The Red Ribbon Army's membership comprises humans,
anthropomorphic animals, monsters, and
Androids. Android 8 is voiced by
Shōzō Iizuka in Japanese,
Dale Wilson in the Ocean dub, and
Mike McFarland in the Funimation dub.
Doctor Gero does not appear in the original Red Ribbon Army story arc, and is retroactively linked to the group when his motivation of revenge against Goku for the organization's downfall is revealed in the
Android Saga arc. After creating a more advanced series of Red Ribbon Androids, he eventually implants his own brain into a replica of his body. He calls himself . He is initially encountered by
Yamcha, who is nearly killed when Gero impales his chest with a hand and absorbs Yamcha's
chi using a small device on his hand. Gero later flees back to his laboratory and releases Androids 17 and 18 to fend off Goku's associates, but 17 turns on his creator and murders him following a brief altercation. Doctor Gero is voiced by
Kōji Yada in Japanese,
Brian Dobson in the Ocean dub, and
Kent Williams in the Funimation dub, who also voiced Mercenary Tao.
Android 19 is a round, pale, fully mechanical android and the most loyal of Gero's creations. Like Gero's Android form, 19 can absorb others' energy. During an attack on Goku and his associates, the Dragon Team, 19 successfully drains Goku of his energy. At the same time, he is incapacitated by his heart virus condition, but is destroyed by Vegeta afterwards. Gero retreats to his laboratory in response. Android 19 is voiced by
Yukitoshi Hori in Japanese media,
Cathy Weseluck in the Ocean dub,
Phillip Wilburn in the Funimation dub, and
Todd Haberkorn in the
Dragon Ball Z Kai dub.
Android 17 is a Red Ribbon Android created by Doctor Gero. Along with his sister Android 18, 17 is released by Doctor Gero as a last resort to fend off Goku's associates, but he turns on Gero and kills him instead. They continue to search for Goku, but he is later absorbed by Cell. He is brought back to life when those killed by Cell are revived with the Dragon Balls. By the events of
Dragon Ball Super, 17 works as a
forest ranger on a remote island filled with rare animals. It is revealed in Super that he is married and has three children, two of whom are adopted. He is recruited by Team Universe 7 for the Tournament of Power, where he secured victory on their behalf. Wishing upon the tournament prize, the Super Dragon Balls, he asks for all the universes erased during the tournament to be restored. Akira Toriyama came up with 17 and 18 after his editor at the time,
Kazuhiko Torishima, expressed his displeasure with Androids 19 and 20 as the intended arc villains shortly after their debut. 17's brief appearance during the Boo arc was originally intended to be
Lunch, who is not otherwise seen during the second half of the manga. Toriyama revealed Android 17's real name as in 2014.
Shigeru Nakahara voices Android 17 in all Japanese media. In the English
Funimation dub, 17 is voiced by
Chuck Huber. Huber thought of Android 17 as his biggest role since "nobody liked
Garlic Jr. as much as they liked Android 17." Huber considered the role his easiest and a "voice actor vacation", Huber personally found the character to be a "giant jerk," though he liked 17 for the characteristic.
Android 18 is the sister of
Android 17. After being released, she travels with Androids
16 and 17 to find and kill Goku; however, they are interrupted by Cell and the Dragon Team several times. She and 17 are eventually absorbed by Cell, but later, during the Cell Games, a hard blow from Gohan causes Cell to regurgitate her. Although Krillin is unable to wish for her to be turned into a human, he can have her self-destruct device removed. She settles down with Krillin. At some point, they have a daughter named . 18 continues to make recurring appearances as a secondary character, and later fights for Team Universe 7 in the Tournament Of Power arc.
Android 16 is a large, fully mechanical
android modeled after Gero's son , a high-ranking soldier in the Red Ribbon Army who died from an enemy bullet in an undisclosed battle. 16 is deemed a failure by Gero, and is deactivated until Android 18 reactivates and releases him. 16 processes a sophisticated mechanism to sense and track power levels in real time, a feature both 17 and 18 lack. Unlike his Android companions, 16 does not take pleasure in fighting others. It is fully committed to following its programmed orders: to search for and kill Goku. Despite his large and cold appearance, 16 is very gentle and friendly, similar to Android 8. 16 also has an appreciation for humanity and nature, and views Cell as an evil that serves to destroy both. While trying to protect Android 17 and 18 from Cell, he is badly damaged, though Bulma and her father later repair him. After he is repaired, he temporarily sets aside his orders to kill Goku to focus on the fight against Cell. Like 17 and 18, 16 was designed to self-destruct, but the device was removed during repair. This is made known only when 16 tries to destroy Cell using his self-destruction mechanism, with Cell retaliating and destroying him. However, his head and consciousness survive, but later is crushed by Cell, which pushes Gohan over the edge to unleash the Super Saiyan 2 form, the necessary power level to overcome Cell. Android 16 is voiced by
Hikaru Midorikawa in Japanese media,
Scott McNeil in the Ocean dub, and
Jeremy Inman in the Funimation dub.
Cell is Doctor Gero's ultimate creation, referred to as a "Bio-Android". He is designed to evolve into the "perfect" being. The creature is completed at a later date and unleashed by Gero's supercomputer, intended as a fail-safe that collects data in the background. Before the release of
Dragon Ball FighterZ, Cell was sometimes referred to as "Android 21".
Android 21 is a character originally introduced within the main story mode of the video game
Dragon Ball FighterZ. She is initially presented as a mysterious scientist who works for the Red Ribbon Army and is somehow connected to a mysterious anomaly that renders various
Dragon Ball series characters powerless, as well as to the appearance of hostile cloned versions of those characters. Her backstory and true nature are gradually revealed through the progression of the game's narrative, and are featured as the final
boss in each of the game's three story arcs. As she possesses the genetic material of various powerful characters in the series, much like Cell, Android 21 is depicted as a very formidable Bio-Android with superhuman strength, endurance, and speed. She is noted to have two forms with distinct personalities: one being her human form with a benevolent personality, and the other is her true form, which is reminiscent of
Majin Buu, with a similar pink skin palette and style of clothing, as well as a malevolent personality whose sole desire is to consume all life. Android 21 can fly and create energy beams using her
ki. Like Buu, Android 21 can transform objects or living things by shooting an energy beam at them, typically rendering them into
confectionery or other sweet foods to feed her ravenous hunger. She is also capable of copying and emulating the abilities and powers of other characters by stabbing her targets with an energy blade projected from her hand. She is unlocked as a playable character for all game modes once the story mode is completed. A second playable version of Android 21, using her human design and her lab coat attire, was added via downloadable content in February 2022. Android 21 and the cloned enemy characters from
Dragon Ball FighterZ are featured in the animated opening credits of the
Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission update for the
Dragon Ball Heroes digital card game, but have yet to appear in the
promotional anime itself. She appears in other video games such as
Super Dragon Ball Heroes,
Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle,
Dragon Ball Legends,
Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, and
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. The 2022 film
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero reveals that Android 21's human base is , the wife of Dr. Gero and the mother of Gevo, the model for Android 16's design. Vomi is briefly sighted during a media presentation by senior members of the reconstituted Red Ribbon Army as they attempt to recruit her surviving grandson, Dr. Hedo.
Gamma 1 & 2 and are two androids created by the reformed Red Ribbon Army that appear as secondary antagonists in the 2022 film
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. The army conceives them as an even more powerful new series of androids, designed by Doctor Hedo in his own image. Despite their flamboyant, often ridiculous showmanship, they are powerful and dedicated fighters with a strong sense of justice, albeit misguided by their creators. They are supposed to be used as a pretense for the organization to paint itself as a heroic figure while it seeks revenge against Goku. Each of them wields special ray guns in battle that unleash an array of powerful
ki blasts. Gamma 1 and Gamma 2 are respectively voiced by
Hiroshi Kamiya and
Mamoru Miyano in Japanese, and by
Aleks Le and
Zeno Robinson in English.
Red Pharmaceuticals Following the deaths of Doctor Gero and Cell, a new reincarnation of the Red Ribbon Army is formed, eager to seek revenge once more on Goku, who, unbeknownst to them, is offworld. They conceal all their operations in a hidden base holographically protected in plain sight, using a pharmaceutical company as a front.
Magenta is the primary antagonist of
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero. He is the son of the late Commander Red and resembles the former. He is the presumed head of Red Pharmaceuticals, used as a front for the reformed Red Ribbon Army, where he serves as its new leader. He secretly plots, alongside his assistant Carmine and Doctor Hedo, to seek revenge on Goku and his loved ones for annihilating his father's organization, claiming that Capsule Corporation harbors evil aliens. He is confident about his plans, but like his father, becomes belligerent when faced with the notion of things not going his way. Magenta is voiced by Volcano Ōta in Japanese and
Charles Martinet in English.
Doctor Hedo is the short, portly genius scientist who is the grandson of the notorious Doctor Gero, who works for the revived Red Ribbon Army under Magenta after breaking free from prison. Unlike his grandfather, he has little desire to carry on Gero's revenge against Goku; he is obsessed with superheroes and seeks to create the ultimate superhero androids, while also seeking research funds from the army. He is responsible for the creation of the army's secret weapon, an even more powerful variant of the original
Cell, . He has an expertise in biology. He has a medical license and is revealed to have injected himself with a serum that protects him from light shock injuries. He is accompanied by his
insectoid robot, Hachimaru. Doctor Hedo is voiced by
Miyu Irino in Japanese and
Zach Aguilar in English.
Carmine is the secondary antagonist of
Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, as he is the secretary of Red Pharmaceuticals and Magenta's loyal bodyguard and chauffeur. He has a large pompadour hairstyle and has a habit of combing it. He assists Magenta in rebuilding the Red Ribbon Army in secret and plotting their revenge against Goku and his friends and family. He is incredibly ruthless and cold-blooded in situations, as he enjoys tormenting his enemies and is willing to kidnap and kill children. Carmine is voiced by
Ryota Takeuchi in Japanese and
Jason Marnocha in English.
In other media Several key members of the Red Ribbon Army appear in the alternate retelling film
Dragon Ball: The Path to Power, where they are presented with different character designs. In the film
Dragon Ball: Mystical Adventure, General Blue and Sergeant Metallic appear as soldiers in
Emperor Chiaotzu's army; Mercenary Tao murders the former in the same manner as the source material. Sergeant Major Purple and General Blue appear in the 1990s remake of the
Dr. Slump anime, where they attempt to claim the Dragon Balls from Goku and
Arale Norimaki. The story of Trunks' alternate future, in which Androids 17 and 18 ravage the timeline, is depicted in the 1993 anime TV special
Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks. Doctor Gero's death at the hands of Android 17 is retold in the
seventh Dragon Ball Z film, which features three of his other creations as antagonists: Androids 13, 14, and 15. Aside from multiple non-canonical licensed video game appearances, the three Androids do not appear in the original manga or anime TV series. In
Dragon Ball GT, Doctor Gero creates a replicant copy of Android 17 along with Doctor Myu in the afterlife, who later merges with the original Android 17 to become the villainous Super 17 (超17号,
Chō Jū Nana-Gō). ==Promotion and merchandise==