One of the most bizarre battles in Dragon Ball Z was between Gotenks and Super Buu, but who would have won if Gotenks’ fusion hadn’t worn off? The battle between the composite warrior Gotenks and the upgraded form of Majin Buu, colloquially known as Super Buu, after Evil Buu consumes his more innocent counterpart is one of the strangest fights in Dragon Ball Z. While Gotenks’ patently bizarre special attacks dominate the first half of the fight, Gotenks surprises Buu by transforming into a Super Saiyan 3, resulting in a genuine battle for the fate of the universe that is cut short by the Fusion Dance combining Trunks and Goten wearing off before Gotenks can deliver the final blow. This raises the question of whether Gotenks was actually stronger than Super Buu or if the supervillain had the upper hand all along.
Super Buu is confronted by Gohan shortly after Gotenks’ fusion wears off after the young Saiyan recently received the ultimate power boost from Elder Kai. Buu reveals to Gohan that he was aware all along that Gohan had survived his initial battle against Buu’s previous battle, sensing Gohan steadily growing in power as the Elder Kai performed the admittedly strange ritual to awaken Gohan’s latent potential. Buu claimed he was simply biding his time by amusing Gotenks and prolonging their fight while he awaited Gohan’s ascension and returned to Earth from the Supreme Kai’s world. Buu, on the other hand, may not be telling the whole truth about the circumstances of his fight with Gotenks.
While Buu clearly underestimated Gotenks for much of the battle, there were several instances where the fused fighter appeared to inflict genuine damage on Buu over the course of the battle. Buu was on the ropes several times, from the Super Ghost Kamikaze Attack damaging Buu to Gotenks and Piccolo nearly incinerating every bit of Buu in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber before Buu managed to reform as good as new. Furthermore, when Gotenks reached Super Saiyan 3, Buu appeared legitimately concerned as Gotenks began powering up a massive Kamehameha Wave to finally destroy him – only for Gotenks to run out of energy and transform back to normal moments before his fusion wore off.
Gotenks certainly got some good shots in on Buu, and the villain may have been on the verge of paying the ultimate price for not taking the composite warrior more seriously. But the truth is that Buu wasn’t taking the fight seriously for the majority of the time. Buu was clearly bored by Gotenks’ childish antics, and it wasn’t until Gotenks became Super Saiyan 3 that he began genuinely engaging his opponent. If Buu had taken the fight seriously from the start, the pink villain could have proven to be more than a match for Gotenks, even with the hero transformed as a Super Saiyan 3 and not allowing Gotenks to inflict those successful attacks in the first place.
Gotenks is without a doubt one of the most powerful fighters in the Dragon Ball franchise and one of only two warriors to achieve Super Saiyan 3. However, it wasn’t until the very end of Buu’s battle against Gotenks that the villain appeared to be under duress, shrugging off Gotenks’ previous attacks. Gotenks hasn’t appeared in a major role since his epic battle with Super Buu, which was quickly outwitted by the villain, and the fused warrior may simply not have had what it took to defeat Buu. Gohan truly saved the day from Buu, with not even Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks able to win the fight once Buu became serious.
