Cell is a fictional character in the Dragon Ball manga series created by Akira Toriyama. He makes his debut in chapter #361 The Mysterious Monster, Finally Appears!!, first published in Weekly Shōnen Jump on February 16, 1992. Cell is an evil artificial life form, created using cells from several of the main characters, who travels back in time so he can become the perfect being. In order to reach this goal, he must absorb Androids #17 and #18.