The Full History of Dragon Ball's Cell, From Toriyama's Editor to Cell Max

Cell is perhaps the most brilliant and dangerous artificial creation in the entire series, wielding the power and abilities of some of the strongest fighters in the universe and threatening the whole solar system with seemingly unstoppable strength. This piece caps off a retrospective on the chaos that rose from the Red Ribbon Army by covering everything about Cell, from the science behind his molecular structure to the real story behind his creation, including Cell Max.

An Editor's Pressure on Akira Toriyama Led Directly to Cell's Creation

Akira Toriyama had huge shoes to fill for the villain who came after the Frieza saga, and that pressure fed a fake rumor that has circulated for years claiming he planned to end the manga at Frieza. No such statement has ever come from Toriyama or anyone in Japan, and I debunked this myself a few years ago, though I understand why people assumed it given how high the bar had been set.

Toriyama took heavy influence from the Terminator franchise for this arc but still did not have a definitive final villain as he was writing it, which had never really been a problem for him before. He explained in Daizenshuu 2 from 1995 exactly how the pressure built: "Right or wrong, then was when the Androids number 19 and number 20 appeared. You weren't my editor or anything anymore but you specifically called me to say, I thought that the enemies had finally come, but aren't these just a geezer and a fatso. In truth I hadn't planned anyone but 19 and 20 to appear, but there was no helping it, so I brought out 17 and 18. Then you called me up and said, what, this time it's just some brats, so I brought out Cell."

Cell was created because of pressure from Toriyama's editor Torishima, which shows how ideas can come from the strangest places. Torishima literally gave Toriyama his big break in the late 1970s, so the respect level between them is off the charts.

Designing Cell's Insect and Reptile Forms

The Dragon Ball guide book Daizenshuu 4 contains numerous doodles from Toriyama showing concept art for how he wanted Cell to look across his forms. Toriyama has said drawing Cell was difficult and tedious because of all the spots on his body, but it made him look unique compared to any villain before him. Unlike the other Androids, Cell starts as a type of bug creature with characteristics of various insects and reptiles, becoming more humanoid and less grotesque as he grows closer to perfection by absorbing 17 and later 18.

First form, or imperfect, Cell is a combination of a snake and a scorpion bug creature with a sci-fi alien look unlike any villain before him. He was first teased when Kami tells Piccolo he sensed a very dark and sinister force on Earth without knowing what it was, foreshadowing Cell before Piccolo and Kami merge and confront him directly, revealing his sinister motives and dark backstory. Revealing everything that fast arguably hurt the intrigue around Cell, but Toriyama seemingly wanted it out of the way so the audience could invest in Cell's journey toward perfection.

Semi-perfect Cell, part humanoid and part scorpion, is Toriyama's own favorite look for the character, even though the fandom feels the exact opposite. Both the first and second forms share a long head that is supposedly a Namekian trait inspired by Piccolo. Perfect Cell, by contrast, looks like a big cockroach mixed with something resembling Magneto.

The Cell saga was structured so that Toriyama built up both Gohan and Cell simultaneously and subtly, with every power up Cell received matched by growth in Gohan, all while making it seem like Goku would be the one to defeat him. That is a subversion I really love about this arc.

Dr. Gero's Ultimate Creation Was Actually a Two-Part Project

After Goku took down the Red Ribbon Army, Dr. Gero created numerous artificial humans with a mission to kill him once and for all, and Cell became Gero's ultimate creation, his final contingency plan and his true legacy. Gero built various Android types to test which would be most dangerous, but each had a flaw: 19 and 20 were too limiting, 16 was too calm and nice, and 17 and 18 had too much free will because they were humans first, humans who resented Gero for kidnapping and converting them.

The power of 17 and 18 was too useful to ignore, and Gero knew the likelihood of them betraying him was higher than with other models, so Cell was designed as the final solution that could avenge him by literally absorbing 17 and 18 to become perfect and overcome any opponent, including Goku. The concept of Cell was Gero's, but the creation was in fact a two part project, finished by Gero's supercomputer hidden beneath his lab, unbeknownst even to 17 and 18.

In the main timeline, Trunks and Bulma discover the lab and destroy the baby Cell there, but the version who becomes the arc's lead villain comes from an alternate future timeline. In that timeline, Trunks found a way to defeat the Androids, presumably using a device Bulma invented, and planned to travel back to help the Z Fighters, but Cell intercepted him, killed him, and took the time machine back to a year before Mecha Frieza and his father arrived on Earth. Why the machine was set an extra year early is never explained.

Secret Spy Robots Harvested DNA From Goku, Vegeta, Frieza and More

One reason Cell's brain tissue and microprocessor were so advanced is what he was literally composed of: the cells of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza and King Cold. During earlier battles such as Goku versus Piccolo, Goku versus Vegeta, and Future Trunks versus Frieza, a tiny microscopic spy robot manufactured by Dr. Gero was gathering reconnaissance data and secretly collecting samples of hair or flesh to contribute to Cell's creation.

When Trunks fought Frieza, the spy robot's AI chose not to take a sample from him because it already had plenty of Saiyan DNA from Goku and Vegeta and decided no more data was needed. That was a mistake, because taking a sample from Trunks would have given the AI data on the Super Saiyan transformation, which is why 19 and 20 were so shocked when Goku transformed in front of them.

Once fighter data was implemented into Cell's code, the AI began to activate and learn its purpose. Gero programmed Cell with two primary objectives, becoming perfect and killing Son Goku, and becoming perfect was the priority achievable only by absorbing 17 and 18. While the computer injected data into the Cell larva, Gero secretly installed a mechanism in the bodies of Lapis and Lazuli, better known as 17 and 18, to make them cellularly compatible with Cell so the mutation could properly take place before absorption.

The Science Fiction Biology Behind Cell's Tail and Absorption

Cell's tail is the most complex part of his body, made of bio-engineered flesh and metal with a sharp edge that can sting like a scorpion, except instead of venom it sucks out life force, leaving the rest of the body dead. In similar fashion to a snake shedding its skin, the tail can also open up like a mouth to absorb people whole, swallowing the victim head first so the body aligns with Cell's own as it moves into his torso, mirroring how snakes eat and digest prey in the real world. Think of it as a more advanced version of 19 and 20's energy absorption crystals, multiplied many times over.

In 17 and 18's case they remained alive inside Cell in a shrunken, suspended animation state, synthesized into his core, which acts like a nucleus, the powerhouse of his body. Each cell inside Cell is a hybrid fusion of the fighters' cells plus extra data, and a single cell, called a zygote, splits into thousands of cells at a rapid pace, which is why Piccolo's Namekian regeneration technique worked so fluidly within him.

When Cell spits out 18 and blows himself up, shown in Dragon Ball Z episode 188 and manga chapters 411 and 412, only one cell survives inside his nucleus before multiplying into proteins that create organs and flesh again. Because his biomechanical CPU combines with the Saiyan ability to get stronger after heavy battle damage, Cell regrows to his most recent and most powerful form using the memory within his own DNA, in a much stronger science fiction version of real world mitosis.

There is a plot hole worth noting: Goku's warp Kamehameha blows off the top part of Cell's body, yet a few episodes later Cell's nucleus is shown inside his brain. My own read is that the nucleus simply moves around and Cell survives as long as it does, though that may just be head canon, and it does roughly match how nuclei behave in real cells.

Cell Inherited Both Power and Personality Flaws From His Donors

Because Cell is composed of the cells of Goku, Vegeta, Frieza, King Cold and Piccolo, he inherited their combat knowledge and can use all of their techniques, including the Kamehameha, the Makankosappo, and the multi-form technique. Toriyama's whole concept was to give the heroes an opponent dangerous precisely because he is an amalgam of the main characters, making it feel like the Z Fighters were fighting themselves.

Dr. Gero may not have counted on it, but Cell also inherited aspects of their personalities, and those traits both built him up and led to his downfall. His love of martial arts and combat clearly comes from Goku, and possibly Vegeta, and he created the Cell Games specifically to test his perfect body since becoming perfect was his priority. His narcissism is multiplied tenfold, though his competitive nature traces back to Goku.

Cell is inherently evil for two reasons: his programming from Gero, and the fact that he carries the dominant cells of Frieza, King Cold and Vegeta from when Vegeta was still self absorbed and evil. This makes Cell arrogant and overconfident, repeating mistakes Vegeta himself made multiple times, while Frieza's ego makes it impossible for Cell to ever accept that Gohan was stronger, which is why he grows so frustrated fighting him.

The main trait Cell got from Piccolo was his regeneration. He may have also learned how to give birth through Piccolo, which becomes relevant with the Cell Juniors.

Vegeta's Arrogance Let Cell Achieve Perfection

Cell is only able to become perfect because of Vegeta's arrogance. Cell played on Super Vegeta's ego, knowing he would fall for it because Cell is partially Vegeta himself, and Vegeta wanted to test his new powers, so he allowed Cell to absorb 18.

Cell went on to defeat Vegeta and fight Trunks, embarrassing him by revealing that his Super Saiyan grade 3 form was flawed and too slow. Cell would go on to make these exact same mistakes himself later, when he battled Gohan.

The Cell Games Climax With Gohan's Rage and Super Perfect Cell

Cell wanted to antagonize Gohan until he unleashed his true hidden power and rage. His Cell Juniors tortured Gohan's friends and family, and after crushing 16's head, Gohan finally snapped and Cell got exactly what he wanted.

During the fight Gohan was untouchable, and at one point in Dragon Ball Z episode 187 he does the same trick Trunks tried earlier, increasing his body mass and power at the cost of speed, but Gohan was still able to easily pummel Cell. Those blows were powerful enough to make Cell puke up 18 and revert to his second form, which looked like the end until Cell revealed he intended to blow himself up along with the entire planet Earth.

Goku teleported Cell to King Kai's planet as he exploded, and Cell's sinister brain knew his body would regenerate, but what he did not count on was mutating back into an even more powerful version of his final form, commonly called Super Perfect Cell. Just as Goku's fighting genius had figured out instantaneous movement earlier, Cell was able to absorb the knowledge of Goku's teleportation simply from Goku putting his hands on his body.

The flaw in Cell's programming is that alongside their strengths, he also inherited the fighters' bad traits, and he becomes incredibly arrogant and narcissistic with each subsequent absorption and transformation, arguably making Perfect Cell the cockiest villain in the series, even more so than Frieza. As Cell transforms he becomes more human-like and less like a bug alien, since 17 and 18 began as humans and contributed their own cells to his structure. That arrogance ultimately led to his demise: by the time Gohan hit Super Saiyan 2 he was able to put Cell away even with one arm, egged on by Goku to unleash his true power, and every cell in Cell's body was wiped out. The torch was passed to Gohan, who carried it as the story's main character for a while after saving the world.

Cell's Weak Anime-Only Afterlife in Hell and Dragon Ball GT

In the manga, Cell was never seen again after the Cell Games. In the anime, he returned in a small guest appearance in the Other World Tournament story arc, where he was humiliated by Pikkon, and also appeared in filler scenes in Hell during the Buu arc.

Cell did not make a grand return until Dragon Ball GT, where he teamed up with Frieza to battle Goku in Hell. Goku easily defeats them, but they regenerate, not through any technique but simply because they are immortal in Hell, which does not fit with the earlier idea that someone already dead who is destroyed is wiped out of existence rather than regenerated.

At one point Cell grabs Goku by the tail and tries to absorb him the way he did 17 and 18, feeling a huge but momentary surge in power, though it is strange that he tries to swallow Goku rather than sting him. Goku manages to work his way out, which contradicts the Dragon Ball FighterZ games stating that Cell could not absorb anybody once in his perfect form or above. Cell and Frieza then use a new technique called the Hell's Buster to trap Goku in an energy cage and encase him in ice, but Goku powers up to melt free, knocks them down, and freezes and shatters them with the same snow blower machine. That is described as a weak way for Cell to go out, and it is his last appearance in the anime.

The Cell Juniors' Messy Return in the Dragon Ball Super Manga

Cell was able to birth the Cell Juniors to fight the Z Fighters in Dragon Ball Z episode 183, correlating with manga chapter 406. They are created through a hybrid of Namekian birthing, inherited from Piccolo, who got it from his previous form as Demon King Piccolo, combined with cellular mitosis, and each Junior contains all of Cell's abilities and techniques. In the English dub, Cell remarks that they are equal in power to him, a line not present in the manga that does not really make sense given how the fight plays out.

The Cell Juniors were strong enough to torture the Z Fighters until Gohan transformed and destroyed them, though in the Dragon Ball Super manga they were able to regenerate because their nucleus survived. Android 17 later manages to tame and control the Cell Juniors and employ them at his park, but forgets to tell Goten and Trunks, leading to a battle that only ends when the two notice the Juniors are working with 17.

This is not something I am a fan of, because it raises questions the story never answers: why didn't the Cell Juniors regenerate sooner and attack, and how did 17 tame beings who, like Cell, are evil narcissists? It feels like it was done for fan service, and it creates logical problems I wish had never happened.

Cell X and the Roots of Cell Max in Dragon Ball Online

Cell Juniors are not the only Cell spin-off worth knowing about. Cell X is a boss from the Korean MMORPG Dragon Ball Online, created by TOA using the cells of the original Cell. He is a giant spider-like mutation of Cell that needs high levels of energy to survive. Without Cell X, Cell Max may not exist at all.

Cell Max's Secret Role as the Hidden Final Boss of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero

Cell Max made his debut in 2022's Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero as the hidden final boss, and Toei chose to leave him out of the promotion to keep him a secret. In the movie he is revealed as Dr. Hedo's secret project, one that Magenta was hyper focused on. Dr. Hedo, an even more brilliant scientist than his grandfather Dr. Gero, was able to make blueprints of the original Cell to create this new model, and by the events of the movie, Cell Max is physically complete but his brain is not.

Cell Max was designed to resemble second form Cell, since that is Toriyama's favorite form of the character, though instead of green he is mostly red and gigantic, growing bigger and bigger as the final battle goes on until he is larger than any previous incarnation of Cell and roughly equal in height to Cell X, maybe a bit bigger. In terms of pure power, Cell Max is leagues above the original Cell, and according to Toriyama, had Cell Max been completed and unleashed properly, even Broly would be unable to defeat him.

Because of his early activation, Cell Max became an uncontrollable animal, and unlike the original Cell, he does not carry the cells of other fighters, so he does not know any of the techniques Cell knows, including regeneration, putting him at a huge disadvantage. He was created entirely artificially with a combat alloy that is almost indestructible, but Dr. Hedo anticipated he might be released early by Magenta, which is exactly what happened, and built a weak spot into Cell Max's forehead. Even so, piercing that weak spot with enough power to destroy it takes an extraordinary individual, since even Gamma 2's sacrifice from space was only able to destroy Cell Max's arm rather than finish him.

Cell Max is a simple rage monster, similar to Broly, who projects large amounts of energy in self defense, and he was able to battle and defeat the combined power of numerous Z Fighters, a kaiju-sized orange Piccolo, and both Gamma models. Shin Godzilla was a big inspiration behind the Photon technique Cell Max uses in the movie. He was ultimately defeated by Gohan unlocking his Beast form and landing his signature move while orange Piccolo held him by wrapping his stretchy arms around him.

Cell Max was not a fan favorite like the original Cell, and I think it was kind of a lazy idea, but it did make the fight in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero different from Gogeta versus Broly in the earlier film. He is really just a rage monster built for quasi nostalgia, including the moment Gohan transforms into Beast form as a throwback to his transformation during the Cell Games. In many ways the whole movie is a tribute to the Cell arc, but the original true Cell remains the far more interesting character.