Cell in Dragon Ball is one of the strongest characters the heroes have to face. This is partially because he is a lot like most of them. He’s an android actually built to resemble most of them in fighting style and personality, and when he comes to Earth, he’s looking to become even stronger by upgrading using the genetic materials of other strong people living on Earth.
This single-minded obsession with becoming the most powerful person in the universe is not very different from a lot of Marvel villains, many of whom are also obsessed with the concept of power. Here are five Marvel villains that Cell would follow in an effort to perfect himself and five villains who would serve Cell’s purposes.
10 Would Serve: Apocalypse
Cell would definitely want to be in the company of someone like Apocalypse, who is ancient and powerful. His intelligence and bodily strength and abilities, which allow him to change the shape and construct of his body, are all things that Cell would likely want for his own form. Cell would want to work with someone like Apocalypse in order to figure out how to harness this power for himself.
9 Would Serve Him: Nebula
Nebula and Cell aren’t actually very different when it comes to how their bodies were made and how they function. They’re both at least part android, though Cell is much stronger. Nebula tends to follow people who are stronger than her and who give her a reason for being and a chance to access power. Cell would offer her both of these things while also being a positive example of what a person’s life can be like when they are a mostly robotic creature.
8 Would Serve: Nimrod
Nimrod is pretty much the most powerful robotic creature in Marvel, and he’s both incredibly destructive and somewhat unhinged.
Cell isn’t very dissimilar from Nimrod, especially in his perfected form, which allows him access to a lot of power. But Nimrod definitely overpowers him, and he’s the leader of a literal army of robots, which Cell would definitely find an exciting prospect.
7 Would Serve Him: Quentin Quire
Quentin Quire is mostly just a little jerk who has issues with the fact that he’s a mutant and wants to take those issues out on everyone else. Someone like Cell, who is a poster child for adaptability and evolution, because he can actually force himself to evolve, would be a great role model for Quentin, who believes that mutants are the next stage of evolution and deserve power because of this.
6 Would Serve: Kang The Conqueror
If there is anything Kang is really good at, it’s manipulating situations in order to put himself in the best possible position to rule the world. He does this mostly through time travel and being brilliant. Cell similarly has a manipulative and cunning side that he uses to get people into positions that work for him, particularly tricking people into losing fights. Kang would offer Cell opportunities to find even stronger folks on Earth to use in his quest for evolution.
5 Would Serve Him: Red Skull
Hydra is pretty caught up with the idea of evolution and the idea that a certain kind of person is the best version of a human that someone could be.
Red Skull, in particular, feels like he’s a genetically superior human and that that gives him the right to tell others how to live their lives and to rule over them. Red Skull would certainly see opportunity in Cell’s power, particularly opportunities to figure out how Red Skull could become even more powerful, even more of the most perfected version of himself.
4 Would Serve: Thanos
Thanos is all about collecting power so that he can cause the most destruction and death possible. It’s the whole reason for him to have the Infinity Gauntlet: so that he can both destroy life at the snap of his fingers and do so without anyone being even remotely powerful enough to stop him. Cell would respond pretty favorably to this kind of power, which even he isn’t strong enough to wield.
3 Would Serve Him: Super Adaptoid
Super Adaptoid and Cell are actually pretty similar in a lot of ways. Where Cell is constantly updating his body, taking on new skills and new power, along with a new personality, by absorbing the abilities of those he fights and defeats, Super Adaptoid can mimic the abilities of those around him, particularly when it comes to superpowers. In some ways, he’s probably as strong as Cell, and at the very least, they’d make a great team.
2 Would Serve: Ultron
Ultron’s entire existence is because of an attempt to make a robot that could protect the planet, which then adapted beyond its purpose and developed a mind and plans of its own, to destroy those on the planet that Ultron feels are inferior, namely humans.
Cell, as an android himself, would definitely respond to this level of power and to the ability to adapt beyond what humans have intended for him.
1 Would Serve Him: Sentinels
Sentinels in general don’t really have minds or plans of their own; they exist to serve a purpose designed for them by humans: namely, the killing of mutants. Cell could definitely use these giant robots to his own advantage, reprogramming them for his purposes and using their power to take down those whose power Cell actively wants to take.