How Could Android 21 Become Canon in 'Dragon Ball'?

Who Is Android 21?

Dragon Ball FighterZ, unlike other games in the Dragon Ball franchise, has an original story rather than recreating famous arcs from the series. Taking place in-between the Universe 6 arc and the Universal Survival arc (right after Gohan came back to full power, but before officially fighting the other universes), this story is technically non-canon unfortunately given its three distinct arcs with three different endings.

But in FighterZ, Android 21 serves as the main villain of the story. After using the Namekian Dragon Balls to revive Cell, Freeza, Nappa, and the Ginyu Force, she activates one of Dr. Gero's inventions to weaken all of these powerful warriors in order to make them easier pickings to feed on.

As the story mode rolls on, fans are clued into more of her origins.

How Does She Relate to Android 16?

Trailers for the story teased Android 16's major role, and that's because her good side created a new Android 16 and implanted him with all of the memories of the one who died in the Cell saga.

He decides to help 21 despite her initial villainous impression on the others because he wants to help her to suppress her evil hunger. But why did she create Android 16 instead of one of the others?

It's actually revealed, during a Soul Link event with her, that back when she was a human she had a son that was eventually used as the model for Android 16. Because of this memory, she feels a strong bond with 16 and that's why he's one of the few that can get through to her.

Who Is Her Creator?

Android 21's creator is, unfortunately, left as a mystery. Across Dragon Ball FighterZ story mode, which is broken up into three arcs with the final arc focused on Android 21, the characters slowly figure out her true origins. Unfortunately, whether or not she was created by Dr. Gero like the other androids is left up in the air.

She doesn't know who her creator is either, stating that she was created instead by a group of scientists sometime after Cell was made. Though she has no memory of her actual creator, she does mention one scientist who she respected back when she was a human, but others had a bad impression of him.

Unfortunately, the other characters never quite get close enough to figure out who created her specifically, so that will remain one mystery unsolved.

How Could She Fit In Dragon Ball Z?

Although her relationship to Android 16 and Dr. Gero is still unclear by the end of the story mode, it would be an easy fix to incorporate her into Dragon Ball canon proper. It's implied that she's a model based on Dr. Gero's former wife, and whether or not she was turned into an android or a new creation based on his wife is still up in the air.

But stating this for certain would easily slip her into Dragon Ball Z canon without much trouble. Because Dr. Gero didn't directly create her, it wouldn't be hard to say this came about the events of the Android arc in Dragon Ball Z and thus she would not have made it passed the planning stage at the moment of Gero's android death.

Her human form also makes sense as it was already established that Dr. Gero had a wife and son, and her inclusion into the canon proper would just put a face to the character.

Where Does She Fit In Dragon Ball Super?

The story in Dragon Ball FighterZ takes place sometime after the Future Trunks arc in Dragon Ball Super, and right before Universe 7 fights Universe 11 in the demonstrative fight before the Tournament of Power began in full (since Gohan has access to his Mystic Gohan abilities).

Although each of the three stories are non-canon in of themselves (as each one has a different ending), the more definitive story beats fit in Dragon Ball Super without much problem. It can still take place after Future Trunks, and as each character is de-powered to the point of reaching a small amount of power (Goku can only go Super Saiyan, etc.), this could be a nice filler arc for the series that fleshes out the lore of the series without damaging the characters for future events.

Why Should She Be Canon Anyway?

Android 21 not only has a great character design, but she has a compelling story that makes her stand out from other villains in the series. She actually has two personalities, one is the standard 21 and the other is her (playable) beastly Majin form.

The story of FighterZ begins with her help too. Not only does her evil side resurrect fallen enemies and use Dr. Gero's inventions (which 21 has no memory of), her good side actually uses one of these inventions to activate a "Soul Link."

This "Soul Link" allows Goku to fight with the help of the player themselves. Depicted as a human soul entering the body of warriors, this "Soul Link" system is the only way the fighters are allowed to gain any strength. Otherwise Dr. Gero's wave emitter depletes their power completely.

When the soul enters Android 21, it's revealed that she has a huge dark presence within her. After this, the two split into an Evil and Good Android 21. Because of this, the Good Android 21 eventually helps Goku and company to fight her evil counterpart.

Would It Work?

Because the story of Dragon Ball FighterZ leaves many of its concrete details vague, it can be fit into either Dragon Ball Z or Dragon Ball Super without much problem. It has all the right story bits to be a great piece of character exploration or filler, and it presents a story that puts the characters in tough, but new situations with plenty of interesting character interactions.

At the same time, it could make sense within the canon without damaging the upcoming events of the Tournament of Power. You might be wondering what to do with the newly resurrected Cell and Freeza, but like most of the stories from the Dragon Ball films, FighterZ introduced new situations that could also be explained away by the time the next arc begins.

Dragon Ball Needs More Villainesses

One major reason Android 21 should be included in Dragon Ball proper was that she is one of the few women, and even fewer villainesses in the story. This was further highlighted by FighterZ' lack of playable women (with only Android 18 and Android 21 being the only ones selectable), and a new villainess would definitely be welcomed by fans.

Along with her complicated personality, she'd be a villainess with a layered character and that would stand out even further from Dragon Ball's sometimes weakly characterized major antagonists (often just wanting a Dragon Ball wish). And it's not like Goku is against fighting a woman, as strong women have proven to be a hefty challenge for the fighter.

Fans Are In Love Already

Whether or not these suggestions would help fit Android 21 into the series canon properly, fans would definitely love to see her acknowledged because they have all fallen in love with the character. From the very first moment she debuted, fans have been all over Android 21's cute character design.

This was only magnified when it was revealed that she was turned into an android full of Majin Buu's cells. Once it was revealed that the playable version of her would be designed exactly like Majin Buu and be complete with the ability to turn her opponents into candy and eat them, fans were completely head over heels for the character.

Not only can Android 21 fit into the series canon, fans definitely agree that she should.