Future Cell

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"You fool! Don't you realize yet you're up against the perfect weapon?!"
Future Cell in "Save the World"

Future Cell (セル みらい, Seru Mirai; FUNimation "Cell"; Literally meaning "Cell Future") is an alternate timeline counterpart of Cell from the same time as Future Son Gohan and Future Trunks Brief. He is the ultimate creation of Future Doctor Gero and designed to have all the abilities of the greatest martial artists who have inhabited or visited Planet Earth. The result is a "perfect warrior" possessing numerous genetic traits and special abilities. It is worth noting that he is the only Red Ribbon Army Artificial Human to not have the Red Ribbon Army insignia on him at one point or another. It is also worth noting that he is one of the few Artificial Humans not directly created by Futurte Dr. Gero. The only others are Artificial Human No. 13, Artificial Human No. 14, Artificial Human No. 15, and possibly Artificial Human No. 8. Both Cell and No. 13's conceptions involved Doctor Gero's Super Computer.

Like each of the primary antagonists in Dragon Ball Z (with the exception of Vegeta), Future Cell was originally intended to be the final villain of the Dragon Ball manga.

Personality

Cell's personality changes drastically throughout the saga. He is unique among most villains of the series, being that he is quite sophisticated. As his evolution proceeds, he can be observed as having a more patient and calculating approach towards his goals. Because of his genetic composition from other warriors, he is able to psychologically manipulate those warriors and exploit their weaknesses to his advantage.

At first, Cell's desire to complete his evolution by absorbing both No. 17 and No. 18 was what fueled him. Upon reaching his final form, his eagerness to test the limits of his newfound power was what defined his character.

With each transformation, Cell's personality underwent a drastic change. Initially, Cell is completely single-minded in pursuit of his goals. Upon reaching his first transformation, he becomes far more brash and impulsive in his actions. Upon reaching perfection, Cell displays a number of traits shared by those whose cells he possesses; Piccolo's cunning, Vegeta's pride, Goku's laid-back disposition, Frieza's smugness, and the Saiyan lust for battle. Perhaps Cell's most distinguishable trait in this form is his uninhibited vanity which he shamelessly puts on display by launching the Cell Games, a "tournament" organized for the sole purpose of showing off his newfound power. It can also be seen during Cell's confrontation with Gohan when he affirms his "true purpose": the annihilation of anything he considers imperfect, a category in which he places everyone and everything but himself.

In the English manga, Cell is always referred to as an "it", while in the anime (and the Japanese versions of both) he is referred to as "he." He is likely described that way in the English manga to emphasize the fact that he is an artificial being.

Genetic composition and unique abilities

Cell is composed of cells from Son Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Freeza, and Cold. He also knows the informations about Nappa, Raditz, Son Gohan, Tenshinhan, Chaozu, Kuririn, Yamucha, and Future Trunks that were collected by Doctor Gero's insect tracking device and stocked in Doctor Gero's Super Computer. Cell is therefore able to use their attacks (ex. Kamehameha, Regeneration, etc.) His genetic composition is very much a part of his character. In his Imperfect Form, he is clever and calculating and single-minded about achieving his Perfect Form. In his Semi-Perfect Form, he is a little more arrogant. In his Perfect and Super Perfect forms, he is extremely arrogant, he becomes very smug and he believes that every other living creature is inferior to him, and is shown to be very polite unless he loses his temper. Upon meeting Piccolo for the first time in Gingertown, Cell tells Piccolo that the computer programmed some genetic traits to be more dominant than others. He bears a strong resemblance to Frieza in all of his forms such as his tail and the talon-like feet of his first form, in his perfect form his, face resembles Freeza's First Form.

Cell was designed to have the ability to absorb any biological mass by stabbing his victims with his tail. This process, called "bio-extraction," drains all the organic mass out of the target from the inside out. This attack increases Cell's power, the exact amount depending on the victim's power level. Cell was designed to absorb Dr. Gero's other androids (Android 17 and Android 18) whole, integrating them into his systems. Each time he absorbs an android, he evolves into a more powerful being, however he cannot absorb completely mechanical Androids such as Android 16.

Upon assimilating both Android 17 and Android 18, he gains the ability to asexually reproduce, creating blue, child-like versions of himself dubbed Cell Juniors.

Although Cell is not a Saiyan, he does have the ability to power up and create an aura that looks remarkably like a Super Saiyan's. This is most likely due to the cells of the Saiyans that compose his being.

Apparently, he may also be able to change his voice to one of his other forms at will, as Perfect Cell used his Imperfect Form's voice during his announcement of the Cell Games in "The Doomsday Broadcast" when explaining that he was the "creature from Nicky Town".

Forms

Baby Cell

Baby Cell from the main timeline floating within an incubator.

Baby Cell from the main timeline floated in Doctor Gero's Laboratory. In the main timeline, Baby Cell was killed by Trunks and Kuririn when they discovered the basement (which included some blueprints). In an alternative timeline, Future Cell was able to grow to full size, crack out of the incubator, turn from a larva into his Imperfect form, kill Future Trunks (therefore stealing his Time Machine), revert to his larva form, and travel back to the main timeline in order to absorb No. 17 and No. 18. In another alternate timeline, Imperfect Cell searched for the Androids until Future Trunks returned from the main timeline. He was then killed by Future Trunks.

Larva Cell

Larva Cell's Husk

This is Cell's second evolutionary stage. As a larva, he burrows deep into the ground where he remains in a purple egg shell for four years during which time he undergoes a slow, natural evolutionary process as he prepares to change into his imperfect form. Once ready, Cell emerges from the egg shell as a larva and then sheds a husk. This form's effectiveness in combat (if it has any) is never shown, although it is possible it has some level of defensive capabilities, and being a "perfect" being it would have some way of defending itself.

Imperfect Cell (First Form Cell)

Imperfect Cell's first appearance in Dragon Ball Z.

Imperfect Cell (不完全体 セル, Fukanzentai Seru), or First Form Cell (セル 第一 形態, Seru Daiichi Keitai), is Cell's mature form prior to his absorption of Androids 17 and 18.

Appearance

Unlike his larva form, Cell fully walks upright on two legs. His facial features have not yet fully developed, and he still retains an orifice-like mouth (which generally obscures four teeth, as revealed in "Silent Warrior"), rather than traditional human-like features seen in later forms. The two sections of his head shoot off in different directions, rather than nearly straight up, as in the next two forms. Cell is later shown using the power he absorbed from his victims by having an aura with the appearance of wailing souls. Cell has orange color parts near his abdominal area, the back of his head, and even his penis. He has two wings which are both green with black spots. He has a dark green and light green mix all over his exo-skeleton (including head, arms and legs). He has five fingers and three toe's just as similar and Frieza's (three fingers in the manga, but changed in the show like Dodoria and the Namekians), including his tail, but then has a stinger included at the end of his tail. He also has black sections as well near his abdominal area, in the middle between the two sections on his head, and even the black part of opposite side of his tail. He even has blue veins in both of his arms, legs, and even some in the upper body.

History

Imperfect Cell
Imperfect Cell absorbing a man.
Imperfect Cell fighting against Piccolo.
Imperfect Cell fighting against No. 16
Imperfect Cell absorbing No. 17 to achieve his Semi-Perfect form.

When Cell was first awakened in his time line, both Android 17 and Android 18 were not present, having already been taken out by Future Trunks (deactivated, actually, with a specially built remote control by Bulma, reminiscent of what Dr. Gero utilized to deactivate all his Androids had they displayed a demeanor of insubordination). In order to complete his evolution, he kills Future Trunks and steals his time machine, going back in time to the date set by Future Trunks in the "standard" time line when both Androids were still functional, sometime around four years prior to the Androids arrival. In order to fit into the machine, Cell had to revert back to an egg.

Once in the past, he hid underground for four years until he could grow back to his adult, humanoid self. After emerging in his imperfect form, Cell still feared that he didn't have the power he needed to forcibly absorb the androids. To increase his strength, his first actions were to exterminate several towns, absorbing the human inhabitants within. After completing his feeding on the humans in Ginger Town, Cell was confronted by Piccolo.

After a brief struggle where he was beaten around several times, he manages to absorb enough of Piccolo's power to make him stronger and destroys one of Piccolo's arms. Cell (now mistakenly confident in victory) explains who he is to Piccolo. After hearing the story of his creation and his plan, Piccolo reveals that he tricked Cell to give him the time he needed to regenerate his arm and allow him to continue fighting. Future Trunks and Kuririn then arrive at the scene. Future Trunks' presence in the past surprises Cell, as was the fact that Goku hadn't died of his heart disease and was still alive. Outnumbered, Cell quickly uses the Solar Flare to temporarily blind his opponents and escape.

Cell decided to use a hit-and-run strategy at this point, hiding from the Z Fighters while going from town to town absorbing humans and gaining the power he needs to be able to take on the Androids. Piccolo and Tien worked on tracking him while Future Trunks and Kuririn killed the current (main) time line's Cell while still in his infancy. Eventually, after absorbing several tens of thousands of humans, Cell detected a large ki; knowing that this had to be Piccolo, he deduced that the only thing that could make him fight so hard would be the androids. Cell wasted no time and quickly headed to the area; as he figured, he finds Piccolo and Android #17 engaged in battle.

Cell interrupted the fight and attacked Android 17. At this point his power had far surpassed Piccolo and Android 17's, and without any precautions he approaches 17. As the monster prepares to absorb the Android, Piccolo attacks him, freeing Android 17 from his grasp.

When Android 17 learns what Cell had planned, he dismisses the threat, thinking that he was much more powerful than Cell could ever be, and attacked. After knocking away Android 17, he fought and easily beat Piccolo. After blasting a hole through Piccolo's side and tossing him into the sea, Cell was able to attack 17 again. He had almost absorbed him when Android 16 got involved. 16 then stated according to his calculations that he was just equivalent to Cell in both strength and speed, and portended that he'd be the one to kill Cell. After a struggle where it is revealed that Cell is unable to absorb 16, 16 had injured Cell, but before he could finish him off, #17 interrupted and remarked that the three of them were unbeatable. Cell uses this opportunity to burst out of the ground directly behind 17 and quickly absorbed him, evolving into Semi-Perfect Cell.

Alternative timeline

Future Trunks, who dies during Cell Games and is brought back to life with the Dragon Balls, returns to his alternate time-line and destroys the Androids, including the Imperfect version of Cell, bringing peace back to his era. Thus, Cell never reaches other forms in the alternative future.

Semi-Perfect Cell (Second Form Cell)

Semi-Perfect Cell

Semi-Perfect Cell (半完全体 セル, Hankanzentai Seru), or Second Form Cell (セル 第二 形態, Seru Daini Keitai), is a form Cell achieved after absorbing No. 17 but before getting to No. 18. It is unknown what form he would take on if he absorbed No. 18 before No. 17. This form makes its debut in Dragon Ball Z Episode 152 (137 in the edited version), "Say Goodbye, 17".

Appearance

In this form, Cell's wings disappear, and he becomes much more humanoid, also becoming bulkier. While the nose is not yet fully formed (as it will be in the next stage), he now has an actual mouth. The two off-shooting sections of his head now go straight into the air, as well. In this form, he is at his 2nd largest (because of Power Weighted Perfect Cell) with his height being more than double that of Vegeta. His tail is longer than before, and protrudes from his back, as well as becoming orange and black. His voice deepens than his previous form. The back of his head and the black section on his forehead are now formed together as a ball in between the two sections on his head. His lips are now the color pink, and the black sections above his lips look like a mustache (except its part of his skin). He now has blue eyes in this form. He even has feet like shoes in this form and metal plates all around both of his ankles. He has the same shape of ears as Freeza's, except that his has an orange line that goes down to his chin and to the both sides of his ears.

Personality

Upon achieving this form, Cell no longer cares about absorbing other creatures, and becomes obsessed with finding Android 18. Aside from his obsession, he also becomes slightly more arrogant and cocky because of his power increase, as well as being rash and impatient. His arrogance was short-lived though, as he was easily outclassed by Vegeta's Ascended Super Saiyan form. After finding his Semi-Perfect form no match for his opponent, Cell convinced Vegeta to allow him to absorb Android 18 to reach his Perfect Form (which he was able to do as he appeals to Vegeta's ego and the natural Saiyan drive to fight stronger opponents, both of which Cell is aware of as he possesses Vegeta's cells).

According to his bios in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3, in his new form he seems to feel that he is the most powerful living specimen on the planet, and it is suggested that this arrogant attitude may been influenced by Vegeta's genes (meaning Vegeta's cells may become more prominent while in this form, which seems to be supported by the fact he uses at least two of Vegeta's signature moves in this form, albeit only in the anime: Galick Gun and Big Bang Attack). It may also be due to his absorption of Android 17 and the genes of Frieza, both of whom were very egotistical and intolerant of the idea of anyone being better than themselves (interestingly, it is only after absorbing the Androids that he begins to use their technique of conjuring barriers, albeit only once after attaining his Perfect form. To further "support" the notion of his superiority, Android #16, who barely survived his brief encounter with this form of Cell, thinks to himself that there should be no-one in the universe ready to challenge him at this point (and that it was odd how he was still so obsessed with achieving completion), until this preconception was shattered by Cell's embarassment against the self-proclaimed "Super Vegeta."

History

Cell absorbing No. 18 to achieve his Perfect Form.
Semi-Perfect Cell moments before self-destructing.

After Cell's absorption of Android 17, Android 16, knowing that he was now well outmatched, attempted to flee with Android 18, but Cell easily intercepted them. In a display of his new power he took a direct hit from Android 16 without injury and then easily blasted the Android, nearly destroying his head effortlessly. Cell turned to Android 18, but she threatened to self destruct before joining him if he approached, which would leave him unable to attain his complete form. In an attempt to pacify her, he pretended to be Android 17 by mimicking his voice (a trait probably gained from his absorption) and told her how wonderful it was to be part of Cell and fulfilling "the great" Dr. Gero's vision; Android 16, still functional but badly damaged warned her of the ploy, something she already knew since Android 17 despised Dr. Gero.

When his plan failed, Cell prepared to attempt to absorb 18 by force regardless, knowing that he was fast enough to prevent her from destroying herself and more than capable of overpowering her. He was prevented by Tien though, who used his Neo Tri-beam attack several times to stall Cell, destroying much of the landscape and nearly killing himself. Though Cell did not take any significant damage from the assault, it managed to hold him at bay long enough for Android 16 and Android 18 to make their escape. Though Tien was exhausted right to the point of death (and soon fell unconscious), Cell decided to kill him anyway as retribution; before he could fire though, Goku intervened and teleported to their location using Instant Transmission, meeting Cell for the first time. Cell, wanting to fight Goku, flew towards him when he grabbed Piccolo. Before Cell could make contact, Goku used Instant Transmission again, carrying an unconscious Tien and a barely alive Piccolo back to safety at Kami's Lookout.

Without anyone to oppose him, Cell continued his search for Android 18. After losing her in a group of islands, he proceeded to destroy the islands, one-by-one, in an attempt to flush the android out. Having just completed his first year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta approached and challenged him. Cell was soon shocked to discover that Vegeta was significantly more powerful than his new body, as the fight was entirely one-sided. Even after powering up to full power, he was unable to injure the Saiyan, who now called himself "Super Vegeta."

Knowing that he was incapable of defeating Vegeta in a physical battle, Cell appealed to Vegeta's ego, stating that if he were in his Perfect body he would be a much better challenge. Vegeta, wanting a stronger opponent, agreed to Cell's proposition. When Future Trunks refused to allow it, Cell called on Vegeta to remove him as an obstacle while he went after the recently discovered Android 18. Cell charged the Android with Future Trunks (also in his Ascended Super Saiyan form) in hot pursuit, until Vegeta kicked Future Trunks out of the way. Future Trunks retaliated by quickly blasting Vegeta, barely damaging him but surprising him with the guts to attack his own father nonetheless, and going after Cell again, but Cell was ready and used the Solar Flare to temporarily blind everyone long enough for him to absorb Android 18. Cell then put up an impenetrable barrier while he evolved yet again, this time to Perfect Cell. He later reverted to his semi-perfect state when he was beaten so badly by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan that he was forced to regurgitate Android 18. He blew himself up in an attempt to destroy the Earth, knowing he was well outmatched; Goku instead sacrificed himself by using his Instant Transmission to teleport Cell to King Kai's planet at the last second, where he, the Kai, Gregory, and Bubbles all died. To their dismay, Cell's nucleus survived to reconstruct himself into his most powerful state yet, the Super Perfect Form.

Perfect Cell (Perfect Form Cell)

Perfect Cell

Perfect Cell (完全体 セル, Kanzentai Seru), or Perfect Form Cell (セル 完全体, Seru Kanzentai), is the ultimate form of Cell, which he assumed after absorbing both No. 17 and No. 18.

Appearance

Cell becomes much more humanoid in this form, complete with fully-formed nose and mouth. Since he no longer has a need to absorb other creatures, his tail is retracted and now used for creation of Cell Jr's, although in Dragon Ball GT and in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai: Another Road, it is shown that Cell can still extend his stinger from his back and absorb other people. Along with his previous two forms, Cell can brandish an aura with the same color as a Super Saiyan. He is also smaller than in his previous form, being only about Piccolo's height. His wings have grown back and now are shaded black. His exoskeleton is colored light-green with black spots and has black sections located on his shoulders, chest, the metal plates on his ankles are now shaded black, and now his orange penis are also shaded black. His skin is now pale all in his face and hands, he now has purple lines in both sides of his cheeks, and the orange line across from his ears and chin are now changed into a yellow color. His eyes are now pink, and his blue veins are now purple.

Personality

Cell becomes significantly more arrogant in this form due to his increase in speed and power, and now only wishes to test his own power. He also gains Frieza's polite mannerisms (though without the snide sarcasm), Piccolo's cunning, Vegeta's self-confidence, and Goku's laid back nature and love of fighting.

History

Perfecrt Cell creating the Cell Games Arena.
Cell Juniors
Gohan delivering a devastating punch to Perfect Cell.

Kuririn was enraged by No. 18's Absorption and immediately attacked Cell. However, Cell barely registered the hit and was able to take Kuririn's Destructo Disk attack to the neck with the disk breaking on impact. He then "lightly" kicked Kuririn away when he attacked again, nearly killing him. Vegeta, unimpressed by the display, was eager to resume the battle, which Cell obliged. Cell merely toyed with Vegeta at the beginning, absorbing his attacks without any sign of damage. Vegeta was able to deliver a powerful kick to Cell's head, with much of his energy converted towards the attack, but Cell was not affected at all (his head had turned only slightly from the attack), leaving Vegeta in a momentary state of shock and disbelief. When Cell did strike back, the kick he delivered blew Vegeta away, smashing him into a rock formation. Vegeta then challenged Cell to take his next attack head on without dodging it and fired his ultimate attack, the Final Flash. Cell nearly takes the full brunt of the shot, vaporizing everything to the right side above his torso. Though Vegeta thought he was victorious, Cell proved otherwise; his cells from Frieza allowed him to survive and function with virtually any wound and those of Piccolo allowed him to regenerate from damage instantly. Almost immediately following the attack, Cell regrew the destroyed area and was back to normal. Vegeta now attacked in desperation, firing off dozens of Ki bolts, but Cell simply walked through it and with one swift combination of attacks incapacitated the Saiyan.

With Vegeta out of the picture, Future Trunks was free to fully power up without worrying about injuring his father's pride. He soon reached the Ultra Super Saiyan stage, and was apparently stronger than Cell; the downside was that the increased muscle mass drained his stamina quickly and made Future Trunks significantly slower as well: he could not land any hits on Cell. Vegeta later tells that, unlike what Future Trunks originally thought, he also can fully power up his body, but doesn't do so because of this ability's weakness and scolds Future Trunks for not realizing the weakness until now. Cell chided Future Trunks, stating that simple brute force is worthless and quickly demonstrated that he too could increase his muscle size if he desired. At this point, Future Trunks forfeited the match and was willing to allow Cell to kill him. Cell considered it, but decided not to after realizing how much more powerful Vegeta and Future Trunks had become in just a few days, and that Goku would be challenging him soon. He instead decided to hold a tournament in ten days, taking all challengers since he saw it would be a good way to test his new power. He also admits to Future Trunks that he has no interest in conquest – just entertainment, primarily through the fear of others.

Cell spent the next morning creating the arena where he would hold his tournament, the Cell Games, and then makes a live television broadcast of it to the world. He stated that he would take on as many challengers as there are and, if he is able to go through them all, he will then exterminate all life on the Earth. While at the arena waiting for the day of the competition to arrive, Goku arrived briefly to check Cell's power level and they engaged in small talk. This is then followed by an attack by the Earth's army, but this proves hopeless as Cell, with a single gesture, destroys them all with a form of psychokinesis. During the ten day wait, Cell mostly stayed at his ring and trained. On the day of the Tournament, Hercule attempted to fight Perfect Cell first, though he was easily knocked away and disqualified. Throughout the entire tournament, he runs from the media covering the story, claiming that he is suffering from intense stomach pains and and calls the techniques in the ring "Tricks or Illusions". Goku and Perfect Cell began to battle and in a heated display of power, technique and ability, Goku seems to be able to keep up against the mechanically engineered monster. Perfect Cell pulled out all kinds of tricks, performing various moves such as the Death Beam and the Kamehameha wave.

Goku and Perfect Cell battled for a while until Perfect Cell grew tired of being confined to the small ring. So Perfect Cell destroyed the ring and made the battle an all-out fight, just to make things more interesting for him, with no rules applied. Goku threw everything he could at Perfect Cell and even tricked Perfect Cell into believing he would destroy the Earth with a Kamehameha wave. Perfect Cell was noticeably afraid as Goku powered up the energy blast, but Goku tricked him by performing Instant Transmission to teleport directly in front of Perfect Cell, and unleashed the blast on him. The entire top half of Perfect Cell was disintegrated. The Z Warriors seemed content until the remains of Perfect Cell jumped to its feet and regenerated. Goku knew that if he continued, the Earth would be destroyed, or Perfect Cell and himself would die fighting each other. Goku suddenly forfeited the match to Perfect Cell and surrendered. He reasoned that only one person could defeat Perfect Cell. When Goku revealed his son Gohan as his pick to fight, the Z Warriors were furious (noticeably Vegeta and Piccolo) and Perfect Cell was amused.

It took a while for the battle to commence between Gohan and Perfect Cell, and even longer for Gohan to get serious. As a Full Power Super Saiyan, he started out somewhat better than Goku, but in the end, his efforts were no good, which noticeably worried the good-sided spectators (except Goku). As the battle continued, Gohan told Perfect Cell to stop fighting, and he told him that the power he could harness when he became enraged would destroy everything. However, this only fueled Perfect Cell's desire to push Gohan to the limit, much to Gohan's horror. Finally, Android 16 decided to destroy Perfect Cell himself with the self destruct device in his body. He wrapped his arms around Perfect Cell's torso (similar to how Chiaotzu tried to kill Nappa by self destructing), with the purpose of killing them both. To No. 16's surprise, Kuririn informs that the bomb had been removed by Bulma when she re-programmed him earlier during repairs. Perfect Cell then gained the upper hand and destroyed all of No. 16 but his head, which rolled over the battlefield. Perfect Cell even claimed that even if the bomb did blow up, he would most likely not be affected too much, despite his fearful look when he found out what No. 16 was intending to do. Perfect Cell then created 7 smaller blue versions of himself from his tail and christened them Cell Jrs. After they were born, he ordered them to attack the Z Warriors, but not kill them.

Each Cell Jr. was close to the power of Perfect Cell just after his transformation. Only Piccolo, Vegeta, and Future Trunks in their Super Saiyan 2nd Grade forms managed to hold them off for a while, but eventually, all of them were brutally beaten up (even Goku, who was weakened from his fight with Perfect Cell). As Gohan watched these maniacal minions heartlessly beat his friends and family, he became angry, but it was still not enough. Perfect Cell, noticing Gohan's anger, ordered the Cell Jr.s to kill everyone. At this point, Hercule discovered the head of No. 16, which, surprisingly, could still talk. No. 16 pleaded with Hercule to take him near Gohan (throw him if he had to), for the sake of the world. Hercule, complied despite his fear and the Android's head landed between Gohan and Cell. No. 16 gave some advice and words of encouragement to Gohan, saying it was okay to fight sometimes to defend loved ones, and to protect the nature he loved. Perfect Cell, overhearing this, claimed that this was good advice and promptly crushed No. 16's head beneath his foot. This was the breaking point, and Gohan snapped. This enraged Gohan to the very limits and pushed him to a new level, Super Saiyan 2, the Super Saiyan level ascended beyond a Super Saiyan. (Although it was not named at this point in the series) Perfect Cell was pleased when Gohan reached this form, but Gohan's first action was mercilessly killing off the smaller Cell Jr.s, which he defeated in a single hit each. The already astounded Z Warriors, with the exception of Goku, were amazed as Gohan and Perfect Cell began to battle, with Gohan dominating the powerful Android. Even after Cell, to everyone's surprise and horror, powered up to maximum (a power deemed "unfathomable" by the Z Warriors) and punched Gohan hard in the face, Gohan was barely phased at all. With just 2 punches, Gohan almost incapacitated Cell completely. Perfect Cell knew he was no match against Gohan. Gohan then began dodging all his attacks, taunting him, and overpowering even his strongest Kamehameha at point blank range. This almost destroyed Cell, but Gohan decided to let Cell suffer for a while, which made Goku order Gohan to kill Cell. But it was too late. Cell regenerated using Piccolo's Cells. Making the same mistake Future Trunks made earlier, he began a USS-like transformation that reduced his speed drastically, making him unable to hit Gohan. After Gohan had had enough of dodging Cell's punches, he kicked Cell in the face and then in the stomach. The kick to the stomach was hard enough to make Cell regurgitate Android 18, which made him go back to his Semi-Perfect form.

Power Weighted Perfect Cell

Cell takes this buff form a second time when he loses his temper against Gohan.

Power Weighted Perfect Cell (パワー重視完全体セル, Pawā Jūshi Kanzentai Seru) is a transformation of Perfect Cell. It makes its debut in "The Cell Games", the 165th episode of Dragon Ball Z (150th in the 276 episode version). It makes its first manga appearance in "Trunks Surpasses His Father", the 386th chapter of the Dragon Ball manga issued on December 26, 1992.

This form appears as a playable character only in Dragon Ball Z: Dragon Battlers and one of his transformation skills in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.

History

After defeating Future Trunks in his Ultra Super Saiyan transformation, Perfect Cell assumes this buffed state to demonstrate the mistake Future Trunks made increasing his muscle mass, without balancing his speed as well. This otherwise unnamed form is again taken by Cell after he loses his temper with a Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. Trunks notes this during the Cell Games saying, "It's making the same mistake he mocked me for!" Though his raw strength in this state dwarfs that of most of the Z Warriors, Gohan was still able to effortlessly cripple him in a single heavy kick to the stomach (a heavy hit to the head in the manga), causing him to regurgitate No. 18 and revert to his Semi-Perfect Form. Afterwards, Cell realizes that he can never win at this rate and blows himself up in an effort to take Gohan and the Earth down with him, but Goku sacrifices himself (and North Kaio, Gregory, and Bubbles, technically) to stop this from happening. Little did he know, Cell would survive the explosion and return safely to Earth using Goku's own Instant Transmission technique, stronger than ever. This form is never seen afterwards.

Power

Despite ceasing to use this transformation after due to its obvious impairments, his buff stage is considered second only to Cell's Super Perfect form. It is uncertain if Cell is capable of using any techniques unseen in previous transformations, as he only appears buffed for brief periods of time. Nonetheless, Power Weighted Perfect Cell is still markedly outclassed by Gohan in his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. In the anime dub, Future Trunks implies that Power Weighted Cell was stronger than Super Saiyan 2 Gohan in terms of brute strength, but manga content suggests otherwise, as Gohan crippled Cell with a single kick to the stomach, and made him regurgitate No. 18. This form makes a story mode only appearance in the final battle of Dragon Ball Z: Budokai where Gohan must defeat him, despite the fact he should actually be in his Super Perfect form (see below).

Super Perfect Cell (Perfect Cell)

Super Perfect Cell

Super Perfect Cell (超 完全体 セル, Cho Kanzentai Seru), or Perfect Cell (パーフェクト セル, Pāfekuto Seru), is a version of Cell's perfect form after he receives a Zenkai from his recovery after a botched self destruction that took the lives of Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory. Officially named "Super Perfect Cell" in the video games, this form is never given a name in the series.

Appearance

In his most powerful state, Cell's appearance remains the same. Nonetheless, his power increases exponentially. His aura crackles with surges of blue electricity much like a Super Saiyan 2. It is also important to note that this huge influx of power causes his already-overinflated ego to increase dramatically. He becomes notably more deranged, frequently shouting and exhibiting bizarre facial ticks at random intervals (although this may be largely due to his rage over being humiliated by Gohan).

History

Super Perfect Cell being obliterated by Gohan's Kamehameha.

Even after self-destructing at King Kai's planet, one single cell survives the explosion due to the fact that his design provided for such. Using the regenerative abilities he inherited from Piccolo, Cell is able to completely recover. His cells also retain a memory of his perfect form, allowing him to regenerate into that form again despite his loss of both the androids at this point (Android 17 was also killed in the explosion of Cell's Semi-Perfect form). Due to his Saiyan trait of extreme power increase after healing from injury, he becomes much stronger than he previously was in his perfect form, even at full power or when buffed up. Apparently Cell himself was previously unaware of this ability, as he is shocked that he is still alive. Only then does he fully grasp what Dr Gero meant by the perfect being.

Using Instant Transmission, (acquired from Goku), Cell returns to Earth and kills Future Trunks with the Full Power Death Beam. Enraged, Vegeta blindly rushes at him in his Super Saiyan form, but is slapped aside. Cell attempts to kill Vegeta, but Gohan intercepts Cell's attack. Gohan is left wounded, without the use of his left arm and his ki supply reduced to half. However, he is told by Goku that his Ki issue is just in his mind, and that he can destroy Cell. Gohan desperately engages Cell in a Kamehameha wave struggle at the behest of the late Goku. Cell gains the upper hand several times, nearly overwhelming the exhausted Gohan nonchalantly, but the other fighters try to force Cell to stop by attacking him when he cant stop the blast, they fail as Cell simply flares his aura and knocks them all back. As he is about to finish off Gohan, Vegeta distracts Cell with a surprise blast to the side of his head being much stronger than the others. Vegeta's blast does what the others failed to do. With Cell caught momentarily off guard, Gohan draws out all of his reserves to obliterate Cell completely.

Later, in Dragon Ball GT, Super Perfect Cell is seen fighting Goku with Frieza in Hell, but is easily dominated along with Frieza. While fighting Goku. he is able to absorb him through his tail, and though he does gain Goku's power, the victory is only momentarily, as Goku soon forces his way out of Cell's body. But within that brief time, Cell stated that the power he had absorbed was nearly overwhelming, suggesting that by absorbing Goku, Cell was momentarily one of the strongest villains at the time.

Power

In his Super Perfect form, Cell is roughly equal to a Super Saiyan 2. It is unknown whether or not he is stronger or weaker than Super Saiyan 2 Gohan as they never got a chance to have a fair match in the manga or anime. In the manga, it is suggested that this form was more powerful than Super Saiyan 2 Gohan as after badly hurting Gohan with a blast intending to kill Vegeta he states "enough playing around" implying he didn't put much power into the blast. Also in the manga, Cell states when charging his Solar Kamehameha that he has gathered enough Ki to destroy the entire Solar System, although his intended method of doing so is unknown.

Cell after absorbing Goku

Cell after absorbing Goku.

In GT, while Cell and Frieza were fighting Goku in Hell, Cell actually absorbed Goku for a brief while, becoming the strongest being in the universe. His appearance actually did change, becoming much more buff and being surrounded by electricity, before Goku crawled out of Cell, much like how 18 pushed out of his body. Combining his own power with the maximum power of Goku's Super Saiyan 4 form would prove him to be one of the most powerful villains in the entirety of the Dragon Ball anime.

Majin Cell

Cell appears in this form in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2. In the Story mode, he and Frieza are revived and turned into Majins by Babidi, and are once again beaten by Goku and the other Z-Fighters. When Majin Buu kills Babidi, Cell and Frieza turn back to their old selves and don't remember anything of being controlled by Babidi, though they still continue to obstruct the good guys all the way to the ending chapter. Once beaten for the last time, they finally return to Hell.

Appearance

He appears the same as in his Perfect form except with an 'M' on his forehead and black lining around his eyes like with Vegeta when under the trance.

Cellin

Main article: Cellin

Cellin was the product of Cell absorbing Kuririn in a what if scenario in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.

Second alternate timeline

Future Cell meeting his end at the hands of Future Trunks' Heat Dome Attack.

Another Future Cell appeared in "Free the Future". Completed in 786 Age, Future Cell was much weaker than the Future Cell who was seen in the main timeline because Future Cell had not been able to absorb Future Android No. 17 and Future Android No. 18. In fact, Future Cell never actually saw the Artificial Humans in the alternate timeline because Future Trunks had already destroyed them.

In the alternate timeline, the entire world had been dominated by the Artificial Humans. They had led a path of destruction for nearly two decades until finally being defeated by Future Trunks after he had taken his trip to the past and increased his strength tremendously. By the time Future Cell had been completed by Doctor Gero's Super Computer, the Artificial Humans had evidently already been killed, thus Future Cell's search for the Artificial Humans was in complete vain. Future Cell continued to kill and absorb people in order to become stronger and one day successfully absorb the two Artificial Humans to reach his perfect form. Until then, he was still in his imperfect form.

In 788 Age, as Future Cell continued his quest for the Artificial Humans, he met Future Trunks while pillaging through Metro West. After a quick and decisive battle, Future Trunks dominated and killed Future Cell with only his Super Saiyan power and the Heat Dome Attack, thus ending the horrors of his time.

DNA included

Techniques

The inside of Cell's body being exposed by Vegeta's devastating Final Flash.

His absorption abilities aside, Cell does not possess any unique techniques of his own. Instead, he has the abilities of those whose cells make up his body from the time when the samples were taken from them. The likes of Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Nappa had their cells taken during Vegeta's invasion of Earth, while Frieza and Cold had theirs taken when they invaded during the Trunks Saga later. While he inherits these techniques from others, he sometimes performs them using his own distinctive style.[citation needed]

All forms

  • Power Up - The ability to increase and surpress his power level.
  • Ki Sense - The ability to sense others' battle powers.
  • Absorption - Cell's tail serves one special purpose: to absorb other beings into his body. Cell will gain all of the strength of the person he has absorbed, even if such strength cannot be sensed via the Ki Sensing technique. Cell has two methods of absorption. The first method is to stab the person with the sharp end of his tail. The tail will then suck up all of the organic matter of the victim, leaving the clothing behind. Cell has a second method of absorption, made for people who he wants every bit of strength from. Instead of stabbing the person and draining the person's life force, Cell will instead absorb the person whole. Cell will open up the pointy end of his stinger, and it will become a shape of a wide funnel. Cell will bring the "mouth" of the funnel down on the person, and then they will sucked through Cell's tail into his body. The person will be held unconscious in Cell's body. This method was made for Android 17 and 18, who, due to their powers not being organic, or possibly due their ability to dodge Cell's stinger, they had to be absorbed whole. This is Cell's preferred method, as it gives him full power. Even though Cell's tail retracted after becoming Perfect Cell, it is shown that Cell can still bring his stinger out and absorb other people using this technique. The tail can also be used for strangulation, which he had used on Android 16.
  • Regeneration - From his Saiyan cells, Cell has the ability to become more powerful after recovering from severe injuries. He also takes on many personality traits that are true to Saiyans, like the desire to fight and test his power. Even though Cell is not categorized as a Super Saiyan, his aura perfectly mimics that of a Super Saiyan; this is connected to his Saiyan heritage. This ability, combined with his regeneration power, makes him near invincible, and can only be defeated if his entire body (right down to the cell) is completely destroyed, otherwise he will just come back, stronger than ever.
  • Though he has Piccolo's regenerative ability, Cell is never shown to use Piccolo's demonstrated body distorting abilities, such as extending his limbs to great lengths or growing his entire body to massive proportions. He also never shows any of the more mystical abilities of Piccolo, such as creating objects out of thin air. It is likely that Cell's asexual reproductive capability in spawning the Cell Jr's is taken from Piccolo's Namekian physiology.
  • Cell has acid blood that is shown when he regenerates his tail while in his first form in episode 152.
  • Cell has Frieza's capability of surviving in outer space, and to revert his form (demonstrated when he reverted to an egg and potentially by his evolving body). He also gained Frieza's ability to survive any injury. After Cell achieves his Super Perfect Form due to his brush with death when he self destructed, he explains that this is because each individual cell in his body has a life-force of their own. This could in part explain how Frieza can do this.
  • Bukujutsu
  • Telekinesis - Cell can lift objects of large proportionate sizes into the air with his mind and controlling the use of his hand(s). Likely taken from Frieza.
  • Death Beam (Frieza Beam) - A laser-like projectile which travels very quickly. Also known as Death Beam/Finger Beam. Taken from Frieza. He uses this attack to kill Future Trunks.
  • Ki Blast
  • Kamehameha - A blue-colored, powerful ki wave attack and trademark technique of the Dragon Ball series. Taken from Goku.
  • Regeneration - The Namekian ability to regenerate damage to the body. Cell can regenerate only if the core inside his head is not damaged. Taken from Piccolo.
  • Instant Transmission - The ability to instantly teleport virtually anywhere (by homing in on a Ki signature). Taken from Goku after Cell's self destruction.
  • Solar Flare - An extremely bright light which can temporarily blind opponents in near proximity. Taken from Tien.
  • Afterimage Strike - The ability to move extremely fast over short distances, leaving an image behind. Taken from Goku, never used in the manga.
  • Special Beam Cannon - An energy beam that can drill through opponents. Taken from Piccolo, never used in the manga.
  • Lasso - An attack in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. Cell grabs his foe and throws them around.
  • Negative Power Rain - An attack in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai. Cell knocks an opponent down and repeatedly fires at them.
  • Android's Bomb - Like all other Androids, Cell can initiate a self-destruction through a bomb planted inside his body. Cell, however, has a special technique to do so, rather than just a device. When Cell uses it, he swells up like a giant balloon and begins a 1 minute countdown, which when it ends, he will explode with enough power to engulf an entire planet. Should he be attacked before the countdown ends, he will explode instantly. Once activated, this technique cannot be stopped, even by himself.

Imperfect Cell

  • Genki Dama - Cell never uses this technique, though he states that he can use it if he wished. This is likely a bluff, as one must be pure of heart to perform the attack, although being pure evil of heart may also be considered. This is Cell's ultimate attack in the Budokai video game series in his Perfect Form ("Okay, planet! Give me that stupid energy!") and in the Budokai Tenkaichi 2 game ("You won't survive this time."), though this is under his Super Perfect form.
  • See Ya! - Cell's ultimate from raging blast.
  • Bio Impact - A rush attack used by Imperfect Cell.

Semi-Perfect Cell

  • Big Bang Crash - A powerful, blazing red-colored version of Vegeta's Big Bang Attack. Semi-Perfect Cell uses this technique when he destroyed whole islands with it to flush out Android 18. Taken from Vegeta, enhanced by Semi-Perfect Cell. It was named in Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
  • Galick Gun - A purple-colored, powerful energy blast. Taken from Vegeta, never used in the manga.

Perfect Cell/Super Perfect Cell

Super Perfect Cell preparing the Solar Kamehameha.
Freeza and Cell attacking Goku.
  • Bang Beam - The user puts his hand out with the index finger pointing forward and thumb raised and shoots a red blast. Cell used it by flicking his finger. Taken from Vegeta.
  • Homing Kienzan - A variant of the Destructo Disk, this energy disk can be controlled by the creator to change direction. Taken from Frieza (Anime only) (note: Kuririn thought it was taken from him but he can't remotely control his like Cell or Frieza can).
  • Kienzan - An energy disk that can cut through an opponent. Taken from Kuririn, never used in the manga.
  • Warp Kamehameha - Cell's ultimate technique in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai. (When using it, he utters the words, "Farewell... NOW!").
  • Super Kamehameha - An upgraded version of the Kamehameha. Perfect Cell used against Super Saiyan 2 Gohan to eliminate the Earth. However, Gohan counter-attacked with the Standing Kamehameha.
  • Solar Kamehameha - Cell's Ultimate and Final attack. Cell stores energy and fires it in the form of a giant Kamehameha, which he claims possesses enough power to destroy the entire solar system.[1] It was created and used by Super Perfect Cell as a final bid to destroy Gohan, but was countered by the Father-Son Kamehameha. Its name comes from Budokai Tenkaichi 3, where it is Super Perfect Cell's Ultimate Blast technique ("The Earth will be destroyed. SAYONARA!)
  • Tri-Beam - A blast of rectangle shaped energy. Taken from Tien (Anime only).
  • Perfect Combination - Cell delivers a barrage of punches and kicks to the oppoent before slapping them away and elbowing them into the ground. It is named in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 and is one of Cell's Blast 2 attacks in his Super Perfect form.
  • Fear Me! - A rush attack used by Cell during the fight with Gohan.
  • Multi Form (12 Eyes) - Used by Cell during the fight with Goku in the anime only, this technique is one of Tien's. The technique creates three fighting copies of the user with 1/4the of the user's power.
  • Genki Dama - In most Budokai games and Budokai Tenkaichi and Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Perfect Cell can use the Genki Dama without the Give Me Energy charge up.
  • Perfect Barrier - An impenetrable shield Cell places around himself to protect him from attacks, as seen when he transforms between his Semi-Perfect and Perfect forms after absorbing Android 18. It was most likely taken from Android 17 after Cell absorbed him, though his special barrier could be a technique programmed directly by Dr. Gero. It can also cause damage to anyone unfortunate enough to collide with it. The name comes from the Budokai Tenkaichi video game series where it is the ultimate move of his Perfect form.
  • Hell Bazooka (Almighty Light Cage in the FUNimation dub) - A technique that Cell and Freeza developed together while in Hell. Both Cell and Frieza begins to glow, then a yellow Ki emits from both of their bodies, which then envelops their opponent, trapping them in an inescapable Ki orb. Then both the users throws the orb prison down into the deepest part of Hell, with the prisoner in it.
  • Seru Junia wo Umidasu – Seru Junia wo Umidasu (セル ジュニア を 生み出す, Seru Junia wo Umidasu) is a technique where Cell uses his own abilities to create children from out of the tail which he had earlier used for Absorption. Cell can freely control the number of children created. Each of the children has roughly the same amount of power and speed as Cell.
  • Time to Die - A attack where he slaps the oppenent and shoots a Death Beam at his target. Used against Vegeta.
  • Shōgekizan – The Shōgekizan (衝撃斬, Shōgekizan) only used this once when he created the Cell Games Arena out of a large boulder.

Non-manga

Anime filler

Cell in a jail cell with Freeza, Cold, and the Ginyu Force after being taken down by Goku and Pikkon.

Though Cell was gone, he still caused trouble in the Other World after being sent to Hell by King Yemma and striking up a partnership with Frieza, King Cold and the deceased Ginyu Force soldiers Guldo, Recoome, Burter, and Jeice. Here, he was defeated along with his friends by Goku and Pikkon, and ultimately sentenced to the Other World Prison. He and the others are later shown watching Goku's battle with Kid Buu on a huge crystal ball in Hell.

Dragon Ball GT

Cell absorbing Kid Goku in Hell.

In Dragon Ball GT, Cell makes his last major appearance, in Hell, during the Super 17 Saga. He and Freeza team up to try and kill Goku, but Goku is far too strong for them, defeating them and escaping. He was last seen frozen by the coldest ice from Hell, broken in pieces by Goku and arrested by the ogres. An interesting note is that for a short time, Cell becomes very powerful after absorbing Goku, although Goku manages to escape shortly after, similarly to how 18 pushed out of his body.

Video games

Super Perfect Cell in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.

Cell has made an impact in many Dragon Ball Z video games, mostly as a boss or high-end playable character. Though sometimes featured in only his Perfect Form, the more recent games in the Budokai series see Cell in his Imperfect, Semi-Perfect, and Super Perfect (after exploding and then gaining a power boost due to his Saiyan cells) states as well. In addition, in the original Budokai game his bulky form from when he battled Gohan was accessible as a boss fight only.

Future Cell appeared in Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku II.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, he transforms into a what if character in his dreams where he is seen absorbing Kuririn instead of 18 and turning into Cellin. Although Cell's arc is not the final arc in the series, the buck often stops there in many games including Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, the first Budokai, and the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Cell and Frieza can be put under Babidi's influence like Vegeta or Dabura, becoming Majins. Later Cell can also be absorbed by Super Buu.

In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Cell makes an appearance along side Frieza in the Fusion Reborn movie saga, even though he was absent in the movie itself.

Interestingly, Cell is the only evil character to get his wish fulfilled in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai's Arcade mode. (Broly does not count because he did not have a real "wish". Frieza also does not count due to the "wish" being a misunderstanding on Shenron's part.)

Cell is a playable character in:

Cell appears as an enemy in:

Major battles

  • Cell (Imperfect Form) vs. Future Trunks
  • Cell (Imperfect Form) vs. Piccolo
  • Cell (Imperfect Form) vs. Piccolo & Android 17
  • Cell (Imperfect Form) vs. Android 16
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Android 16
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Tien
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Android 18 & Android 16
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Future Trunks (Ascended Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Kuririn & Future Trunks (Ascended Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Vegeta (Ascended Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Future Trunks (Ultra Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Caroni
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Piroshki
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Mr. Satan
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Goku (Full-Power Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Gohan (Full-Power Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Android 16
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Gohan (Super Saiyan 2)
  • Cell (Semi-Perfect Form) vs. Gohan (Super Saiyan 2)
  • Cell (Super Perfect Form) vs. Vegeta (Ascended Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Super Perfect Form) vs. Gohan (Super Saiyan 2), Piccolo, Tien, Yamcha, Kuririn, and Vegeta (Ascended Super Saiyan)
  • Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Pikkon
  • Cell (Perfect Form) & Frieza (4th form) vs. Kid Goku

Voice actors

Trivia

All forms

  • Although Cell comes from an alternate timeline, he is not referred to - even unofficially - as Future Cell due to the fact that the main timeline's Cell never made a significant appearance; only one brief appearance in his larval form before getting blown up by Kuririn and Future Trunks.
  • Physically, Cell's tail is similar to the proboscis of the cone shell snail species. As it is capable of widening enough to swallow his victims whole similar to how cone shell snails swallow tropical fish whole.
  • In the Budokai video game series, even if Cell has reached his Semi-Perfect, Perfect, and Super Perfect forms, whenever he receives a powerful hit and screams in pain, he sounds just like Imperfect Cell. This mistake continued on into the Budokai Tenkaichi game series as well, as take-damage voice cuts were never recorded for those forms.
  • Cell is the second saga villain to not be defeated by Goku in the manga, after Vegeta (who was technically finally defeated by Gohan). In the anime, he is the third, if one counts Garlic Jr. as a saga villain.
    • Out of all of them, he was the only one who was killed by Gohan (Vegeta managed to escape and Garlic Jr. was sealed into the Dead Zone, as he was immortal.)
  • Cell, despite not being the last villain in the anime, is often the final boss in Dragon Ball Z video games, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai]], Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit, and Super Dragon Ball Z.
  • Having Freeza's cells, Cell can survive some of the strongest attacks, along with Piccolo's regeneration. Also, his Saiyan cells make him stronger from every near-death injury he survives.
  • Cell is the only villain to be rooted for by one of the Z Warriors. (Kuririn admitted that he was hoping that Cell would win against Mr. Satan, as he felt Mr. Satan was an embarrassment.)
  • Out of the three main villains, Cell is the only one who does not kill Kuririn (ironically, his main timeline counterpart is killed by Kuririn [although Future Trunks also delivered the death blow to Cell]) and the only one who is killed in a Beam Struggle. He is also the only one of the three to not be bitten by Goku (Goku bites Freeza's tail and Kid Boo's head).
  • Though his Semi-Perfect form is an in-between form of his Imperfect and Perfect/Super Perfect forms, his Semi-Perfect form is the only form without wings.
  • Cell repeats two fatal mistakes that were made by another of the Z Warriors who was fighting him. Cell tricked Vegeta into letting him become complete so he could see his true power, and later Cell wanted to see Gohan's hidden power, which resulted in his death. Like Future Trunks, Cell powers up to his maximum and beefs up, which makes him stronger but also slows him down so that he cannot land a single hit on Gohan. This leads to him being kicked in the stomach and regurgitating Android 18, causing him to revert to his Semi-Perfect form.
  • Cell is indeed killed by the Kamehameha in the last final attack by Gohan.
  • All four forms of Cell have some sort of characteristic of the Z Warriors who challeng him in his personality. Imperfect Cell is sneaky and calculating like Piccolo, Semi-Perfect Cell is vain and arrogant like Vegeta, Perfect Cell is laid back and only wants to fight powerful opponents like Goku, and Super Perfect Cell is hotheaded and cocky like Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.
  • Despite Cell's loss of Android 18 (and after he self-destructed, Android 17), Cell's cells retain the memory of his Perfect form, which makes it possible for him to regenerate back into that form.
  • Out of the three main villains, Cell is the only one to be born/created on the planet Earth. Freeza is assumed to be born somewhere in space, and Buu being created elsewhere in the Universe by Bibidi.
  • Cell is by far the youngest of the three main villains considering that Buu is millions of years old and Freeza is at the very least a few hundred years old. This is also most likely why Cell is the only one of the three not to be feared by a Kai; he had no time to amass a terrifying reputation in the galaxy, whereas Buu and Freeza were both feared by nearly everyone long before their first appearance.
    • Ironically, he's the only main villain to see King Kai in person.
  • According to the timeline, Cell was unleashed in the year 791 Age and died in the year 767 Age, 24 years before he was unleashed into the world due to time travel.
  • Cell very much resembles an insect, both in appearances and in the way he goes through different stages of metamorphosis.
  • Technically speaking, Cell has been killed 3 times. He was killed by SSJ2 Gohan in the main timeline, his other alternate timeline self was killed by Future Trunks Brief, and his main timeline self was killed by Kuririn and Future Trunks in infancy.
  • Of the three villains, Cell has the smallest form (his larvae form) and the largest (Power-Weighted form).
  • Cell was the only one of the 3 main canon villains to not have a Spirit Bomb used against him. Oddly enough, he is also the only one purportedly capable of using the Spirit Bomb.
  • Cell is the only character that has two what-if forms (Majin Cell, and Cellin)
  • Cell killed Future Trunks twice, first in his Imperfect form when he stole Trunks' time machine and second when he killed him as Super Perfect Cell. Ironically enough, Trunks also killed Cell twice, first alongside Kuririn while Cell was in his baby form and second in his own time while Cell was in his Imperfect Form.

Imperfect Cell

  • His mouth in this form resembles that of an Arlian except that his mouth opens when he speaks.
  • His face in the Imperfect Form resembles the face of the first core form of Lavos from Chrono Trigger (that game's characters were designed by Toriyama.)

Semi-Perfect Cell

  • Akira Toriyama stated in an interview that he intended Semi-Perfect Cell to last longer before transforming to Perfect, but was told by his editor to get rid of him because "He looked funny."[citation needed]
  • This is Cell's only mature form that does not possess wings.

Perfect Cell/Super Perfect Cell

  • In the manga and Japanese anime, there is a plot hole with regards to how Cell achieved this state. According to Cell, an organ inside his head allows him to regenerate as that organ is not destroyed. Goku had previously destroyed Cell's entire upper body, head included, which should have prevented him from regenerating. This plot hole is not present in FUNimation's dub of the anime where Cell states that "...every cell in his body has a life of its own", and that even cell surviving allows him to regenerate.
  • Super Perfect Cell is the only form of Cell to have a Super Saiyan 2-like aura.

References

  1. "The Horror Won't End"
    Cell: "Forget the Earth! I can destroy the entire solar system with my energy now!"