Ever since earlyDragon Ball, there have been Android characters present in the franchise. One can’t help but wonder, though, which of these Androids is the strongest of them all.
Most of the Androids seen inDragon Ballare either created by Dr. Gero, a remnant of the Red Ribbon Army, or Dr. Hedo, Dr. Gero’s genius grandson, who appears inDragon Ball Super. Androids inDragon Ballcan vary a lot in their design, with some more biological and some more technological.
Not all Androids were created for battle, but most of them are quite capable when it comes to a fight. In fact, some of them are so powerful that they’ve wiped out life on Earth in other timelines. Here’s a ranking of all of Dr. Gero and Dr. Hedo’s Androids that appear in the anime or manga, to reveal once and for all the strongest Android.
14The Alpha Series
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super (manga), Chapter 88
The Alphas are the first Androids created by Dr. Hedo, built out of corpse parts in a manner similar to Android 8. Dr. Hedo built at least 12 Alpha Androids, which were generally very zombie-like in their abilities and personalities, barely able to speak. Dr. Hedo didn’t create them for combat, but rather used them to run a convenience store.
Despite this, when Trunks and Goten confronted them as Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, the Alphas proved to have some martial capacity. Alpha 12, an Android in a football jersey, stands out as the toughest of the group, but is completely unable to withstand an assault from Super Saiyan Trunks.
The Alphas are easily among the weakest of the Androids seen in either the anime or the manga, but that makes sense since they weren’t intended to fight.
13Android 8, AKA “Eighter”
First Appearance: Dragon Ball, “Five Murasakis”
Android 8, better known by the nickname “Eighter,”which was given to him by Goku, is the first Android seen in the series. He was considered defective due to his good-natured personality, as he was programmed to do the evil bidding of the Red Ribbon Army. Despite that, Eighter is known to fight if sufficiently provoked.
Goku befriended Eighter at the Muscle Tower when Goku seemingly sacrificed himself to save an innocent citizen. Eighter turned against the Red Ribbon Army and destroyed the tower, and was later thrilled to see Goku still alive. Together, they had the bomb in Eighter’s chest removed, allowing him to live a peaceful, quiet life.
Due to his general pacifism and reluctance to fight, Android 8 is likely the weakest of Dr. Gero’s Androids.
12Android 16
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “Goku’s Assassin”
Android 16 was built by Dr. Gero to obtain vengeance on Goku, but was never actually activated. He was discovered by Androids 17 and 18, who activated him and brought him along on their quest for destruction.Android 16 is known for being relatively peacefuland has a love of nature that was quite unusual for an artificial being.
Android 16 didn’t exist in Future Trunks’ timeline, so his presence helps to change the direction in which the future is heading. Despite being designed to kill Goku, Android 16 abhors evil and takes a strong stance against Cell once he appears. Android 16 is eventually destroyed by Cell, but his death motivates Gohan to battle.
Android 16 is fairly powerful, especially compared to Eighter or the Alphas. He’s also known for being fully mechanical.
11Android 14
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13!
Android 14 was one of three androids created by Dr. Gero’s supercomputer after the scientist himself was killed by Android 17. Androids 14 and 15 immediately set out to track down Goku after being created and start attacking indiscriminately, forcing Goku and his friends to protect the innocent civilians around the area.
Android 14 is a man of few words, and his face is less emotive than that of other Androids. He has a single-minded devotion to the idea of killing Goku, and will fight and kill anyone who gets in his way. Android 14 takes on Future Trunks in a one-on-one battle and is defeated, but his parts are absorbed by Android 13.
Android 14 was no match for Super Saiyan Trunks, meaning his power level wasn’t particularly high by Android standards.
10Android 15
Android 15 was created alongside Androids 13 and 14 by Dr. Gero’s supercomputer after his death. Like 14, Android 15 is barely capable of speech, saying only a few words throughout the movie. After being activated, all three Androids set off to find and kill Goku, and are eventually lured out to a glacier where they can battle freely.
Android 15 is initially pitted against Future Trunks alongside 14, but Vegeta’s arrival on the scene meant that he took over fighting 15. Vegeta goes Super Saiyan and literally punches Android 15’s head off, leaving the enemy in pieces. Android 13 then absorbs the pieces of both 14 and 15, allowing him to transform into Super Android 13.
Android 15 was a little trickier than 14 to deal with, but the two are essentially on par with one another.
9Android 13
Created alongside Androids 14 and 15 after Dr. Gero’s death, Android 13 was a fair bit more powerful than his companions. Android 13 was able to fight on the same level as Cell Saga Goku, and far outlasted 14 and 15 in battle. When Androids 14 and 15 fell, Android 13 absorbed their parts to become Super Android 13.
Because of his ability to absorb other Androids into his body, it’s speculated that Android 13 may have been a prototype of Cell. Super Android 13 proves to be exceptionally powerful, able to fight Vegeta, Goku, and Future Trunks while all three are in Super Saiyan.
Android 13 is definitely one of the strongerAndroids that Dr. Gero created, especially in his Super form. Goku was only able to beat him by absorbing a Spirit Bomb’s worth of energy, making him a notable adversary.
8The Beta Series
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Super (Manga), Chapter 89
The Beta series was the next set of Androids created by Dr. Hedo, designed to infiltrate Blue HAL High School and recover Dr. Gero’s files that were stolen by Trunks. As such, Beta is fully capable of speech and knows how to behave like a regular human. Like the Alphas, they were made from corpse parts and are mostly biological.
The Betas, particularly Beta 1, were built to be able to defeat Saiyaman X-1 and X-2, and thus have exceptional physical strength and stamina. Mai quicklyrecognizes Beta 1 as an Androiddue to her experience working with Bulma. Beta 1 attempted many ploys to reveal Trunks’ identity as Saiyaman, but never succeeded.
Able to fight on an even footing with Goten and Trunks, Beta 1 is substantially more powerful than the Alphas.
7Android 19
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “The Androids Appear”
Android 19 is the first Android to show up in the Android Saga, alongside Android 20. One of the more bizarre and inhuman-looking Androids, Android 19 has a portly physique and pale white skin that makes it look like a clown. The overall effect is quite unsettling, and Android 19 is quite intelligent to boot.
Android 19 is an “energy absorption” model, able to take energy attacks fired at him and absorb them, using that energy to fuel himself. While he wasn’t much of a challenge to Goku initially, he became increasingly more difficult the more energy he absorbed. Goku was also afflicted by the heart virus at the time, giving him a big disadvantage.
Android 19 was destroyed by Vegeta’s Big Bang Attack, leaving the mechanical Android in pieces. Still, Android 19’s energy absorption is extremely dangerous, making him one of the more threatening Androids.
6Android 20
Android 20 isbetter known as Dr. Gero himself. After creating Android 19, Gero had the Android place his brain in an Android body as well, becoming Android 20. Together, the two Androids set off to fight against Goku, hoping to achieve vengeance for the destruction of the Red Ribbon Army that Goku was responsible for.
Android 20 retains Dr. Gero’s brilliance and enhances his physical capabilities radically. Another “energy absorption” model, Android 20 wreaked havoc until coming up against Goku and Vegeta, where he put up a shockingly good show against them. However, after Android 19 was destroyed, Android 20 retreated to awaken Androids 17 and 18, who eventually killed him.
Android 20 is Dr. Gero’s strongest Android yet, and insists he’s more powerful than even Super Saiyan Vegeta.
5Cell
First Appearance: Dragon Ball Z, “The Reunion”
Cell is a biomechanical Android developed using DNA from Goku, Frieza, Piccolo, and many others, giving him a wide range of abilities exhibited by those individuals. Cell’s initial form isn’t all that impressive, moving on four legs and looking extremely insectoid in nature. Like Android 13, Cell is able to absorb other Androids to improve himself and his abilities.
Cell ran around absorbing other creatures to steal their power until becoming Imperfect Cell. He then absorbed Android 17, becoming Semi-Perfect Cell, and finally Android 18, becoming Perfect Cell.Perfect Cell’s power is leagues above most enemies, and Cell’s arrogance proves that he’s well aware of that fact.
Cell also possesses the ability to go Super Saiyan, even reaching Super Saiyan 2, making him a truly difficult opponent. Cell was only defeated once he lost Android 18’s power.
