Dragon Ball Z saw Goku, Gohan, and its other heroes come frightfully close to total annihilation on several occasions, but a bonus DB Super chapter revealed that a foe from one of their closest calls is still alive and as strong as ever. The sequel series brought several notable villains back into the story with varying degrees of success, and while Frieza has hogged a lot of the franchise's spotlight for villainy, Android #17 played a big role in preventing another from causing potentially world-ending problems.
Gohan's Super Saiyan 2 transformation during the Cell Saga is a favorite for many DBZ fans. His power-up turned out to be enough to turn the tables against Perfect Cell, but it did not happen fast enough to prevent Dr.Gero's ultimate creation from spawning seven mini-versions of himself known as Cell Jr.'s. The villain claimed they matched his power level before each brutally injured the Z Warriors, including a full-strength Vegeta and Trunks. After unlocking SS2, Gohan easily defeated them all, but as the bonus DBS chapter shared by Reddit user Deva966 reveals, Gohan didn't kill the Cell Jr.s.
The Cell Jr. Are Still Alive in Dragon Ball Super
Dragon Balls Have Resurrected More Than Just The Franchise's Heroes
Every year, a special event known as the Jump Victory Carnival celebrates ongoing manga franchises. Here, attendees receive an original guidebook filled with information and even short manga chapters from authors working for Dragon Ball's publishing company, Shueisha. During the 2018 event, the guidebook included a bonus story leading up to the Tournament of Power involving Android #17 and his unlikely anti-poacher cadets, the seven Cell Jr.'s who almost murdered the Z warriors.
The very short bonus Dragon Ball Super manga chapter is a fascinating inclusion that explains Android #17's increased strength and the fate of the Cell Juniors, who would have had the same type of regenerative abilities as their evil parent. As #17 leaves the island he protects from poachers to help during the Tournament of Power, the seven Cell Jr.'s attack Dragon Ball Super's Goten and Trunks, who would have zero clue about the mysterious creature's identities. Still, #17 also proves his skills in instructing creatures by training the Cell Juniors not to harm rangers protecting the island's inhabitants.
"...the Cell Juniors were wished back to life using the magical wish-granting orbs."
It's not a stretch to imagine that Android #17 honed his skills while training the mini-Cells. If Cell's comment about their power levels is to be believed, each has the ability to cause trouble for most of Earth's inhabitants with their strength that could easily destroy the planet. While the guiding hand of #17 has played a role in preventing the Cell Juniors from causing problems, a monumental wish upon the Dragon Balls during the Majin Buu arc proves they would not have been the type of threat one would assume from an offspring of Cell.
While They Are Cell Clones, The Cell Jr. Are Genuinely Good
Cell Wouldn't Have Been a Good Influence on his Children
After Cell spawned the seven Cell Jr.s, they obeyed their creator's orders to brutalize the Z warriors, all in a ploy to anger Gohan enough to trigger his latent powers. While that example of violence provided the impression that the creatures were as evil as Cell, the fact that they are still alive proves that false. After Super Buu launched a devastating energy attack that wiped out Earth's residents from Kami's lookout, Cell's children were dead. But like many of the Dragon Ball franchise's heroes and cast members, the Cell Juniors were wished back to life using the magical wish-granting orbs.
Many of the resurrections caused by the Dragon Balls helped bring fallen heroes back from the dead, but they have also been used to bring back several living beings all at once. Near the end of the Buu saga, in Dragon Ball Z Chapter #319, Vegeta's plan to defeat Kid Buu used the Namek Dragon Balls to "Resurrect everyone who's died since the day of the tournament - except the bad guys!" to gather enough energy to form Goku's Spirit Bomb. The Cell Juniors being resurrected and eventually becoming a team with Android #17 to help protect wildlife proves they did not inherit Cell's cruel nature.
Related
Dragon Ball Daima Finally Explains One Of Super's Biggest Plot Holes
Dragon Ball Daima finally explains how Supreme Kai and Kibito defuse, but also rewrites established Dragon Ball canon in the process.
Nature versus Nurture is a profound concept that Dragon Ball has surprisingly spent much time exploring. Piccolo's character arc establishes that the offspring of monsters don't always need to follow the same path of hate and destruction. If Cell had won against the heroes, under his influence, the Cell Juniors would've gone on to cause more trouble across the universe. However, they didn't spend enough time with their evil parent to corrupt them, and because of that, they were brought back to life and learned how to make Dragon Ball's world a better place with the help of Android #17.
Source: Deva966/ Reddit
-
Dragon Ball Z is the sequel series to Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball and continues the adventures of Goku. Along with his companions, Goku defends the Earth against various villains ranging from intergalactic space fighters and conquerors to powerful androids and nearly indestructible creatures.
-
Dragon Ball Super is a sequel to the original Dragon Ball series as well as the fan-favorite Dragon Ball Z anime. Dragon Ball Super takes place ten years after Majin Buu is defeated and follows Goku and his friends on all-new adventures. Much like its predecessors, Dragon Ball Super was praised throughout its 131 episodes.
-
Dragon Ball
From the creative mind of Akira Toriyama, Dragon Ball is a mega multimedia franchise that spans back to the 1980s. Dragon Ball expanded quickly, starting as a serialized manga for Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan. It made its way overseas via manga and an anime adaptation that is enjoyed worldwide. Dragon Ball was the initial starting animated series that followed the adventures of the young Son Goku as he sought after the Dragon Balls. These mystical orbs would grant the wish of any who gathered them together. Then, the series would branch off into the immensely popular Dragon Ball Z, which followed Goku as an adult and featured high-intensity battles and Goku's never-ending search to be the strongest. The series has also enjoyed several popular video game adaptations and continues to release several new animated series and theatrical films up to the recent popular Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero.
English (US) ·