For many fans, Dragon Ball Z's Cell Saga remains the best arc in the whole franchise, and Cell is widely considered the best villain for a multitude of reasons. Ever since the start of the arc, Cell had been shown to be a ruthless villain hell-bent on destruction, but had a certain charm about him that was kind of infectious, making many fans love the villain despite his inhuman nature.

He was a being who would always strive for perfection, as stated in the names of the many forms he gained in his time in the series. All these forms vary greatly in terms of visual design and overall power, but the villain that they belong to has always remained the same. So, let's take a look at all the various forms of Cell seen in Dragon Ball.

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Larval Cell Introduced The Villain To The Series

In his very first appearance in Dragon Ball, Cell was shown to be in a larval state. This is a version of the character that is still evolving into its android self, and it is at this stage that Cell has been infused with the genetic code and makeup of Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo, Frieza and King Cold, which would go on to give him his awesome power. By the time the larva is found by the Z-Fighters, Cell has already shed himself from it and has absorbed a nearby city's population.

Imperfect Cell Was A Terrifying Foe

This is the villain's original form. Imperfect Cell was the state that the character was introduced in and had a terrifying, alien-like appearance, but is the one form out of all the others that most resembles a common bug. This was the form he took upon emerging from his larva and absorbing the population of a city, which then allowed him to fight some of the Z-Fighters.

Upon achieving this form, his goal immediately became to absorb the remaining androids to evolve even further. Though the weakest of all the versions of the villain, Imperfect Cell had beaten both Krillin and Piccolo, the latter of whom had been fused with Kami. He also battled equally with Android 16 before catching Android 17 off-guard and absorbing him to gain more power.

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Semi-Perfect Cell Was Too Strong For Most Fighters

This monstrous transformation of Cell had a drastic change in appearance from his previous version, as he started to gain more of a humanoid visage. On top of that, this form got a bulkier and more rugged look as the overall muscle mass of the villain increased quite dramatically after he absorbed Android 17, leading to an exponential increase in power as well. He would have killed both Piccolo and Tien if Goku hadn't saved them at the last moment.

At that point in the story, Semi-Perfect Cell may have even been able to defeat Goku, as the Saiyan had not yet mastered Super Saiyan. In his hopes of finding and absorbing Android 18, Cell would eventually come across Super Vegeta and Super Trunks. Although he was utterly outclassed by the former in his Super Saiyan Grade 3 form, he was able to play on the Prince's arrogance and used the opportunity to absorb Android 18 while Vegeta fought off his own son.

Perfect Cell May Be The Best Villain In The Franchise

This is the version of Cell that millions around the world consider to be the best villain of Dragon Ball. When his evolution was complete, Perfect Cell proved to be such an incredible power-up that even Super Vegeta could not hurt him more than just his Final Flash, a move which also only connected because Perfect Cell allowed it to. This transformation is the most humanoid of them all and is also the most talkative, having a brash and arrogant personality as well as all the powers and abilities of most of his enemies.

Perfect Cell proved to be too great for the current level of opponents that he fought, so he would hold his own martial arts tournament called the Cell Games. By giving fighters 10 days to prepare, he gave the Earth a fighting chance to survive, though he made quick work of almost all his opponents in the Games. After Goku's forfeit, Perfect Cell would go on to fight Gohan in one of the most iconic battles in anime/manga, as the young Saiyan becomes the first to unlock Super Saiyan 2 and defeats the villain.

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Super Perfect Cell Came Back For Round 2

Upon his defeat to Super Saiyan 2 Gohan, Cell would spit out Android 18, causing him to revert to his Semi-Perfect form and drop in power immensely. Where this would be a clear and easy win for the heroes, Cell instead decides to self-destruct and destroy the world with him, though Goku interjects and transports the monster to King Kai's planet with his instant transmission, sacrificing his life to save the Earth.

However, Cell has Namekian healing abilities that allow him to completely reform from a cellular level, which he does to get back into his Perfect Form. Only, this time, Cell gets Goku's instant transmission and teleports back to Earth stronger than ever, leading to an intense Kamehameha beam struggle against Gohan. The Saiyan gets help from his father from the afterlife, resulting in the incredible Father-Son Kamehameha that finishes off Cell in one of the most iconic moments in all of Dragon Ball.

Cell Max Is Cell At His Strongest

Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero brought Cell back into the series in his strongest form to date; a giant, hulking and mindless monster that had enough power to contend with the likes of the strongest characters in the entire franchise. Cell Max was activated at the tail-end of the movie and was so strong that Orange Piccolo, along with Gohan and some other Z-Fighters, could barely damage him.

After Cell Max greatly injures Piccolo and seemingly kills him, Gohan undergoes a similar rage-based transformation to what he did against Perfect Cell to unlock Super Saiyan 2. Only this time, Gohan Beast would awaken and make short work of the gigantic monster, destroying Cell for good. The exact strength of this villain wasn't quantified, but he is definitely one of the strongest enemies ever introduced in the series.

Dragon Ball can be streamed on Crunchyroll and Funimation.

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