"You fool! Don't you realize yet you're up against the perfect weapon?!"
— "Save the World"
Cell is a major supervillain in the anime and mangaDragon Ball Z, based on Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama and Dragon Ball GT by Toei Doga. He is the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero, designed to have all the abilities of the greatest fighters to have ever inhabited or visited Earth. The result was a "perfect warrior", possessing numerous genetic traits and special abilities. It should be worth noting that he is the only Red Ribbon Android to not have the Red Ribbon insignia on him at one point or another. It's also worth noting that he is one of the few Androids not directly created by Dr. Gero; the only others are Android 13, and possibly Android 8. Ironically, both Cell and Android 13's conceptions involved a supercomputer.
Like each of the primary antagonists in Dragon Ball Z (with the exception of Vegeta), Cell was originally intended to be the final villain of the Dragon Ball manga.
Cell's personality changes drastically throughout the saga. He is unique among most villains of the series, being that he is quite sophisticated. As his evolution proceeds, he can be observed as having a more patient and calculative approach towards his goals. Because of his genetic composition from other warriors, he is able to psychologically manipulate those warriors and exploit their weaknesses to his advantage.
At first, Cell's desire to complete his evolution and reach perfection is what fueled him. After he reached perfection, the curiosity at the limits of his own "Perfect" power was the major trait of his character. It was his curiosity at the limits of his own power when compared to Gohan's that eventually lead to his defeat.
With each change of form Cell went through, his personality changed as well. Initially, Cell is single-minded, cautious, and sneaky. Upon reaching his first transformation, he becomes brash, impatient, and loses much (though not all) of his strategic tendencies. Upon reaching perfection, Cell displays a number of traits shared by those whose cells he possesses; Frieza's polite demeanor, Vegeta's self-confidence, Goku's laid-back disposition, and the Saiyan desire for battling strong opponents. Cell is also unique among Dragon Ball villains in that he has absolutely no desire for conquest or immortality. Believing he is perfect, he merely desires entertainment, to enjoy his perfection, and after realizing his "true purpose", annihilation of everyone and everything.
In the English manga, Cell is always referred to as an "it" (Piccolo once says: "we may have to defeat Cell itself"), while in the anime (and the Japanese versions of both) he is referred to as "he." He is likely described that way in the English manga to emphasize the fact that he is an artificial being. In the English dub of the anime, Cell's voice changes from a buzzy monotone in Imperfect Form to gruff brutish in Semi-Perfect Form. This then changes to a more arrogant calmer voice in Perfect Form.
Cell is composed of cells from Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Nappa, Vegeta, Tien, Frieza and King Cold. His genetic composition is very much a part of his character. In his Imperfect Form, he is clever and calculating, (much like Piccolo) and single-minded about achieving his Perfect Form. In his Semi-Perfect Form, he is a little more arrogant, (like Vegeta), but still single-minded about achieving his Perfect Form. In his Perfect, Super Perfect, and Cellku forms, he is extremely arrogant (Saiyan), he becomes very smug and he believes that every other living creature is inferior to him, and is shown to be very polite unless he loses his temper (all from Frieza). Upon meeting Piccolo for the first time in Ginger Town, Cell tells Piccolo that the computer programmed some genetic traits to be more dominant than others.
Cell was designed to have the ability to absorb any biological mass by stabbing his victims with his tail. This process, called "bio-extraction," drains all the organic mass out of the target from the inside out. This attack increases Cell's power, the exact amount depending on the victim's power level. Cell was designed to absorb Dr. Gero's other androids (Android 17 and Android 18) whole, integrating them into his systems. Each time he absorbs an android, he evolves into a more powerful being, however he cannot absorb a complete Android such as Android 16.
Upon assimilating both Android 17 and Android 18, he gains the ability to asexually reproduce, creating blue, child versions of himself, dubbed "Cell Jr."
Forms
Infant form
Baby Cell floating in incubator.
Cell's original, baby form floats in Dr. Gero's basement laboratory. In our present timeline, this "Baby Cell" is killed by Trunks and Krillin when they discover the basement (which included some blueprints). In the future timeline, however, it grows to full-size, cracks out of the machine, turns from a larva into its imperfect form, kills Trunks (therefore stealing his time machine), reverts to it's larval form, and travels back to our present timeline in order to absorb Androids #17 & #18.
Larval form
Cell as a larvae.
This is Cell's first evolutionary stage. He burrows deep into the ground where he remains for four years, during which time he undergoes a slow, natural evolution process as he prepares to change into his imperfect form. Once ready, Cell emerges from the ground to shed his skin. This form's effectiveness in combat (if it has any) is never shown.
Imperfect Cell
Imperfect Cell is Cell's mature form prior to his absorption of Androids 17 and 18.
Appearance
Unlike his larva form, Cell fully walks upright on two legs. His facial features have not yet fully developed, and he still retains an orifice-like mouth (which generally obscures four teeth, as revealed in "Silent Warrior"), rather than traditional human-like features seen in later forms. The two sections of his head shoot off in different directions, rather than nearly straight up, as in the next two forms. Cell is later shown using the power he absorbed from his victims by having an aura with the appearance of wailing souls.
History
When Cell was first awakened in his time line, both Android 17 and Android 18 were not present, having already been taken out by Future Trunks (deactivated, actually, with a specially built remote control by Bulma, reminiscent of what Dr. Gero utilized to deactivate all his Androids had they displayed a demeanor of insubordination). In order to complete his evolution, he kills Future Trunks and steals his time machine, going back in time to the date set by Future Trunks in the "standard" time line when both Androids were still functional, sometime around four years prior to the Androids arrival. In order to fit into the machine, Cell had to revert back to an egg.
Once in the past, he hid underground for four years until he could grow back to his adult, humanoid self. After emerging in his imperfect form, Cell still feared that he didn't have the power he needed to forcibly absorb the androids. To increase his strength, his first actions were to exterminate several towns, absorbing the human inhabitants within. After completing his feeding on the humans in Ginger Town, Cell was confronted by Piccolo. After a brief struggle were he was beaten around several times, he manages to absorb enough of Piccolo's power to make him stronger and destroys one of Piccolo's arms. Cell (now mistakenly confident in victory) explains who he is to Piccolo. Future Trunks and Krillin then arrive at the scene. Future Trunks' presence in the past suprises Cell, as was the fact that Goku hadn't died of his heart disease and was still alive. Outnumbered, Cell quickly uses the Solar Flare to temporarily blind his opponents and escape.
Imperfect Cell's first appearance in Dragon Ball Z.
Cell decided to use a hit-and-run strategy at this point, hiding from the Z Fighters while going from town to town absorbing humans and gaining the power he needs to be able to take on the androids. Piccolo and Tien worked on tracking him while Future Trunks and Krillin killed the current (main) time line's Cell while still in his infancy. Eventually, after absorbing several tens of thousands of humans, Cell detected a large ki; knowing that this had to be Piccolo, he deduced that the only thing that could make him fight so hard would be the androids. Cell wasted no time and quickly headed to the area; as he figured, he finds Piccolo and Android #17 engaged in battle.
Cell interrupted the fight and attacked Android #17. At this point his power had far surpassed Piccolo and Android 17's, and without any precautions he approaches #17. As the monster prepares to absorb the android, Piccolo attacks him, freeing Android 17 from his grasp. When Android #17 learns what Cell had planned, he dismisses the threat, thinking that he was much more powerful than Cell could ever be, and attacked. After knocking away Android #17, he fought and easily beat Piccolo. After blasting a hole through Piccolo's side and tossing him into the sea, Cell was able to attack #17 again. He had almost absorbed him when Android #16 got involved. #16 then stated according to his calculations that he was just equivalent to Cell in both strength and speed, and portended that he'd be the one to kill Cell. After a struggle where it is revealed that Cell is unable to absorb #16, #16 had injured Cell, but before he could finish him off, #17 interrupted and remarked that the three of them were unbeatable. Cell uses this opportunity to burst out of the ground directly behind #17 and quickly absorbed him, evolving into Semi-Perfect Cell.
Alternative timeline
Future Trunks, who died during Cell Games and was brought back to life with the Dragon Balls, then returned to his alternate time-line and destroyed the Androids, including the Imperfect version of Cell, bringing peace back to his era. Thus, Cell never reached other forms in the alternative future.
Semi-Perfect Cell is a form Cell achieved after absorbing Android 17 but before getting to Android 18.
Appearance
In this form, Cell's wings disappear, and he becomes much more humanoid, also becoming bulkier. While the nose is not yet fully formed (as it will be in the next stage), he now has an actual mouth. The two off-shooting sections of his head now go straight into the air, as well. In this form, he is at his 2nd largest (because of Power Weighted Perfect Cell) with his height being more than double that of Vegeta.
Personality
Upon achieving this form, Cell no longer cares about absorbing other creatures, and becomes obsessed with finding Android 18. Aside from his obsession, he also becomes slightly more arrogant because of his power increase, as well as rash and impatient. His arrogance was short-lived though, as he was easily outclassed by Vegeta's Ascended Super Saiyan form. After finding his Semi-Perfect form no match for his opponent, Cell convinced Vegeta to allow him to absorb Android 18 to reach his Perfect Form (which he was able to do as he appeals to Vegeta's ego and the natural Saiyan drive to fight stronger opponents, both of which Cell is aware of as he possesses Vegeta's cells).
According to his bios in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3, in his new form, he seems to feel that he is the most beautiful living specimen on the planet, and it is suggested that this arrogant-narcissistic attitude may been influenced by Vegeta's genes (meaning Vegeta's cells may become more prominent while in this form, which seems to be supported by the fact he uses at least two of Vegeta's signature moves in this form, albeit only in the anime: Galick Gun and Big Bang Attack). It may also be due to his absorption of Android 17, who was also very narcissistic and intolerant of the idea of anyone being better than he is.
History
After Cell's absorption of Android 17, Android 16, knowing that he was now well outmatched, attempted to flee with Android 18, but Cell easily intercepted them. In a display of his new power he took a direct hit from Android 16 without injury and then easily blasted the Android, nearly destroying his head effortlessly. Cell turned to Android 18, but she threatened to self destruct before joining him if he approached, which would leave him unable to attain his complete form. In an attempt to pacify her, he pretended to be Android 17 by mimicking his voice (a trait probably gained from his absorption) and told her how wonderful it was to be part of Cell and fulfilling "the great" Dr. Gero's vision; Android 16, still functional but badly damaged warned her of the ploy, something she already knew since Android 17 despised Dr. Gero.
When his plan failed, Cell prepared to attempt to absorb 18 by force regardless, knowing that he was fast enough to prevent her from destroying herself and more than capable of overpowering her. He was prevented by Tien though, who used his Neo Tri-beam attack several times to stall Cell, destroying much of the landscape and nearly killing himself. Though Cell did not take any significant damage from the assault, it managed to hold him at bay long enough for Android 16 and Android 18 to make their escape. Though Tien was exhausted right to the point of death (and soon fell unconscious), Cell decided to kill him anyway as retribution; before he could fire though, Goku intervened and teleported to their location using Instant Transmission. Cell, wanting to fight Goku, flew towards him when he grabbed Piccolo. Before Cell could make contact, Goku used Instant Transmission again, carrying an unconscious Tien and a barely alive Piccolo back to safety at Kami's Lookout.
Without anyone to oppose him, Cell continued his search for Android 18. After losing her in a group of islands, he proceeded to destroy the islands, one-by-one, in an attempt to flush the android out. Having just completed his first year in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Vegeta approached and challenged him. Cell was soon shocked to discover that Vegeta was significantly more powerful than his new body, as the fight was entirely one-sided. Even after powering up to full power, he was unable to injure the Saiyan, who now called himself "Super Vegeta."
Knowing that he was incapable of defeating Vegeta in a physical battle, Cell appealed to Vegeta's ego, stating that if he were in his Perfect body he would be a much better challenge. Vegeta, wanting a stronger opponent, agreed to Cell's proposition. When Future Trunks refused to allow it, Cell called on Vegeta to remove him as an obstacle while he went after the recently discovered Android 18. Cell charged the Android with Future Trunks (also in his Ascended Super Saiyan form) in hot pursuit, until Vegeta kicked Future Trunks out of the way. Future Trunks retaliated by quickly blasting Vegeta, barely damaging him but surprising him with the guts to attack his own father nonetheless, and going after Cell again, but Cell was ready and used the Solar Flare to temporarily blind everyone long enough for him to absorb Android 18. Cell then put up an impenetrable barrier while he evolved yet again, this time to Perfect Cell. He later reverted to his semi-perfect state when he was beaten so badly by Super Saiyan 2 Gohan that he was forced to regurgitate Android 18. He blew himself up in an attempt to destroy the Earth, knowing he was well outmatched; Goku instead sacrificed himself by using his Instant Transmission to teleport Cell to King Kai's planet at the last second, where he, the Kai, Gregory, and Bubbles all died. To their dismay, Cell's nucleus survived to reconstruct himself into his most powerful state yet, the Super Perfect Form.
Akira Toriyama stated in an interview that he intended Semi-Perfect Cell to last longer before transforming to Perfect, but was told by his editor to get rid of him because "He looked funny".
In the Budokai Tenkaichi games, whenever he has received a huge hit by his opponents, his scream sounds like Imperfect Cell. The same happens with his higher evolved forms.
This is the only one of Cell's forms that never loses a limb (Other than self-destruction), nor does it have any wings.
Perfect Cell is the ultimate form of Cell, which he assumed after absorbing both Androids 17 and 18.
Appearance
Cell becomes much more humanoid in this form, complete with fully-formed nose and mouth. Since he no longer has a need to absorb other creatures, his tail is retracted and now used for creation of Cell Jr's, although in Dragon Ball GT, it is shown that Cell can still bring his stinger out and absorb other people. His wings also reappear. Along with his previous two forms, Cell can brandish an aura the same color as a Super Saiyan. He is smaller than in his previous form, being only about Piccolo's height.
Personality
Cell becomes significantly more arrogant in this form due to his increase in speed and power, and now only wishes to test his own power.
He also gains Frieza's polite mannerisms, Vegeta's self-confidence, and Goku's laid back nature and love of fighting.
History
Krillin was enraged by Android 18's absorption and immediately attacked Cell. However, Cell barely registered the hit, and he "lightly" kicked Krillin away, nearly killing him. Vegeta, unimpressed by the display, was eager to resume the battle, which Cell obliged. Cell merely toyed with Vegeta at the beginning, absorbing his attacks without any sign of damage; when he did strike back, the kick he delivered blew Vegeta away, smashing him into a rock formation. Vegeta then challenged Cell to take his next attack head on without dodging it and fired his ultimate attack, the Final Flash. Cell nearly takes the full brunt of the shot, vaporizing everything to the right side above his torso. Though Vegeta thought he was victorious, Cell proved otherwise; his cells from Frieza allowed him to survive and function with virtually any wound and those of Piccolo allowed him to regenerate from damage instantly. Almost immediately following the attack Cell regrew the destroyed area and was back. Vegeta now attacked in desperation, firing off dozens of Ki bolts, but Cell simply walked through it and with one swift combination of attacks incapacitated the Saiyan.
With Vegeta out of the picture, Future Trunks was free to fully power up without worrying about injuring his father's pride. He soon reached full power, and was apparently stronger than Cell; the downside was that the increased muscle mass drained his stamina quickly and made Future Trunks significantly slower as well: a bit afterwards, he could not land any hits on Cell. Vegeta later tells that, unlike what Future Trunks originally thought, he also can fully power up his body but doesn't do so because of this ability's weakness and scolds Future Trunks for not realizing the weakness until now. Cell chided Future Trunks, stating that simple brute force is worthless and quickly demonstrated that he too could increase his muscle size if he desired. At this point Future Trunks forfeited the match and was willing to allow Cell to kill him. Cell considered it, but decided not to after realizing how much more powerful Vegeta and Future Trunks had become in just a few days, and that Goku would be challenging him soon. He instead decided to hold a tournament in ten days, taking all challengers since he saw it would be a good way to test his new power. He also admits to Future Trunks that he has no interest in conquest--just entertainment, primarily through the fear of others.
Cell spent the next morning creating the arena where he would hold his tournament, the Cell Games, and then makes a live television broadcast of it to the world. He stated that he would take on as many challengers as there are and, if he is able to go through them all, he will then exterminate all life on the Earth. While at the arena waiting for the day of the competition to arrive Goku arrived briefly to check Cell's power level and they engaged in small talk. This is then followed by an attack by the Earth's army, but this proves hopeless as Cell, with a single gesture, destroys them all with a form of psychokinesis.
Cell takes this buff form a second time, when he loses his temper against Gohan.
"Power Weighted Perfect Cell" is a transformation of Perfect Cell. It makes its debut in "The Cell Games", the 165th episode of Dragon Ball Z (150th in the 276-episode version), which premiered on November 18, 1992. It makes its first manga appearance in "Trunks Surpasses His Father", the 386th chapter of the Dragon Ball manga, issued on December 26, 1992.
Biography
After defeating Future Trunks in his Ultra Super Saiyan transformation, Perfect Cell assumes this buffed state to demonstrate the mistake Future Trunks made increasing his muscle mass, without balancing his speed as well. This otherwise unnamed form is again taken by Cell after he loses his temper with a Super Saiyan 2Gohan. Though his raw strength in this state may be comparable to Gohan's, Cell's speed decrease impairs his ability to interpret damage, as evidenced when Gohan lands a heavy kick to Cell's stomach, causing him to regurgitate Android 18 and revert to his Semi-Perfect form.
Power
Despite ceasing to use this transformation after due to its obvious impairments, his buff stage is considered second only to Cell's Super Perfect form. It is uncertain if Cell is capable of using any techniques unseen in previous transformations, as he only appears buffed for brief periods of time. Nonetheless, Power Weighted Perfect Cell is still markedly outclassed by Gohan in his Super Saiyan 2 transformation. This form makes a story mode only appearance in the final battle of DBZ: Budokai" where Gohan must defeat him, despite the fact he should actually be in his Super Perfect form (see below).
Super Perfect Cell is a self-proclaimed form of Cell after he survived Self Destruction and absorbed Goku's cells (because he exploded at King Kai's Planet together with Goku, King Kai, Bubbles, and Gregory). To distinguish this power upgrade from his previous state, this form is often referred to as "Super Perfect" (though Cell himself calls it "Ultimate Perfection" in the FUNimation dub).
Appearance
In his most powerful state, Cell mostly appears no different from his Perfect state, and his attitude also seems to stay the same (except for maybe a bit of an increase in his ego due to him gaining a huge amount of power). However, some notable differences between the two stages do occur. Cell's power takes a big jump from his Perfect stage, and it gets to the point that he has surges of blue electricity in his aura, much like a Super Saiyan 2, suggesting that Cell's power most likely approaches or even matches that of a Super Saiyan 2.
History
Even after self-destructing at King Kai's planet, Cell's nucleus miraculously survives the explosion. Using the regenerative abilities he inherited from Piccolo, Cell is able to completely recover. His cells also retain a memory of his perfect form, allowing him to regenerate into that form again despite his loss of both the cyborgs at this point (Android 17 was also killed in the explosion of Cell's semi-perfect body). Due to his Saiyan trait of extreme power increase after healing from injury, he becomes much stronger than he previously was in his perfect form, even at full power or when buffed up. Apparently Cell himself was previously unaware of this ability, as he is shocked that he is still alive. (Note that even though Cell had gotten stronger, he still sometimes struggled a little bit in the final Kamehameha duel despite the fact that Gohan was only using one arm, suggesting that he still may not have been quite up to the same strength as a Super Saiyan 2.)
Super Perfect Cell being obliterated by Gohan's Kamehameha.
Using Instant Transmission (acquired from Goku) Cell returns to Earth and kills Future Trunks with a single blast. Enraged, Vegeta blindly rushes at him in his Super Saiyan form but is slapped aside. Cell attempts to kill Vegeta with his Death Beam, but Gohan intercepts Cell's attack. Gohan is left wounded, without the use of his left arm and his ki supply reduced to half. Having returned to his Super Saiyan 2 state, Gohan desperately engages Cell in a Kamehameha wave struggle at the behest of the late Goku. Cell gains the upper hand several times, nearly overwhelming the exhausted Gohan nonchalantly, but as he is about to finish off Gohan, Vegeta distracts Cell with a powerful surprise blast to the side of his head. With Cell caught momentarily off guard, Gohan draws out all of his reserves to obliterate Cell completely. Later, in Dragon Ball GT, Super Perfect Cell is seen fighting Goku with Frieza in Hell, but is easily dominated along with Frieza. While fighting Goku he is able to absorb him through his tail, but only momentarily.
In the manga and Japanese anime, there is a plot hole with regards to how Cell achieved this state. According to Cell, an organ inside his head allows him to regenerate, so long as that organ is not destroyed. Goku had previously destroyed Cell's entire upper body, head included, which should have prevented the evil cyborg from regenerating. This plot hole is not present in Funimation's English dub of the anime, where Cell stated that "every cell [in his body] has a life of its own", and that one survived, which allowed him to regenerate.
Special abilities
His absorption abilities aside, Cell does not possess any unique techniques of his own. Instead, he has the abilities of those whose cells make up his body from the time when the samples were taken from them. Goku, Piccolo and Vegeta had their cells taken during Vegeta's invasion of Earth, while Frieza and King Cold had theirs taken when they invaded during the Trunks Saga later. While he inherits these techniques from others, he sometimes performs them using his own distinct style. [citation needed]
Among the abilities Cell demonstrated in the anime, manga and video games are:
The inside of Cell's body, as exposed by Vegeta's devastating Final Flash.
Absorption - Cell's tail serves one special purpose: to absorb other beings into his body. Cell will gain all of the strength of the person he has absorbed. Cell has two methods of absorption. The first method is to stab the person with the sharp end of his tail. The tail will then suck up all of the organic matter of the victim, leaving the clothing behind. Cell has a second method of absorption, made for people who he wants every bit of strength from. Instead of stabbing the person and draining the person's life force, Cell will instead absorb the person whole. Cell will open up the pointy end of his stinger, and it will become a giant sucker. Cell will bring the sucker down on the person, and the sucker will suck them through Cell's tail into his body. The person will be held unconscious in Cell's body. This method was made for Android 17 and 18, who, due to their powers not being organic, had to be absorbed whole. This is Cell's preferred method, as it gives him full power. Even though Cell's tail retracted after becoming Perfect Cell, it is shown that Cell can still bring his stinger out and absorb other people using this technique. The tail can also be used for strangulation, a move likely copied from Frieza.
Perfect Barrier - An impenetrable shield Cell places around himself to protect him from attacks. It was most likely taken from Android 17 after Cell absorbed him, though his special barrier could be a technique programmed directly by Dr. Gero. It can also cause damage to anyone unfortunate enough to collide with it.
Levitate - The ability to fly, taken from any of the cell samples.
Telekinesis - Cell can lift objects of large proportionate sizes into the air with his mind and controlling the use of his hand(s). Likely taken from Frieza.
Death Beam (Frieza Beam) - A laser-like projectile which travels very quickly. Also known as Death Beam/Finger Beam. Taken from Frieza.
Spirit Bomb - Cell never uses this technique, though he states that he can use it if he wished. This is likely a bluff, as one must be pure of heart to perform the attack (Cell is pure evil, however, that is a "purity of heart" in and of itself). This is Cell's ultimate attack in the Budokai video game series ("Okay, planet! Give me that stupid energy!") and in the Budokai Tenkaichi 2 game ("You won't survive this time.").
Kamehameha - A powerful ki wave attack and trademark technique of the Dragon Ball series. Taken from Goku.
Cell's Ultimate-Final attack. Cell stores energy and fires it in the form of a large Kamehameha, which he claims possesses enough power to destroy the entire solar system.[1] It was created and used by Super Perfect Cell as a final bid to destroy Gohan, but was countered by the Father-Son Kamehameha. Its name comes from Budokai Tenkaichi 3, where it is Super Perfect Cell's Ultimate Blast technique ("The Earth will be destroyed. SAYONARA!").
Tri-beam (Kikôhô) - A blast of rectangle shaped energy. Taken from Tien (Anime only).
Special Beam Cannon - A powerful thin beam of energy. Taken from Piccolo (Anime only).
Regeneration - The Namekian ability to regenerate damage to the body. Cell can regenerate only if the core inside his head is not damaged. Taken from Piccolo.
Instant Transmission - The ability to instantly teleport virtually anywhere (by homing in on a Ki signature). Taken from Goku after Cell's self destruction.
Solar Flare - An extremely bright light which can temporarily blind opponents in near proximity. Taken from Tien.
Homing Destructo Disk - A variant of the Destructo Disk, this energy disk can be controlled by the creator to change direction. Taken from Frieza (Anime only) (note: Krillin thought it was taken from him but he can't remotely control his like Cell or Frieza can).
After Image Technique - The ability to move extremely fast over short distances, leaving an image behind. Taken from of Goku.
Multi-Form (12 Eyes) Technique - Used by Cell during the fight with Goku, this technique is one of Tien's. The technique creates three fighting copies of the user with 1/4th of the user's power. Unlike Tien's technique, however, when used by Cell each copy retained full power.
Android's Bomb - Like all other androids, Cell can initiate a self-destruction through a bomb planted inside his body. Cell, however, has a special technique to do so, rather than just a device. When Cell uses it, he swells up like a giant balloon and begins a 1 minute countdown, which when it ends, he will explode with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Should he be attacked before the countdown ends, he will explode instantly. Once activated, this technique cannot be stopped.
From his Saiyan samples, Cell has the ability to become more powerful after recovering from severe injuries. He also takes on many personality traits that are true to Saiyans, like the desire to fight and test his power. Even though Cell is not categorized as a Super Saiyan, his aura perfectly mimics that of a Super Saiyan; this is connected to his Saiyan heritage.
Cell has Frieza's capability of surviving in outer space, and to revert his form (demonstrated when he reverted to an egg and potentially by his evolving body). He also gained Frieza's telekinesis, and his ability to survive any injury. After Cell achieves his Super Perfect Form due to his brush with death when he self destructed, he explains that this is because each individual cell in his body has a life-force of their own. This could in part explain how Frieza can do this.
Though he has Piccolo's regenerative ability, Cell is never shown to use Piccolo's demonstrated body distorting abilities, such as extending his limbs to great lengths or growing his entire body to massive proportions. He also never shows any of the more mystical abilities of Piccolo, such as creating objects out of thin air. It is likely that Cell's asexual reproductive capability in spawning the Cell Jr.'s is taken from Piccolo's Namekian physiology.
Hell Bazooka (Almighty Light Cage Funimation dub) - A technique that Cell and Frieza developed together while in Hell. Both Cell and Frieza begins to glow, then a yellow ki emits from both of their bodies, which then envelops their opponent, trapping him/her in an inescapable ki orb. Then both the users throws the orb prison down into the deepest part of Hell, with the prisoner in it. This is where the prisoner will suffer the four stages of Hell:
Soup Bath of Hell: The victim bathes in a huge pot of soup. This is mainly to embarrass the victim.
Ticklish Hands of Hell: The victim is strapped to a chair and is tickled by a group of hands, making him/her to laugh to tears.
Boiling Sauna of Hell: The victim is placed in a very hot sauna, boiling him/her alive.
Freezing Thundra of Hell: The last stage of Hell. This is where the victim is placed in the middle of a frozen wasteland to freeze. Along with that is a huge machine that encases the victim in soul-laced ice crystals, which gets stronger is struggled against. If the victim is a resident of Hell, then the frozen body can be shattered (but later repaired). If the victim is of the living realm (or maybe of Heaven), then the ice would melt due to the living heat energy, and the victim would break free.
Non-manga
Anime filler
Though Cell was gone, he still caused trouble in the Other World after being sent to Hell by King Yemma and striking up a partnership with Frieza, King Cold and the deceased Ginyu Force soldiers Guldo, Recoome, Burter, and Jeice. Here, he was defeated along with his friends by Goku and Pikkon, and ultimately sentenced to the Other World Prison. He and the others are later shown watching Goku's battle with Kid Buu on a huge crystal ball in Hell.
Dragon Ball GT
In Dragon Ball GT, Cell makes another brief appearance in Hell. He and Frieza team up to try and kill Goku, but Goku is far too strong for them, eventually defeating them and escaping. He was last seen frozen by the coldest ice from Hell, broken in pieces by Goku and arrested by the Oni. An interesting note is during the time Cell for a short time became the most powerful being in the universe by absorbing Goku, although Goku moments later manages to escape, much like how 18 pushed out of his body.
Voice actors
Japanese: Norio Wakamoto
Ocean Dub: Dale Wilson
FUNimation Dub: Dameon Clarke
Latin American Dub: Ricardo Brust
Quotes
"Huh! Playtime is over. I will send you to heaven immediately." (Final Bout)
"Now let me show you the force of my true power." (Final Bout)
(To Hercule) "Who is this idiot?" (Budokai Tenkaichi series)
"Now let me show you the ultimate terror!" (Budokai Tenkaichi series)
(To Goku) COME ON! (Budokai Tenkaichi series)
(To Gohan) A foolish boy in every way (Budokai Tenkaichi series)
(After defeating Gohan) What's the matter? I thought you were going to defeat me muwahaaha! (Budokai Tenkaichi series)
Cell has made an impact in many Dragon Ball Z video games, mostly as a boss or high-end playable character. Though sometimes featured in only his Perfect Form, the more recent games in the Budokai series see Cell in his Imperfect, Semi-Perfect, Perfect and Super Perfect (after exploding and then gaining a power boost due to his Saiyan cells) states as well. In addition, in the original game his bulky form from when he battled Gohan was accessible as a boss fight only.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai, Cell also has a nightmare during his wait for the Cell Games to start. In this nightmare, Cell succeeds in absorbing Android 17, but accidentally absorbs Krillin who pushes Android 18 out of the way in time, resulting in what would look like a fusion between a Cell Jr. and Krillin: Cellin, now with a diminutive body with Krillin's characteristics and orange colors. With his power level taking a drastic drop, Cell is barely able to defeat Yamcha before being destroyed by Tien's Tri-beam. Then Cell wakes up in a start, seeing that he is still standing in his Cell Games Ring during the middle of the night. Relieved, Cell mutters "I guess ten days is just too long to wait for the tournament," referring to the Cell Games. Ironically, although Cell and his arc are not the final villain and arc in the series, the buck often stops there in many games, including Burst Limit, Sagas, the first Budokai, and the Dragon Ball Z Collectible Card Game.
In the game, Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 2, Cell and Frieza can be put under Babidi's influence á la Vegeta or Dabura, becoming Majins. Later Cell can also be absorbed by Super Buu.
In Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2, Cell makes an appearance along side Frieza in the Fusion Reborn movie saga, even though he was absent in the movie itself.
Interestingly, Cell is the only evil character to get his wish fulfilled in Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai's Arcade Mode. (Broly doesn't count because he didn't have a real "wish". Frieza also doesn't count due to the "wish" being a misunderstanding on Shenron's part.)
Cell is the second saga villain to not be defeated by Goku in the manga, after Vegeta (who was technically also defeated by Gohan). In the anime, he is the third, if one counts Garlic Jr. as a saga villain.
Cell, despite not being the last villain in the show, is often the final boss in Dragon Ball Z video games such as Budokai, Sagas, and Super Dragon Ball Z.
Having Frieza's cells, Cell can survive some of the strongest attacks, along with Piccolo's regeneration. Also, his Saiyan cells make him stronger from every near-death injury he survives.
Cell is the only villain to be rooted for by a Z-Fighter. (Krillin admitted that he was hoping that Cell would win against Mr. Satan, as he felt Mr. Satan was an embarrassment.)
In all of the Budokai and Budokai Tenkaichi games (aside from the Shin Budokai series), all of Cell's forms have the Imperfect Cell voice when they fight (unless he is calling out an attack).
Out of the three main villains, Cell is the only one who doesn't kill Krillin (ironically, one of his other selves is killed by Krillin), and the only one who is killed in a beam struggle. He is also the only one of the three to not be bitten by Goku (Goku bites Frieza's tail and Kid Buu's head).
Though his second form is an in-between form of his first and third forms, his second form is the only form without wings.
Cell's second form is obviously weaker than the Cell Juniors, as Vegeta, who easily beat up Cell in his second form, was unable to defeat a Cell Junior. Gohan was able to destroy most of the Cell Juniors with a single blow each, but Cell survived all of Gohan's attacks when he faced him in his second form. However, this may have been due to the fact that Gohan wanted to torture Cell for a while before killing him.
Cell repeats two fatal mistakes that were made by another Z Fighter that was fighting him. Cell tricked Vegeta into letting him become complete so he could see his true power, and later Cell wanted to see Gohan's hidden power, which resulted in his death. Like Future Trunks, Cell powered up to his maximum and beefed up, which made him stronger but slowed him down so that he couldn't land a single hit on Gohan. This leads to him being kicked in the stomach and regurgitating Android 18, causing him to revert to his second form.
Cell is the only main villain in the manga canon to be killed by a Kamehameha Wave.
All four forms of Cell had some sort of characteristic of the Z Fighters who challenged him in his personality. Imperfect Cell was sneaky and calculating like Piccolo, Semi-Perfect Cell was extremely narcisstic and arrogant like Vegeta, Perfect Cell was laid back and only wanted to fight powerful opponents like Goku, and Super Perfect Cell was hotheaded and cocky like Super Saiyan 2 Gohan.
