Android 18

Android 18 (人造人間18号, Jinzōningen Jū Hachi) is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball franchise. She makes her debut in "The Androids Awake!", the 155th chapter of the Dragon Ball manga, issued on March 10, 1992. She makes her first animated appearance in "Nightmare Comes True", the 133rd episode of Dragon Ball Z, which premiered on April 8, 1992. Dr. Gero's eighteenth creation, Android 18 was designed to serve Gero's vendetta against Goku, who overthrew the Red Ribbon Army as a child. While her interests do not deviate from this expectation, Android 18's curiosity to activate Android 16 in spite of Gero's orders not to do so lead Android 17

to take it

upon himself to murder Gero (although in each timeline of the series alternate to the mainstream one, Gero is still killed by 17 despite there being no quarrel over 16, whom the androids have no interest in activating).

Android 18 is the second artificial human designed by Dr. Gero to be created by fitting a human being with cybernetics. As a mortal woman, she and her unnamed brother (the eventual Android 17) were runaways whom Gero kidnapped and conducted experiments on, resulting in their transformation into cyborgs. However, her ability to procreate was not impeded by these experiments, as evidenced by her giving birth to a healthy daughter, Marron. Gero's blueprints for Android 17 in Funimation's dub of the Imperfect Cell Saga

suggest otherwise however, instead citing that 17 and 18 "are made up of organic substances padded after human cells", though every single

reference outside of this, including a clarification statement in the World Tournament Saga within the same dub, agrees with the canon assessment of 17 and 18's being.

Initially cool and confident, 18's sarcastic humor later becomes the most striking trait of her personality. One example of her sarcasm is demonstrated when she is asked if her real name is legitimately "No. 18", to which she responds, "My father was pretty dull." Shortly before this conversation at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Goku takes notice of her assembly with the Z Fighters, leading to the retort, "Look, he noticed. How cute."

Android 18's birth name is never revealed, and following her allegiance to the Z Fighters after the defeat of Super Perfect Cell, she is referred to as simply "18".

When Krillin first meets Android 18 he is very attracted to her, even though she is supposed to be heartless and willing to destroy any obstacles impeding her progress of assassinating Krillin's best friend, Goku. During an encounter on a highway after she and her brother nearly kills the Z Fighters, 18 kisses the terrified Krillin on the cheek after he tries to persuade them to drop their search for Goku. This is when Krillin begins to fall in love with her.AfterSemi-Perfect Cellarrives, Krillin refuses to engage herself-destruct device

, which would have destroyed her, in spite of the

serious threatthat could result in Cell's perfection posed by 18 being alive. Because of this, Semi-Perfect Cell eventuallyabsorbsher and reaches his ultimate power, butPerfect Cellbecomes overpowered byGohan, and regurgitates Android 18. Krillin immediately comes to her side and tends to her for the duration of the battle. When Super Perfect Cell is defeated, Krillin uses theDragon Ballsto make a wish toShenronthat Android 18 and Android 17 would be restored their complete humanity, but when Shenron is unable to grant his request, Krillin takes the opportunity to wish for the self-destruct devices within 18 and 17 be removed. Krillin pursues Android 18 and he and 18 eventually have a child together, a daughter named Marron.

At the the World Martial Arts Tournament during the World Tournament Saga, Krillin dispels to Goku the misconception that 18 is a pure android and therefore could not have a child, explaining that 18 was originally human but was just "remodeled . . . a little bit" by Dr. Gero, making her a cyborg (Future Trunks appropriately refers to she and 17 as such during the Trunks Saga, as well). Android 18 is too artificial to age, thus leaving her with the same appearance from the Androids Saga through the Kid Buu Saga, with the exception of a haircut. 18's destructive personality significantly fades following the Cell Games, and she comes to be accepted as a member of the core group of characters, particularly after she and Krillin marry and have a daughter.Although Android 18 is a loving wife and mother, and she is occasionally harsh to Krillin much like both Chi-Chi and Bulma are to their own husbands, she sometimes displays her frightening and unpredictable nature towards others, particularly Master Roshi or Mr. Satan.

 

In an alternate timeline, Android 18 and Android 17 are unequaled mass murderers who have reduced human civilization to shambles. Gohan

is the last of the original Z Fighters not killed by the androids left to hold his own (although a handful of characters who supported the group, including Master Roshi, Bulma and

Chi-Chi, have also managed to take refuge [although Roshi wanted to fight the Androids, he stayed in hiding because Turtle, Oolong, and Puar persuaded him to.].). As the years pass, it becomes obvious that Gohan and Trunks are the only martial artists left capable of fighting the androids, however, no conceivable advantage for them arises and Gohan is eventually killed. In the second alternate timeline to merge with the mainstream one, Trunks successfully destroys androids 18 and 17, but is killed by Imperfect Cell, who then uses Trunks' time machine to travel to the past, where he sheds his larval exoskeleton leaving it to be discovered at the end of the Androids Saga. Trunks, whose visits to the time in his past (the main plot of the series) constitute the first alternate timeline to merge with the mainstream one, returns to his time after the destruction of Super-Perfect Cell by Gohan, and ultimately vanquishes both androids 17 and 18, as well as Imperfect Cell, with the power he gains from his training with Vegeta.For unknown reasons, the mainstream androids are stronger than their future timeline counterparts. The plausible explanation of differences between power and personality could stem from the changes of the androids' intent when Dr. Gero created them. In Future Trunks' timeline, Goku dies from a viral heart virus six months before the androids first appear. When Trunks battles the androids in The History of Trunks, Android 18 and Android 17 reveal they were "created for world domination." Upon hearing the news of Goku's death, Gero stopped augmenting his android assassins and turned them into world domination machines (but couldn't correct their individuality in any timeline). In the mainstream timeline, since Goku never assumes Super Saiyan transformation to defeat Frieza and King Cold, thus burning a significant amount of ki, the virus doesn't attack until much later (as explained by Vegeta during the fight with Android 19). However with Goku's survival, Dr. Gero follows through with augmenting his own android powers, whereas in future timelines this would not have been necessary with Goku already dead. A third alternative may be that the androids of the mainstream timeline merely exert themselves more than the androids of the future, so as to cope with the more powerful Z Fighters, giving the impression that androids 17 and 18 are weaker in the future timeline than the mainstream one.

After the death of Super Perfect Cell, Future Trunks returns to his timeline and destroys androids 17 and 18 with the power he achieves training with Vegeta in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, ending their years of devastating the planet.

Seven years later in the series, Android 18

married Krillin and had a daughter named Marron. Gohan tells 18 and Krillin that Goku will return to earth to enter the 25th World Tournament. 18 convinces Krillin to enter to win the prize money. Later, Android 18 is matched against Mr. Satan in the World Martial Arts Tournament. Not interested in the attention that becoming tournament champion (and in addition, prevailing over Satan, who Satan City are generally under the impression is the most powerful martial artist alive), 18 allows Mr. Satan to defeat her and retain his somewhat misappropriated title, provided that he reimburses her an amount of money greater than the prize money that he would be receiving as tournament champion. She must later take refuge from Majin Buu on Kami's Lookout. A day later, Android 18 is killed, along with her family, by Super Buu, who turns her into chocolate and eats her (interestingly making this the second time that she is ingested by a super-villain in Dragon Ball). Her life is restored through a wish from Porunga, and she later supplies Goku with her energy to fuel a Spirit Bomb, in an effort to defeat Kid Buu. Though peace has returned, Android 18 still maintains a cool and distant attitude toward Goku, as she was originally "created" to kill him, but she still can't resist smiling when Goku returns and has a tearful reunion with his family, showing a softer side to her personality. She is later seen at a party at Bulma's house. 10 years later she attends the 28th World Martial Arts Tournament with her family and the other Z Fighters at the end of the DBZ series.

Years later, In her first appearance in Dragon Ball GT, Android 18 is a servant of Baby. During the battle between Super Saiyan 4

Goku and

Baby Vegeta, she, Krillin, and Marron are caught in the destruction of Satan City by Baby's Super Galick Gun. However, all of them appear to have avoided the blast. She is cured with the Sacred Water. She must later go to the Tuffle planet before the earth explodes because of the wish by Baby to restore his home planet.

Some months later, 18 later appears in the city with her family, until Android 17 attacks. 17 attempts to control her, however Krillin intervenes, pointing out that 18 is now married and has a child. He also reminds Android 17 that he killed Dr. Gero himself, but 17's Machine Mutant counterpart, Hell Fighter 17, contacts him and regains control, causing him to kill Krillin. Krillin's death brings Android 18 back to reality causing her to attack her own brother. Seeing what he's done, 17 then targets Marron so he can gain full control of 18, but 18 defends her from 17's energy wave, leaving her in a critical condition. Android 17 flies off to merge with Hell Fighter 17, and 18 crawls over to Krillin, taking his hand as she appears to die with him. Later during the Super 17 Saga however, 18 reappears, and in an attempt to avenge her husband's death, she joins Goku in the struggle against Super 17.In her last appearance in the anime, Android 18 is seen at theCapsule Corporationaccompanied by Bulma, Chi-Chi,Videl, and her daughter, Marron.There is some debate as to whether or not Android 18 and her brother are still alive 100 years after the events ofDragon Ball GT(particularly during the time of the 64th World Martial Arts Tournament and the events of the specialA Hero's Legacy). While Dr. Gero states that the process of reconfiguring the siblings into cyborgs has made the twoimmortal,this is contradicted by the specialA Hero's Legacy, where it is narrated thatPanis the only character remaining from the generation of the original Z Fighters. 

 

• An unnamed energy wave similar in execution to the Masenko, which Future Android 18 uses against Future Trunks in The History of Trunks special.
• Destructo Disk, a powerful razor-sharp disk of ki capable of slicing through nearly any opponent. This is the signature technique of her husband Krillin, who more than

*likely taught it to her.

• Android Barrier, a technique where energy is thrust out from the body in the form of a barrier with great force. The barrier can be used to both defend against oncoming projectiles and to expand and damage its surroundings, although only the former appears in Dragon Ball Z.
• Energy Attack, the most basic form of energy wave used by androids.
• Energy Mine, one of Android 18's strong energy waves and ultimate attacks in Supersonic Warriors 2. She fires a concentrated, yellow sphere of energy, which after a few seconds results in an explosion inflicting heavy damage.
• Flight, the ability to fly without the use of ki.
• Power Blitz, a strong energy wave fired from the palm of her hand. It can be launched as a single energy wave, concentrated into a ball of ki or volleyed in a rapid barrage of energy waves called the Infinity Bullet. Android 18 debuts this technique with the concentrated method, while struggling not to be absorbed by Cell. Future Android 18 uses the energy wave and Infinity Bullet methods many times before being killed by Future Trunks. This is the signature finishing move for androids 18 and 17 in the Budokai video game series. A similar technique called the Photon Blitz also appears in the video game Supersonic Warriors 2.
  

As a cyborg, Android 18 is extremely powerful, able to easily overpower even the typical Super Saiyan. This is first demonstrated when she

fights Super Saiyan Vegeta during the highway sequence, and is able to break his arm with a single kick and walk away almost completely unscathed, except her clothes which have been burned by Vegeta's ki attacks. Her replacement clothing is what visually separates Android 18 from her future timeline counterpart. 18 has also shown that she can hold her own against two Super Saiyans simultaneously, when both Trunks and Goten, who in Dragon Ball Z disguise themselves as Mighty Mask to fight in the adult division of the World Martial Arts Tournament, continue trying to fight her even after she exposes them. Android 18 is also purported to be the strongest female character in the series. Some might argue that this respect goes to Pan or Oceanus Shenron, however Pan fails to achieve even the power of a typical Super Saiyan by the conclusion of Dragon Ball GT (although it is unclear if she becomes stronger during the 100 years that pass in the series' final episode) and Oceanus Shenron was defeated by Pan in the anime.Despite the combat advantages entailed by being an android, 18 is inadept against even Cell's imperfect form. When in his semi-perfect form, Cell is trounced by Ascended Super Saiyan Vegeta, while Full-Power Super Saiyan Goku ranks evenly against Perfect Cell without using half of his potential. This helps to pinpoint Android 18's strength as easily matching up to an opponent with the power and control of an inexperienced Super Saiyan. This indicates that she could outmatch Frieza, Cooler and King Cold, who were each overpowered by untrained Super Saiyans. In the film Bio-Broly, it can be seen that 18 is no match for Bio-Broly, which is reasonable as Bio-Broly is the clone of a character much stronger than either Semi-Perfect Cell or an Ascended Super Saiyan. Based on this, it can be assessed that Android 18 is stronger than an untrained Super Saiyan but weaker than a mastered one, and is almost equal to Android 17, but is substantially weaker than Android 16, Semi-Perfect Cell or any Super Saiyan transformation beyond the first.Android 18 is fitted with a device that gives her a continuous and virtually infinite energy supply. This prevents her from becoming exhausted while fighting, and augments her power enough to make her a formidable opponent even for any of the survivingSaiyans. A skill which she shares with other android models is the ability to go undetected bykisignatures, as her power is substantiated by mechanics. Just like her brother, her cybernetic implants do not affect her ability to gain new skills and power levels through training, as shown by her ability to learn Krillin's signature attack and also her being able to match up to 2 Super Saiyans (Trunks and Goten) in the Buu saga. While she may have grown stronger throughout the events in Dragon Ball Z and GT, and is supposedly roughly equal to her brother in terms of power as per their original programming, Android 17 has visibly outclassed her by quite a significant margin in GT, seeing as how his ki blast overpowered hers in their brief fight.http://

• The History of Trunks
• Dragon Ball Z: Atsumare! Gokū Wārudo
• Super Android 13
• Bio-Broly
• Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!!
  

Android 18 makes her first playable appearance in a Dragon Ball video game spin-off in Super Butōden. She has since featured in a number of video games, which are Buyū Retsuden, Super Butōden 3, Ultimate Battle 22, Dragon Ball Z 2: Super Battle, Legendary Super Warriors, all six installments of the Budokai series, Supersonic Warriors, all three installments of the Budokai Tenkaichi series, Supersonic Warriors 2, Super Dragon Ball Z, Burst Limit and Infinite World.It is shown in the video game Shin Budokai when Android 18 uses the Dragon Balls that she wishes for her humanity to be restored, a wish which Shenron cannot grant. She goes on to wish for Krillin to become an android, although Shenron cannot grant this wish either. She eventually settles on having the "terminate Goku" program installed into her erased, which Shenron does grant.

• Japanese dub: Miki Itō
• Ocean Group dub: Enuka Okuma
• Funimation dub: Meredith McCoy
• Latin American dub: Cristina Camargo
• Spanish dub: Ana Fernandez
• Catalan dub: Pilar Morales

* German dub: Diana Borgwardt

• Italian dub: Debora Magnaghi
  

• 18 is considered the strongest female in the manga canon.
• When 18 defeats Vegeta, she becomes the first character to defeat a Super Saiyan, unless one includes Goku in his fight against Android 19, whose outcome was decided because of a heart disease Goku had.
• 18 claims that 17 is her brother, but it is never clarified if they were siblings before being kidnapped by Dr. Gero, or if they were just made into siblings by Gero's work.
• 17 and 18 were kidnapped by Gero and made into androids to serve his vendetta against Goku; it is very possible that it was this crime against them that made them hate Gero enough to kill him the first chance they got.
• In the Game Boy Advance game Supersonic Warriors, Android 18 is hinted to dislike driving solely because of Android 17's insistence in driving around aimlessly without anything better to do. She also expresses her disapproval of her brother stealing the van for the joyride to begin with, scolding him for 'behaving just like a kid', which is a clear sign that Android 18 possesses a clear sense of right and wrong.

* Zola, one of the main characters from Blue Dragon, looks very similar to Android 18. Both characters were created by Akira Toriyama.