Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Actually NEVER Reached His Ultimate Form (By Missing 1 Upgrade)

During his original Dragon Ball Z saga, Cell proved to be incredibly hard to kill, as he was able to regenerate from practically any wound that Goku and the Z-Fighters inflicted. Though while he was tough in DBZ, Cell would have been invincible if he had known about one upgrade that was introduced in Dragon Ball GT – an upgrade that would have truly given Cell his ‘perfect’ form.

Cell is a bio-android created by Dr. Gero who has the greatest abilities exhibited by every single villain and hero that had appeared in Dragon Ball up until that point. In every way that matters, Cell was essentially a living amalgamation of the strongest fighters in Dragon Ball, and his greatest power actually came from the most unlikely fighter: Piccolo.

At this point in the series, Goku, Gohan, Vegeta, and Future Trunks, were all Super Saiyans and Piccolo (while powerful after re-merging with Kami) wasn’t even close to wielding their level of power. But even so, his ability to regenerate made him the greatest addition to Cell’s DNA collection, as it made Cell practically invincible. However, there was one weakness to the regenerative power Cell absorbed from Piccolo, a weakness that could have been cured by one Dragon Ball GT life form.

Dragon Ball GT Introduced An Alien Cell Should Have Absorbed

In Dragon Ball GT season 1, episode 10 (written by Aya Matsui, directed by Osamu Kasai, produced by Toei Animation), Pan, Goku, and Trunks are stuck on an asteroid in the middle of space, though the fact that they’re essentially marooned is the least of their worries.

Previously on Dragon Ball GT, the Z-Fighters were on a mission searching for the Black Star Dragon Balls across the cosmos when they ran into another group of travelers trying to do the same thing. So, after this competing intergalactic search party tricks the Z-Fighters into crashing-landing on a lone asteroid in an effort to steal the Dragon Balls they’ve collected, the Z-Fighters find themselves face-to-face with the viscous residents of this asteroid: Mouma.

If Cell Absorbed a Mouma from Dragon Ball GT, He’d Be Invincible

Mouma are giant, man-eating worms who have a hard shell covering their entire heads. This shell is so tough, in fact, that the combined might of Goku, Trunks, and Pan all blasting their most powerful attacks at just one of these worms did nothing to slow it down. Back in Dragon Ball’s Cell Saga, it is revealed that Cell can regenerate from any wound unless one specific part of his brain is destroyed, at which point he’d be dead for good. This is why the combined might of Goku and Gohan was enough to obliterate Cell and destroy that spot on his head, thereby killing him permanently. While that move worked in the original saga, Cell could have avoided death if his most vulnerable area was reinforced, and that could have been the case if he absorbed a Mouma.

While the absorptions of Android 17 and 18 were the only way for Cell to undergo a dramatic transformation, Cell still had the power to absorb anyone he wanted and gain certain traits and powers from them. So, if Cell was around during the Dragon Ball Z sequel series and was aware enough of GT‘s Mouma to travel to their asteroid and absorb one of them, his head would have been unbreakable (as proven in this episode), meaning Cell would have become totally unbeatable.

All episodes of Dragon Ball GT are streaming on Crunchyroll!

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Dragon Ball GT

Dragon Ball GT is the third series in Akira Toriyama’s most famous anime franchise. However, it is the first one not to adapt a manga storyline. Set after the events of the Buu Saga, Dragon Ball GT sees Goku and the Z-Warriors battle powerful villains such as Baby, Super 17, and the Shadow Dragons. 18 years after the 64-episode show was met with a lukewarm reception, Dragon Ball Super replaced it in the anime’s official continuity.