Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball Z works hard to make sure each narrative saga hits harder than the last. Dragon Ball Z’s Frieza Saga is frequently viewed as one of the anime’s highlights, but the following Cell Saga manages to surpass it and push the series into its greatest material. Dragon Ball Z’s Cell Saga features several moving parts and gets a lot of mileage out of Future Trunks’ addition to the cast, as well as Super Saiyan transformations becoming the norm with the series’ Saiyans. Cell is a unique villain in the sense that his full power is dependent upon his ability to absorb Androids 17 and 18, two artificial humans who are deadly in their own right.
The upgrade Cell experiences after he absorbs Android 17 and transforms from Imperfect Cell to Semi-Perfect Cell is staggering, but he’s still not at peak power. A devastating error in judgment is made when Vegeta consciously allows Semi-Perfect Cell to absorb Android 18 and achieve perfection in Dragon Ball Z Episode 159, “The Last Defense.” It’s a turn of events that’s completely avoidable and considered to be one of the biggest mistakes that Vegeta makes in Dragon Ball. It’s easy to get frustrated with how Vegeta’s pride blinds him against Cell, but it’s a fateful decision that’s much more complex than it seems.
The 10 Most Iconic Vegeta Scenes In Dragon Ball, Ranked
Vegeta has long proven himself as one of the most formidable Dragon Ball characters, and he’s had a fair share of iconic moments over the show’s run.How Does Vegeta Get So Powerful?
Vegeta’s Hyperbolic Time Chamber Training Gives Him Incredible Confidence
Dragon Ball is home to many of the most iconic moments in anime, but the Cell Saga was when the series was closest to perfect.
Dragon Ball Z‘s heroes are desperate for any possible advantage against Cell and the Androids, which leads them to start training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber is an incredible asset that allows users to cram an entire year’s worth of training into a single day, thanks to the room’s unique time dilation. The chamber also features significantly heavier gravity than what’s present on Earth, which makes any time that’s spent in this special area even more valuable.
All of Dragon Ball Z‘s Saiyans embrace this luxury and manage to expand upon their Super Saiyan skills in the process. Vegeta trains in the room with Future Trunks and they both emerge with enhanced Super Saiyan Second Grade abilities. Vegeta was cocky over his previous Super Saiyan transformation, but he’s so impressed with his improvement that he begins to call himself “Super Vegeta.”Vegeta firmly believes that he’s the strongest individual in the universe and he’s actively excited to test his new powers against Semi-Perfect Cell, rather than worried or apprehensive that his abilities won’t be enough. It’s the complete opposite of Vegeta’s demeanor following his embarrassing defeat against Android 18.
What’s interesting about all of this is that the Hyperbolic Time Chamber has a two-person limit, which means that Vegeta, Future Trunks, Goku, and Gohan need to enter in paired sessions. Goku allows Vegeta and Future Trunks to train first, which also gives them the opportunity to take on Semi-Perfect Cell first and ultimately doom everyone else. It’s fascinating to consider how the ensuing events against Cell might have played out differently if Goku and Gohan were the first ones to train and exit the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Goku and Gohan wouldn’t have been nearly as impulsive and their more level-headed outlook on this tremendous threat could have prevented Cell achieving perfection. It’s Vegeta’s ego and pride that become the biggest triggers for what follows.
Why Does Vegeta Let Semi-Perfect Cell Absorb Android 18?
Vegeta’s Pride & Arrogance Lead To Him Allowing Cell To Achieve Perfection
Every Character Vegeta Has Killed in Dragon Ball Z and Super
Dragon Ball’s Vegeta is a fan-favorite character with a dark past. He may be a hero now, but he used to be no stranger to murder.
Vegeta emerges from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, freshly invigorated, and it quickly becomes obvious that “Super Vegeta” has the villain totally overpowered. This is an extremely encouraging development, considering that no one previously — whether Tien, Krillin, Piccolo, or Future Trunks — were able to make any headway against Cell. Vegeta isn’t just stronger than the villain, the discrepancy in their strength is so vast that the Saiyan is able to toy with his opponent. Unfortunately, Semi-Perfect Cell has an acute understanding of Vegeta’s psychology, since he’s made up of some of the Saiyan’s DNA.
Cell is able to exploit Vegeta’s ego and pride in a masterful strategy that completely shifts the narrative. Semi-Perfect Cell appeals to Vegeta’s desire for a worthy opponent and tells him that he’ll get a better fight and truly be able to test how much stronger he’s become if he allows him to absorb Android 18 and reach perfection. This may seem foolish for Vegeta, especially when he’s more than capable of killing Cell at this moment, but it’s exactly what he needs to hear to stoke his arrogant flames. Vegeta can’t test his full strength when he’s not properly challenged and he determines that a stronger version of Cell will ultimately push him to greater height.
Curiously, Future Trunks is crestfallen over Vegeta’s folly and he attacks his father, doing whatever he can to prevent him from going through with this decision. Vegeta is impressed by Future Trunks’ determination and strength, but it’s still not enough to stop him. Cell successfully absorbs Android 18 and a new villain with universe-ending power comes to fruition. Some Dragon Ball Z fans argue that Goku’s decision during the Cell Games to give Cell a Senzu Bean and completely heal him is a greater blunder than what Vegeta does here. However, Goku actually has a plan that pays off in the end and becomes the catalyst for Gohan achieving his full potential. Vegeta, on the other hand, has no idea what Cell’s perfected form will be like and he has no plan beyond his own extreme arrogance.
Does Vegeta Have A Back-Up Plan Against Cell?
Vegeta Believes That Future Trunks Can Rise To The Occasion If He Fails
Dragon Ball Z: Why Did Vegeta Hesitate to Join Gohan’s Final Battle Against Perfect Cell?
For some reason, Vegeta hesitated to help Gohan defeat Cell while everyone else was pitching in. Here are some possible explanations for that.
Vegeta’s new Super Saiyan Second Grade evolution is so extreme that he can’t even fathom a scenario where any sort of upgrade that Cell receives will be able to defeat him. That being said, Vegeta isn’t alone in this fight and he’s personally witnessed Future Trunks’ growth during their training together. Furthermore, he knows that Goku and Gohan are undergoing the same process in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Vegeta isn’t worried and doesn’t want to share his victory with anyone else, but he does find some degree of satisfaction in the knowledge that three other substantial Super Saiyans will be able to take Cell on if he’s somehow defeated. Vegeta uses this knowledge to further intimidate the villain and show him that the odds are not in his favor.
Future Trunks may be a worthy substitute to tap in for Super Vegeta, if need be, but Cell just uses this as more evidence for why Vegeta should let him achieve perfection. Vegeta, by his own assessment, should still have nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, Perfect Cell’s improved strength is beyond what anyone could have imagined and superior to all four Super Saiyans combined. Cell’s ability to negotiate his way out of certain death speaks to his effectiveness as a villain and why he’s such a compelling successor to Frieza. Cell isn’t driven by pure rage or emotion. He’s someone who can be reasoned with, which makes him even more terrifying in some respects.
How Does Android 18 Weigh Into The Equation?
Vegeta Views Android 18 As A Villain & Considers Her To Be An Acceptable Loss
Is Vegeta Jealous of Gohan’s Potential?
Vegeta recognized Gohan’s potential before almost anyone in DBZ, so it makes sense that he’d have strong feelings about the boy’s innate power.
Another crucial element when it comes to Vegeta letting Semi-Perfect Cell achieve perfection is that he’s not particularly fond of Android 18. The Androids get pushed into a unique corner once Cell is awakened because they’re villains who suddenly need to work with the heroes to avoid absorption and prevent an even greater evil from coming to pass. Vegeta might have demonstrated greater reservations if Cell’s perfection was caused by him absorbing Future Trunks or one of the Saiyan’s friends. In fact, Vegeta finds himself in a similar situation during the battle against Majin Buu, who also gets stronger and acquires better skills after he’s absorbed others.
In that situation, Vegeta doesn’t want Buu to absorb Piccolo and Gotenks because these are people that he actually cares about. Piccolo also succumbs to a similar ego-driven crisis during his fight against Frieza’s second form. Piccolo, who had recently fused with Nail and acquired greater power, is so confident in his new strength that he allows Frieza to shift into his third form for a better challenge. Much like in Vegeta’s battle against Cell, Piccolo’s underestimation of his opponent triggers disastrous results. There’s just greater fallout in Vegeta’s case because Cell requires a specific fuel source to ascend.
Frieza can transform whenever he wants, yet Vegeta facilitates Android 18’s capture and even gets glee in her abject fear. Vegeta has no investment in Android 18’s safety and she’d still be a danger to their lives if Cell wasn’t around. Android 18’s safety also isn’t helped by the fact that only a few days ago, she was locked in combat with Vegeta and trying to kill him. Vegeta likely receives some level of smug satisfaction in seeing Android 18 meet her doom and that her absorption still technically takes a powerful villain out in the process. It’s rather telling that Future Trunks, despite the sheer hatred that he has for Androids 17 and 18, still attempts to save her from this dark fate. He’s able to see the greater good in this scenario, whereas Vegeta is clouded by his ego and strength.
How Does Vegeta Fare Against Perfect Cell?
Vegeta Is Completely Overwhelmed By Cell’s Improved Power
10 Times Vegeta Should Have Beat The Main Villain Instead of Goku
Despite his character growth in the Dragon Ball franchise, Vegeta has never beaten a main villain & is instead used to show how strong the villain is.
Semi-Perfect Cell’s transformation into Perfect Cell is arguably the most chilling moment in Dragon Ball Z up until this point. The entire Earth shakes and Cell’s increased power is even sensed on New Namek, where it’s reported to be a threat to the entire universe. Super Vegeta was toying with Semi-Perfect Cell, but their dynamic is completely reversed after his ascension. Perfect Cell briefly allows Vegeta to think that he still stands a chance against him, only for him to reveal his full strength and thoroughly humble the Saiyan Prince.
Vegeta channels practically all of his power into a devastating Final Flash, which would allegedly destroy the Earth if it were to connect with the planet. This is Vegeta’s final gambit and all it manages to accomplish is the destruction of Cell’s arm. Even this becomes an irrelevant “success” once Perfect Cell puts his regeneration skills to use and completely repairs himself. Vegeta’s defeat pushes Future Trunks to take on Perfect Cell and he goes one step further than his father. Future Trunks’ rage, fear, and disappointment pushes him to Super Saiyan Third Grade, but even this colossal power boost is still sorely insufficient against Cell. It becomes clear that the heroes can’t currently win this fight on the basis of strength, but Future Trunks cleverly preys upon Cell’s own hubris to buy them a little more time.
In a satisfying turn of events that mirrors Vegeta’s own folly, Future Trunks appeals to Cell’s curiosity of how much stronger the Saiyans can grow in a limited time. This prompts Cell’s creation of the Cell Games, where he’ll take on all of Earth’s strongest fighters in ten days. This isn’t much time, but Future Trunks is hopeful that dedicated training will help the Saiyans surpass their current limits and figure out a way to defeat Cell. Vegeta’s hubristic mistake against Cell is emblematic of the character’s pride and embarrassing in retrospect. That said, Gohan would likely never ascend to Super Saiyan 2 strength without this terrifying turn of events. It’s a dark turn that causes unprecedented peril on the planet, but one could argue that it’s necessary for the characters’ growth and survival.
