I think people are just upset that the whole Krillin/Tien debate has officially been ended by Toriyama, despite that fact that
Toriyama already stated that Krillin was the strongest Earthling in the past already, and now people just can't accept it and are basically trying to re-write story or pass of theories as facts.
Chapter: 439 (DBZ 245), P3.2-3
Context: as Kuririn goes up against Punter
Marron: “That person dad’s fighting is big and looks strong…I wonder if he’ll be alright?...”
Yamcha: “It’s fine, fine! Someone like that doesn’t matter at all! Your father is the strongest in the world! Among Earthlings…”
My two cents
Kaboom wrote:A straightforward statement from the manga says Kuririn's the strongest Earthling, the guides and new promotional material all say Kuririn's the strongest Earthling, and even the author says says Kuririn's the strongest Earthling. The same things all treat and group Tenshinhan as an Earthling too. Nothing exists to contradict any of them. Therefore Kuririn is stronger than Tenshinhan. Period.
The last time they were directly and tangibly compared was during the Saiyan arc, and even then their battle powers were almost equal, with Kuririn already rapidly closing the previously large gap between them. The way things were going, he was already on-track to surpass Tenshinhan even BEFORE receiving a massive, dormant power-unlocking boost from the Grand Elder of Namek.
Tenshinhan's oh-so-impressive "feats" during the Cell and Boo arcs involved the Kikoho, an incredibly potent attack much stronger than Ten himself. So if you want to claim that they somehow indicate that he's stronger than Kuririn, you'd have to prove that Kuririn couldn't do the same things if he used the Kikoho as well, which is impossible.
Since nothing in the manga goes against it, there's also no good reason to doubt the official 75,000 number for Kuririn when he fought Freeza, beyond simply not WANTING to think he's that strong, because one WANTS him to be weaker to support the baseless idea that Tenshinhan surpassed him.
There is ZERO worthwhile reason to fly in the face of the manga, guides, and author, and insist that Tenshinhan somehow must be stronger than Kuririn. There's only shallow surface-level judgment ("The tall and buff guy who kept training MUST be stronger than the short guy who retired!"), or just plain ol' fashioned fanboyism for Tenshinhan.
If anyone wants to keep pointlessly bellyaching about it and display their willful ignorance for everyone to see, then make a new thread in the in-universe section. Because not only is it an incredibly vapid waste of time, it's also pretty off-topic for a thread about the new movie.
Thank you so bloody much
Kaboom.
It couldn't have been worded any better.