Android (Dragon Ball)
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Androids (Jinzō'ningen in the Japanese version) in the Dragon Ball series are the creations of Dr Gero. Compared to regular humans, they are considerably more powerful, and compared to Saiyans, they are on par in fighting skills and abilities. Certain Androids of Dr. Gero's creation are even at the same skill level as that of a Super Saiyan.
In the original Japanese version, the word "jinzō'ningen" is used to refer to Dr. Gero's creations. Its literal translation is man-made man or artificial man, and is a blanket term commonly used in Japanese science-fiction for robot, android and cyborg characters, and most other artificial creations in between.
Because such a broad, all-encompassing word does not exist in the English language, FUNimation and Viz went with the decision to call all of Dr. Gero's creations "Androids" in their translation, although the English Manga poses the question of whether they are, instead, cyborgs. Dr. Gero used several methods in creating his twenty-one Androids while trying to perfect his techniques.
This, however, has contributed to a pre-existing misconception among fans that two of Dr. Gero's creations, Android 17 and Android 18, are androids, when they are in fact cyborgs. It is stated in the Japanese and Viz versions of the manga that #17 and #18 are made from a human base, with very few actual cybernetic enhancements. It was explained in the FUNimation dub when Mirai Trunks first talked to the Z-fighters. This is later explained to Goku during the Martial Arts Tournament saga in DBZ when he is shocked to hear that Krillin and #18 got married.(He wasn't there when Trunks did the initial explanation) Dr. Gero himself is also arguably a cyborg, having transplanted his brain into a replacement body.
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[edit] The Alternate Future
When Gero released these Androids, however, they turned on their master and destroyed him. They then decided they may as well carry out his plan, to destroy Gokū and his friends. However, Gokū was already dead (he had died a year or so ago due to a heart disease). So the evil pair killed all of his friends except Son Gohan, Future Trunks and Bulma. And with Piccolo dead the Dragon Balls were gone so nobody could be wished back.
The evil pair then proceeded to virtually destroy the world and its inhabitants. Gohan tried to fight them, but they were far stronger than he, even as a Super Saiyan. Gohan tried to teach Trunks to become a Super Saiyan too, but he couldn't. Gohan was eventually killed too by the Androids, which made Trunks finally become a Super Saiyan.
Bulma had built a time machine so Trunks could go back and give Gokū an antidote to his heart disease. Trunks travelled back in time, and warned Gokū and his friends about the Android menace.
[edit] The Androids Saga
The Z Fighters trained for the next 3 years in order to defeat the Androids. Vegeta managed to become a Super Saiyan. They found the Androids and faced them, but unbeknownst to them these were not the ones Trunks had warned them about.
[edit] New Androids: #19 and #20
Instead, they faced Android 19, a fat, white, android, and Android 20, an old-looking cyborg that has his brain showing. These two were not as powerful as the ones from Future Trunks' time.
Gokū's heart disease had then kicked in, so he was nearly killed by #19, but Vegeta saved him and destroyed #19 easily. Yamcha returned Gokū home. But before Piccolo could destroy #20, he escaped. #20 was, in fact, Dr Gero himself! Gero had built #19, then instructed #19 to put his brain into a robot body to increase his strength. Gero now planned to release his more powerful Androids, #17 and #18.
Trunks had returned from the future, and told the Z Senshi they had the wrong Androids, and described #17 and #18 to them.
[edit] They're stronger, and there's more of them
But when Gero released them, they destroyed him just as their future counterparts had. But this time there was a third Android, Android 16. However, #16 refused to fight anyone but Gokū (though his fight would actually later turn out to be against Cell). Trunks also noticed these Androids (#17 & #18) were much stronger than the ones he knew and were different in personality.
Androids #17 and #18 knocked out Vegeta, Piccolo, Trunks, and Tenshinhan after they tried to attack them, but not only did they not kill them, they left Kuririn unharmed after he tried to persuade them not to go and destroy Goku. They even advised Kuririn to feed them Senzu and to challenge them again some time. They then took off in search of Gokū.
[edit] A New Threat
Dr Gero's ultimate creation now revealed itself. Its name was Cell, a biological android created from the DNA of all the Z Senshi, as well as some of the more notable villains.
Cell is from a third timeline, where Trunks was able to destroy #17 and #18. In order to reach his full potential, he needs to absorb #17 and #18. As Trunks prepared to return to the past, to inform the Z fighters of his accomplishment, he was ambushed by Cell. Cell then reset the time machine to go back 3 years earlier than Trunks was going. He then reverted to his larval state, so that he could fit into the time machine. The extra 3 years ensured that he would be able to grow back into his humanoid form, and possibly be able to stop Trunks from destroying #17 and #18 in the past as well. It was this act which created the timeline where #16, #19, and #20 exist, the timeline as we know it (#16 must have existed at some point in the alternate timeline, but was never seen or heard from and may have been destroyed or simply never activated).
[edit] "Android" Types
[edit] Infinite Power
Inifinite power models have internal generators that provide unlimited energy. Models of this type do not become fatigued. However, it is shown that they do infact feel pain, as shown in the battle with Imperfect Cell. Cell was strong enough to hurt #17 to the point where he could not even stand.
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- 17 and #18 are the organic-based models of this type. Though less powerful than 16, the reason for their seemingly-inferior organic construction is truly disturbing: It permits Cell to fuse on a cellular and molecular level with them, hence gaining access to their infininte-power engines and draining the power from them.
- 16 is the third, last and most powerful of this model. His primary difference to 17 and 18 is that he is completely artificial in construction as opposed to being a modified organic base. Though this allows him more internal space for "hardware" (hence his superiority in raw power to 17 & 18), it naturally excluded the possibility of cellular fusion with another life-form (namely Cell), and hence the creation of 17 & 18.
- Dr. Gero abandoned models of this type due to the unreasonable nature it gave them. Most notably, the cyborg twins (due to a combination of the infinite power and their human base) refused to take orders from Gero, and as a result, he took the measure of implanting remote-controlled bombs in their chests as a threat-control mechanism. However, it failed in the end, as they destroyed it and killed him.
[edit] Energy Absorbing
Energy absorbing types have red "energy inlets" on the palms of their hands, which they can use to absorb any ki attack, or drain energy directly from their victim by physical contact.
- Both #19 and #20 (Gero) and Super 17 are models of this type, though Super 17 is more a cross between the energy absorbing and infinite power types.
- In the case of #19 and #20, if the hands are physically removed (as Vegeta did to #19), the energy absorption ability is also removed.
- No proof exists that this applies for Super 17, who can remove his hand for his Hell Storm attack and put it back on with minimum effort, and who absorbs energy throughout his entire body.
- This model was the last model Dr. Gero experimented with before creating his bio-organic android, Cell. He considered #19 to be his most complete model. [citation needed]
[edit] Organic
There was only one model of this type created, appropriately called Cell. Using the DNA secretly collected from the strongest fighters, Dr. Gero created a completely organic android. It had the best combined abilities and traits from these fighters, including the regeneration ability of Piccolo and Freeza's ability to survive the most devastating wounds and to survive the vacuum of space. It also had the ability to absorb other entities, and had a prime directive of assimilating jinzo'ningen #17 and #18 to achieve its perfect form.
Dr. Gero considered Cell to be his greatest creation, and intended for Cell to carry on his destructive plans for revenge even after death.
