Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero brought Cell back, or at least a version of Cell, but the Super Hero final villain is highly disappointing compared to Dragon Ball Z’s Cell. The newest entry in the Dragon Ball franchise, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero takes place a few months after the events of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, and while it plays out as a very self-contained story, Super Hero has major implications for the future of Gohan and Piccolo in Dragon Ball Super. Although Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is already considered by many as one of the best Dragon Ball movies, its main villain, Cell Max, falls short when compared to the original Cell despite having delivered an exciting final battle.
After Dragon Ball Super wasted its best Gohan storylines, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero tried to make up for the Gohan mistakes Dragon Ball has committed for decades. Initially set to become the new Dragon Ball Z protagonist following Goku’s death during the Cell Games, Gohan ended up being downplayed both as a fighter and as a character going into the Majin Buu Saga. Almost 30 years later, Gohan and his potential are now back in the spotlight with Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
As a movie centered on Gohan, it is most fitting that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s villains were the Red Ribbon Army, the android-equivalents Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, and a new Cell. While most of those thematic callbacks to Gohan’s Dragon Ball Z story worked great for the movie, Cell’s “return” in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero left much to be desired. Cell was one of the few remaining Dragon Ball Z characters that had yet to appear in Dragon Ball Super, which raised the expectations for Super Hero. However, not only Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s Cell Max is not the same Cell as the one from Dragon Ball Z, the Super Hero villain feels almost like a parody of the Dragon Ball Z Cell rather than an updated version. Cell Max is stronger than Perfect Cell, but the former ended up being a much inferior villain. Cell Max only appeared in the Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero’s ending fight, and there was really nothing else to new Cell android rather than being the movie’s final boss. Cell Max had no personality and no personal reasons to battle Gohan and Piccolo. In fact, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's Cell Max does not even speak. That is a jarring contrast from Dragon Ball Z’s Perfect Cell, who was not just a killing machine but rather an eloquent, incredible smart villain.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Forgets What Made DBZ’s Cell So Good
Dragon Ball is known for its incredibly powerful characters whose power base only increases with each saga, which is why the best Dragon Ball villains are the ones who are more than just exceptional fighters. That was the case for Perfect Cell, who was by far the strongest opponent Goku, Vegeta, and the others had faced up until that point but who was also a compelling character. Dragon Ball Z's Cell’s ultimate goal was nothing elaborated – he wanted to become the most perfect, strongest being in the universe – but he had a respect for the Z warriors that made him a lot interesting. Perfect Cell suggested the Cell Games as a way to contemplate first-hand the powers of warriors like Goku, Vegeta, Trunks, and Gohan, almost as if he was playing with his enemies before destroying them. None of those nuances were present in Cell Max, who ended up being just a giant killing machine for Gohan and Piccolo to fight.
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero delivered on its Cell tease, but it could have been much better. Cell left its mark on Dragon Ball Z not only because of his powers but also because of his personality during the Perfect Cell form. Unfortunately, despite being astonishingly powerful, Cell Max was just a shell of the original Cell.