In life, they say you always remember your first and last, but Dragon Ball fans tend the buck the trend when it comes to villains.
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The first and third foes of Dragon Ball Z are two of anime‘s best, but a third sits between them. When the anime debuted, the series let fans meet a second time-hopping villain who went by the name Cell.
And, yikes – he was pretty terrifying.
Created to be an ultimate warrior, Cell was the mismatched humanoid made under Dr. Gero’s twisted care. Cell quickly became the main protagonist of Dragon Ball Z‘s middle portion and usurped would-be villains like Androids 17 and 18. The proud, despotic character is one fans came to have nightmares over, and his long stretch on Dragon Ball Z gave him plenty of airtime. So, for those of you who want to brush up on your Dragon Ball trivia, ComicBook is here to give you five fun facts about Cell you got to know.
Cell Is One Of Two Villains To Kill Goku
Goku has not died many times in all of Dragon Ball, but that’s not for lacking of trying. Dozens of foes have tried to snuff out the Saiyan, but Goku is one resilient fighter. Still, the warrior has died before, and Cell can count himself as one of the two baddies to take the hero down. During his fight with Raditz, Goku was sacrificed himself and let Piccolo kill him and his older brother. With Cell, Goku dies when he ferries the villain’s self-destructing body to King Kai’s planet. But, in both cases, it seems like Goku really had the final say in whether he died or not.
Goku Managed To Reverse Cell’s Absorption
Despite its controversial status in the fandom, Dragon Ball GT is a thing that happened and it featured Cell for a spell. The anime brought back Perfect Cell and teamed him up with Freeza down in Hell where Goku was waiting to battle. During the fight, the Saiyan joked around plenty, but fans got worried for the hero when Cell managed to absorb him. However, without any explanation, audiences watched as Goku somehow managed to reverse the absorption. So, somewhere out there, both Androids 17 and 18 were likely wondering how in the world Goku managed the feat when they could not. Let’s just blame it on power levels for now…
Akira Toriyama Regrets Cell’s Design
When it comes to Dragon Ball, both heroes and villains are gifted with all sorts of forms. Much like Goku’s various Super Saiyan states, villains like Cell have different levels in which they can transform into. Sadly, the big green monstrosity had a more complicated design than characters such as Buu – and the creator of Dragon Ball apparently hated it. When Cell was in his Semi-Perfect and Perfect forms, the baddie was littered with all sorts of unique spots that Akira Toriyama has said he came to resent.
The Dragon Ball Games Fused Cell And Freeza
If you were ever curious what Cell would look like if he were to merge with Freeza, then look no further. The Dragon Ball franchise is rife with video game titles, and their non-canon status allows them to do whatever they want. So, when Dragon Ball Fusions offered fans the chance to fuse Cell with Freeza, they were left with one unholy creation. Named Cellza, the purple warrior retained Cell’s buff body and kept Freeza’s unsightly grinning face.
Gohan Killed Cell In A Bid To Overtake Goku
It seems like no one ever truly dies in the Dragon Ball universe, and that is mostly fine by Goku. The beloved hero is a powerful one who shows mercy when possible, but Goku has wound up killing most of the the franchise’s big baddies. For all intents, Goku ‘killed’ Freeza during Dragon Ball Z‘s first arc that scattered the villain across space. For Kid Buu, Goku finally managed to kill the pink alien only to have him reincarnate into one cute kid. However, when it came to Cell, Goku handed off the responsibility to Gohan.
During the Cell Games saga, it is said that Akira Toriyama intended to shift the anime’s focus to Gohan after it ended. By killing off Goku, Gohan would be in the prime spot to become the hero everyone said he could be. But, in the end, the creator decided the franchise needed Goku to continue.
