Cell (Dragon Ball)
Cell is a major villain in Dragon Ball. He is a bio-android created by Dr. Gero from the DNA of several of the series’ strongest fighters, including Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza, and King Cold. He travels back in time from a future timeline to the present to become the ultimate warrior and terrorize Earth.
Forms and abilities:
- Imperfect Cell: a larval, insect-like form.
- Semi-Perfect Cell: after absorbing Android 17.
- Perfect Cell: after absorbing Android 18.
- Super Perfect Cell: a more powerful version shown in some games and spin-offs.
Cell can use ki, fly, sense energy, and imitate or learn techniques. He can heal and regenerate, and he absorbs energy from living beings to grow stronger. His body carries the DNA of many fighters, giving him a wide range of abilities.
The story in brief:
- Cell arrives in the present and begins absorbing people to increase his power.
- He fights and kills Android 16, and then absorbs Android 18 to become Perfect Cell.
- To find a worthy opponent, Cell holds the Cell Games. Goku steps aside, and his son Gohan battles Cell.
- Gohan, in his Super Saiyan 2 form, defeats Cell. Cell tries to blow up the Earth, but Goku sacrifices himself by teleporting Cell away to King Kai’s planet, where Cell explodes.
- Cell survives by regenerating from a special nucleus and returns, but he is finally defeated when Gohan, with a helping hand from Vegeta, destroys Cell with a powerful Kamehameha.
Aftermath and appearances:
- In Trunks’ timeline, Trunks later defeats the Androids in his future.
- Cell appears in other Dragon Ball media and games, sometimes in cameo or altered forms.
- A new model called Cell Max appears in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, built from Cell’s DNA by the Red Ribbon Army.
Cell remains one of Dragon Ball Z’s best-known villains, famous for his shifting forms, strategic mind, and the epic Cell Games.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:03 (CET).