Dragon Ball: Why was Cell so evil? The villain's origins, explained

Modified Mar 07, 2024 01:45 GMT

Dragon Ball and Cell's origins (Image via Toei Animation).

Dragon Ball's Cell is one of the most iconic villains in the series, usually having just Frieza over him in terms of popularity and worldwide recognition, and there are a lot of reasons for his success. His different character designs, evolution through absorbing the Androids, and how he was an amalgamation of the DNA of several popular characters who were introduced until that point.

In that regard, Cell feels like a combination of everything and everyone who had shown up until that point in the Dragon Ball franchise, which is why he has such an iconic status in the series.

Therefore, considering the fact that he is the amalgamation of so many main characters, such as Goku, Krillin, Ten Shin Han, and so on, people wonder why he was evil to begin with, although the answer lies in that very question.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series.

Explaining why Cell is evil in the Dragon Ball series

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The reason Cell was so evil in the Dragon Ball franchise was that he was created by Dr. Gero through the use of the DNA of several characters in the series, including antagonists like Nappa, Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, and King Cold.

While some of these characters have become allies of Goku and his friends, they were unhinged individuals at the time the DNA was taken, with their inclinations for violence being almost part of their biology.

That is why Cell is evil since characters like Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, and King Cold are naturally devious and violent people, which are all traits that this antagonist shows throughout the arc. Cell was arrogant, sadistic, and even capable of heinous strategies to win, which was shown in his tactics to absorb Android 17 and 18 to achieve perfection.

There was also the element of Saiyan genetics within Cell, which is something that eventually played a role in his doom at the end of the arc.

He was constantly taunting the main cast and this grew tenfold when he was fighting Gohan, which led to provoking him to get him angry, thus leading to that character's Super Saiyan 2 transformation and the villain's defeat.

The legacy of Cell in the franchise

Cell in the anime (Image via Toei Animation).

There is no denying that Cell is one of the most iconic antagonists in the franchise and that is down to several reasons, including the time and place he was introduced.

Cell was the main antagonist at a time when the franchise was arguably the most successful manga and anime in the entire world, which is why he is a huge part of the series' legacy.

He also added an element of conclusion to the story since he was an amalgamation of most of the villains that Goku and his friends had faced throughout the series. That made Cell a much more compelling villain because of all of his tactics and abilities, even going as far as having that Saiyan desire for a great battle, which was exploited during the Cell Games portion of the story.

The recent Super Hero arc, both in the manga and the movie adaptation, also shows how beloved Cell is in the fandom.

The character of Cell Max is an obvious reference to this villain, which shows how he still has a strong legacy in the franchise despite not coming back for decades.

Final thoughts

The reason Cell is so evil in the Dragon Ball franchise is because he has the DNA of several major antagonists, such as Piccolo, Vegeta, Frieza, Nappa, and King Cold.

All of these elements made Cell evil and violent while also having the ego and arrogance of many of these characters.

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