Cell (Dragon Ball)
Cell, later known as Semi-Perfect Cell, Perfect Cell, and Super Perfect Cell, is a fictional character and antagonist in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He makes his debut appearance in chapter #361 "The Mysterious Monster, Finally Appears!!", first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on 16 February 1992.
Created by Doctor Gero, a main member of the Red Ribbon Army, Cell is an evil artificial life form created using the DNA and cells from several significant strong characters in the series. He travels back in time from an alternate timeline to become a perfect being and defeat Goku.
Creation and conception
After Kazuhiko Torishima, Toriyama's former editor during Dr. Slump and early Dragon Ball, expressed dissatisfaction with first Androids #19 and #20 and later Androids #17 and #18 as villains, Toriyama created Cell. Toriyama has expressed some kind of regret regarding the design of Cell, calling it tedious to draw all the little spots on his body. In addition, he did not initially plan for the character to be able to transform, but gave him this ability after his then-current editor Yū Kondō described Cell as "ugly." Toriyama intended for Cell's second form to last longer than it did; Kondō found the form to be silly and urged him to hasten the first appearance of the next transformation.Norio Wakamoto is the Japanese voice of Cell and revealed that when he voiced the forms of Cell, the first form was monster-like, he used a raspy voice which he said was a pain. He toned it down for the second, and by the final form, he was able to perform comfortably.
In the English Funimation dub, Cell is voiced by Dameon Clarke. Clarke considers Cell one of his more "fun and entertaining" characters. Clarke said that he based the voice of Perfect Cell off of Terence Stamp's General Zod from Superman II. Sometime around the release of Resurrection 'F', in which Frieza returned, Clarke said he began receiving questions about a film featuring Cell's return, which he supported.
Abilities
Thanks to being genetically created from the DNA of several of the Z-Fighters, as well as the villain Frieza and his father King Cold, being spliced together; Cell has the superhuman abilities of all the aforementioned characters. What makes him distinct from other Android models is the ability to generate, manipulate, and strengthen himself with a life energy called ki very similar to most naturally-born organic users of it. He also can mask his presence to avoid detection and can generate an aura similar to a Super Saiyan. Along with telepathy and telekinesis, Cell knows how to use the special attacks the Z-Fighters use, such as the Kamehameha and the Solar Flare. Cell is specifically designed to continuously evolve by absorbing Androids #17 and #18 to achieve his final and most powerful stage, with each form gaining monstrous boosts in overall physical strength, durability, and speed. He can also increase his power by using his tail to absorb bio-energy from any living creature.Due to the Saiyan cells embedded in his being, Cell is able to imprint on a near-death experience and grow stronger, while memorizing new techniques at his disposal, such as Goku's teleportation move referred to as Instant Transmission.
Appearances
''Dragon Ball Z''
Cell is an artificial life form created by Doctor Gero's supercomputer from cell samples of the universe's strongest warriors, possessing the genetic information of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, King Cold, and Frieza in an underground complex beneath Gero's secret laboratory. The Cell that appears as the primary antagonist of his titular arc is from the future, awakening after his development is complete to find that the Androids have been destroyed by Trunks. After he kills Trunks, Cell uses his time machine while regressing into an egg to travel back four years, to before the androids appeared, arriving in the present timeline. After hatching and metamorphosing from his larval, cicada-like form into his insect-like Imperfect form, Cell kills off thousands of people and absorbs them to increase his power in preparation to absorb the Androids. After he has managed to absorb the energy of entire cities of people, Cell finds Android #17 during his fight with Piccolo. Cell then breaks Piccolo's neck before Android #16 holds the mechanized villain off. However, he eventually finds an opportunity to absorb #17 and evolve into Semi-Perfect Cell. Cell quickly dispatches #16, but he is unable to absorb #18 thanks to the intervention of Tien Shinhan, who holds him back at the cost of his life force before being rescued by Goku, along with a surviving Piccolo.Cell tries to find Android #18, destroying islands to intimidate her into showing herself, but before he can destroy the island that #18 is hiding on, Vegeta appears and overwhelms him with newfound power. At the brink of defeat, Cell talks Vegeta into letting him absorb Android #18 so he can give him a better fight, and upon doing so, he assumes his final form, which is much more human-like. In this form, Cell easily defeats Krillin, Vegeta, and Trunks, but spares all of them so that they can come to his fighting tournament, the Cell Games to find a worthy opponent to face him, intending to destroy Earth when he wins and wanting to enjoy the fear he causes in others.
A week later, in the first round of the Cell Games, he quickly defeats Mr. Satan before moving onto Goku, who quits upon realizing Cell is stronger than him. Goku then nominates his son, Gohan, as Cell's next opponent, to everyone's surprise. Though Gohan puts up a good fight and proves himself his father's superior, Cell takes the upper hand due to Gohan's pacifistic nature. Wanting to avoid killing Cell if he can help it, Gohan warns Cell that if he is pushed too far, he will lose control of his anger and kill him, which only drives Cell to torment him further, excited to see this power. He spawns Cell Juniors, miniature versions of himself who begin to fight the heroes, causing Gohan's rage to slowly swell. It is only when Cell mercilessly kills #16 after he had encouraged Gohan to fight that Gohan snaps, transforming into a Super Saiyan 2. Gohan effortlessly and violently kills all the Cell Juniors and then proceeds to overpower Cell himself, aiming to prolong his suffering, dealing so much damage that Cell regurgitates Android #18 and reverts to his previous form. In desperation, Cell tries to self-destruct and destroy the Earth, but Goku sacrifices himself by using his Instant Transmission technique to teleport himself and Cell to King Kai's planet, where Cell explodes, killing everyone there.
Cell, however, survives thanks to his unique physiology, which allows him to regenerate from a special nucleus in his head and grow more powerful whenever he has almost been killed, returning to his Perfect form even stronger than before. He quickly kills Trunks, and when Vegeta attacks him in retaliation, easily swats him aside. Cell tries to kill Vegeta with an energy blast, but Gohan takes the blast in his place, injuring his arm. With victory in his grasp, Cell decides to destroy the planet with one last Kamehameha, claiming he has the power to destroy the entire Solar System. Assisted by his father in spirit, Gohan retaliates with his own Kamehameha, ultimately overpowering Cell with Vegeta's help, destroying his cell nucleus and killing him once and for all. Mr. Satan, however, takes credit for the victory and becomes a hero.
Upon being resurrected by the Dragon Balls and returning to the future, Trunks destroys Androids #17 and #18. Afterward, he realizes from his previous travels that Cell is likely to emerge soon. Three years later, Trunks is confronted by the Cell of his timeline, who plans to kill Trunks and use his time machine in the same way his alternate self had. This Cell knew that Trunks had traveled back and learned of him in the past, but still believes himself more powerful than Trunks. However, Trunks showcases his newfound power and quickly dispatches him, finally bringing peace to his part of the timeline.
In later episodes of the anime, Cell makes numerous cameo appearances, usually as comic relief. In his posthumous appearances, he is shown causing trouble in Hell along with Frieza, King Cold, and the Ginyu Force. He is defeated by Goku and Pikkon and sent to prison and is later seen watching Goku's battle with Majin Buu on a crystal ball, openly wondering why Goku quit against him and then went on to fight Buu, whom he acknowledges to be a stronger opponent than himself.
''Dragon Ball Super''
A few years later, when Trunks travels back to the past again, Trunks reacts in confusion to seeing Goku alive as he remembers his death from Cell's self-destructing. Goku informs him of his resurrection that occurred after Trunks had returned to his time. Not long after, Bulma is revealed to have retained the Time Capsule that Cell had stolen from Trunks to return to the present timeline. Cell is remembered by Trunks when he notes the differences between Gohan as a child, in particular when he fought Cell, and him as an adult upon meeting him for the first time in years. An illusion of Cell appears in the Forest of Fear to Krillin and Goku, attacking the pair and growing in size before Krillin concentrates and dispels the illusion by confronting his fear.Although the original Cell does not appear in the film Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, his schematics were used by the revived Red Ribbon Army to create a stronger model designated as "Cell Max", a red-armored variant of Cell's Semi-Perfect form that lacks the original Cell's ability to regenerate. Serving as the film's final antagonist, he was activated by a desperate Magenta before his mind was fully developed, coming across as a mindless, rampaging monster.