Where would the Artificial Human arc have gone?

[Ringworm128]

As we all know 19 and 20 were originally going to be the main villains of the Artificial Human arc. So where do you think the story would have went if 19 and 20 or even 17 and 18 were the villains instead of Cell?

[Fox666]

As we all know 19 and 20 were originally going to be the main villains of the Artificial Human arc.

I don't think this should be taken as important. Toriyama always think of things at the last moment.

What would have happened if Gohan didn't turned in Oozaru? What if Kuririn didn't used the Tayoken against Dodoria? What if Freeza and his henchmen didn't exist at all? These are all things which Toriyama probably only thought while making the chapter which they appeared.

For me what happened during the Androids arc was just natural. no.19 and 20 weren't such good main villains. And considering that Toriyama already had in mind that no.20 was Dr. Gero in person, it's only natural that no.20 would had came up with something besides pure power and use his brain, this is, bringing more powerfull androids.

[Super Saiyan Turlast x4]

I think #17 and #18 would've went on to merge into the ultimate evil Android: a mix between a male and a female with blondish black hair, and powers capable of destroying a world in a fart.

That, or #20 would successfully absorbed all of Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks's power to become the most powerful Android ever. The only one who would've been able to not have their powers absorbed would be Gohan, who would be significantly weaker than the mighty #20. Piccolo would end up saving Gohan by taking one of #20's full-power eye lasars directly. This would obviously push Gohan to the edge, and he would reach Super Saiyan 2.

Gohan would go on to manhandle #20 only to see the evil scientist reveal a special satellite capable of wiping out all life on the Earth if he needed it to be. Gohan's distracted long enough to let #20 escape to his other lab that no one knew of, with Gohan being unable to sense his Chi. Gohan uses a form of telepathy that he learned through his training with Goku and Piccolo, and ends up following the evil intent to the secret location.

The evil genius had the satellite weapon prepared, since he knew Gohan's newfound powers made his look puny in comparison. His finger was on the switch, and Gohan, with his incredible speed, dashed towards Gero and swiftly knocked him out with a punch. With this, Gohan believed the battle to be finished, and began to look around the lab, only for Gero to use the last of his strength to press the button and activate the satellite. He then smirks, and tells Gohan that while he's clearly the strongest and worthy of being Goku's son, he's also no match for the Satellite Sphere, and that he'll know of its fearsome power soon enough. With that, the evil Gero explodes.

Gohan goes outside and sees the sky being filled with a considerable amount of energy. It's big enough to cover the entire world, and is only mins from coming down completely. Gohan can even sense the power for himself, and knows that it's capable of wiping the planet out with no effort. Gohan prepares to defend the planet he loves! He unleashes his powerful aura and begins to gather energy for what could possibly be Earth's last hope. Gohan releases the Full-Power Kame-Hame-Ha and the battle for the world begins!!

While Gohan's power was incredible, the satellite's power was even greater than that! With that, Gohan began to lose confidence and Chi at the same time! Just before the evil power overwhelmed him, in his mind flashed the faces of his parents, Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo, and the entire inhabitants of the planet Earth. Gohan realized that they were all relying on him, and that he couldn't let them down at a time like this. Feeding off of the energy to protect those he loves, he summoned up enough of his latent powers to put forth even more power into his already huge Kame-Hame-Ha. The Satellite Sphere still stood strong, but as powerful as it was, it was just a machine. A machine built with evil and hatred is not much for a soul of justice.

Gohan's power allows him to repel the Satellite Sphere, and his Kame-Hame-Ha is guided to the very source of this power in outer space, and destroys the Satellite completely. Gohan has saved the earth. He's the strongest in the world, and ready to combat any evil if they decide to attack the planet.

The End.

[TheDevilsCorpse]

I don't think this should be taken as important. Toriyama always think of things at the last moment.

What would have happened if Gohan didn't turned in Oozaru? What if Kuririn didn't used the Tayoken against Dodoria? What if Freeza and his henchmen didn't exist at all? These are all things which Toriyama probably only thought while making the chapter which they appeared.

For me what happened during the Androids arc was just natural. no.19 and 20 weren't such good main villains. And considering that Toriyama already had in mind that no.20 was Dr. Gero in person, it's only natural that no.20 would had came up with something besides pure power and use his brain, this is, bringing more powerfull androids.

There is a difference though, this is a situation where the "what-if" cause clearly originates outside the story. While Torishima may have asked Toriyama to change things before they went to print while he was his editor, in this case it was after their debut that the advice was given. The Jinzoningen Arc's progression might feel sort of natural in-story, but we know what Toriyama was dealing with and that he kept changing things on a past editors whim. I mean, if it weren't for Torishima basically telling Toriyama that the designs for his villains sucked, we wouldn't have had 16, 17, 18, or Cell, only 19 and 20. How can someone not be curious as to what Toriyama might have actually had planned with the original two villains? I know the man often writes by the seat of his pants, but he had to have SOME kind of general plan for what he wanted to do. There are endless possibilities to what could have happened, so wondering how Toriyama might have played things out with the clown and the geezer is an interesting idea. I know I would have liked to hear what direction Toriyama might have taken with them, but I'm sure he's long forgotten any plans he may have had.

[Piccolo Daimao]

Who knows? You can't tell with Toriyama. Even the RoSaT was a complete asspull. Perhaps it would end in a similar way, with Gohan being the hero.

[Lord Exor]

I think #17 and #18 would've went on to merge into the ultimate evil Android: a mix between a male and a female with blondish black hair, and powers capable of destroying a world in a fart.

That, or #20 would successfully absorbed all of Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks's power to become the most powerful Android ever. The only one who would've been able to not have their powers absorbed would be Gohan, who would be significantly weaker than the mighty #20. Piccolo would end up saving Gohan by taking one of #20's full-power eye lasars directly. This would obviously push Gohan to the edge, and he would reach Super Saiyan 2.

Gohan would go on to manhandle #20 only to see the evil scientist reveal a special satellite capable of wiping out all life on the Earth if he needed it to be. Gohan's distracted long enough to let #20 escape to his other lab that no one knew of, with Gohan being unable to sense his Chi. Gohan uses a form of telepathy that he learned through his training with Goku and Piccolo, and ends up following the evil intent to the secret location.

The evil genius had the satellite weapon prepared, since he knew Gohan's newfound powers made his look puny in comparison. His finger was on the switch, and Gohan, with his incredible speed, dashed towards Gero and swiftly knocked him out with a punch. With this, Gohan believed the battle to be finished, and began to look around the lab, only for Gero to use the last of his strength to press the button and activate the satellite. He then smirks, and tells Gohan that while he's clearly the strongest and worthy of being Goku's son, he's also no match for the Satellite Sphere, and that he'll know of its fearsome power soon enough. With that, the evil Gero explodes.

Gohan goes outside and sees the sky being filled with a considerable amount of energy. It's big enough to cover the entire world, and is only mins from coming down completely. Gohan can even sense the power for himself, and knows that it's capable of wiping the planet out with no effort. Gohan prepares to defend the planet he loves! He unleashes his powerful aura and begins to gather energy for what could possibly be Earth's last hope. Gohan releases the Full-Power Kame-Hame-Ha and the battle for the world begins!!

While Gohan's power was incredible, the satellite's power was even greater than that! With that, Gohan began to lose confidence and Chi at the same time! Just before the evil power overwhelmed him, in his mind flashed the faces of his parents, Bulma, Krillin, Piccolo, and the entire inhabitants of the planet Earth. Gohan realized that they were all relying on him, and that he couldn't let them down at a time like this. Feeding off of the energy to protect those he loves, he summoned up enough of his latent powers to put forth even more power into his already huge Kame-Hame-Ha. The Satellite Sphere still stood strong, but as powerful as it was, it was just a machine. A machine built with evil and hatred is not much for a soul of justice.

Gohan's power allows him to repel the Satellite Sphere, and his Kame-Hame-Ha is guided to the very source of this power in outer space, and destroys the Satellite completely. Gohan has saved the earth. He's the strongest in the world, and ready to combat any evil if they decide to attack the planet.

The End.

I enjoy this concept. Positioning Gero as the principle antagonist would have proved more than intriguing, especially with the energy drain mechanic. As I have opined prior, I believe that the consummate force of evil should concurrently present the greatest challenge to the protagonists. Seeing as to how Gero was clearly superlative to Cell on the scale of malevolence, he should have taken precedence as the big bad. If his age is offputting for you, you should remember that it is no different with Palpatine from Star Wars.

For me what happened during the Androids arc was just natural. no.19 and 20 weren't such good main villains. And considering that Toriyama already had in mind that no.20 was Dr. Gero in person, it's only natural that no.20 would had came up with something besides pure power and use his brain, this is, bringing more powerfull androids.

Why didn't they make for good villains?

[CatouttaHell]

Dr. Gero would make an awesome villain IMO. #19 is pretty strange but he'd work as a creepy sidekick. Both of them were pretty creepy for cartoon characters and are much more threatening than two teenagers and Cell (minus maybe his first form.) This would really make a good fanfiction. The RoSaT could also work into this, as he'd inevitably absorb enough energy to surpass everybody if he's the main villain. It'd make an interesting dynamic with everyone hiding trying to buy time but not having a single clue where the two creepy Jinzoningen are or what they're up to because their energy can't be sensed.

Even the other villains of this Arc could show up, maybe with #17, #18, and/or #16 switching places. It would stretch it out as needed and could help to build Gero up to even more threatening.

[Piccolo Daimao]

For me what happened during the Androids arc was just natural. no.19 and 20 weren't such good main villains. And considering that Toriyama already had in mind that no.20 was Dr. Gero in person, it's only natural that no.20 would had came up with something besides pure power and use his brain, this is, bringing more powerfull androids.

Why didn't they make for good villains?

Perhaps he thinks what the editor thought when he told Toriyama to change the villains. That #19 and #20 were just a fat clown and an old geezer. Which I think actually worked, because their odd designs made them look creepy.

[Nineteen]

For me what happened during the Androids arc was just natural. no.19 and 20 weren't such good main villains. And considering that Toriyama already had in mind that no.20 was Dr. Gero in person, it's only natural that no.20 would had came up with something besides pure power and use his brain, this is, bringing more powerfull androids.

Why didn't they make for good villains?

Perhaps he thinks what the editor thought when he told Toriyama to change the villains. That #19 and #20 were just a fat clown and an old geezer. Which I think actually worked, because their odd designs made them look creepy.

I (obviously) agree with this. I've never understood why a lot of people dismiss 19 and 20; to my mind they're more effective villains than 17 and 18 by virtue of their appearance, 19 especially.

[DaemonCorps]

In general, the Artificial Humans Saga (and even the Cell Saga at the end) was something of a throwback, making a point of how no matter how pure Goku's intentions were in defeating the Red Ribbon Army were, evil is still able to worm its way back from the destruction left. Minor characters from the human fighters to even Bulma coming back to be of some use against 19 and 20 further add to the whole throwback feel of things.

I agree that in the case that Cell or even 17 and 18 were never made, having 20 as the main foe would have been interesting at the least. I definitely would have liked to see what additional throwbacks Toriyama would have thought up of.

Also, just bringing it up randomly at the end of the post, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks souping up Artificial Human 8 woulda been a nifty idea. I loved him in the 10th Anniversary Special, and having him in the Z-arc of the story outside of donating energy to the Genki-dama would have been pretty sweet.

[Chuquita]

You could do some real creepy stuff with Gero as the main villain...like, "first-form Cell sucking bodies dry" level creepy. Granted, the whole section was a pretty dark arc as far as DB goes, but with Gero as an alternative to Cell; there'd be quite a few body-horror type possibilities.

I don't know if I would prefer it for DB though, but it would definitely be interesting.

[Gaffer Tape]

Also, just bringing it up randomly at the end of the post, but I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks souping up Artificial Human 8 woulda been a nifty idea. I loved him in the 10th Anniversary Special, and having him in the Z-arc of the story outside of donating energy to the Genki-dama would have been pretty sweet.

Definitely! It's always bugged me that the whole arc revolved around creations of Dr. Gero, yet the first one we ever met doesn't get an appearance or even a mention outside of a reference in a title page. Wasted potential! But for that matter, #16 (double of eight) seems to be something of a more serious-minded substitute...

[Michsi]

From an editorial standpoint I understand the decision.

19. and 20. just didn't feel like final boss material simply because of their designs. Although it's interesting to think what AT might have done with those two, just as I wonder what he meant when he said that he wanted for Semi Perfect Cell to play a more active role but his editors told him to hurry up and give him his final form. This could mean that the Cell arc had actually been shortend?

[ending sun]

You could do some real creepy stuff with Gero as the main villain...like, "first-form Cell sucking bodies dry" level creepy. Granted, the whole section was a pretty dark arc as far as DB goes, but with Gero as an alternative to Cell; there'd be quite a few body-horror type possibilities.

I don't know if I would prefer it for DB though, but it would definitely be interesting.

Yeah, I think the Android saga would have a darker feel to it. Honestly, 19 and 20 creeped me out more than any other villain (aside from body-sucking 1st form Cell, eek!) so looking back it's kind of a shame they weren't around for long.

[Ringworm128]

Perhaps he thinks what the editor thought when he told Toriyama to change the villains. That #19 and #20 were just a fat clown and an old geezer. Which I think actually worked, because their odd designs made them look creepy.

Yeah, I agree. I got chills when I first watched the Artificial Human arc. 19 and 20's and even 17 and 18's (sorta) designs give off something that you don't get from Cell (even his first form), which is why I've always liked 19's FUNimation English dub voice - it only added to the creepiness.

[Gaffer Tape]

just as I wonder what he meant when he said that he wanted for Semi Perfect Cell to play a more active role but his editors told him to hurry up and give him his final form. This could mean that the Cell arc had actually been shortend?

I always hoped it meant that they would have gotten off that god-forsaken island chain they spent such an interminably long time at and started a new sequence of events. And if it also might have meant that the all the characters didn't act like such complete idiots in order to rush Cell into his perfect form, then I might have been able to tolerate Cell's hideous second form for a little while longer.

[Michsi]

I always hoped it meant that they would have gotten off that god-forsaken island chain they spent such an interminably long time at and started a new sequence of events. And if it also might have meant that the all the characters didn't act like such complete idiots in order to rush Cell into his perfect form, then I might have been able to tolerate Cell's hideous second form for a little while longer.

I don't think there was any saving Vegeta or Krillin here. I'm kinda cetain Vegeta would have helped with the transformation in the end . Krillin's feelings for 18 sorta came out of the blue but they were introduced once with the remote, so his role in the preocess was established aswell.

[Gaffer Tape]

Well, aside from them, I was also referring to #18's dogged resistance to MOVING ANYWHERE!!!

[Piccolo Daimao]

I wish Toriyama had just rewrote it to change Kuririn's motive for not killing #18 to the fact that he saw human fear inside her, that she wasn't a monster and realized that he couldn't kill a human being, rather than just because he had a hard-on for her because she teasingly kissed him. Not to mention, even though Kuririn's always wanted a girlfriend and all, it's completely dickish and out of character for Kuririn to sacrifice the fate of the planet for a woman he'd developed an infatuation for her after she'd kissed him, after she'd just beaten the crap out of his friends.

At least, with Vegeta, we can expect that sort of shit from him.

As for #18, yeah, she probably should've gotten the fuck out of there after #16 had told her to (and after she'd seen her brother get the crap beaten out of him too), or during #16's battle with Cell. But once #16 blasted Cell with his Hell's Flash, #18 just dropped her guard because they thought #16 had been killed. But after the whole second-form Cell thing, she probably stayed there because she didn't want to leave the injured #16 behind. Or she thought it was safe since she thought Vegeta would kill Cell.

[Dabooyaka]

I like the way the story went. I never thought much of 19/20. Cell was just freaking awesome.