The Dragon Ball franchise is known for its memorable villains. Many of the characters who started off as villains ultimately became heroes, like Piccolo, Tien, and Vegeta. Someone like Frieza has proven to be a financial success, resulting in the character’s return over the years. People often cite Buu as one of the series’ first real missteps, which leaves Cell as the forgotten middle child. Fans felt that he couldn’t measure up to the superior Frieza, and even the creators disliked him. Akira Toriyama’s editors thought Cell’s designs were ugly, and Toriyama himself found the character’s final form to be tedious to draw. It’s no wonder he hasn’t shown up again.
Though Cell has the lowest body count of Dragon Ball Z’s main antagonists, he proved himself to be a memorable threat. He was the first villain to really surpass Goku in power, and he actually manages to end him when so many other threats had tried and failed. Given that Dragon Ball Z was originally intended to end with the Cell Saga, he would have been the perfect opponent to end on.
Created by the Red Ribbon Army from Goku’s past, Cell represented the accumulation of every major threat and storyline that had come before. Using the cells of the strongest fighters in the world, Cell was really intended to be the perfect, and final threat. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some things that made no sense.
25 That’s Not How This Works
Thanks to the genetic material of Piccolo and the resilience of Frieza, Cell has the ability to recover from any wound, even if it is something that looks to be life-threatening. When the Z Fighters are surprised by his abilities, he explains to everyone that he was designed to come back from an injury as long as the nucleus of his head is left intact.
Since he just told everyone what his weakness was, you better believe his enemies decided to test out the limits of his power.
In his fight against Goku, the hero unleashes a massive Kamehameha that blows up the top half of his body. Despite the fact that the nucleus in his head was very clearly destroyed, he managed to heal himself pretty quickly. Maybe he didn’t know the extent of his own power, but it was a moment that made no sense.
24 How Strong Are They, Anyway?
In Cell’s attempt to unleash Gohan’s hidden power, he created seven diminutive beings called Cell Jr. Each of these tiny blue creatures is said to hold a significant portion of Cell’s own power, making them legitimate threats on their own. At first, though, everyone seems able to put up an even fight. That means even the likes of Yamcha, Krillin, and Tien stood their ground for a time.
Meanwhile, Cell Jr. managed to wipe the floor with Goku, who was certainly exhausted from his fight with Cell, but this seems to be a little over the top. Tien and Yamcha are actually able to team up and hurt one of them while Goku is still losing. Then suddenly the Cell clones get the upper hand on everyone and beat them all up. It all seemed wildly inconsistent.
23 Why Does He Look Like That?
The whole point of Cell is that he’s made up of the genetic material of the strongest fighters in the world, but why does he look like a bug? Toriyama clearly designed him with a cicada in mind, but if he’s made out of Saiyans, Namekians, and whatever the heck Frieza is, he should look a little more like that, don’t you think?
None of those people are giant bugs.
It can be explained that Cell is green because of Piccolo’s DNA, and he has the same facial features as Frieza, but what about everyone else? Maybe his tail comes from a combination of his Saiyan and Frieza DNA. However, he has no Saiyan hair on him and he looks nothing like a human, so there’s clearly something else mixed in there.
22 The Time Travel Stuff Is Impossible To Understand
Time travel usually means big headaches, and the time travel in Dragon Ball Z will give you a migraine. Trunks goes back in time to warn the Z Fighters about the Androids, but he also is taken out by Cell, who steals his time machine and comes to the present. The only way to make sense of it all is to admit that there are several similar, yet separate timelines that these characters are coming from.
Divergent timelines are not exactly a new concept to nerds, but in most cases, there is a distinct event that causes things to change. In the Legend of Zelda series, the events of Ocarina of Time causes the timeline changes. In Star Trek, the events of the 2009 film create an alternate universe. Dragon Ball Z doesn’t really have a singular event that could create so many timelines, so it’s hard to comprehend.
21 He Can’t Possibly Know That
The Dragon Balls are a super convenient tool that the Z Fighters have used many times over to reverse the damage bad guys have done to good people. From the perspective of the villain, though, they are probably something of a nuisance, since they can easily reverse anything you do in your quest for power.
To that end, Cell seemed pretty relieved to find out that the Dragon Balls were inert at the time.
However, it’s incredibly confusing how exactly he knew about them in the first place. The villain of the Cell Saga was from a future where all the Z Fighters were dead already, which included Piccolo and the Dragon Balls. He couldn’t have known about them then and he hadn’t been around long enough in the present to learn about their existence yet. This one is a head-scratcher.
20 This Was A Made Up Power
After Gohan made Cell throw up Android 18, the villain devolved into his Semi-Perfect Form. Seeing that he has been defeated, he realizes that the only way to win was to blow himself up. While he didn’t intend to survive the attack, he somehow made it through alright and even managed to gain additional power. It’s just that it makes no sense how he could retain his Perfect Cell form.
He claims that his cells remembered the power he once had, allowing him to regenerate in his previous form. However, if that was the case, why did he even devolve in the first place? And if he could return to Perfect Cell without 18, does that basically mean he gets no power from the Androids anyway? Did Dr. Gero just make his creation intentionally weaker for no real reason?
19 How Many Timelines Are There?
We’ve already talked about the multiple timelines that exist within the Dragon Ball Z universe, but there must be more than we know. Fans generally believe that four separate timelines exist in the Cell Saga for everything to make sense, but then there’s the matter of the franchise’s movies.
Cell doesn’t have his own film, but there is one that directly conflicts with his existence.
In the film Super Android 13, we are introduced to something of a parallel world that takes place immediately after Android 17 takes out Dr. Gero. Instead of the revelation that Cell exists, it is revealed that Androids 13, 14, and 15 are Gero’s ultimate weapons. They are stored where Cell was seen growing in the main series, and there is no mention of the bio-android. It’s hard to keep track of all this.
18 We Have An Anatomy Question
Character transformations typically follow some form of biological trajectory, which means that we should be able to see how one form gives way to the next naturally. This was obviously thrown out the window with regards to the third form that Frieza takes while on Namek. He looks nothing like his other forms, and that also happens in Cell’s Semi-Perfect form.
Semi-Perfect Cell does look far more like the missing link between Imperfect Cell and Perfect Cell than Frieza’s third form does from his other forms. However, there are still some anatomy questions that need answering, like where exactly do his wings go? He has wide green wings in his first form, but then they completely disappear before re-emerging as sleek black wings in his Perfect Cell form. What happened on the drawing table?
17 What Was The Point Of This Whole Thing?
A major part of the Cell Saga was the Cell Games, where he challenged the Z Fighters to a tournament to decide the fate of the Earth. Since all Cell cares about is proving himself superior to his opponents, it makes sense why he would want this. However, considering how it played out in the end, it doesn’t make sense from a story sense.
Why bother to bring this whole thing up if in the end the Cell Games only ended up being two whole matches in the end.
The fighting tournament is a common theme in the Dragon Ball franchise, but it didn’t really fit in this context when Cell was the only villain present. In the end, we get Goku vs. Cell right off the bat, and Cell destroys the ring before too long. It seemed far too organized for the all-out fight it should have been.
16 This Was Cool, But It Made No Sense
The rules of Cell were pretty clear. He needed to absorb Androids 17 and 18 to achieve his perfect form. Since the word absorb means to assimilate, it was believed that the Androids would cease to exist. That proved not to be the case when Gohan punched Cell hard enough that he actually puked up 18. It was a pretty cool moment, but how exactly was this possible?
First of all, how do the androids still exist inside his body, especially if he’s been blown up before? He’s not exactly big enough to have them both just floating around in there. He also absorbed 18 through his tail, but apparently, she could come out of his mouth, which seems to suggest he has some kind of gastrointestinal system in there. How does that work?
15 How Did Gero Not Know About Super Saiyans?
In order to gather the genetic material to create Cell, Dr. Gero used remote tracking devices to observe Goku’s greatest battles up until he left for Namek. Because of this fact, it is said that the doctor had no knowledge of Super Saiyan abilities while he was creating Cell, but that doesn’t make any sense.
With or without time travel, Gero should have observed a Super Saiyan in action.
Cell is composed of cells from both Frieza and King Cold, proving that Gero was still observing when they came to Earth. In the unaltered timeline, Goku shows up and defeats them, which he would have done by turning into a Super Saiyan. In the altered timeline, Trunks beats them as a Super Saiyan. While Present Cell and Future Cell are distinct beings, both should have had the knowledge and genetic material of a Super Saiyan.
14 Cell Was Actually Very Beatable
Everything about Cell says that he is the perfect lifeform capable of beating any opponent. When he finally achieves his perfect form, he ultimately proves to be an unstoppable force, however, it’s also worth wondering if he was ever actually that powerful, or if the Z Fighters just gave him chance after chance to survive before they almost beat themselves.
Vegeta could have defeated Semi-Perfect Cell if he had just gotten rid of him instead of allowing him to absorb 18. Even as Perfect Cell, Goku could have probably beaten him if he went all out, but he decided Gohan should get the honors. Then not only did Goku give Cell a senzu bean, Gohan also kind of just played with him until Cell almost got the better of him. In the end, Cell wasn’t really that tough, the good guys just blew it.
13 GT Seemed To Throw Out The Rulebook
When Cell absorbs Android 17 and 18, he gains a massive power boost that allows him to transform into his perfect form. When Gohan causes Cell to throw 18 back up, he immediately loses his power up and reverts to his Semi-Perfect form. This should tell you that Cell only gains power when his victims are properly absorbed and he is in control of them.
Then, in Dragon Ball GT, the rules are kind of abandoned when Cell makes his brief return.
Goku, transformed into a child, fights Cell in the afterlife and gets absorbed by the villain. He gains an incredible power up for absorbing Goku for a moment, but it’s not long before the hero fights back and manages to escape Cell’s body. How exactly did Cell gain power from absorbing Goku, when he was clearly not properly “absorbed” yet.
12 Cell Would Have Been A Better Pick
During the Tournament of Power in Dragon Ball Super, the Z Fighters are forced to find another teammate when Buu is no longer able to fight. Left with no other option, Goku turns to Frieza for help, but the better and more logical choice would have been to go with Cell. Instead of worrying about whether or not Frieza would betray the team, the Z Fighters could have instead relied on Cell, who never showed much motive outside of fighting.
Cell was stronger, and with his Saiyan cells, he would have been able to attain even greater levels over time. Having a lot of different genetic material also gave him a diverse range of attacks that would have been useful in a tournament setting. Frieza was chosen because he’s far more popular and lucrative, but the better choice was clear.
11 How Does This Power Work, Exactly?
Thanks to the genetic material that was used to create him, Cell has the ability to regenerate from any injury. However, how his body reacts after he uses that ability seems to be inconsistent over the Cell Saga. Remember when Goku blows the upper part of his body off?
Cell is weakened after he has to regenerate to the point that he needs a senzu bean to recover.
Later on, when Cell blows himself up, he is miraculously able to regenerate himself from a single cell, but he didn’t suffer any ill effects this time. Yes, he absorbed some of Goku’s cells, but he still should have suffered some kind of energy drain from having to regenerate his entire body. Instead, he returns even more powerful than ever and now has the energy of a Super Saiyan.
10 Cell Should Probably Be Made Up Of More Characters
This one is going to get confusing because of all the time travel, but it seems like Cell should have contained more genetic material from future storylines that have not taken place yet. In the original unaltered timeline, Future Cell emerges many years after the Buu Saga takes place in the main timeline. In fact, he would have also emerged after the events of Dragon Ball Super.
Since this is the case, it’s definitely worth wondering why exactly Cell isn’t made up of other stronger characters that debuted. Sure, most of those stories haven’t even been conceived of yet, but since this is time travel, Toriyama did leave himself open for this. Imagine what Cell would have been like with the DNA of Buu, Golden Frieza, and Super Saiyan Blue abilities.
9 Cell Made The Same Mistakes As Trunks
Remember when Trunks went up against Cell prior to the Cell Games? Trunks believed he could stop the villain with another power upgrade by going Super Saiyan Third Grade. Unfortunately, his increased muscle mass made him slow and unable to be effective against Cell. The bio-android even point this fact out himself, showing Trunks he could have done the same thing if he wanted to.
Then what does he do? He makes the same mistake that Trunks did.
After Gohan reaches Super Saiyan 2, Cells sees that he might be outmatched. For some reason, whether out of panic or desperation, the villain decides to bulk himself up just like Trunks did. Unable to land a hit against his opponent, Cell is badly beaten by Gohan before he pukes up 18. Maybe he should follow his own advice.
8 What Do Genes Have To Do With This?
The whole thing with Cell is that he’s made up of cells from the most powerful fighters in the world, and as a result, he can perform all of their abilities. Cell is seen performing Goku’s Kamehameha, Vegeta’s Big Bang Attack, Tien’s Solar Flare, and Frieza’s Death Beam. However, it’s never really explained how genes have anything to do with performing energy attacks.
After all, Goku, Yamcha, and Krillin can all use the Kamehameha because it was taught to them. Gohan uses the Masenko because he learned it from Piccolo first, and Tien is the one who invented the Solar Flare. Despite what Cell would have you believe, this has nothing to do with any of their genetics. It’s cool to see a villain able to use all these attacks, but it just doesn’t make sense.
7 He Should Have Thought This Through
Cell uses his tail to improve his abilities right up until he gains his perfect form. He absorbed thousands of humans, as well as Androids 17 and 18, but then he suddenly just stopped. It was established in Dragon Ball GT that he could still absorb people with his tail, despite it reverting into his body. If this was supposed to be the case the whole time, Cell really missed a chance to improve himself.
The Cell Games were set up to be a tournament, but the structure fell apart quickly when he decided to fight Goku first.
Yes, Cell wanted to test out his new form, but a smarter villain would have fought weaker opponents first, overpowered them, and absorbed them to gain even more abilities. Since it was a tournament, no one could have stepped in to stop him.
6 He Shouldn’t Know That Technique
Cell is able to perform the techniques of his genetic donors, so that means he’s able to perform the Goku’s Kamehameha, Vegeta’s Gallick Gun, and Frieza’s Death Beam. Apparently, that also means he can perform energy attacks that weren’t even invented yet at the time DR. Gero gathered the proper genetic material.
We know that Goku and Vegeta’s DNA were gathered back when he attacked Earth during the Saiyan Saga. This means Cell doesn’t have Super Saiyan powers within him, even though both Saiyans would soon reach that level. That means he should only know the techniques that his donors knew at the time, so how exactly does Cell know how to use the Big Bang Attack? That attack didn’t debut until the Android Saga, where it was already too late.
