Fan of the Dragon Ball Z universe? Welcome to Goku Shop! You've come to the right place if you want to discover the famous C-16 cyborg !
C-16 is one of Dr. Gero's (C-20) first creations. It is a fully mechanized combat model, this means that unlike C-17 and C-18, it has no human element in it. He plays a major role in the Cell saga.
In this article, we will return to:
- His appearance and personality
- His full biography
- His fighting techniques
Ready for this ultimate guide dedicated to C-16? In that case, it’s high time to get started! 🤜
WHAT DOES C-16 LOOK LIKE? WHY WAS IT CREATED?
Of all the cyborgs in the Dragon Ball Z universe, C-16 is quite possibly one of the best known, along with C17 and C18.
This model is very tall , he has blue eyes and orange hair. He also has two gold earrings. His armor is mostly green and massive. A Red Ribbon Army logo appears on the left side of his armor. Indeed, let's remember that Dr. Gero created the cyborgs to take revenge on Goku. In the Dragon Ball saga, Son Goku destroys this entire army. 💥
C16's physique is based on Doctor Gero's son , who died in battle some time before the events of Dragon Ball.
It is important to understand why C16 was created by Dr. Gero: to kill Son Goku.
THE PERSONALITY OF C16
Despite his impressive, even intimidating physique, C16 does not exude any particular malevolence. He is rather calm, friendly by nature and really appreciates nature and the world in general (small birds in particular for those who have the reference). He does not tolerate evil and for him, Cell is evil because he only wants to destroy. C16 is reliable and protective of his friends. We see this very clearly when he gives his all to save C17 and C18 against Cell. 👏
He confronts Cell in his imperfect form, in vain. Unfortunately, C17's arrogance results in his absorption. Once in its second form, Cell is greater than C16 .
C16 is even ready to sacrifice himself for a good cause. This is particularly the case during the fight between Gohan and Cell. 👍
On the other hand, he remains very cold towards Goku . Indeed, the fact of having been created to kill him prevents her from being very friendly with him... Now let's discover his story!
THE BIOGRAPHY OF C16
THE ORIGINS
C16 is considered an incomplete cyborg . It was obviously designed by Dr. Gero. The idea was to create a fully synthetic, mechanical fighter. 🦾
Physically, he resembles Dr. Gero's son . On the other hand, during its creation, its designer programmed it to have a gentle and calm nature. C20 didn't want C16 to be killed the same way as his son. 💀
According to him, his programming was not yet complete when C17 released him. C16 is not obedient enough to follow orders to the letter.
C16 is not talkative and only speaks when necessary. The latter even claims that C17 and C18 are not basically bad.
This model therefore has some flaws during its design. It wasn't supposed to be an activity and would have required a few hours of additional programming. It is interesting to note that in the futuristic plot of Trunks , C16 is not present. 🤔
C16 IN THE CYBORGS SAGA
Let's go back to the classic timeline! It is C18's curiosity which will lead to the activation of the mechanical cyborg. Gero formally forbids him from doing so and this altercation pushes C17 to kill him . 💀
Future Trunks decides to attack to eliminate the threat by sending a powerful attack. This has no effect and C16 is activated. Once he wakes up, C17 and C18 ask him questions, without any response in return. 🤫
C16 will just state that it was created for the purpose of killing Goku . C17 doesn't like to follow his creator's orders but after all, he needs to follow a goal. The trio therefore decides to go looking for Goku to eliminate him. 😨
On the road, they pick up a car. Later, they are intercepted by Vegeta who demands a fight. C16 explains that he does not want to fight. It is therefore C18 who volunteers to confront him.
The fight takes place and Vegeta will suffer a humiliating defeat . Future Trunks, Krillin, Piccolo and Ten Shin Han arrive to support Vegeta. C17 asks if C16 plans to fight this time, but obviously not. Vegeta refuses any form of help and gets up to continue the fight. C18 breaks his arm. This prompts his son to intervene, refusing to witness his father's death. C17 intervenes and easily defeats him, as do Ten Shin Han and Piccolo. 👊
Meanwhile, C16 observes the birds and is sad when he sees them fly away because of the fury of the fight.
The fight thus ends and the cyborgs resume their first objective of finding Goku .
C16 IN THE SAGA OF CELL
Although he plays an unimportant role in the previous saga, C16 will be decisive against Cell. 👍
This new saga begins when Piccolo discovers a city completely exterminated, in a mysterious way. After the discovery of a time machine, as well as the remains of a lizard mutation, the FighterZ team leads the investigation.
Piccolo ends up crossing paths with Cell and discovers the truth. 📖
If you want to know everything about this absolutely cult antagonist, we invite you to discover our ultimate guide dedicated to Cell .
Next, Cell will flee in order to absorb many human lives. He needs to increase in power in order to triumph over C17 and C18. Its goal is to assimilate them in order to achieve its perfect form . ✨
And it is precisely at this moment that C16 will begin to take on importance in the narrative. He will want to protect his two cyborg friends from Cell. 👍
On the tropical islands, Piccolo confronts C17 and tries to make him understand the threat Cell represents. The latter ignores him because he has great confidence in his combat abilities. He thinks he's the best.
Cell intervenes and explains his intentions. As he prepares to confront C17, C16 intervenes and tells him to back off. He warns now that we must at all costs prevent Cell from reaching his perfect form . The latter could destroy the entire world. 💥
C17 is disappointed by this intervention and ignores his recommendation.
The fight seems to be turning in Cell's favor and C16 already asks C18 to flee to escape Cell.
During the fight, Cell grabs C17 in order to assimilate him, C16 intervenes by pushing him away . He engages in an intense fight against the reptilian fighter. Cell regenerates and plants his stinger in C16's neck. However, there is absolutely no life force to absorb since the model is 100% mechanical . The cyborg takes the opportunity to grab his tail and tear it off. He thinks this gesture is enough to prevent Cell from surprising C17 and C18. 🦎
Obviously, this is of no use since the imperfect fighter has the power to regenerate his cells as long as his brain is not affected. ✨
Following this, C16 understands that it is necessary to completely annihilate Cell so that he can never achieve his perfect form. The fight continues and he uses his most formidable technique, Hell's Flash . This explosion created from his arms destroys a good part of the island. Cell goes missing for a few minutes. 💥
The cyborgs think that Cell is almost defeated and relax their vigilance. This will be a fatal mistake. Because in fact, Cell reappears and surprises C17 . Assimilation takes place and it reaches its semi-perfect form . He begins to break away from his “insect” appearance to become more human.
This is when Cell becomes the most powerful being in the area, far superior to C16 now. 🤛
Our mechanical cyborg will suffer a lot of damage and will hide near C18, thanks to the diversion of Ten Shin Han and later the arrival of Trunks and Vegeta.
Cell will still manage to assimilate C18 , because of Vegeta. The prince of the saiyans is superior in power to the semi-perfect form and becomes very proud. When Cell tells him that if he had access to his ultimate form, he would easily beat him. Vegeta doesn't believe it for a single moment and lets him spot C18. 😫
Once in his ultimate form, he surpasses all the heroes around. He decides to organize a somewhat special martial arts tournament, called the Cell's Game. He will face all the champions who dare to oppose him. If he wins, he will destroy everything. 💥
After several days of preparation, C16 is one of the first to arrive on the scene. He intends to defend the Earth as well as its animals.
The championship begins and the fights rage. Son Goku passes the torch to his son Gohan. He is convinced that if the half-saiyan becomes furious, he will easily surpass Cell. 👍
Gohan continues blows and fails to unleash his full potential. He watches his friends suffer helplessly.
This is when C16 will play its crucial role in Cell's saga. Following a serious injury, only his head lies on the ground. He asks Mr. Satan to throw him near Gohan so he can talk to him.
Once done, he speaks gently to Goku's son, asking him to protect the little birds as well as the innocent creatures. Cell is ruthless and cruel and crushes C16's head with a kick , calling him a useless cyborg. This act deeply shocks Gohan and he lets his rage explode . With Super Saiyan 2 acquired, victory is only a matter of time... 👊
HOW POWERFUL IS C16?
C17 claims he is the most powerful cyborg . We see this very clearly when he scans the C16 module, he confirms that this model in question is weaker than him. However, it is very likely that this difference in levels is due to C16 remaining inactive for a very long time. 🤔
Because in reality, it seems that C16 is indeed the most powerful cyborg, if we don't count Cell. Its creator Dr. Gero states that C16 could even doom the entire planet.
In terms of power, C16 is at the level of the imperfect form of Cell , once the latter has vampirized the energy of many humans. After Bulma repaired and enhanced him, C16 was able to contain Cell in his perfect form for a little while. 🤼♀️
THE 7 BEST COMBAT TECHNIQUES OF C16
C16 is a unique cyborg due to its completely synthetic version. This gives him special combat abilities. Let's see the most legendary ones here! 😀
Son Goku Elimination Program : C16 was created with the goal of killing Goku. He therefore has information on the latter in his program: Address, fighting style, main techniques... C16 is cold towards Goku and refrains from confronting him because Cell represents a much more dangerous threat.
Bear Hug : C16 grabs his opponent in close combat and tortures him. He uses it against Perfect Cell.
Power Detector : C16 has an excellent power detector that does not explode if the energy is too high. In FighterZ, we even learn that this detector is capable of recognizing divine ki and evaluating the power of Goku Blue.
Eye Beam : C16 fires a laser attack from its eyes. He also used this technique against Cell.
Machine Impact : Technique which consists of blocking the shoulder of your enemy.
Hell's Flash : One of the most devastating techniques without a doubt. C16 grabs his opponent and throws him to the ground. Then, he unscrews his hands to reveal two powerful cannons. He charges them and detonates an incredibly powerful salvo.
Full Power Hell's Flash : Same attack as the previous one, but with full firepower. We see it for example in Dragon Ball Fusions.
SOME ANECDOTES ABOUT C16…
Now let's find out some interesting facts about Dr. Gero's sixteenth cyborg! 📝
- After C16 is repaired by Bulma and her father, he now brandishes the Capsule Corp logo. That of the Red Ribbon Army is no longer visible.
- C16 shares many similarities with C8. For example, they became friendly, they are tall, they love nature and they both died tragically. Additionally, their death results in excess rage on the part of Goku and Gohan. This even allows you to achieve victory in the fight. 🥇
- C16's story is very similar to the character “ Astro Boy ”, from another manga. It is a robot built in the image of its creator's son.
- It appears that C16 was resurrected after the Namekian Dragon's Wish, near the end of Buu's saga. 🐲
DRAGON BALL Z FAN? BECOME AS STRONG AS THE CYBORGS!
Did you like this article on C16? Good news ! You can discover other ultimate cyborg guides on our site!
Keep in mind that despite his rank as a secondary character, C16 played a very important role in the Dragon Ball Z series. It is thanks to him that Gohan was able to find the strength to defeat Cell . 💪
C16 also appears in video games, like FighterZ for example.
If you like the character or cyborgs in general, we invite you to discover our dedicated articles ! Click on the image below to extend the experience!
