Androids
Dragon Ball: I Have a Super Saiyan Check-In System
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Androids (人造人) |
| Known members | Androids 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20; Cell also identifies himself as an Android 39 43 48 |
| Creator | Dr. Gero; his computer continued the project that produced Cell 40 48 |
| Role | Androids 16–20 target Sun Wukong. Cell seeks to absorb Androids 17 and 18 40 44 48 |
| First Appearance | Future Trunks warns of the Androids in Chapter 37; Androids 19 and 20 first appear in the present-day confrontation in Chapter 39 37 39 |
Known Androids
| Android | Distinguishing facts | Last documented status |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Built from nothing, rather than modified from a human. Has a radar that detects power levels 44 47 | Accompanies 17 and 18 to Kame House 50 |
| 17 | A long-haired teenage boy with a scarf and a circular earring. Prefers taking a car to reaching Wukong quickly by flight 42 44 | Begins a fight with Piccolo on an uninhabited island 50 |
| 18 | A teenage girl with sharp eyes and a circular earring 42 | Accompanies 16 and 17 to Kame House 50 |
| 19 | Absorbs energy through his palms; initially has a combat power of 85 million 40 41 | Destroyed by Vegeta 41 |
| 20 / Dr. Gero | Gero modified himself into an Android, though he initially denies being Gero. Initially has a combat power of 90 million 40 41 42 | Killed after releasing 17, 18 and 16 43 |
| Cell | An Android synthesized from collected cells by Gero’s computer. Absorbs human life essence and seeks 17 and 18 to reach his perfect form 48 | Escapes Piccolo, Krillin and Trunks 49 |
History
Future Trunks travels to the past to warn that two Androids have devastated his future. He says Vegeta, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien Shinhan, Chiaotzu and Piccolo die fighting them; Gohan later dies as well. The fighters prepare for their expected arrival three years later 37 38.
The first Androids they encounter are 19 and 20, not the 17 and 18 Trunks knows. The pair attack Yajirobe’s aircraft, and 20 severely injures Yamcha while draining his energy. After the fight moves away from the town, 19 absorbs Wukong’s Kamehameha and overpowers him as his heart disease worsens. Vegeta intervenes, destroys 19 and pursues 20 39 40 41.
Trunks identifies 20 as Dr. Gero. Before the fighters can stop him, Gero reaches his laboratory and releases 17, 18 and 16; 17 and 18 kill him. The three then set out to find Wukong 42 43 44.
Cell emerges as a separate threat. He reveals that Gero’s computer created him and that absorbing human life essence alone cannot complete him: he must also absorb 17 and 18. After Cell escapes Piccolo, Krillin and Trunks, 16, 17 and 18 arrive at Kame House looking for Wukong. Piccolo leads them to an uninhabited island and faces 17 48 49 50.
Abilities & Technology
Energy absorption
- Androids 19 and 20 drain a person’s energy through their hands; 20 uses this against Yamcha, and 19 drains Wukong during their fight 39 40.
- Android 19 can absorb an incoming Kamehameha through his palms. Severing one of his arms removes that hand’s absorption point 40 41.
- Trunks says 17 and 18 do not absorb energy through their hands; he describes their energy as infinite 42.
Detection
- Androids 19 and 20 measure Yamcha’s unusually high energy despite not initially identifying him with certainty 39.
- Android 16 has a power-detecting radar and can locate Wukong’s home from information Gero gave him. At Kame House, the radar fails to detect Wukong while he sleeps upstairs 44 47 50.
- The fighters cannot sense ki from 19 and 20, forcing them to search by sight 39.
Cell’s absorption
- Cell absorbs humans to increase his power, but requires 17 and 18 to reach his perfect form 48.
- His other observed abilities include regeneration, ki suppression and Solar Flare, which he uses to escape 49.
Relationships
- Dr. Gero — creator of the Androids and Android 20 himself; killed after releasing 17, 18 and 16 40 42 43.
- Sun Wukong — the target of Gero’s revenge and of 16, 17 and 18’s search 40 44.
- Future Trunks — survivor of an Android-ravaged future who warns the present-day fighters about 17 and 18 37 42.
- Cell — seeks to absorb 17 and 18; the fighters try to stop him before he reaches them 48 50.