Dragon Ball Zgaveaudiences some of the best villainsin bothanime and animation. Frieza is a murderous tyrant bent on wishing for immortality, and will gladly destroy anyone in his path. Majin Buu is a maniacal, senseless serial killer with no purpose aside from living in chaos. Then there are filler characters like Raditz and Garlic Jr., whose sole purpose is to fill screen time as the plot propels further. While all these villains are despicable in their own right, none of them come close to Dr. Gero’s ultimate creation: Cell. Cell isn’t just a villain; he’s a reflection of every qualifying narcissistic trait in one individual. Here is why cell is The Perfect Narcissist.
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Obsession with Physical Perfection
Cell is obsessed with achieving his perfect form. Like every narcissist, he will go to extreme measures to ensure that he reaches his ultimate goal; in his case, this means absorbing Androids 17 and 18. Cell’s obsession with physical perfection is a translation of any narcissist obsessed with their physical beauty, and his relentlessness in merging with Androids 17 and 18 reflects a narcissist’s all-consuming nature in achieving their goals–they will use and abuse anyone around them to do so.
Need for the Public Spotlight
Like any narcissist,Cell is obsessed withattention, notably being in the public spotlight. Once Cell transforms into his perfect form, he rushes to the nearest news network to televise himself, announcing his upcoming Cell Games, a World Tournament with the earth’s safety hanging in the balance–all warriors are welcomed to challenge him in the ring. Cell’s next move is televising the tournament itself, making sure the world sees how powerful he truly is. He goes as faras to battle Mr. Satan(Hercule in the English dub) and his students–just to drive the point across that he is perfect in every way, that the earth is doomed.
Calculating
A staple sign of narcissism is calculating every plan, every relationship prospect, every word said that will allow a narcissist to gain something they desire. Cell is themost calculating villain inDragon Ball Z, and this is why he actually achieves his ultimate goal over other villains. Cell carefully maneuvers every move, from waiting on the sidelines until he’s strong enough to absorb the Androids from his timeline to killing Future Trunks for his time machine. When Cell travels to the mainDragon Ball Ztimelineto continue his plan, he further calculates, waiting and preying on civilians to gather enough energy to finally strike. Calculation is Cell’s strongest tactic as aDragon Ball Zvillain.
Self-Serving
Narcissists are self-serving in nature, even with their own children. During the Cell Games, Cell reproduces seven miniature versions of himself, Cell Jrs., with the sole purpose of killing the Z-warriors to anger Gohan enough to unlock his hidden power. These creatures are, by all accounts, Cell’s children. Cell is confident they will succeed and easily overpower the Z-Fighters, and they do, pushing Gohan to ascend into a Super Saiyan 2. Gohan’s first move is disposing of Cell Jrs. in front of Cell, and in a truly brutal manner.Cell is shocked atGohan’s power, but also intrigued to test it against his own. Not once does Cell show a shred of remorse in unwittingly sending his children off to their demise–an exaggerated version of a narcissistic parent’s destructive treatment of their children, and a result of their self-serving personalities.
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Self-Destructive
A narcissist quivers at the idea of their perceived image of themselves crumbling before the eyes of others, Cell is no exception. When he finally confronts Super Saiyan 2 Gohan at his full power, the Saiyan easily overpowers Cell with merely a few punches. To add insult to injury, one of Gohan’s blows causes Cell to regurgitate Android 18 out of his system, causing Cell to revert back to his imperfect form. Mortified at being anything less than perfect, Cell resorts to his only imaginable escape: self-destruction. Cell would rather end his life than live in a world where he is viewed as an inferior being. And like most narcissists, he plans to get one last laugh by taking the earth along with him. If he isn’t going to be the most powerful being alive, neither will Gohan or any other warrior in the universe.
Self-Preservation
Any narcissist will go to extreme proportions to survive. While Cell is unaware of it when he decides to self-destruct, his body is designed to survive most explosions and life-threatening attacks–that’s the purpose of every cell in his body; Piccolo’s DNA helps Cell regenerate his broken body, and the Saiyans DNA helps him become stronger through every life to death ordeal. Cell is designed for self-preservation to become the perfect being in existence. Cell isn’t only the Perfect Narcissist; he’s the perfect villain.
