Dragon Ball Super Heroes Confirms A DBZ Android Is Deeper Than Fans Thought

A blink-and-miss Easter egg in the Dragon Ball Super: Superhero movie raises a lot of new questions about Dr. Gero's original robot.

Robots have recently made a big splash in Dragon Ball Super, following the release of the latest film in the series, Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes. However, as the film ties itself to the series' past, a surprising reveal raises a lot of questions about Dr. Gero and the droids — and Android 16 in particular.

Android 16 is another android created by Dragon Ball's Dr. Gero, just before 17 and 18, as his numbering suggests. While Numbers 17 and 18 have biological components (technically making them cyborgs), Number 16 is a purely mechanical robot. While 16 initially travels with 17 and 18, he develops a love for nature and soon finds himself battling the Cell. 16 ultimately sacrificed himself to stop Cell, and his last words were a plea to Gohan to protect the wild animals he adored during his short life.

In Dragon Ball Super: Super Heroes, the Red Ribbon Army is resurrected by the old Red Commander's son Magenta. Magenta finds Dr. Hedo, who is very young and happens to be Dr. Gero's grandson. Hedo was already interested in developing robots and robots, but Funding for such an effort was lacking, so he initially agreed to work with them. At one point, a graphic depicting Dr. Gero's family tree is shown. It reveals his wife, a woman named Vomi, who resembles the popular but so far non-canonical Android 21, and a son, Gevo, who looks identical to Android 16. It's worth noting that Gevo isn't Hedo's father, suggesting that Gero must have had another child at some point as well.

Android 16 is Based on Dr. Gero's Son

Given the same look, it's safe to assume that Dr. Gero is based entirely on his son's Android 16 look, which has various implications. Since Gero ended up putting himself inside a robot, Android 16 may be designed to accommodate his son's mind in the same way. Gevo is shown to be part of the Red Ribbon Army, so he might not be a very nice guy, which would make him inconsistent with Android 16 behavior. This fact may even be the real reason 16 is shut down - Gero can't stand being around a robot who looks like his son but acts nothing like him. After all, 17 and 18 read that Android 16 is Shut down for being a "threat to the existence of Earth", but if his powers were insufficient compared to the robots that came later, Dr. Gero did create the Cell, which was a much worse threat and was not eliminated in the same way .Also, if Android 20 is Gero and Android 16 is his son, are the other Androids based on his own family members? If Dr. Gero was also tragically rebuilding his lost family, rather than simply hunting Goku, it paints a very different picture.

It's not clear if these are relevant to subsequent stories, but given the return of these characters in Chapter 88 of the Dragon Ball Super manga, now is the time to bring them back.