Power Scaling is Broken And it Should Be
Let’s settle this once and for all: you cannot compare Goku, Superman, and Saitama on the same power scale. And not because they’re too strong. It’s because power scaling is inherently nonsense — glorious, chaotic, fandom-fueled nonsense — and I, for one, am here for it.
Listen, Goku literally screams himself into new levels of existence. Superman’s power depends on whether he’s in a Golden Age comic, a Zack Snyder film, or a Cartoon Network crossover. And Saitama? He’s a bald metaphor for burnout and anime absurdity. Comparing them is like asking who would win: a black hole or a middle school science fair volcano. Depends on the writer, baby.
We love talking power levels. But the moment you bring in Galactus, devourer of worlds, you realize none of this is meant to add up. Galactus gets bodied by a teenager with a funky gun in one storyline and eats stars like Skittles in another. That’s the scale we’re working with — the kind where the plot wins, not the power.
Want to make things messier? Let’s throw in Spawn, whose necroplasm powers are on a timer. He’s technically God-tier… but only until he runs out of green goo. Doctor Manhattan can see all of time, but gets vaporized by plot necessity. Omni-Man is terrifying — until his son unlocks the anime part of his DNA. And don’t bring up Asta, because anti-magic should break half these universes in half.
Power levels are like Pokémon types across games: the matchups never make sense, but you’re still gonna argue about them for hours. That’s because every universe has its own logic. In anime, power is about growth — the grind, the scream, the flashback mid-battle. In Western comics, it’s often mythic: inherited destiny, god-tier lineage, or cosmic accidents. Neither is wrong. Both are vibe.
The truth is, power scaling isn’t about figuring out who’d win. It’s about flexing your fandom knowledge. It’s about saying, “Actually, Sailor Moon could solo the Justice League and heal their trauma.” It’s about throwing Kirby into a God-tier debate and watching the room panic.
Because deep down, we know that power isn’t the point. What matters is what that power means to the story. Superman chooses kindness. Saitama is miserable because nothing challenges him. Goku just wants to throw hands until the universe breaks. So next time someone tries to tier-list every fictional character ever, just smile and quote Stan Lee, "The person who'd win in a fight is the person that the scriptwriter wants to win!"
