Dragon Ball Z Artwork Gives the Androids an Iron Man Makeover

Back in the day, Dragon Ball decided to do things differently with its androids. Such tech wasn’t foreign to anime as dozens of shows had introduced their own take on androids. The people were lifeless more often than not, but Dragon Ball flew in the face of that with its androids. In fact, Dr. Gero went above with the baddies, but fans are starting to wonder. What might have happened if the androids had been more tech than human.

Over on Reddit, one artist helped make that dream come true for fans. A user known as AzizDraws posted some artwork they did for Androids 16, 17, and 18. They based these new designs on Iron Man of all things, and fans admit the villains look plenty intimidating when plugged into arc reactor technology.

As you can see down below, the model for Android 16 looks like it came from Tony Stark himself. The android is covered in metal armor from head to toe. The character’s orange hair is constructed with some angled metal, and he is charged with some hulking armory. Both of his arms turns into energy canons, so you can imagine the kind of damage this android would do.

The designs for Android 17 and 18 are far more streamlined than the one their predecessor got. They are both rocking some sleek body armor, and their hair has been immaculately welded. They might not have the bulking armor that Android 16 dons, but their slim frames make them far more versatile in battle. So if Goku were going to take these guys on, well – you better hope the androids’ shells are made out of vibranium!

Do you like this sort of design for the androids? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

The Japanese-language and English dub releases of Dragon Ball Super are now complete and available to stream with FunimationNOW and Crunchyroll. Viz Media is releasing new chapters of the manga at a monthly rate that can be read entirely for free through the Shonen Jump digital library, and Dragon Ball Super’s big movie, Dragon Ball Super: Broly, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.