Who is stronger Mario or Goku?

When looking at base physical capabilities, Goku inarguably possesses far greater strength, speed, durability, and destructive capacity than Mario by an astronomical difference.

Goku at the beginning of Dragon Ball Z already demonstrated a striking strength of over 100 tons and the ability to move faster than lightning. His current Super Saiyan Blue form amplifies his base state by a factor of at least 10,000 times according to official multipliers. This means Goku can easily lift millions of tons and has combat speeds massively faster than light.

Meanwhile, base Mario struggles with lifting small boulders or toppling wooden crates. He runs at normal human speeds without any power-ups. Even when Mario does gain special enhancements like the Mega Mushroom that turns him into a giant, he does not compare anywhere near Goku‘s universe-destroying levels of power.

Destructive Capacity and Durability

By the Namek Saga, Goku as a Super Saiyan could already destroy planets with his energy blasts. In current Dragon Ball Super, Goku possesses universe-busting destructive capacity that allows him to obliterate stars and tear holes in space-time.

Mario‘s best destructive feats come from power stars that at most can destroy buildings and armored tanks. He uses hammer strikes, fireballs, and other special attacks that do not come close to matching Goku‘s exponentially higher attack potency. The durability difference is even more extreme – Goku can tank hits from universal foes while Mario gets injured by basic bricks and shells.

Speed

Goku exceeded the speed of light as early as the Frieza Saga. He can amplify his speed hundreds of millions times over with Super Saiyan transformations. This allows Goku to react in microseconds and traverse galaxies in seconds. Mario runs at normal human speeds and has no comparable feats without outside power-ups.

While Mario is woefully outmatched in physical stats, he does gain a variety of special powers, equipment, and power-ups that enable him to do things Goku cannot. This helps balance the playing field and gives Mario a small chance, even if Goku still maintains a massive advantage.

Power-Ups & Equipment

With a Fire Flower, Mario can shoot flaming projectiles that can one-shot most enemies. The Cape Feather allows Mario to fly at high speeds. The Metal Cap turns Mario‘s body into metal that can withstand heat and resists damage. And the infamous Super Star grants Mario temporary invincibility where he tears through everything in his path unharmed.

Mario also wields useful equipment like a water-powered jet nozzle and a magical paintbrush that can bring objects to life. He utilizes power-ups together for unique combinations Goku has no counter to, like flying at high speeds while throwing dozens of fireballs.

Versatility

Most importantly, Mario has faced an incredibly diverse range of enemies and challenges over 100+ games. This gives Mario vast experience countering all sorts of wild abilities – teleportation, cloning, invisibility, possession, transmutation, timeline manipulation, and more.

Mario always emerges triumphant through a combination of power-ups, skill, and determination. So while he can‘t match Goku‘s speed or strength, Mario does have an answer for almost anything Goku could throw at him to gain an advantage somehow.

At the end of the day, Mario‘s bag of tricks still can‘t overcome Goku‘s monumental advantages in physical power. Goku‘s mastery of ki manipulation provides all sorts of abilities Mario has no counter to as well, like flight, barrier creation, telekinesis, elemental attacks, after-image moves, and simple scale recreation if needed.

Goku can also draw out his full power in short bursts to utilize massive stat increases for vital attacks. This would allow Goku to blitz Mario before he can react and utilize any defensive items. And Goku has plenty of experience overcoming gimmicky abilities and transformations thanks to battling gods and demons for years.

While Mario will never give up and has ways to catch Goku off-guard, the difference in speed, power, and reaction time is simply too much. Goku at full power can defeat Mario decisively within seconds if bloodlusted. Mario deserves respect for his perseverance and techniques that challenge far stronger foes. But versus Goku – Mario is simply outmatched.