Summary

Cell Max is considered one of the worst villains in Dragon Ball due to his simplistic and lazy nature.
Cell Max's portrayal as a destructive monster lacks the charisma and depth of other iconic villains like Perfect Cell.
Fans were disappointed by Cell Max carrying the legacy of Perfect Cell, one of the best and most beloved villains in the series.

Villains are some of the most important and iconic parts of the entire Dragon Ball franchise. Throughout the run of this series, there have been many antagonists who have plagued the heroes that are so legendary and foundational to the genre that they are remembered as some of the greatest villains in the entire anime industry. Notable names such as Frieza and Perfect Cell come to mind.

Even to this day, antagonists seem to be something that the Dragon Ball franchise seems to do exceptionally well, as can be seen in Super. However, many believe that Cell Max is perhaps the worst villain that the franchise has ever unveiled, not only due to his own simplistic and brutish nature, but also the fact that the legacy of one of anime's greatest characters was tarnished with his introduction. So, let's see why this is.

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By Laura Gassert

Fans Consider Cell Max To Be The Worst Villain Of Dragon Ball

A Simplistic And Lazy Foe

First Appearance	Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
Story Arc	Super Hero Arc

There is perhaps no anime franchise with villains as iconic as those in Dragon Ball. From Frieza to Perfect Cell, this series has proven itself to be one of the best when it comes to creating captivating antagonists that the heroes have to face at the end of an arc. What makes this even more interesting is the fact that these characters are often quite simple in terms of motivations.

This can be seen with the lack of complex goals that they wish to achieve, as they often seek to be evil just for the sake of being evil, offering a very clear role that the heroes have to fight against. Their backstories are rarely ever intricate and their motivations are mostly just to spread destruction and be evil. So, why are they remembered so fondly? The truth of this has to do with their personalities and charisma, since these characters are written in a way that fans can't help but fall in love with them, as they steal just about every scene they are in.

This is precisely why Cell Max falls so flat as a captivating antagonist. Born as another Android created by the Red Ribbon Army to be used against the Z-Fighters, this villain proved to be little more than just another hulking brute with nothing but destruction on his mind who just happened to be stronger than any foe the heroes had ever faced before, forcing Gohan to unlock a further state in his power. At the base level, Cell Max represents the worst aspect of the Dragon Ball formula and power scaling.

Although he isn't the only villain in the series' history to be a destructive monster, he is the latest in the line of them, which goes down as a repetitive thing since this is a trope fans have gotten tired of seeing done so often. Buu was also like this, but his various transformations gave him a maniacal and fun personality that most people ended up loving. Kid Buu was the most feral of them all, but even his unique brand of villainy was incredibly captivating.

This is the purely evil, absolutely most powerful, ultimate Majin Buu!

Cell Max, however, is the exact opposite, since he never did anything to set himself apart from even the most basic of characters. He is just portrayed as a giant, hulking brute with no thought or reason who just wants to destroy, serving more as a means of Gohan unlocking a powerful new transformation that puts him on the same level as Ultra Instinct Goku than anything else.

Many say that Cell Max was never even supposed to be the final villain of Super Hero, which was a role to be originally filled by the Red Ribbon Army. However, that still doesn't track since Cell Max eventually served as the final antagonist of the movie/arc and didn't go according to the Army's designs, so whether the movie wanted to make the Red Ribbon Army and Magenta the main villains is ultimately irrelevant since the role ended up being filled by Cell Max anyway.

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By Haider Haroon Rasheed

How Cell Max Takes Away From One Of The Series' Greatest Characters

The Original Cell Was Far Better

Perfect Cell is remembered as arguably the best villain in the franchise's history.

As if Cell Max's simplistic nature wasn't bad enough on its own, the worst part is that he is the one to carry the legacy of Perfect Cell, who is not only one of the franchise's best villains, but remains one of the greatest characters of Dragon Ball. Although Cell's motivations were quite simple too, his charisma and personality were some of the most captivating in the entire franchise, which has made him perhaps the most beloved villain in the series alongside Frieza.

It's clear that Cell Max was included within the Super Hero movie as fan service, though it's quite tragic that Super's iteration of Perfect Cell has been reduced to this. Ever since the Resurrection F film, fans had also been eagerly anticipating the return of Perfect Cell to the franchise somehow because of how amazing the character was, so when he was brought back as Cell Max, it didn't sit right with anyone.

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