Directory: Characters → Villains → DBZ villains → Bio-Androids

"You see, I'm perfect, my strength is perfect, and with that I shall bring equally perfect destruction through the rest of the universe."

— "Combine Your Strength! The Final Kamehame-Ha!"

Cell (セル, Seru) is the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero, designed using the genetics of the greatest fighters that the remote tracking device could find on Earth. The result was a "perfect warrior", possessing numerous favorable genetic traits and special abilities from Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza and King Cold.

He was one of the few Red Ribbon Androids not directly completed by Dr. Gero, instead being completed by Dr. Gero's Supercomputer in an alternate timeline. He is the main antagonist of the Imperfect Cell, Perfect Cell, and Cell Games Sagas.

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Appearance

As a being with several transformations, Cell's appearance varies depending on the form he is in.

In his larval form, Cell resembles a large four-legged cicada with long, V-shaped horns on its head and a face similar to that of the remote tracking device.

In his Imperfect form, Cell has transitioned to walking upright and has a humanoid shape, but retains many insectoid features from his previous form, including his horns, beak-like mouth, three-toed feet, and segmented armor. In this form, he has sprouted wings similar to those of a beetle, along with a long tail affixed to the middle of his back that ends with a "stinger" used to absorb other life forms.

In Semi-Perfect form, obtained after absorbing Android 17, Cell's wings disappear, and he becomes more humanoid and muscular in appearance. His horns now point upward and form a crown shape, and his face, though possessing a comically large-lipped mouth and lacking a nose, has taken the general shape of a human face. Cell's feet lose their toes and instead resemble shoes, though his tail remains much the same as it was in his Imperfect form.

Cell becomes fully humanoid in his Perfect form gained from absorbing Android 18, complete with a normal nose and mouth. His tail has been completely retracted, only the stinger remaining. This form is somewhat shorter and lighter than the previous one, being 7 feet in height. His wings have grown back, but he retains the shoe-like feet and upward-pointing horns from Semi-Perfect form. Purple stripes now run down each side of his face, similar to those of Frieza in his first three forms.

While Perfect, Cell can take on a Super Saiyan Third Grade and Power Stressed form, each similar to his base Perfect form but with grossly enlarged muscles and, in the Power Stressed state, greater size.

Cell also possesses a Super Perfect State, identical in appearance to his Perfect form, but with the added electrified aura of a Super Saiyan 2.

Personality

"You fool! Don't you realize yet you're up against the perfect weapon?!"

— "Save the World"

Cell has an original personality engineered by Gero's computer to combine the character traits of his genetic constituents which would be most useful for a perfect weapon.Because his genetic composition includes DNA from Goku, Vegeta, and Piccolo, he is aware of their weaknesses and is therefore able to exploit them in battle. However, Cell's overall personality changes drastically with each transformation.

Initially, Cell is completely single-minded in the pursuit of his goals and is very cautious, sneaky, cunning, knowledgeable, and calculating in achieving his main goal of perfection. Upon reaching his first transformation, he becomes far more brash and impulsive in his actions, relying less on strategy and more on brute force, often becoming clouded and losing his ability to think rationally when things don't go his way. However, he does retain at least some degree of a strategic mind, as he got the idea to exploit Vegeta's arrogant desire for a challenge to manipulate him into allowing him to absorb 18. 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 (as well as some of his psychopathy), and the Saiyan lust for battle. In this form, he is also shown to be very calm and genuinely polite, albeit arrogant, until he loses the upper hand in combat. Ironically, the arrogance Vegeta displayed to allow Cell to achieve his perfect form was the same that Cell used to force Gohan to awaken his hidden powers, leading him, as it had led Vegeta, to his own downfall. Another of Cell's most distinguishable traits in this form is his uninhibited vanity, which he shamelessly displays by launching the Cell Games, a tournament organized solely to show off his newfound power. It's also obvious during Cell's confrontation with Gohan when he affirms his true purpose: the annihilation of anything he considers imperfect--everyone and everything but himself. When he is outmatched, however, he quickly becomes desperate and loses his rational approach, making several critical mistakes.

As Imperfect Cell, Cell is completely single-minded in the pursuit of his goals to complete his evolution, as he is extremely eager to discover what attaining perfection would feel like. His desire is to absorb both Android 17 and Android 18. Imperfect Cell is very cautious, sneaky, cunning, and calculating; he does not chase after the Androids directly since he knows he cannot beat them before he absorbs enough human energy. Although obsessed with attaining perfection, Cell was willing to temporarily put aside his plans to absorb 17 and 18 if it meant that he had to deal any possible threat to his plans, as seen how he chose to dispatch Piccolo and attempted to do so with 16 rather than immediately going after 17 and 18.

However, despite his usually cautious and savvy nature, Imperfect Cell could still be seen to be somewhat arrogant and narcissistic, seen by how he openly revealed his plans to Piccolo when under the impression that he had won.

After he achieves his Semi-Perfect form, Cell no longer cares about absorbing other creatures, and becomes obsessed with finding Android 18 to complete his quest for perfection. He also becomes slightly more arrogant and narcissistic because of his power increase, as well as rash and impatient. His arrogance is short-lived though; he is easily outclassed by Vegeta's Super Saiyan Second Grade form. After finding that his Semi-Perfect form is no match for his opponent, Cell convinces Vegeta to allow him to absorb Android 18 to attain the Perfect Form (which he is 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). He is also prone to tantrums when things don't go his way. This is best evidenced when he was unable to find Android 18 and proceeded to blow up several islands in an attempt to force her to come out, not caring if his energy blasts resulted in her destruction if she tried to continue hunker down.

According to his bios in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 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 have 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 a modified Big Bang Attack). It may also be due to his absorption of Android 17 and the genes of Frieza, both of whom are very egotistical, arrogant, narcissistic, and intolerant of the idea of anyone being better than themselves. To further support the notion of his superiority, Android 16, who barely survives 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 is odd how he is still so obsessed with achieving completion), until this preconception is shattered by Cell's embarrassment against the self-proclaimed "Super Vegeta".

After absorbing No. 18 and becoming perfect, Cell becomes significantly more arrogant and narcissistic in this form, due to the massive increase in power. After attaining the perfect form he had long desired, Cell admitted to Trunks that he had found himself with no other purpose, even killing Goku, which was Dr. Gero's intended purpose for Cell, did not seem to satisfy him. Thus, he saw his Cell Games as the opportunity to discover a new purpose; to test his new-found power. This could also be attributed by his own vanity.

In this form, Cell gains Frieza's polite mannerisms (though without the snide sarcasm) and ruthlessly sadistic personality, relishing in seeing people terrified, as he admitted to Future Trunks when he revealed his intention for the Cell Games. This was further shown in the anime, while waiting for the Cell Games, he chose to terrorize the people of Earth simply for his own amusement. Akira Toriyama himself surmised that the concept behind the Cell Games may have been influenced by King Piccolo's cells which makes sense as King Piccolo also enjoyed terrorizing the people of Earth in a similar manner and both broadcasted their evil intentions on television just to instill fear into Earth's population. Thus he possesses the villainous traits from King Piccolo, Vegeta, and Frieza.

Much like Goku, Cell seems to take on a carefree and laid-back attitude, not losing any form of his composure until he was faced with the prospect of a being stronger than him. Cell has adopted Goku's, as well as Vegeta's, desire to battle strong opponents, which was another purpose of the Cell Games. The fact that prior to facing Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, Cell still chose to hold back his full power, Cell was willing to handicap himself in order to challenge his own limits. Despite this, however, if Cell finds that his opponents were not adequate challenges, he would not hesitate to finish the battle quickly or discontinue it, reflecting his arrogance. Before fighting Gohan, Cell saw Goku as the only worthy opponent and displayed excitement when fighting him. Cell even expressed discontent and outrage when Goku had decided to forfeit his battle against Cell.

After coming back in his Super Perfect form, the huge influx of power causes his already inflated 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). In addition, the intro narration for "Cell Returns" has the narrator referring to Cell as a "demented demon". Cell also became more hotheaded and rash, seen by how he immediately chose to risk destroying the entire solar system simply to defeat Gohan.

After returning from his brush with death, Cell saw himself as true perfection, believing himself to be immortal, as he was unable to die (save for the unlikely possibility of dying in battle). Oddly, despite having every intention of destroying the planet, he was heard thinking "That's the spirit" when Gohan's challenges Cell to a Kamehameha duel (although this was likely because he wanted the latter to give it his all as a means to prove Cell's own superiority). Even as he was slowly destroyed by Gohan's final attack, Cell could not comprehend why he was defeated, exclaiming that he was perfection itself. When in the throes of defeat, Cell seems to almost lose his sanity. Screaming in rage and confusion as he believes no one can defeat "perfection" (or himself). These traits show that Cell most likely has inherited some of Frieza's psychotic and sadistic traits.

As King Piccolo had previously also enjoyed himself by taking over the world as if it were a game and tried to rule the world through fear, Akira Toriyama wondered in an interview if Cell's similar way of doing things is from the influence of his Piccolo cells.[1]

In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, Perfect Cell is shown to retain his fondness for absorbing people, though the reason for doing so is not to increase his power but for his own enjoyment. To alleviate his boredom he offers to train the Future Warrior, though threatens he will absorb them should they fail or refuse. While training the Future Warrior, Cell is impressed by the Warrior's growth and even finds that he enjoys teaching and training others, to the point he even suggests he might take on more students. Presumably this trait may come from Piccolo and/or Goku. If the Future Warrior manages to bond fully with both Cell and Frieza a special event occurs where Cell encounters 1st form Frieza for the first time. Though he and Frieza are allies in the anime filler and Dragon Ball GT, during this meeting in Xenoverse 2 Cell is shown to look down on Frieza during this meeting as he contributes his loss during the Cell Games to Frieza's cells due to Frieza's loss to the Saiyans (Goku and Future Trunks), showing that Perfect Cell seems to blame his faults on others who's DNA he possesses such as Frieza. In return Frieza is show to dislike Cell's smug and arrogant attitude towards him which ironically is a trait that comes from Frieza himself.

However, when Imperfect Cell fights Frieza in the Xenoverse 2 there is a special dialog where Cell states that he guesses he should thank him for "supplying" his DNA, even calling it an act of generosity in the Funimation dub of Xenoverse 2.

If Perfect Cell fights with Cell Junior it will act disrespectfully towards him angering Cell causing him to state "How dare you! How dare you act that way towards your father...! You are nothing but a miserable failure." showing that he does not like being disrespected by his children. In Xenoverse 2 when fighting Android 13, Imperfect Cell suspects that Android 13 may be one of his early prototypes as he notes his ability to grow stronger through absorbing the components of other Androids. Perfect Cell (in both his Perfect and Super Perfect forms) however considers Android 13 to be an outdated model.

In PQ: "Miscalculations in Time", Imperfect Cell's time machine goes off course and ends up at the Cell Games. Perfect Cell has nothing but scorn for his Imperfect self and calls him an idiot for ending up in the wrong age. However Imperfect Cell is elated to learn the computer was right about his perfect form and resolves to absorb Perfect Cell and become a warrior of even greater perfection. However the result of him absorbing Perfect Cell if any are not shown.

Biography

Background

The version of Cell that plays a large role in Dragon Ball Z hails from an alternate future timeline where he has already evolved to his Imperfect form. Unfortunately for him, neither Future Android 17 nor Future Android 18 are present, having already been taken out by his version of Future Trunks. In order to complete his evolution, Cell kills Future Trunks and steals his Time Machine, going back in time to the date set by Future Trunks in the "standard" timeline when both Androids are still functional, sometime around four years prior to the Androids' arrival. In order to fit into the time machine, Cell had to revert to an egg, (or in the dub, his larval state).

Once he arrived in the past, Cell burrowed underground where he would remain for four years until he could grow back to his adult, humanoid self. Once this metamorphosis was completed, Cell emerged from the ground and molted his skin. Even though he had evolved into his mature, Imperfect form, Cell still feared that he did not 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.

Unbeknownst to Cell, Kami had witnessed his arrival into the present and grew to fear that he would become an even greater threat to the Earth than the Androids.

After the Z Fighters were defeated by the Androids and decided to evacuate a sick Goku, Bulma tells Future Trunks that she received evidence of a second Time Machine in a forest by Gingertown. When she, Trunks, and Gohan go to investigate, they find Cell's abandoned Time Machine and his leftover egg and molted skin.

Dragon Ball Z

Cell Saga

Main articles: Imperfect Cell Saga, Perfect Cell Saga, and Cell Games Saga

"I'm going to absorb you next!"

— Imperfect Cell to Piccolo in "I Am Your Brother! The Monster with Goku's Energy!"

After completing his feeding on the humans in Ginger Town, Cell is confronted by Piccolo. Piccolo calls Cell a freak of nature, but Cell's ki shocks him. The Richest man in Gingertown, being held by Cell, begs Piccolo for help, offering him whatever he wants. Piccolo tells Cell to let the man go, and that life has value, even a worthless one like that man's. Cell seemingly complies by dropping the man, who starts to crawl towards Piccolo. Cell, however, stabs the man in the back with his tail and absorbs him, shocking Piccolo. Cell then looks at Piccolo and tells him that he is next, calling him by name. Piccolo, stunned, asks how Cell knows his name and who he is. Cell then powers up, surprising Piccolo again, and tells Piccolo that he is his brother, (although Cell does not know at this point that Piccolo fused with Kami). Piccolo again asks Cell who he is, demanding to be told everything. Cell asks why Piccolo would need to know that while inside of his stomach. Piccolo says that he would prefer to know who his opponent is before killing them, but he will make Cell an exception. Cell scoffs at this. Piccolo tells Cell that he doesn't know how he knows of the name Piccolo, and powers up. He then tells Cell that he unfortunately has the wrong person, which confuses Cell. Piccolo says that it was convenient that Cell killed all of the residents already, as now he does not have to hold back. He then hits Cell with a massive Ki Blast.

After a brief struggle where he easily beats around the creature, Piccolo asks Cell if that was all he has got and says he expected him to be more powerful. Cell says that Piccolo is not a bad fighter, but that he is not yet in his Perfect form. Piccolo asks if that is why he is attacking people, and Cell confirms that he is absorbing human energy to power himself up. Piccolo then angrily demands to know who sent him in the time machine, and Cell reveals that he sent himself, after reverting to his egg form due to the machine's small size. Cell says that he is surprised Piccolo knows about the time machine, but says that he will not know his next move. Cell then begins to charge a Kamehameha, shocking Piccolo when he recognizes the stance. Cell unleashes his blast, and Piccolo is surprised to see that it is indeed a Kamehameha. He manages to dodge, leaping into the air. Cell, however, ambushes Piccolo and grabs him from behind, pinning his arms and legs. Cell says that he has him now, and stabs Piccolo in the arm with his tail. He manages to suck energy from Piccolo's arm before the Namekian headbutts him and escapes. Piccolo's left arm, however, becomes withered and useless. 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. Piccolo tells Cell that even though he gained more energy from his arm, increasing his strength, he is still beyond the Bio-Android's capabilities, and Piccolo prepares to finish this fight quickly. Cell, admiring Piccolo's intellect and tactics, praises the Namekian, surprised himself he had fallen for Piccolo's folly. Piccolo however, states this tactic came from the mind of Kami. From this information, Cell comes to the conclusion that Kami and Piccolo have become one being once again, explaining Piccolo's power, which has kept him slightly above Cell's abilities. Cell, however, also concludes that due to this fusion the Dragon Balls have now become stone and unusable, thus, nobody can be revived from the dead, a tactic which works well in Cell's favor. Before Piccolo and Cell can fight again, Future Trunks and Krillin arrive at the scene. Future Trunks' presence in the past surprises Cell, as he deduces this is another timeline's version of him. Krillin asks why can he feel Goku's familiar ki coming from the monster, something Piccolo says he will explain later, after they have successfully destroyed the creature.

Realizing that he is outnumbered, Cell decides to retreat and absorb more victims, and then finally absorb Androids 17 and 18. Piccolo calls Cell's idea a joke, remembering the less than average Kamehameha Cell had fired before, something Piccolo states was a sign of Cell's limit of power, and thus, has no chance of escaping from Piccolo's much increased speed. Krillin also becomes shocked that Cell can use the legendary Kamehameha wave. Cell replies to Krillin by stating that not only can he use the Kamehameha, he knows all of Goku's techniques, including the Spirit Bomb. Shocked that Cell knows his name, Krillin thinks that Goku will be even more shocked than he is when he is informed of this. Cell deduces that Goku has not died of his heart disease and is still alive, which makes him excited at the thought of fighting him. Cell, now with a full plan of escape, shouts that he will absorb Androids 17 and 18 and achieve his perfect form, stating that Piccolo must get stronger if he wants any chance of stopping him. Cell, now done with his threat, raises his hands and performs a Solar Flare, blinding his foes with a blast of bright light, making his escape and suppresses his energy to prevent them from finding him.

As Cell runs through a woodland area, he chuckles at his own getaway, admiring his opponents stupidity. Cell now states that he must avoid the Dragon Team until he has absorbed enough energy from humans to increase his power higher than Piccolo and the Androids, and then, he will have an easy time absorbing them. Cell's only fear is the Shut Down Remote, which his enemies can use to deactivate the androids and then easily destroy them. However, Cell remembers that Piccolo said Gero's laboratory was destroyed, so the remote was most likely destroyed with it as well. Cell remembers another city nearby, and prepares to have his next meal. Cell, however, notices Vegeta flying nearby, and makes sure to hide behind a tall tree trunk. Surprised Vegeta has not suffered his fate to the hands of the androids yet and that his power is greater than he had expected, Realizing how different the timeline is with all the z-fighters alive, Cell decides to pick up the pace and make sure he absorbs more civilians as quickly as possible. In the anime, as Cell approaches Nicky Town, he encounters a bus full of Battle Ball Team players. Their bus is stopped by Cell as he simply stands in the middle of the road and ponders his next step. As Cell is blocking their route and ignoring the manager honking the horn, the entire Battle Ball team climbs out of the bus and takes him on. After catching a glimpse of Vegeta flying, Cell easily defeats and absorbs them.

Realizing that he is still far below his enemies' power levels, Cell decides to use a hit-and-run strategy at this point, hiding from the Dragon Team while going from town to town (including Nicky Town, Basil Airport, and Chazke Village) absorbing humans and gaining the power he needs to be able to take on the Androids. Piccolo and Tien work on tracking him while Future Trunks and Krillin kill the current (main) timeline's Cell while still in his infancy. In the anime, he attacks two people at Basil Airport during his feeding, However, Cell encounters Krillin who rescues them. After a lengthy battle, Cell defeats Krillin and nearly absorbs him, although he is forced to let him live when seeing Piccolo and Tien zeroing in on his location. He escapes and hides from the pursuers by suppressing his power while taunting his foes.

This becomes a continuing factor, as the Z-Fighters obtained an aircraft that would allow them to mask their energy and not alert Cell. However, when Yamcha, Tien, Piccolo, and Krillin arrive in a town, Cell had anticipated their strategy and hid while gloating over his achievements.

Eventually, after absorbing several tens of thousands of humans, Cell detects a large ki; knowing that this has to be Piccolo, he deduces that the only thing that could make him fight so hard would be the Androids. Gleeful at the opportunity to finally absorb 17 and 18 transform to a stronger state, Cell wastes no time and quickly heads toward the area. As expected, he finds Piccolo and Android 17 engaged in battle. The battle ends in a draw, since the androids and Piccolo focus on Cell. Cell happily states that this day has been delayed for far too long, but now is the time where he can finally absorb Android 17 and Android 18, and achieve the completion he has desired since his creation. Cell also notices Android 16, gazing emotionlessly towards him. Judging from the Red Ribbon mark on his chest, Cell assumes with confidence that 16 is a fellow creation of Dr. Gero and that he must be a older model than the others, and weak enough to safely ignore. As Cell descends from the higher rocky formation of the island, he begins to charge his ki, which completely decimates the entire rocky mountain area of the island. At this point, his power has far surpassed the weakened Piccolo and Android 17's, and without any precautions, he approaches 17. Piccolo stands frightful and stiff, as Cell simply walks past the astounded Namekian to absorb Android 17 first. Before Cell can proceed with an attack, Piccolo demands to know how many victims Cell has just absorbed. Cell chuckles, and states that they are not victims, but part of something more amazing than anything they will ever achieve in their lifetimes.

As the monster prepares to absorb the Android, Piccolo attacks him, freeing Android 17 from his grasp. Cell then watches as Piccolo informs the androids of what he is and what he has planned to do with them. Cell carries on Piccolo's explanation and tells 17 that the power unlocked from the absorption will be beyond comparison, and that Dr. Gero's dreams of creating the ultimate super-being will be fulfilled. 17 denies this, stating that he is Gero's ultimate creation and he won't join with him. Cell replies that the absorption will be carried out, with or without 17's permission. Android 17 prepares to fight, however, finally speaking, Android 16 orders 17 to retreat because Cell is far beyond both him and Piccolo. 16 explains that if Cell obtains his perfect form, killing Goku won't satsify him and he'll destroy the entire universe. Now surprised Android 16 is actually speaking, Android 17 is disappointed that the first thing he speaks about is cowardice. Android 17 dismisses the warning, thinking that he is much more powerful than Cell could ever be, and attacks. After knocking away Android 17, Cell fights and easily beats the weakened Piccolo, even managing to shrug off the Namekian's Light Grenade. After brutally breaking his neck and blasting a hole through Piccolo's side and tossing him into the sea, Cell is able to attack 17 again.

Cell defeats Android 17 easily and is about to absorb him when Android 16 becomes involved. Android 16 states that according to his calculations, he is just equivalent to Cell in both strength and speed, and portends that he will be the one to kill Cell. Cell and Android 16 clash with each other with the Bio Impact and Machine Impact rush attacks respectively, however, Cell catches Android 16 off guard and sticks his stinger right into his neck. Cell laughs and says that he cannot win, before attempting to absorb his bio-energy, however, 16's inorganic nature prevents him from absorbing any energy. 16 smiles and takes the stinger out of his neck, before tossing Cell into the ground by the tail. 16 steps on Cell's tail and literally tears it off of his body. Android 16 says that this will prevent him from absorbing 17 and 18. However, Cell simply regenerates his tail and gloats about the partial Namekian DNA he received from Piccolo. Android 16 realizes that he must destroy Cell completely so he will not achieve his perfect form, and attempts to kick him, only to be knocked back when Cell counters with two punches. 16 then launches his fist at Cell in retaliation and resorts to using arguably his most powerful technique, Hell's Flash, which forces Cell underground and scorches the island.

Android 16 advises 17 and 18 to leave, but 17 is convinced that even if 16 didn't kill Cell, it still proved that the three of them were unbeatable, fully sure that together, the whole world will soon be their playground (in Kai, 17 wants revenge on Cell for the beating Cell gave him earlier and decides he will finish Cell). Cell uses this opportunity to burst out of the ground directly behind Android 17 and, whilst sadistically laughing, he quickly absorbs 17 and evolves into his Semi-Perfect form. After Cell's absorption of Android 17, Android 16, knowing that he is now well outmatched, attempts to flee with Android 18, but Cell easily intercepts them, thanks to the added speed of Android 17.

In a display of his new power, he takes a direct hit from Android 16 without injury and then easily blasts the Android, nearly destroying his head effortlessly. Cell turns to Android 18, but she threatens to self-destruct before joining him if he approaches, which will leave him unable to attain his complete form. In an attempt to pacify her, he pretends to be Android 17 by mimicking his voice (a trait probably gained from his absorption) and tells her how wonderful it is to be part of Cell and fulfilling "the great" Dr. Gero's vision. Android 16, still functional but badly damaged, warns her of the ploy, something she already knows since both she and Android 17 despised Dr. Gero, they would never compliment him.

When his plan fails, Cell prepares to attempt to absorb 18 by force regardless, knowing that he is fast enough to prevent her from destroying herself and more than capable of overpowering her. He is prevented by Tien however, who uses his Neo Tri-Beam attack several times to stall Cell, destroying much of the landscape and nearly killing himself. Though Cell does not take any significant damage from the assault, it manages to hold him at bay long enough for Android 16 and Android 18 to make their escape. Though Tien is exhausted to the point of death (and soon falls unconscious), Cell insults Tien for stalling his plans and decides to finish him as retribution. Before he can fire though, Goku intervenes by teleporting to their location using Instant Transmission, meeting Cell for the first time. Shocked to finally meet Goku, Cell greets him as the Saiyan informs Cell that while he is not strong enough yet, he will fight him in one day and win. Cell laughs at this supposed cowardice, before he is amazed by Goku teleporting him and Tien near the sea. He is shocked to discover Piccolo survived his attack and regenerated, as he realized his careless mistake of not properly killing him. Just when Goku grabs Piccolo and makes plans to leave, Cell who eagerly wants to fight Goku, states that they will not fight another day, but now, and flies towards him. Cell prepares to attack, though Goku uses Instant Transmission again, whisking the unconscious Tien and a barely alive Piccolo back to safety at The Lookout before Cell's punch lands. Cell is in awe of Goku's ability to teleport, but dismisses it, saying that his priority now is to find 18.

Without anyone to oppose him, Cell continues his search for Android 18. After losing her in a group of islands, he threatens to destroy all the islands nearby unless 18 shows herself. When 18 does not answer under 16's orders, Cell proceeds 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 approaches and challenges him. Cell is soon shocked to discover that Vegeta is significantly more powerful than his new body, as the fight is entirely one-sided. Even after powering up to full power, he is unable to injure the Saiyan, who now calls himself "Super Vegeta."

During their fight, Cell becomes incredibly frustrated as he cannot land a hit on the Saiyan Prince, and states if it was not for Vegeta's interference, he knows he would have achieved his perfect form by now and have crushed everyone in his path. With Vegeta keen on knowing more about how strong Cell's final form may be, Cell appeals 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, agrees to Cell's proposition. When Future Trunks refuses to allow it, Cell calls on Vegeta to remove him as an obstacle while he goes after the recently discovered Android 18. Cell charges the Android with Future Trunks (also in his 2nd Grade Super Saiyan form) in hot pursuit, until Vegeta kicks Future Trunks out of the way. Future Trunks retaliates 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 is ready and uses the Solar Flare to temporarily blind everyone long enough for him to absorb Android 18. Cell then puts up an impenetrable barrier while he evolves yet again, this time to Perfect Cell.

After Cell achieves his goal of becoming perfect, Krillin becomes enraged by Android 18's absorption and immediately attacks Cell, with Future Trunks assisting him in the original anime (In the manga and Dragon Ball Z Kai, Trunks instead warns Krillin not to attack Cell, who ignores him in his rage). However, Cell continues to admire his new body, completely ignoring Krillin and Future Trunks' assault, barely registering Krillin and Future Trunks' hits and takes Krillin's Destructo Disc attack to the neck with the disk breaking on impact, not even flinching. He then "lightly" kicks Krillin away, making Krillin fly across the island, leaving Krillin in a near-dead state. Vegeta, unimpressed by the display, is eager to resume their battle, which Cell obliges. The tables then turn since their last battle, and now Cell merely toys with Vegeta at the beginning, taking on his attacks without any sign of damage. Vegeta then delivers a powerful kick to Cell's head, with almost all of his energy converted towards the attack, but Cell is not affected in the slightest (his head turns only slightly from the attack), leaving Vegeta in a momentary state of shock and disbelief. When Cell strikes back, the kick he delivers blows Vegeta away, smashing him through several rock formations, after which Cell proceeds to mockingly thank him, outright stating that he would never have been able to reach his Perfect Form were it not for Vegeta's foolishness.

Android 16 briefly tries to step in and attack Cell from behind, but the Bio-Android hears him and warns him of what will happen if he carries out his attack. Vegeta then challenges Cell to take his next attack head on without dodging it and prepares his ultimate attack, the Final Flash. While Vegeta charges his deadly beam, Cell continues to stand calm and collected, smiling while Android 16 looks in disbelief. Cell, however, does become slightly concerned when Vegeta finally fires the attack. Cell takes the full brunt of the attack, vaporizing everything to the right side above his torso. Though Vegeta believes himself to be victorious, Cell proves otherwise; his cells from Frieza allow him to survive and function with virtually any wound and those of Piccolo allow him to regenerate from the damage instantly. Almost immediately following the attack, Cell regrows the destroyed area and is back to normal. Vegeta, now desperate, fires off dozens of Ki bolts, but Cell simply walks through it and with one swift combination of attacks, incapacitates the Saiyan.

With Vegeta out of the picture, Future Trunks is free to fully power up without worrying about injuring his father's pride. He soon reaches the Super Saiyan Third Grade stage. When Cell finally sees Future Trunks' powers, he believes Future Trunks to be stronger than himself, although claims that Future Trunks still has no chance of winning. He explains that the downside of the increased muscle mass in this form drained Future Trunks' stamina quickly and made him significantly slower as well. This theory proves correct, as Cell easily dodges Future Trunks' punches and kicks, mocking Future Trunks while he does so.

Cell chides Future Trunks, stating that simple brute force is worthless and quickly demonstrates that he too can increase his muscle size if he desires by revealing that he is also able to increase his muscle size in the same manner as a 3rd Grade Super Saiyan and briefly assumes this buffed state to demonstrate the mistake Future Trunks made increasing his muscle mass without balancing his speed. At this point, Future Trunks loses all hope and allows Cell to kill him. Cell considers it but decides 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 decides to hold a tournament in ten days, to test his new power. He also admits to Future Trunks that he has no interest in conquest, he wants just entertainment, primarily through the fear of others. Cell then leaves the island while Future Trunks stares in shock and confusion.

Using telekinesis, Cell spends the next morning creating the arena for his tournament, the Cell Games. He then interrupts a live news broadcast to inform everyone around the world about the games, and states that he would take on as many challengers as there are; if he is able to survive them all, then he will exterminate all life on the Earth. While Cell is at the arena waiting for the day of the competition to arrive, Goku arrives briefly through Instant Transmission to check Cell's power level and they engage 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, also relocating beforehand to draw their fire specifically to avoid risking damage to the ring. During the ten day wait, Cell mostly stays at his ring and trains, sometimes stands perfectly still, meditating in silence. On the day of the Tournament, Mr. Satan attempts to fight Perfect Cell first, although he is easily knocked away with one flick of Cell's wrist and is disqualified. Throughout the entire tournament, he runs from the media covering the story, claiming that he is suffering from intense stomach pains and calls the techniques in the ring "tricks" or "illusions". Goku and Perfect Cell then begin to battle, although Cell wishes that Goku would of been the last opponent on the list, wanting to "save the best for last". In a heated display of power, technique, and ability, Goku seems to be able to keep up with the mechanically engineered monster. Perfect Cell pulls out all kinds of tricks, performing various moves such as the Special Beam Cannon and the Kamehameha wave. Cell also learns of Goku's Instant Transmission, which is how he was able to warp.

Goku and Perfect Cell battle for a while until Perfect Cell grows tired of being confined to the small ring, not wanting their match to stop due to one of them going out of bounds. Without much warning, Perfect Cell destroys the ring and makes the battle an all-out fight, just to make things more interesting for him, with no rules applied. Goku throws everything he can at Perfect Cell and suddenly flies into the air and charges a Kamehameha, which is directed towards the Earth, with Cell knowing if Goku launched the technique, he would decimate the entire planet and confidently believe he wouldn't fire. However, Cell becomes noticeably afraid as Goku powers up the energy blast, but Goku tricks him by performing Instant Transmission to teleport directly in front of Perfect Cell, and unleashes the blast on him. The entire top half of Perfect Cell is disintegrated. While some of the Z-Fighters are content, believing Cell has died, Krillin, Vegeta, and Future Trunks know otherwise, and indeed the other half of Perfect Cell jumps to its feet and regenerates. Goku and Cell continue their ongoing brutal struggle, with Goku firing dozens of ki blasts in a row, putting Cell in a tight spot, as he cannot escape. Cell manages to finally halt Goku's assault by using a Perfect Barrier, protecting himself from the blasts, and destroying quite a lot of the battlefield. Goku knows that, if he continues, the Earth will be destroyed, or Cell and he will die fighting each other, and he then suddenly forfeits the match to Cell, shocking both Cell and the other Z-Fighters. He reasons that only one person can defeat Cell, and reveals the fighter to be his son, Gohan. The Z-Fighters are shocked or furious (noticeably Vegeta and Piccolo) by this, even more so when Goku, believing that it wouldn't be a fair fight for Gohan to beat Cell while he isn't in full power, decided to give Cell a Senzu Bean. Cell is amused, believing the match will be fun, and he will get to make Goku suffer for his idiotic decision by torturing his only son.

It takes a while for the battle to commence between Gohan and Perfect Cell, and even longer for Gohan to get serious. Underestimating his opponent, Cell attacks Gohan directly, making him crash into a rock formation. Like most of the Z-Fighters, Cell at first believes the boy to be dead, but Gohan emerges with barely any injury, surprising Cell. As a Super Saiyan Full Power, he starts out somewhat better than Goku, and his increased speed manages to dodge most of Cell's attacks, but in the end, his efforts are no good, which noticeably worries the spectators (except Goku). As the battle continues, Gohan demands that Perfect Cell stop fighting, and he tells him that the power he could harness when he becomes enraged is beyond his control, which may lead to devastating results for Cell. However, Cell begins to laugh, as the story does not scare him, but it only fuels his desire to push Gohan to the limit, much to Gohan's horror.

Finally, Android 16 decides to destroy Perfect Cell and himself with the Self Destruct Device in his body. He wraps his arms around Perfect Cell's torso (similar to how Chiaotzu tries to kill Nappa by self-destructing), with the purpose of killing them both. To Android 16's surprise, Krillin informs that the bomb had been removed by Bulma when she re-programmed him earlier during repairs. Cell then gains the upper hand and destroys all of Android 16 but his head, which rolls over the battlefield. Cell even claims 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 Android 16 was intending to do. Realizing that no physical pain on Gohan's own body will unleash his hidden potential, Cell then creates seven smaller blue versions of himself from his tail and christens them Cell Juniors. After they are born, Cell orders them to attack the Z-Fighters, but not kill them, and begins to wonder if harm to Gohan's friends and father will finally reveal Gohan's power.

Despite their childish appearances and attitudes, the Cell Juniors easily clobber the Z-Fighters, being close to Perfect Cell's own power. Only Piccolo (in the anime), Vegeta and Future Trunks manage to hold them off for a while, but eventually, all of them are brutally defeated (even Goku, who was weakened from his fight with Perfect Cell). As Gohan watches these maniacal minions heartlessly beat his friends and father, he becomes angry, but it is still not enough.

Perfect Cell, noticing Gohan's anger, orders the Cell Juniors to kill everyone. At this point, Mr. Satan discovers the head of Android 16, which, surprisingly, can still talk. Android 16 pleads to Mr. Satan to take him near Gohan (throw him if he had to), for the sake of the world. Mr. Satan complies despite his fear, and the Android's headlands near Gohan.

Android 16 gives some advice and words of encouragement to Gohan, saying it is okay to fight sometimes to defend loved ones and to protect nature. Perfect Cell, overhearing this, claims that this was good advice and promptly crushes Android 16's head beneath his foot, wires and parts scattering across the battlefield as Gohan watches in shock. This is the breaking point for Gohan, and he finally snaps. This enrages 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 is pleased when Gohan reaches this form, but Gohan's first action is mercilessly killing off the smaller Cell Juniors, which he defeats in a single hit each.

The already astounded Z Warriors, with the exception of the satisfied Goku, are amazed as Gohan and Perfect Cell began to battle, with Gohan dominating the powerful Android. Even after Cell, to everyone's surprise and horror, powers up to maximum (a power deemed "unfathomable" by the Z Fighters, although Gohan was not impressed, bluntly asking him "is that all you've got?" to Cell's initial shock) and lands a hard blow to Gohan's face, Gohan is not affected in the slightest. With just two punches, Gohan almost incapacitates Cell completely, to the complete dismay of Cell, refusing to believe that he could have sustained that much damage. Perfect Cell knows he is no match for Gohan.

Gohan then begins dodging all of Cell's attacks, taunting him, with Cell continuing to not believe in this power Gohan sustains, refusing to be outdone by some sniveling Saiyan brat. He attempts to harm Gohan with several different attacks, first two destruct discs aimed at Gohan, to which he simply catches them and destroys them. He then uses one of Piccolo's signature attacks: The Special Beam Cannon, which Gohan simply deflects. He finally attempts to hit Gohan with a barrage of small amounts of ki, which do not even seem to reach Gohan or even land a blow on him. In anger at his inability to defeat Gohan, he flies high into the air, preparing a Kamehameha at full power. All of the Z fighters believe it to be the end, as they believe Gohan is unable to stop it, yet Gohan does not seem concerned at all and responds with his own Kamehameha, sending both Kamehameha's right back at Cell. Cell is unable to avoid it or stop it, and he is decimated by the attack. This almost destroys Cell, with his left arm and leg gone and the right area of his head destroyed. When Goku tells him to finish Cell off in his weakened state, Gohan tells Goku if he is joking, saying he wants to see Cell suffer much more. Both Goku and Piccolo are rather shocked at this statement, and Piccolo seriously wonders how much the anger has affected his thought process. Goku warns Cell that since he is backed into a corner, knowing he can't win, they have no idea what he would do now that he is desperate. Yet Gohan waits too long, allowing Cell to regenerate his lost limbs with Piccolo's regenerative cells.

Making the same mistake Future Trunks made earlier, he begins a 3rd Grade Super Saiyan-like transformation that reduces his speed drastically, making him unable to hit Gohan. Future 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 Fighters, Gohan is still able to effortlessly cripple him in a single heavy kick to the stomach (a heavy hit to the head in the manga). The blow is enough to make Cell throw up, and in doing so, expelling Android 18 from his body.

Cell reverts to his Semi-Perfect form when he regurgitates Android 18. In filler, Gohan messes around with Cell in this form, scaring him into falling into a hole. Cell eventually gets so desperate, that he bloats up like a balloon and tries to blow himself up in an attempt to destroy the Earth, knowing he is well outmatched. With no other options, at the last second, Goku uses Instant Transmission to teleport Cell to King Kai's Planet where he, King Kai, Gregory, and Bubbles all die. With this, Cell technically fulfilled his purpose (as laid out by Dr. Gero), killing Goku.

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 is also killed in the explosion of Cell's Semi-Perfect body). Due to his Saiyan trait of extreme power increase thanks to a Zenkai after healing from injury, he becomes much stronger than he previously is in his Perfect Form, even at full power or when buffed up. Apparently, Cell himself is 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, having become Super Perfect Cell, returns to Earth, kills Future Trunks with the Full Power Death Beam, and explains how he survived. Enraged, Vegeta blindly rushes at him in his Super Saiyan form but is slapped aside. Cell attempts to kill Vegeta with a ki blast, but Gohan intercepts Cell's attack. Due to the sheer power of the attack and the fact that he is unable to actually defend against it, Gohan is left without the use of his left arm and his ki supply reduced to less than half. Cell then wickedly reveals that he has decided to destroy the Earth and then use the Instant Transmission his cells learned from Goku to teleport to various planets in order to destroy each one in the process. The whole situation crushes Gohan's will to fight, as he notes that Cell has a significant amount of power at his disposal, also saying that it was all his fault, since he was the one who didn't destroy Cell when he had the chance, which is what made Goku have to sacrifice himself in the first place. Vegeta feels guilty and disappointed in his inability to provide a lot of support in the final battle against Cell, then apologizing to Gohan, believing that Cell has already won. Gohan is surprised by his response, then realizes the reason he is apologizing because he knows they have lost.

Goku then telepathically communicates with Gohan with the support of King Kai. Goku ensures Gohan that he is alright and he is fine in Other World and he is with King Kai. Gohan apologizes for causing his death, but Goku tells him it is nothing to worry about, yet telling him to focus all of the energy he has on Cell. Gohan insists that he only has half the power he had originally, making it impossible to beat Cell, but Goku still insists that Gohan can beat him. Gohan then prepares a Kamehameha, much to Cell's delight that he will at least have some fun and competition when destroying the Z fighters and the solar system. Gohan desperately engages Cell in an Energy Clash at the behest of the late Goku. As the struggle commences, Gohan is seen losing ground, and Goku tells him that he has more energy than this. Gohan tells him that that is the limit of his energy and that he is still the weak crybaby that he has always been. Goku tells him that is not true, and that he needs to put more energy into his attack, and Gohan pushes forward, making the struggle at even odds again. At this point, the manga and anime take two slightly different approaches on the clash and, consequently, Super Perfect Cell's power. In the anime, Cell gains the upper hand several times, nearly overwhelming Gohan nonchalantly. The other fighters try to distract Cell by attacking him, but 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. In the manga, while Cell still gains the upper hand, the only one to get involved is Vegeta, and he only needs to do this once. Regardless of the story, however, Gohan catches Cell momentarily off guard thanks to Vegeta, allowing Gohan to draw out all of his power to overwhelm Cell. Gohan produces a Father-Son Kamehameha that dispels Cell's Solar Kamehameha and engulfs the evil Bio-Android in the gigantic blast. Cell is left in complete disbelief over his loss and impending death, declaring himself to be the embodiment of perfection before his body is completely destroyed by Gohan's attack. All of his cells are incinerated by Gohan's Kamehameha, resulting in his death.

Majin Buu Saga

Main articles: Other World Saga and Kid Buu Saga

In anime filler, after Cell is killed by Gohan he is sent to Hell by King Yemma. Though in the Other World, Cell still causes trouble, striking up a partnership with Frieza, King Cold and the deceased Ginyu Force soldiers Guldo, Recoome, Burter, and Jeice. He is defeated along with his allies by Goku and Pikkon and ultimately sentenced to the Other World Prison. Frieza and Cell would occasionally train together in Hell.[2] Later, he and the other deceased villains are shown watching Goku's battle with Kid Buu on a huge Crystal Ball in Hell.

Dragon Ball Super

God of Destruction Beerus Saga

Main article: God of Destruction Beerus Saga While image training in his family's radish field, in the manga Goku pictures Perfect Cell as the second opponent he faces (after 50% power Frieza). Cell attempts to attack Super Saiyan Goku with an energy wave, however, Goku stops him from firing it, and proceeds to fire several punches and kicks at Cell, who apparently dodges them, only for Goku to land a heavy blow to Cell's head, finishing him off. Goku then proceeds to fight an image of Kid Buu.

"Future" Trunks Saga

Main article: "Future" Trunks Saga

In the anime, when Goku and Krillin are training together and sent by Roshi to find a medicine called "Paradise Grass" they enter a strange forest to look for it, however, due to the nature of the forest they encounter a manifestation of Cell, and other enemies from the past, who attack them. Goku constantly destroys the illusion of Cell, who constantly comes back until Goku makes him and the other illusions disintegrate by focusing his ki to de-power them, as they were running off it.

Universe Survival Saga

Main article: Universe Survival Saga

In the manga, Cell appears battling Mr. Satan in a movie "re-creation" of Mr. Satan's battle with him. In one scene of the movie, Perfect Cell notes that Mr. Satan is stronger than him and cannot believe that such a being exists thus the re-creation does accurately portray Cell's arrogant personality even if it is historically inaccurate. Additionally Android 17 admits to Goku that he recognizes Goku by his voice which he heard from the time when he was still part of Cell's body as Android 17 never got the chance to meet Goku face to face.

In "Extra Edition 3", it is revealed that like their father, the Cell Juniors regenerated and weren't slain by Gohan as previously believed. However Android 17 found and managed to tame them. As the Cell Juniors are effectively an endangered species of artificial lifeform due to their progenitor Cell's death, Android 17 allows them to live on Monster Island, with the Cell Juniors having become reformed as they protect the island from anyone they do not perceive to be a Ranger, as shown when they briefly attack Goten and Trunks, before noticing their Ranger Uniforms causing them to recognize the two as allies. Thus while Cell himself may be dead, he is survived by the children he created during the Cell Games.

Dragon Ball Heroes

Prison Planet Saga

Main article: Prison Planet Saga In the manga and game, Cell is one of the Ghost Warriors summoned by Hatchiyack, he battles Cooler alongside Bojack in the manga, forcing him to turn into Golden Cooler. In the game he fights Future Trunks.

Dragon Ball GT

Super 17 Saga

Main article: Super 17 Saga

Cell teams up with Frieza to try and kill Goku, but Goku easily dominates them. During the battle, Cell is able to absorb Goku through his tail and though he does gain more power, the victory is only momentarily, as Goku soon forces his way out of Cell's body. Within that brief time, Cell states that the power he had absorbed was nearly overwhelming. He is eventually defeated along with Frieza. Cell was last seen frozen by the coldest ice from Hell, broken in pieces by Goku, and arrested by the ogres.

Film Appearances

Atsumare! Gokū Wārudo

Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Atsumare! Gokū Wārudo

Battle of Gods

Main article: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Gods Cell appears in the prologue that recaps his battle between the Z Fighters and his ultimate defeat and destruction by Goku and Gohan's Father-Son Kamehameha.

Broly

Main article: Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Cell makes a cameo appearance when Goku mentions how a lot has happened to the Earth to Broly.

Other Dragon Ball Stories

Dragon Ball Online

Main article: Dragon Ball Online Around Age 1000, the demon scientist Towa resurrected Cell[3] (likely to try and harvest Goku's DNA from inside him) and placed him inside a capsule to regrow, she modified Cell into "Cell-X" and ordered Captain Bacterian and his pirates to collect energy for Cell-X to aid in his-recuperation.

Eventually, Cell-X grew impatient and escaped from Captain Bacterian's dungeon on Papaya Island for an abandoned cave behind a waterfall. After turning the cave into his lair, he began reproducing, creating an army of Cell-like Bio-Androids, and sending them to collect energy for him. Later on, the Time Patrol headed into Cell-X's cave and fought his Bio-Android spawn, eventually reaching Cell-X himself, after a fight, the Time Patrol defeated Cell-X and he was killed once again.

Xenoverse

Main article: Dragon Ball Xenoverse During the opening Prologue, Super Saiyan Full Power Goku faces Cell during the Cell Games and manages to knock him down before Cell recovers and is overcome by Dark Energy. Chronoa tells her attendant Future Trunks history is changing. During the animated opening, empowered by the Dark Energy, Dark Cell confronts Super Saiyan Gohan in Age 767 while Super Saiyan Goku faces Dark Frieza in Age 762 and Super Saiyan 2 Vegeta faces Dark Kid Buu in Age 774. These alteration cause Future Trunks to use Toki Toki City's Dragon Balls in Age 850 to summon Xeno Shenron to wish for a warrior capable of defending history to be summoned.

During the Cell Games in an altered timeline of Age 767, where Mr. Satan is empowered by Dark Magic and controlled by Mira which grants him Flight and advanced ki manipulation abilities. Cell and the Cell Juniors are also empowered, defeating the Z Fighters with Dark Mr. Satan's assistance which prevents him from aiding Android 16. As a result Super Saiyan Gohan is powerless and killed by Dark Cell and two Dark Cell Junior's Father-Son Perfect Kamehameha. Seeking to correct this altered history Future Trunks and Chronoa of the Time Patrol send the Future Warrior to Age 767 to fix these alterations before they occur.

The Future Warrior arrives just in time to kick Mr. Satan out of the way to prevent Dark Cell from killing him while under the influence of first stage Villainous Mode. After returning to normal (as the first stage is temporary), Cell smiles upon seeing the Future Warrior indicating he senses their strength is formidable enough to entertain him. Mr. Satan however is angry at them for stealing his spotlight and inadvertently ringing him out as that rule was effectively still in play though Mr. Satan ignores it and Cell makes no objections to Mr. Satan entering the ring despite technically having been eliminated though this is presumably due to Mr. Satan being insignificant in Cell's eyes. The Future Warrior fights Cell while protecting Mr. Satan. However eventually Cell knocks Mr. Satan into a mountain like in the original history. The Future Warrior goes to check on him to ensure Mr. Satan's survival and Future Trunks confirms he is still alive as Goku steps up to fight Cell thus history is back on course. Unfortunately Mr. Satan is taken over by Mira through Towa's Dark Magic sending Mira's energy into him. Dark Mr. Satan angered by the Future Warrior's interference powers up and flies using his ki forcing the Future Warrior to confront Dark Mr. Satan to keep him from interfering in Goku and Cell's match. The Future Warrior manages to defeat Dark Mr. Satan as Cell destroys the ring to declare the entire Earth as the arena to eliminate victory by ring out. However Dark Mr. Satan revives and continues fighting against his will despite his body being in tremendous pain from his injuries. The Future Warrior manages to subdue Mr. Satan freeing him from Mira's control while Goku forfeits and announces Gohan as his replacement.

Dark Cell creates the Dark Cell Juniors who are more numerous than the original history. The Future Warrior joins in taking them down. Meanwhile Towa uses her magic on Gohan forcefully triggering his Super Saiyan 2 transformation with Villainous Mode. This turns Gohan into Dark SSJ2 Gohan who fights against Dark Cell. However as a result Future Trunks manages to find Towa's location and tells them to join him there once the Dark Cell Juniors are dealt with. Future Trunks joins the fight against Mira which is allowed as Mira originates from another time. However Mira toys with them while Towa takes the opportunity to undo Gohan forced transformation leaving him weakened just as Dark Cell returns following his self-destruction. Towa and Mira leave and Future Trunks returns to the Time Nest as he cannot intervene in his own history (as his past self is present in the main timeline albeit deceased at the moment). The Future Warrior and Gohan manage to work together to weaken Dark Cell allowing Gohan with spiritual assistance from Goku to finish Cell off with the Father-Son Kamehameha correcting the timeline. Afterwards Chronoa puts the scroll back together causing the alterations to disappear restoring the proper timeline.

Demon God Demigra Saga

Main article: Demon God Demigra Saga

However after failing to control Beerus in Age 778, Cell is later revived by Demigra's Mirage in Age 778 using the Dragon Balls and possessed by Demigra giving him the third stage Villainous Mode transformation along with Frieza and Kid Buu who are also revived. Chronoa uses Toki Toki City's Dragon Balls to summon Xeno Shenron to inform Goku about the threat of Demigra and the three revived villains. Goku and the Future Warrior defeat Dark Cell, Dark Frieza, and Dark Kid Buu as well as free a possessed Vegeta, Gohan, and Gotenks. However, these alterations are enough to free Demigra from the Crack of Time allowing him to attack Toki Toki City and absorb Tokitoki only to be defeated by Super Saiyan 3 Goku and the Future Warrior.

Xenoverse 2

Main article: Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2

Time Patrol Recruitment Video

Cell first appears in his Imperfect form during the opening of the animated Time Patrol recruitment video as an example of the risks of altering history and why the Time Patrol is forbidden to alter history the way Future Trunks did before he became a Time Patroller.

Android Warfare Saga

An altered timeline of Age 767 is shown where Imperfect Cell empowered by the first stage Supervillain power up has already defeated Android 16 and Piccolo. Android 17 tries to fight him by Cell blinds him with a Solar Flare before hitting him with his tail knocking him in Android 18, allowing Cell to absorb both siblings while they are unconscious at the same time, bypassing his Semi-Perfect form entirely and into his Perfect form. Future Trunks is stunned and is forced to explain how Cell originally absorbed the Androids separately and surmises that now that he has achieved his perfect form the Cell Games might never occur. Chronoa asks if this means Krillin and 18 wouldn't get married, though Future Trunks is unsure if it would be affected though Chronoa insists that it is before asking Trunks to oversee the mission claiming that while he's no good at romance stuff he is good at punching things, though Future Trunks asks her to lay off that for awhile, while Elder Kai sends the Future Warrior to Age 767 to correct the history change. The warrior arrives just as Piccolo is about to fight Android 17 who is also empowered by Towa with the first stage Supervillain power-up which Future Trunks notes will make Cell even stronger and orders them to dispel the enchantment before Cell arrives. 18 wonders who the warrior is as people just don't appear out of thin air though Android 16 can find no relevant matches before commenting on the warrior's race.

They manage to remove the enchantment just as Cell arrives and defeats Piccolo. Android 16 steps up to confront Cell though due to his power-up his power is now greater than 16's instead of being equal. The warrior is tasked with assisting 16 to ensure he is not destroyed as he will play an important role in the Cell Games. Eventually 17 demands Cell show himself only for Cell to appear behind and absorb him causing the mission to be a success, though Elder Kai notes that Cell’s success doesn't make it a happy ending though Chronoa states that its a part of the original history so they can't change it and things do eventually work themselves out in the end.

As a result, the Cell Games occur as they are supposed to unfortunately Elder Kai and Chronoa discover Mira plans to join the Cell Games which would definitely alter history, forcing them to send both Future Trunks and the Future Warrior to confront and prevent him from interfering with the historical tournament. Meanwhile Cell fights Goku during their Cell Games match as the Warrior and Future Trunks fight Mira. Though they manage to stop Mira, it is revealed that Mira was just playing the role of decoy in order for Towa to enact some unknown scheme. Future Trunks returns to the Time Nest due to his past self's presence in the main timeline leaving it up to the warrior to foil the Time Breakers plans and ensure the tournament plays out like its supposed to. While the warrior helps fight against the Cell Juniors, Mr. Satan finds Android 16's head and throws him next to Gohan allowing the Android to speak his final words like in the original history resulting in Gohan Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Unfortunately, a wormhole opens connecting the main timeline to New Namek in Age 767 of The Return of Cooler timeline allowing several Meta-Coolers to travel to the main timeline. Meta-Cooler asks to join in taking part in the Cell Games which Cell allows, forcing the warrior to deal with the Meta-Coolers while Chronoa sends Future Trunks to New Namek to stop the Meta-Coolers by attacking their source, the Big Gete Star. The warrior defeats the Meta-Coolers and travels through the wormhole to aid Future Trunks, leaving Gohan to fight Perfect Cell alone. Working together the warrior fights the Meta-Coolers while Future Trunks manages to reprogram the Big Gete Star to self-destruct killing the Meta-Cooler Core which causes a chain reaction that destroys the remaining Meta-Coolers and Future Trunks destroys the wormhole with a couple ki blasts.

Returning to the Cell Games in Age 767 in the main timeline, the warrior finds that Cell has revived after his self-destruction and Gohan prepares to defeat the Android for good but Super Perfect Cell is empowered with the first stage Supervillain power-up. Together the warrior and Gohan manage to weaken Cell enough for Gohan to finish him off with the Father-Son Kamehameha, restoring the timeline.

Dragon Ball Fusions

Perfect Cell first appears in the Timespace Rift in Story Event: "Power Detected!". Ziku detects the power of Goku and Piccolo causing Tekka's Team to decide to seek them out for training. Unfortunately, after Tekka opens the time hole the energy is coming from with Burst Ki, Ziku detects the energy of Vegeta, Frieza, and King Cold causing Kid Goku to tell everyone to run. As it turns out, Ziku was actually detecting Cell's energy and Perfect Cell emerges from the time hole charging a Kamehameha, which he immediately fires at Tekka's Team who are unable to flee in time. However, fortunately, Super Saiyan Adult Goku uses Instant Kamehameha to appear in front of them and counters Cell's Kamehameha with energy wave of his Instant Kamehameha. Goku says he sees Cell is still wreaking havoc, only for Cell to reveal he only attacked Tekka's Team to lure Goku out so he could take care of his unfinished business with Goku. However, Goku tells Cell that he would like to bring in some new blood to fight Cell. Cell wonders who that may be as he notes that Gohan is not present. Goku points to Tekka's Team as the new blood he was speaking of, though Cell dismisses them as puny brats. Goku agrees that while they may not be able to defeat Cell currently, he believes that he can make them strong enough to beat Cell if he is allowed to train them. Cell agrees to allow Goku to train them as he is interested in Goku's suggestion that they would give him a good fight. Goku also asks that Cell refrains from causing trouble until their training is complete while thinking to himself that if Cell where to start throwing his weight around, he might cause a certain someone to appear. However, Cell agrees as he is interested in seeing the despair on Goku's face when they fail.

Goku then spars with Tekka's Team using his base, Super Saiyan, and Super Saiyan Blue forms. After they finish sparring it is revealed by Goku that he was teaching them as to lay the foundation for teaching them the EX-Fusion technique. With the assistance of Bulma (communicating through Ziku), they explain it is a new type of fusion that uses Metamo-Rings and the Fusion Dance. After Tekka successfully performs one EX-Fusion with a member of their time before their training is complete and they return with Adult Goku to confront Cell in Story Event: "Beat Cell at Cell Games Arena!". Cell wonders who he will take on first, however Goku tells him to wait as he calls out to the other Cells nearby. Soon multiple Cells appear and Cell reveals that it was a simple matter of opening a timespace hole and invite more copies of himself from other dimensions, in order to fill Goku and Tekka's Team with fear of facing an army of Perfect Cells. As Tekka's Team prepares to face the Cells, Goku transforms into his Super Saiyan form once more. Sensing Vegeta nearby, he asks him to take care of a few of the as well, however SSJ Vegeta appears angry at Goku for ordering him around, before ordering his new student Pinich to take care of one of Cells. Pinich tells his rival Tekka to not let him down. As a result, Tekka's Team faces off against five Cells. However, despite his best efforts and having an army of Cells, Perfect Cell and his counterparts are defeated. Cell expresses rage at Goku for once again defeating him and uses Instant Transmission to escape, causing Goku to wonder who's ki Cell locked onto to get away. Cell later joins forces with Frieza in an attempt to take revenge on Goku during the Timespace Tournament.

Cell appears alongside Frieza, Piprika and Wanta as members of Pinich's team to participate in the Timespace Tournament, taking on Tekka's team, though they are soon backed into a corner. He and Frieza urge Pinich to use Ultra Fusion to fight Tekka's team, goading him with the thought of disappointing Tekka if he refuses to do so. Giving in, Pinich performs an Ultra Fusion, becoming Ultra Pinich - though the sheer influence of Cell and Frieza combined override Pinich's control as the initiator of the Ultra Fusion, and Wanta and Paprika's influences disappear as well.

Ultra Pinich uses a dark Spirit Bomb-esque attack to wipe out everyone within the Time Rift, though Beerus and Whis arrive afterwards. Whis rewinds time and Beerus casually flicks away Ultra Pinich's attack, then threatens to kill Ultra Pinich (and Cell by effect) with a Sphere of Destruction. Goku deflects Beerus' blast and tells Tekka's team to go after Ultra Pinich while he and Vegeta hold Beerus off.

In a new area of the Timespace Rift (a demolished Kami's Lookout with fragments of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, dying planets, and meteorites being consumed by a massive black hole), Tekka and his team take on Ultra Pinich (who summons endless Cells and Friezas to assist him). Though the heroes manage to deal considerable damage to him, Ultra Pinich uses Piccolo's regeneration abilities through Cell to recover from the damage dealt to him. He fires a Power Ball skywards to use his Golden Great Ape form to attack Tekka's team, though the primal instinct brings Pinich back to his senses and allows him to take over the fusion from Cell and Frieza's grasp.

After Ultra Pinich is defeated and defuses, Pinich, Cell and Frieza are sucked into the black hole, with Tekka dashing in after them. Furious at their defeat, Cell and Frieza resort to using their EX Fusion Cellza, who vows to obliterate the pair. Tekka and Pinich use EX Fusion in response, and thrash Cellza until their power increases to an amazing 3000%. With one last explosive True Rolling Attack Pinich Punch, Tekka and Pinich's EX Fusion blows a hole through Cellza (similar to Goku's Penetrate! against King Piccolo), killing him (and Cell and Frieza by effect).

However post game, Tekka's team runs into versions of Cell and Frieza from alternate timelines, Tekka's Team to take them on separately in separate Sub-Events.

Power

Manga and Anime

"Like Piccolo I can fully regenerate as long as my core remains. Like the Saiyans my power increases greatly after I heal from near death, and like Frieza I can survive anywhere."

— Super Perfect Cell in "The Horror Won't End"

In his Imperfect Form, Cell has the power of his genetic materials at the time their DNA had been collected .[4] In the Funimation dub, it is also stated that he has cells from Nappa, Krillin and Gohan. Before traveling back to the past, Cell was easily able to kill the Future Trunks (base form) of his timeline. However, even after absorbing fifteen thousand humans, he was no match for Piccolo (who had newly fused with Kami) despite Piccolo wearing weighted clothing (Piccolo with weighted clothing was stated to be equal to Android 17 by Android 16). According to Piccolo, Imperfect Cell at this point was stronger than Android 18 and by extension Super Saiyan Vegeta. Krillin also noted that Imperfect Cell was stronger than Frieza, wondering if this fact scared Goku, to which Goku stated both that it did and that he was excited by Imperfect Cell's power.

After absorbing at least six hundred thousand humans, coupled with energy previously absorbed from Piccolo, he was able to outclass both Android 17 and Piccolo, even withstanding the latter's most powerful attack without any visible damage. According to Android 16, Imperfect Cell's power was equal to his own, which is confirmed when both were able to fight evenly.

In his Semi-Perfect form, his power increased to the point that he far surpassed Android 16 and easily tossed him aside. In addition, he was also able to withstand repeated Neo Tri-Beams from Tien Shinhan. However, he was severely outclassed by Vegeta in his 2nd Grade Super Saiyan form. He shows that he possesses some power reserves when he powers up against Vegeta, but he is still inferior to his opponent even at full power. In the anime, he was also beaten by 2nd Grade Super Saiyan Future Trunks during their brief battle (with both Vegeta and Future Trunks claiming that they were equal in terms of overall power in said forms).

Perfect Cell becomes far stronger still, with Moori in the anime speculating that he was powerful enough to threaten the entire Universe. He turns the tables on Vegeta claiming that he was still "warming up". However, despite his power, it was said that being hit by Vegeta's Final Flash would obliterate him, and by his own admission, his strength is inferior to Super Saiyan Third Grade Future Trunks. Although he is still able to beat Trunks, due to the disadvantage of lowered speed that comes with the strength. He can also increase his muscle mass like Future Trunks, though he chooses not to. Also, a powered up Goku stated he was still no match for Cell and stated he needed the nine days of training to stand a chance.

It is later revealed, however, that what Vegeta and Trunks went up against was only Cell's standby "warming up" power level - after witnessing Super Saiyan Full Power Goku powered up to the maximum, Cell powered up just enough to gain a slight advantage over him. In the anime Cell also displayed the ability to use Multi-Form with all of his copies retaining full power instead of only having 1/4 of it. He also implied after faking a ring-out that while he was indeed suppressing his power as Goku was, he himself intended to gradually unveil his full power for the duration of the match. At that point, after being dealt a fair amount of damage he stated that if Goku were to take a Senzu bean he might win, but even that was a joke - as he still wasn't using the full extent of his powers. At the suppressed level he used against Goku, it was said that Android 16's self-destruct device could wipe him out. Perfect Cell's full power is only finally revealed once Cell decides to power up to combat Super Saiyan 2 Gohan - resulting in Cell's aura being altered from a white color to a gold color (in the manga). At this point, he becomes much stronger than Goku or any other fighter other than Gohan, who still outclasses Cell grossly with his new found power.

In his power-weighted state while at full power, Cell is physically stronger than before but his speed fails to match the might. Nonetheless, Power Weighted Perfect Cell is still outclassed by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan. While Future Trunks implies that Power Weighted Cell is stronger than Super Saiyan 2 Gohan in terms of brute strength in the anime dub, the manga and anime demonstrate that Cell's endurance does not increase enough to withstand Gohan's power, as he was able to cripple Cell with a single kick to the stomach (and in the case of the anime, stun Perfect Cell by smashing into his face just beforehand) and make him regurgitate Android 18.

In his Super Perfect form, Cell seems to be comparable in strength to Super Saiyan 2 Gohan,[5] demonstrating enough confidence to power-up and prepare to fight him head-on once Gohan transformed back into a Super Saiyan 2 and remarked that he wouldn't be arrogant this time around. Cell was also strong enough to defeat an angered Super Saiyan Vegeta by merely slapping him away and could've killed him had Gohan not intervened. In the manga, he also implies that he didn't even put his full power into the blast that crippled Gohan. Eventually, Vegeta distracted Cell long enough with an attack long enough for Gohan to overcome Cell's Solar Kamehameha with a Kamehameha. In this state, Cell's Kamehameha is said to be strong enough to wipe out the entire Solar System.

In the Super 17 Saga of Dragon Ball GT, Cell and Frieza are stated to have powered up after training in Hell for many years and confidently challenge Goku even after having witnessed him fight an opponent such as Kid Buu. Upon briefly absorbing Goku and achieving his "Overloaded" form, Cell's power briefly reaches even greater heights, though he loses it when Goku escapes him.

Super Dragon Ball Heroes

Returning as a Ghost Warrior, Perfect Cell and base Bojack together are able get the edge over final form Cooler, they are easily outmatched by him once he becomes Golden Cooler, but are able to keep fighting thanks to their regeneration and manage to do a small amount of damage to Cooler by the end of the battle.

Statements by authors and guidebooks

According to the manga title page, a number of other lifeforms cells are composed inside of Cell.

The seventh Dragon Box booklet asserts that Cell's power grew to surpass Son Gohan as a Super Saiyan 2 after his recovery.

The Daizenshuu 2 states that Super Perfect Cell was the 'mightiest being' in the universe at that point in time.

Video games

Cell-X is the most powerful boss in Dragon Ball Online, stronger even than the likes of Gamelan and Week. He is able to fight the Youth, even in their race's transformation (Super Saiyan/Great Namekian/Pure Majin).

In Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai, Super Perfect Cell gains a huge boost in power after being brought back from death (enough to defeat Super Saiyan 3 Gotenks, when the latter does not fight seriously), but not as strong as Super Saiyan 2 Teen Gohan after being consumed by rage or Gotenks when the latter fights seriously.

When he appears at the Timespace Tournament in Dragon Ball Fusions, Cell has become strong enough that his Kamehameha is able to match that of Super Saiyan Goku's (who at this point was much stronger than he was at the Cell Games).

In Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, due to being empowered by Towa's Dark Magic, Imperfect Cell's power after absorbing at least six hundred thousand humans was increased beyond to what it had been historically, making his power greater than Android 16's and in the unfixed altered timeline allowed Imperfect Cell to overpower both Android 17 and 18 allowing him to absorb both Androids at the same time, causing him to transform directly into his Perfect Form, skipping his Semi-Perfect form entirely. However, in the fixed timeline, Android 16 and the 2nd Future Warrior manage to overpower Dark Imperfect Cell, forcing him to absorb Android 17 restoring the proper timeline. It is implied that Towa increased Future Imperfect Cell's power in much the same way in both Xenoverse & Xenoverse 2 allowing him to absorb both Future Android 17 and Future Android 18 to obtain his Perfect form before Future Trunks returned from the past in Age 785. As part of the Extra Pack 2 DLC, Android 17 (DB Super) has special dialogue with Imperfect Cell who 17 says is little more of an insect to him now due to his increase in power far surpassing Cell's Imperfect form. In New Parallel Quest 119: "A Ranger's Duty", Android 17 is willing to confront Perfect Cell with the aid of the Time Patrol when they encounter him and the Cell Juniors while assisting 17 with his Park Ranger duties. 17 himself states he has no intention of becoming part of him and is confident he can take Perfect Cell implying he is strong enough to defeat Cell with some assistance from his Time Patrol allies.

Cell's Power level in his Perfect Form is listed as 900,000,000 in Scouter Battle Taikan Kamehameha. In a special mission in the game, it increases even higher to 1,079,956,055.

In Dragon Ball FighterZ, it is revealed that Cell has trained in Hell since his demise, and is far stronger than he was at the Cell Games though it is implied he did it through image training as it is suggested that he suffered the same punishment Frieza was subjected to which apparently traumatized Cell to the point he refuses to speak about it. He believes that he could defeat Super Saiyan Goku and believed himself to be stronger than Gohan, who still hasn't reawaken his true powers yet even noting he was disappointed at how Gohan had let himself go since their battle during the Cell Games. Though, he is noted by Android 21 to be far weaker than final form Frieza and wasn't a challenge for Android 21 on his own. In the Android 21 Arc, Android 16 notes that Android 21 is far stronger than Cell, apparently even in her base form. Cell proved able to bend the artificial soul he had been linked with allowing him to utilize his full power in the Android 21 Arc forcing the good persona to transform into her true form to protect her fellow Androids who were in a weakened state due the power suppressing waves preventing them from accessing their full power and had to rely on the soul link just to fight.

Abilities

Video Game Appearances

Cell has made an impact in many Dragon Ball Z video games, mostly as a boss.

Voice Actors

Battles

Pre-Imperfect Cell Saga

Cell (Imperfect Form) vs. Future Trunks

Dragon Ball Z

Dragon Ball Super

Cell (Perfect Form), Frieza (Final Form), and Kid Buu vs. Goku (Super Saiyan) (Imaginary; manga only)

Cell (Perfect Form) (illusion), Tambourine (illusion), King Piccolo (illusion), Vegeta (illusion), Nappa (illusion), Ginyu (illusion), Burter (illusion), Jeice (illusion), Recoome (illusion), Guldo (illusion), Frieza (Final Form) (illusion), Super Buu (illusion), Dabura (illusion), Raditz (illusion), Bulma (illusion), and Super Shenron (illusion) vs. Goku (Base/Super Saiyan/Super Saiyan 3/Super Saiyan Blue) and Krillin ( Anime only)

Cell (Perfect Form) vs. Mr. Satan (manga only; televised recreation)

Dragon Ball GT

Cell (Super Perfect Form) and Frieza (Final Form) vs. Goku

List of characters killed by Cell

Future Trunks – Killed by Cell in another alternate timeline. Cell strangled him with his tail so he could steal his Time Machine.

Earthlings – Thousands of people are killed when Cell blows up inhabited islands in search of Android 18 and many others were killed through absorption. He annihilated a quarter of a city when making his global broadcast about the Cell Games. He also killed many military soldiers in his first battle with Piccolo, and during the ten-day waiting period of the Cell Games. Though, they were later revived with the Dragon Balls.

Richest man in Gingertown – Killed through absorption in front of Piccolo. He was revived with the Dragon Balls.

ZTV reporter – Killed by Perfect Cell's ki blast.

blast. Android 16 – Body destroyed by Cell using a Ki blast, but his head was still functioning. 16 was utterly destroyed when Cell stomped on and crushed his head while 16 was speaking to Gohan, telling him to fight Cell, inducing Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Android 16 may have been "revived" with the Dragon Balls, but he was never seen afterwards.

blast, but his head was still functioning. 16 was utterly destroyed when Cell stomped on and crushed his head while 16 was speaking to Gohan, telling him to fight Cell, inducing Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 transformation. Android 16 may have been "revived" with the Dragon Balls, but he was never seen afterwards. Android 17 - Died while still inside of Cell when he self-destructed, after Goku teleported him to King Kai's planet.

Goku – Killed when Cell self-destructed, after Goku teleported him to King Kai's planet. He was later revived when Elder Kai gave him his life 7 years later.

King Kai – Killed when Cell self-destructed, after Goku teleported him to King Kai's planet.

Bubbles – Killed when Cell self-destructed, after Goku teleported him to King Kai's planet.

Gregory – Killed when Cell self-destructed, after Goku teleported him to King Kai's planet.

Future Trunks – Killed by Cell with a Full Power Death Beam through the chest. He was later revived with the Dragon Balls.

Other Dragon Ball Stories

Assists

Gohan - Killed by Dark Cell and two Dark Cell Juniors with the Father-Son Perfect Kamehameha in an altered timeline of Age 767 in Xenoverse . However this timeline was erased by the Future Warrior travelling back in time to correct it so the original history could be restored.

. However this timeline was erased by the Future Warrior travelling back in time to correct it so the original history could be restored. Android 21 - Killed by Super Perfect Cell, Frieza, and SSJ Goku's combined energy attack in the Enemy Warrior Arc of Dragon Ball FighterZ.

Trivia

All forms

Cell was named after the English word for "cell" because he absorbs Earthlings and transforms. [1] Insects served as the model for Cell's design. Besides his design, the way in which he hatches from an egg and sheds his skin as he grows was also based on insects. [1] Thus Cell very much resembles an insect in both in appearances and in the way he goes through different stages of metamorphosis.

Insects served as the model for Cell's design. Besides his design, the way in which he hatches from an egg and sheds his skin as he grows was also based on insects. Thus Cell very much resembles an insect in both in appearances and in the way he goes through different stages of metamorphosis. The series author Akira Toriyama mentions in an interview that drawing Cell's design is hard. He says that, picture-wise, the spots on his body were really tough; it was very tedious to draw them every time. [1]

All four forms of Cell had some sort of characteristic of the Z Fighters who challenge him in his personality. Imperfect Cell is sneaky and calculating like Piccolo, Semi-Perfect Cell is vain and arrogant like Vegeta, Perfect Cell was laid back and only wanted to fight powerful opponents like Goku, and Super Perfect Cell is hotheaded and cocky like Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.

Cell repeats two fatal mistakes that are made by another Z Fighter fighting him: First, Cell tricks Vegeta into letting him become complete so he could see his true power; later, Cell attempts to unlock Gohan's hidden potential as well, eventually resulting in his death. Like Future Trunks, Cell powers up to his maximum and beefs up, which makes him stronger but 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, reverting him to his Semi-Perfect form.

This incarnation of Cell kills an incarnation of Future Trunks twice: first in his Imperfect form when he steals Future Trunks' Time Machine and second in his Super Perfect form when he kills Future Trunks during the Cell Games. Ironically, the latter Future Trunks also kills Cell twice: first alongside Krillin while Present Cell is in his larval form and second in his own time while Future Cell is in his Imperfect Form.

In the Budokai games, 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 is due to the fact that Cell's forms were each given their own distinct voice in the Funimation dub of Dragon Ball Z ; in the Japanese version, Norio Wakamoto uses his natural speaking voice for all of Cell's forms, meaning that the Budokai development team had programmed the games to fit his voice rather than Dameon Clarke's (similarly to how adult Goku still retains some of kid Goku's sound clips in the English version of the games). This mistake continued on into the Budokai Tenkaichi series as well, as take-damage voice cuts were never recorded for those forms.

games, 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 is due to the fact that Cell's forms were each given their own distinct voice in the Funimation dub of ; in the Japanese version, Norio Wakamoto uses his natural speaking voice for all of Cell's forms, meaning that the development team had programmed the games to fit his voice rather than Dameon Clarke's (similarly to how adult Goku still retains some of kid Goku's sound clips in the English version of the games). This mistake continued on into the series as well, as take-damage voice cuts were never recorded for those forms. In all of Cell's 'adult' forms, there is one area of his body that never changes, the black diamond area in the center of his chest, which is similar to Frieza's.

Considering how Cell can transform back into his larval form at will, Cell's immortality claim could be true when considering the , a sea creature that reverts to younger stages of its life to reset its lifespan.

In the Dragon Ball Super anime, it is revealed that Bulma kept the Capsule containing Cell's Time Machine for research purposes, which later proves vital for the Z Fighters during the "Future" Trunks Saga after Goku Black destroys Future Trunks' Time Machine. Using her Future counterparts notes, Bulma is able to re-purpose Cell's Time Machine into a replacement for Future Trunks' original Time Machine, allowing Future Trunks, Goku, and Vegeta to travel to the future in order to stop the evil Black. This is quite ironic as Cell's Time Machine originally belonged to Future Trunks' deceased counterpart from Cell's Timeline.

anime, it is revealed that Bulma kept the Capsule containing Cell's Time Machine for research purposes, which later proves vital for the Z Fighters during the "Future" Trunks Saga after Goku Black destroys Future Trunks' Time Machine. Using her Future counterparts notes, Bulma is able to re-purpose Cell's Time Machine into a replacement for Future Trunks' original Time Machine, allowing Future Trunks, Goku, and Vegeta to travel to the future in order to stop the evil Black. This is quite ironic as Cell's Time Machine originally belonged to Future Trunks' deceased counterpart from Cell's Timeline. Cell's introduction was the result of a long debate between Akira Toriyama and his former editor Kazuhiko Torishima over the appeal of the villains that Toriyama was using for the Androids Saga. Toriyama had already created Androids 17 and 18 to replace Dr. Gero and 19, who Torishima described as "an old man and a China doll", only for Torishima to deride 17 and 18 as "a couple of brats". This led to the creation of Cell, who Torishima finally approved of.

Of all three of Dragon Ball Z' s main antagonists, Cell has the lowest body count. His kill count consists of only thousands of unnamed humans (and virtually all of them off-camera). Meanwhile, Frieza and Majin Buu have killed whole planets' populations on-camera.

s main antagonists, Cell has the lowest body count. His kill count consists of only thousands of unnamed humans (and virtually all of them off-camera). Meanwhile, Frieza and Majin Buu have killed whole planets' populations on-camera. Calasmos - who was designed by Toriyama - from Dragon Quest XI resembles Cell.

resembles Cell. Dragon Ball Online defines Cell's head-piece in his Semi-Perfect and Perfect forms as a Namekian trait,[15] which would likely make it a recessive trait obtained from Piccolo's cells.

Imperfect Cell

His mouth in this form resembles that of an Arlian, except that his mouth opens when he talks.

The first core form of Lavos from the video game Chrono Trigger resembles Cell in his Imperfect Form. The characters from this game were designed by Akira Toriyama.

resembles Cell in his Imperfect Form. The characters from this game were designed by Akira Toriyama. In Dragon Ball Z: Attack of the Saiyans , the enemies Sandman, Yorgan, and Failed Experiment are slightly modified and recolored versions of Imperfect Cell.

, the enemies Sandman, Yorgan, and Failed Experiment are slightly modified and recolored versions of Imperfect Cell. In Xenoverse 2, Imperfect Cell notices similarities between himself and Android 13 when confronting him even wondering if 13 is one of his early prototypes. However Android 13 wonders if a monster like Cell can even be an Android.

Semi-Perfect Cell

Though his Semi-Perfect form is in between his Imperfect and Perfect/Super Perfect forms, the latter three of which all have wings, his Semi-Perfect form does not possess wings.

Semi-Perfect Cell was introduced after Akira Toriyama's editor at the time, Yū Kondō, expressed dissatisfaction at Imperfect Cell's insectoid appearance; this led Toriyama to give Cell the ability to transform, and with it, the inception of Semi-Perfect Cell. [1]

Semi-Perfect Cell is Akira Toriyama's favorite Android; he had actually planned on having him play a more active role, but was forced to bring him into his Perfect form earlier than anticipated after Yū Kondō complained that the Semi-Perfect form looked too silly. [1]

Surprisingly enough, Semi-Perfect Cell is the inspiration of the meme "Shoop da Whoop," due to a furious scream of outrage he utters upon his defeat by Vegeta in his Super Saiyan Second Grade form during the closing scenes of "Hour of Temptation".

Perfect Cell/Super Perfect Cell

In the manga and Japanese anime, there was a plot hole with regards to how Cell is able to regenerate. According to Cell, an organ inside his head allows him to regenerate, so long as that organ is not destroyed. Goku had previously destroyed Cell's entire upper body, head included, which should have prevented the evil Android from regenerating. This plot hole is not present in FUNimation's English dub of the anime, where Cell states that "every cell in his body has a life of its own", and that one survived, which allowed him to regenerate. This inconsistency is explained in Kakarot , where Cell reveals that he lied about the location of his core. In Xenoverse 2 , the plot description for " Father to Son - The Last Kamehameha " states that " a small amount of Cell's DNA survived " when referring to how Cell survived his self-destruction.

, where Cell reveals that he lied about the location of his core. Another potential contradiction is that Cell receives Saiyan Power after his Unforgivable! self-destruction, though during the Frieza Saga Vegeta stated in both the manga and anime that one cannot receive Saiyan Power if the wound is self-inflicted. However it should be noted that Cell is an artificially created partial Saiyan life form meaning he may not have the same limitations as pure Saiyans or even partial Saiyans like Gohan and Trunks. It is possible that Dr. Gero's Supercomputer may have augmented Cell's genetic abilities such as Saiyan Power to remove such limitations or was the result of his unique combination of genetic abilities. Cell's Saiyan Power is the only time Vegeta's statement about Saiyan Power has seemingly been contradicted, as Goku receives a Saiyan Power after eating a Senzu Bean after injuring himself with a Bending Kamehameha during his Gravity Training while on his way to Namek in both the manga and anime. However it is likely that in Goku's case he received a Saiyan Power due to the extreme nature of the training putting him at near death and not injuries he received from his own attack.

It is not known whether or not Perfect Cell retains the ability to absorb other beings. Different Dragon Ball media disagree on the subject; some (including Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai , and Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 ​​​​​​) imply that he can, while others, such as Dragon Ball FighterZ , claim that he lost the ability.

media disagree on the subject; some (including , and ​​​​​​) imply that he can, while others, such as , claim that he lost the ability. In Xenoverse , if the Time Patroller speaks to Cell when he is a mentor, Cell will occasionally say "I want to travel time freely like you. No matter what period I go, I will always be the strongest. My time machine can't be used anymore. What a pity".

, if the Time Patroller speaks to Cell when he is a mentor, Cell will occasionally say "I want to travel time freely like you. No matter what period I go, I will always be the strongest. My time machine can't be used anymore. What a pity". In Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle , if Cell is defeated in Goku's story mode, Cell is given a Senzu bean in which Cell says he will come back and have his revenge. 7 years later, Cell is seen in a group photo with the rest of the Z Fighters.

, if Cell is defeated in Goku's story mode, Cell is given a Senzu be