While Cell is known as one of the most sinister villains in the Dragon Ball universe, one detail about his origin mixed with a destined attack on the multiverse leads one to consider the possibility that, if he were alive in Dragon Ball Super, Cell actually could have been Super’s greatest hero.
Cell is a bio-android created by Dr. Gero. Unlike the other Androids made by Gero, Cell was grown rather than made, and he was looked after by a supercomputer in a process that took more than two decades. Throughout that growing process, Dr. Gero deployed a tiny insect-sized robot to follow Goku around for years, collecting samples of his DNA after every one of his power-ups. Not only did the robot collect Goku’s cells, but also those of practically everyone Goku came into contact with, including Krillin, Vegeta, and even Frieza. While Cell was still growing in the main Dragon Ball timeline, a fully matured version of Cell traveled back in time from an alternate future–and he did so for one specific reason.
In Dragon Ball chapter 382 by Akira Toriyama, Cell completed the task he set out to when he traveled to an alternate past: Cell absorbed Androids 17 and 18 and unlocked his perfect form. The only reason Cell stole Trunks’ time machine and went back in time was because he needed Androids 17 and 18 to complete his transformation, and both of those Androids had already been defeated by Trunks upon his awakening. This means that once Cell reached his perfect form, he had no real reason to stay in this timeline. In the timeline he came from, the DBZ villain had already killed Trunks and there was no one alive left to stop him from taking over the world. Instead, Cell decided to stay in the main Dragon Ball timeline, one filled with people determined to kill him. If Cell did return to his original time, he not only would have ruled the world unopposed, but he also would have been given the chance to become Dragon Ball Super’s greatest hero.
Dragon Ball Super Fans Were Robbed of Cell vs Goku Black
During Dragon Ball Super’s Future Trunks Saga, fans are introduced to a god-tier, timeline-hoping villain named Zamasu aka Goku Black. The Saga detailed how two versions of the corrupted Kai Zamasu joined forces to travel across the different timelines, eradicating all life in those universes. Eventually, Zamasu was defeated in Future Trunks’ timeline, however, Zamasu wasn’t just trying to destroy that reality. When Cell traveled back in time to absorb 17 and 18, he also split the universe into an alternate timeline, meaning Cell’s future was also in Zamasu’s crosshairs. Since no one was alive to even remotely compete with Zamasu in Cell’s original timeline, Zamasu would have been able to destroy it with little effort–but what if Perfect Cell had returned?
If Cell went back to his original timeline after completing his quest to absorb 17 and 18 in the past, then he could have gone toe-to-toe with Zamasu during the events of Dragon Ball Super. If Cell’s desire was to rule the world, or even the universe, then Cell would have absolutely battled Zamasu to defend what was his. While Cell may not have won that battle against the murderous god, the fact that he would fight him to defend the world makes Cell just as great a hero as Future Trunks. Plus, Cell could have used his time machine to recruit Goku and Vegeta just as Trunks did, allowing him to fully redeem himself for his past actions by teaming up with his former enemies for the betterment of an entire universe. Either way, this slight change to Dragon Ball’s Cell Saga could have spiraled into an epic multiversal tale–one which would have shown how Cell could have actually been Dragon Ball Super’s greatest hero.