Goku vs Cell is the peak of Dragonball Z
But that's not what this page is about.
During the most intense and visually stimulating fight to ever grace this literary masterpiece, Son Goku takes to the skies and charges a full-powered kamehameha, aiming it at Cell and jeopardizing the very existence of planet earth.
Cell calls Son Goku's bluff: no way he'd destroy the earth just to eliminate Cell. Not even Krillin, Son Goku's best friend, believes he'd do it.
But Son Goku isn't stopping his technique. Everyone panics. And then --
＊貴様の前に瞬間移動やる＊
Cell's top half is blown straight off but he survives and regenerates anyway.
I always try to find a way for these things to be possible. Androids? Oh, just feed them uranium and they'll go super Sayian. But how do you explain this?
Cell is a life form comprised of multiple organisms, containing DNA of the strongest fighters in the universe. A test tube baby grown in an artificial womb. His outward looks, specially in his imperfect form, bring to mind images of bugs like grasshoppers and beetles.
But what bug has this level of regeneration? One could argue a cockroach could pull off such a stunt, seeing as how they manage to survive without their heads. However, later on when Cell self-destructs, only one of his cells is enough to regenerate himself completely. Namekians can grow limbs back, but this is on a whole different level. There's more than namekian genes at play.
Then it hit me.
In gene editing, there are organisms that are extremely tempting to work with. It's very easy to create transgenic versions of these life forms compared to other organisms with similar degrees of complexity.
The life forms in question are plants.
The reason behind this is simple: for a great number of plants, you don't even need a whole seed to grow one. All you need is one cell.
Note that protoplasts are plant cells without their cell wall.
Callus is an unorganized clump of cells after multiple divisions.
Do I need to be any clearer?
Cell is a plant!
It's been staring at us for the past 29 years. Cell is M. Night Syamalan's "The Happening" but better. Plants are genetcally more stable and their cell walls make them sturdy, providing Cell with natural armor. The green in Cell's body comes from all the chloroplasts in his body. And being able to harness power from the sun explains how he can perform the spirit bomb! And the genetic form-memory of plants, mixed with namekian genes allow for ultra-fast regeneration! it PERFECTLY explains how Cell can fully regenerate from only one cell, as per namesake!!!
But Akira Toriyama didn't intend for any of this.
It's unfortunate, but the anime does what the manga doesn't: in the manga, Cell regenerates from a "core" rather than from just one cell, as per anime. This means my overthinking was unnecessary... I could have stopped at just the callus!
And what if?
Cell hasn't yet been properly catalogued by Toriyama. His design was partly based on insects but he's not downright classified as such. He is simply "humanoid."
So what if he has a couple of insect DNA? He has DNA from saiyans, humans, namekians, whatever Frieza is and who knows what else. Who knows! Precisely! Toriyama himself cops out and says a supercomputer did it! His entire being is based on a plant, I am sure of it!
Don't believe me?
Got a plant in your house? Go and take a closer look at it. Consider for a moment that they are one of the primordial complex life forms on this planet. A mulicellular organism with energy creation capabilities, a circulatory system and multiple stages of growth. From sapling to imperfect growth, to finally its perfect form, all achieved from absorbing nutrients from its surroundings, converting them into something greater within itself.
I wouldn't think too much about it.
Celebrating 29 years of Cell's first manga appearance. As evil as you are, you and Capsule Corp were influences in my choice of a future path. There's been plenty of mishaps along the way but hey -- Nobody is perfect!