, world-ending threat.
4. Super Shenron (Dragon Ball Super)
Super Shenron is basically regular Shenron, expanded to a cosmic horror scale. The dragon conjured by the Super Dragon Balls, Super Shenron is the size of an entire galaxy, maybe even larger. As he can conjure and materialize complete universes, there are no limits to his power. Arguably, only the power of Grand Zeno surpasses that of Super Shenron. It's an entity that boggles the mind in terms of sheer ability and scale. If only this serpent-like Dragon looked unique or distinct beyond radiating gold energy.
3. Ultimate Shenron (Dragon Ball GT)
Ultimate Shenron is summoned from the Black Star Dragon Balls in GT. In essence, this dragon is a pallet-altered Shenron, capable of granting wishes without any limitations. On the surface, a mere color swap sounds underwhelming, even if this Shenron carries an aura of malevolence.
However, summoning Ultimate Shenron comes with one massive downside: if you cannot collect the Black Star Dragon Balls -- which scatter across the whole galaxy, not just Earth -- in one year's time after making the wish, the planet will explode. That makes them and Ultimate Shenron highly dangerous and unbelievably cool weapons.
2. Black Smoke Shenron (Dragon Ball GT)
Black Smoke Shenron is one of the most unique dragons in the entire Dragon Ball continuity. When the Dragon Balls fill with overwhelming negative energy, they become corrupt, resulting in an entity that has ultimately only appeared once. This highly unique version of Shenron smokes cigars and exudes evil energy. He is the only Shenron who can summon wishes but simply chooses not to. Ultimately, for being so rare and wicked, he stands as one of the coolest and most interesting iterations of Shenron in Dragon Ball -- even if he is from GT.
1. Shenron
The original cannot really be beaten. Shenron isn't the strongest of the eternal dragons and is the one seen most often throughout the Dragon Ball franchise. That doesn't change the fact that whenever he appears, something incredible inevitably follows. When Shenron dies or is broken -- which happens when King Piccolo kills him, later when Piccolo is killed by Nappa, and again when Kami fuses with Piccolo -- a genuine sense of doom pervades throughout the world. It's as though without Shenron's presence, the Earth is immediately in a far bleaker place. Hope can only be extinguished when the most awe-inspiring dragon dies, a token of Shenron's incredible might.
