Summary
EveryKamen Rideris often a protagonist on a mission to save the world against impending doom, with their one-man task rather tricky compared to a team ofPower Rangerswho can use the power of friendship and their Zords to protect Earth. This distinction is intended, however, as unlike Power Rangersand even their Super Sentai counterparts, a Kamen Rider’s story usually centers around a person coming out of adversity as a better individual.
With more than 35 series under theKamen Riderslate, this journey to overcome hardship has resulted in Kamen Rider protagonists having alternate forms, super forms, and even final forms to demonstrate their character’s growth. However, which among Kamen Rider protagonists proves to be much stronger than their other series counterparts?
Updated on July 29, 2025 by Rhenn Taguiam:With Kamen Rider Gavv being quite the perfectKamen Riderseries for sweet-tooths with its snack-themed premise, fans of the tokusatsu franchise might be wondering how this gummy-themed main Rider would fare against the rest of the franchise’s heavy-hitters. WhileGavvis still far from revealing the eponymous Kamen Rider’s final form, other Kamen Riders in the series are already positioning themselves as the most powerful among the bunch. Some contenders for the title include a sentient AI who practically controls machines, one that has complete control over magnetism, and even a being more powerful than one that generates entire black holes.
Weakness
Emotional Instability, Unpredictable Programming
When tragedy strikes Aruto Hiden in the events ofKamen Rider Zero-One, he seeks revenge against the MetsubouJinrai.net using the Ark-One Progrisekey in the exclusive Ark Driver-Zero. This allowsthe villainous super-intelligenceArk to tap into Aruto’s full potential as its host, turning this form into a more powerful corrupted version of the Zero-One armor. Interestingly enough, this is also considered the final form of Ark-Zero, which is Ark outside cyberspace.
Despite technically being less powerful than Zero-Two and Horobi Ark Scorpion,Kamen Rider Ark-Onehas interesting abilities that may counter other Kamen Riders. For instance, Ark-One can use malicious energy shockwaves to disable other Riders and use Ark’s advanced AI capabilities to affect AI-based technology - spelling trouble for Kamen Riders who rely on tech to function. However, Ark-One does possess major weaknesses - notably, Aruto’s emotional instability making him harder to control, and unpredictable programming that Ark cannot anticipate.
Memory Loss, Power Decrease
When Ikki Igarashi and Vice use the Side N and S of the Giffard Rex Vistamp into the Revice Driver, they each transform into the “Ultimate” versions of their main Rider forms. This resultingKamen Rider Ultimate Revi and Viceform is even much stronger than their eponymous fused Kamen Rider Revice mode. Unfortunately, Ikki’s fights as Kamen Rider Revi means slowly losing his memories of Vice, and “fighting” without Vice will significantly diminish his abilities.
Such a caveat can be quite the disadvantage, considering how powerful Ultimate Revi and Vice are. Both of their forms represent magnetism itself, with both Riders capable of switching between their poles to manipulate energy in different ways. The duo can create magnetic barriers to shield themselves from attacks or even repel each other to gain bursts of speed and amplify their attack power. They may even use the Vistamp to create clones of themselves. Their only “limitation” here would be their control of just one aspect of the universe’s fundamental forces, making them rather weak compared to other reality manipulators.
General Lack of Strength, Time Travel
WhenKamen Rider Doubleaccesses thisCycloneJokerXtremeform, they essentially gain access to the infinite knowledge of the true Gaia Memory - revealed to be Earth’s consciousness itself. While not confirmed to have any special powers about other Gaia Memories, the Xtreme mode specializes in speed and memory retrieval. Its affinity with the wind means CycloneJokerXtreme has one of the best top speeds among Riders, and Philip’s previous access to the true Gaia Memory means the Xtreme form can near-instantaneously access any information from the past and the future and use it to help him in combat. Depending on how much of this information he can access, the Xtreme mode could theoretically grab data about other Kamen Riders to figure out how to defeat them. This could be outmatched by Kamen Riders Ark-One, Zero-Three or even Zein - all of which have a foundation built on artificial intelligence. Moreover, despite this form’s speed, its strength isn’t a dominating factor, as its closest rival - Kamen Rider Eternal - seems to only be able to level cities. Moreover, the form isn’t seen to have any capabilities of stopping time, potentially leaving it vulnerable to temporal effects.
Aggression, Overpowering his Regeneration
Fans ofDragon Ballare familiar with the “Cooler Moment”- describing how a formidable threat like Frieza is made even more foreboding at the arrival of his elder brother Cooler who wanted to defeat the same people who killed his brother. InKamen Rider Build, this came in the form ofKamen Rider Killbus- the supposed elder brother of Evolto from the Blood Tribe. Hellbent on universal destruction, Killbus traveled to Earth after realizing that Evolto had stolen the Pandora’s Box.
Despite being quite the underwhelming villain, Killbus was positioned to be an overwhelming threat: he’s supposed to be more powerful than the black hole-creating Evolto, and seems to be capable of consuming entire planets. He can infuse his genes into objects to control them, mimic any humanoid, turn his body into liquid, and even create his own Fullbottles. The only way he’s defeated is through the fusion of Build’s Banjo and Evolto himself and overwhelming his regenerative capabilities. While much of his powerset isn’t revealed in the film, the mere implication of having bested Evolt for quite some time meant Killbus is at least a galaxy-level threat. It only took overpowering his regenerative capabilities to truly kill him - a feat that could be difficult to pull off should another Rider have to face Killbus while the latter possesses his own army and would prefer using strategy instead of mere aggression.
Nowhere near the physical capabilities to maximize his skillset
Originally introduced as an audience member of the Desire Grand Prix, Ziin eventually reveals himself as one of Ace’s Supporters - mostly due to how he’s looking forward to Ace maintaining his status as the “undefeated” champion of the game. As a Supporter, Ziin has a limited degree of reality manipulation with his Design Ability. Upon the revelation that he’s come from the future, Ziin has some degree of hindsight on events that will happen to him and others, although he hasn’t used these abilities to their fullest.
Soon, Ziin is revealed to possess a Laser Raise Riser and transform intoKamen Rider Ziin.In this form, Ziin is able to manipulate gravity - specifically the vectors of energy and matter. With this ability, Ziin can technically manipulate the gravity around himself and cause feats such as being able to walk on walls. However, a more interesting application of this ability is to change the direction and trajectory of attacks, technically making him capable of auto-dodging hits. The physical nature of his ability limits his capabilities against more powerful Riders.
The Manifestation Of A Force Of Destruction
First Appearance
Kamen Rider Saber: The Phoenix Swordsman and the Book of Ruin
Isaac
Powerset
Master Logos Title, Almighty Book Fragment, Clairvoyance, Teleportation, Energy Manipulation, Slowed Aging
Ankouken Kurayami, Strong-Willed Wonder Ride Book Users
Originally introduced as the hooded Master Logosin charge of protecting humanityand the Almighty Book from the Megid, Isaac witnessing humanity’s perpetual conflicts had made him cynical - wanting to obtain the full Almighty Book to destroy the world and reshape a new one in his image. Isaac’s manipulative nature had led to many of the events - and tragedies - inKamen Rider Saber, all designed for him to meet his goals.
When he finally receives the Omni Force Wonder Ride Book, he transforms intoKamen Rider Solomon. This form adds even more abilities to Isaac’s powersets of clairvoyance, teleportation, and energy manipulation. As the manifestation of all Wonder Ride Books, Kamen Rider Solomon can possess and even command the bodies of Wonder Ride Holders to do his bidding. Not only that, but such is his destructive power that he can reduce cities to rubble when uninterrupted. Despite his power, however, Kamen Rider Solomon can be sealed by the Ankouken Kurayami, revealing a large flaw in his powerset.
Paradoxical Interaction
While it’s implied thatAce Ukiyo has had many forms throughout the Desire Grand Prixiterations, the Future Ace is among the more cynical and pessimistic versions. Having realized that humanity cannot be trusted with their own destiny, he decides to travel in the past to take control. Taking the form of a goldenKamen Rider Doom Geats, Future Ace possesses all his Present Self’s powers and then some - such as being able to create pocket dimensions and even bind other Gods of Genesis with his powers. Despite his powerset, however, Doom Geats has a glaring flaw by virtue of his timeline.
Although Kamen Rider Doom Geats doesn’t technically have a weakness, this Future Ace’s existence in the future and willingness to interact with his Present Self is indicative of a paradoxical interaction. It’s hinted in Future Ace’s origins that he hasn’t encountered himself as his Present Self. This means Future Ace’s forced interaction with Present Ace opens an undetermined path for the latter to have a different future - technically opening up the possibility of defeating him.
Affects in-game only
Who better to possess the powers of the strongest Bug Buster inKamen Rider Ex-Aidthan its creator? Compared to the other Bug Busters, Dan Masamune reserved the best tech for his usage, as his transformation intoKamen Rider Cronuspractically gives him control over time. This makes him powerful enough to defeat all other Riders save for Ex-Aid’s plot armor, courtesy of the Muteki Gamer form.
Sans Ex-Aid’s protagonist powersin the tokusatsu show, Kamen Rider Cronus’s strength only applies within fights in Game Areas, as his temporal manipulation only affects these areas. Destroying the clock that appears behind him also cancels out his temporal abilities.
Mostly used for Purification
The setting ofKamen Rider Buildis in a version of Japan divided by the impenetrable Sky Wall, with the physicist Sento Kiryu and prison escapee Ryuga Banjo recruited by the government to investigate its origins as well as uncover the mystery of the elusive Pandora Box. As Kamen Riders Build, Kiryu combines Fullbottles to achieve forms that possess multiple powers.
However, Kiryu can use all the abilities of the main Fullbottles in the series when he transforms intoKamen Rider Genius Build. While not necessarily OP in scope, this final form highlights Kiryu’s genius-level intellect as he can formulate strategies and countermeasures against foes with a Fullbottle ready to execute them. Although one can argue that Genius couldn’t defeatBuild’s final villain, just the fact that Genius can contend against him means the form is at base capable of fighting otherworldly threats.
Genius Fullbottle can stop Gene Liquification
The story ofKamen Rider Buildeventually unravels its final villain, Evolto, an alien from Planet Blood whose use of Pandora’s Box allows his Blood Tribe to consume worlds for their energy. By the time it’s revealed that Evol was behind most ofBuild’s major events, it’s already too late: he’s already becomeKamen Rider Evol, with stages that also evolve his powersets. However, Evol is powerful even pre-transformation, as he already possesses superhuman physiology, some degree of matter manipulation, teleportation, and even gene liquefication to ensure his survival.
While Evol has a second final form with Cross-Zevol and an upcoming extra final form inOutsidersvia Evol X, Kamen Rider Evol is best known for its Black Hole phase. This “actualized” appearance of Evol is supposedly powerful enough to wipe humankind but refuses to do so out of his amusement. At this point, Kamen Rider Evol goes full cosmic horror, as he can manipulate actual black holes that can eradicate his enemies. Genius Build wasn’t powerful enough to defeat this form of Evol, requiring the support of the other Riders and a few MacGuffins to erase Evol from existence.
