The last two weeks of August were abuzz with the fresh release of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, a film that had a tumultuous build-up, but saw incredible success, soaring to the top of the Box Office in its opening weekend. It has since become the 5th highest grossing anime film in the United States; however despite the success, there have been some mixed feelings about certain central elements of the story, particularly the use of old, yet re-imagined villains.

The return of Cell as a major antagonist in the franchise was welcomed, but some fans didn't understand why one of the most iconic Dragon Ball Z villains was given what some have dubbed "the Bio Broly treatment". While just criticism is always welcomed, there's something amiss about the dismissal of Cell Max, particularly his mindlessness, and, more relevantly, the misunderstanding of the use of Cell's second form in the film. Here's why that was not only relevant, but important to Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero as a narrative.

RELATED: Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Review

The Familiar

Dragon Ball Super Super Hero Secret Villain of the Red Ribbon Army

One of Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero's most prominent aspects is its frequent use of fan service – varied callbacks to adventures past, and days gone. Part of this was the re-emergence of the Red Ribbon Army under the direct descendent of Commander Red; who was felled when Goku laid waste to the evil organization during the events of the original Dragon Ball. Magenta, and his associate, Carmine, began the reconstruction of the Red Ribbon Army, with the final piece of the puzzle being the creative genius of Dr. Hedo, Gero's grandson. Hedo's ability to create powerful androids in Gammas 1 and 2 served as yet another callback to the days of the Cell Saga, when Androids 17 and 18 were unleashed upon the world.

In similar fashion, the trump card this time was also a feat of incredible bioengineering – the bug-like nightmare known as Cell. In the film, the "bigger and better" Red Ribbon Army invested in Hedo's research so that he'd create Cell Max, a bigger and better version of his predecessor. However, remaining fast in the spirit of callbacks, this Cell was just like his predecessor – first seen in incubation – and needed more time than the Gammas to reach full maturity.

Proboscis Jim

Cell and his absorption in Dragon Ball Z

Again, with it firmly in mind that Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero was laden with callbacks and meta-references, it should come as no surprise that the general structure of the narrative, particularly when it comes to the villains, would be a familiar one. Back in Dragon Ball Z, the Cell of the Main Timeline was destroyed in the wreckage of Dr. Gero's lab after the activations of Androids 16, 17 and 18; however, a Cell from a future in which the Androids were destroyed by Trunks, manages to kill him, steal his time machine and arrive in a timeline where 17 and 18 still existed.

Cell's life cycle was dependent on his absorption of the twin androids, with the ultimate goal of this life cycle being his final stage, a moment he dubbed "Perfection". This Cell was able to revert to an egg, travel through time and finally moult into his larval phase uninhibited, and once he was in his first form, he went on a rampage absorbing innocents in and around West City. This beak-faced Cell had a long stinger he used like a proboscis, slurping up people for sustenance until nothing remained in an attempt to grow stronger so that he would be able to absorb the androids.

The Absorption of Lapis and Lazuli

Cell Absorbs Lapis (Android 17) – Dragon Ball Z

After absorbing countless humans and playing a long game of cat-and-mouse with the Z Fighters, Cell is able to capitalize on a combat situation between Piccolo and Android 17. After defeating Piccolo, Cell absorbs Android 17, which changes him into his "Semi-Perfect" form. In the "Complete Metamorphosis" life cycle of certain insects (like cicadas, after which Cell is actually designed), bugs go from eggs to larvae, to pupae and finally, achieve adulthood. Semi-Perfect Cell hence corresponds to the pupal stage of the bio-android, with the absorption of Android 18 being the final piece to his biological maturity, and his ascension to becoming "the perfect lifeform".

RELATED: Dragon Ball Super Hero: How Did Anime Movies Become Box Office Success Stories?

In his Semi-Perfect form, Cell overpowers most of the Z Fighters, but struggles immensely against Vegeta and Trunks, fresh out of training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber (The Room of Spirit and Time). Appealing to Vegeta's (very detrimental) sense of pride, Cell is literally granted the opportunity to become even stronger and achieve his Perfect form. However, the Cell in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero is modelled after Cell in his Semi-Perfect Form, and for good reason.

Incomplete Metamorphosis

Semi-Perfect Cell (17 Absorbed) – Dragon Ball Z

Cell Max is revealed in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero as an improvement on the schematics left behind by Dr. Gero, and is similar in appearance to Semi-Perfect Cell with some improvements to his exoskeleton made evident by the red accents across his body. He also lacks the original Cell's regeneration ability. What makes this similarity to Semi-Perfect Cell a narrative device in the film is the fact that for one, Dr. Hedo already believed the Gammas to be android perfection and top work.

Cell Max, on the other hand, required much more time to build, especially because he wasn't an original Hedo work. The original Cell project outlasted its creator, with Dr. Gero's supercomputer doing most of the heavy lifting when it came to Cell's incubation and eventual release, so just like his predecessor, Cell Max was in need of a lot more time for the payload to be fully integrated such that his consciousness could take effect. Since Magenta panicked after seeing Piccolo handle Gamma 2, he released Cell Max prematurely, which is why movie's final antagonist was a mindless behemoth in the first place.

Perfect Imperfection

Dragon Ball Super Super Hero – Cell Max vs Gamma 2

The use of Cell's Semi-Perfect form as the model for Cell Max is hence a visual device to give further weight to the idea that the android is incomplete – and never would be. This is further supported by the fact that despite being designed to be much stronger than the original, Cell Max lacks some of his predecessor's most important abilities – regeneration (thus, also losing out on the Zenkai Boost presented by Saiyan DNA after a near-death experience), absorption, which made his power fixed at a certain level and unable to increase by any means, and to top it off, his self-destruct ability can only be activated by a hostile third party and lacks the potency that the original Cell's once had.

It is also possible that Hedo did not have access to all of Gero's schematics, which would also explain the largely mechanical basis of Cell Max. These factors, combined with the lack of Cell's characteristic intellect and understanding of his own composition, made Cell Max stronger only in terms of raw power – which was hardly ever the full strategy where the bio-android was concerned. Cell Max is symbolic of the counter to the central concept of growth presented by the characters throughout the film, and from this perspective, Cell Max being a hulking super-massive Semi-Perfect or incomplete Cell makes perfect sense.

MORE: The Best Things In Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero