The Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero Character That Has Fans Divided

The "Dragon Ball" series has become the talk of the town again, and for good reason, too.

The multimedia franchise's latest film installment, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero," has caught the attention of critics, die-hard fans, and casual viewers alike. In fact, in its first weekend in U.S. theaters, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" dominated the box office and raked in largely positive reviews from critics. Indeed, as of this writing, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" holds an impressive 91% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is, notably, higher than the 82% score that its predecessor, 2018's "Dragon Ball Super: Broly," currently boasts.

While "Dragon Ball" fans have been busy discussing the ending of "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" in recent weeks as well, there have also been countless discussions online about the film's treatment of certain fan-favorite characters. That's not particularly surprising, as the film's story, which refreshingly places both Gohan and Piccolo at the center of its primary, Red Ribbon Army-fueled conflict, allows it to push many of its characters into new and exciting places.

However, just because "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" continues to be received well doesn't mean "Dragon Ball" fans don't have certain criticisms of the movie. As a matter of fact, some longtime "Dragon Ball" fans have taken issue, in particular, with its depiction of one powerful villain.

For most of its story, the main antagonists of "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" are: Magenta, the head of Red Pharmaceuticals and the mastermind behind the film's revived Red Ribbon Army; Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero; and Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, a pair of Red Ribbon army androids created by Dr. Hedo. However, in its third act, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" introduces its most powerful antagonist, Cell Max. Created by Dr. Hedo, Cell Max is meant to be a superior version of the original Cell.

In his final moments, Magenta prematurely releases Cell Max in the hopes that he will be able to destroy Piccolo, Gohan, and the rest of the Red Ribbon Army's rivals once and for all. In response, Piccolo and Gohan team up with Gamma 1, Gamma 2, Goten, Trunks, and Android 18 to fight Cell Max. However, to say that the fight proves to be an immensely difficult one for the team would be an understatement. As a matter of fact, Cell Max manages to easily defeat most of his combatants.

Fortunately, the sight of Piccolo being beaten down by Cell Max prompts Gohan to finally enter his Beast form. With Piccolo's help, Beast Gohan subsequently releases a Beam Cannon at Cell Max's head that promptly destroys the bio-android. Of course, while Gohan, Piccolo, and co. are ultimately able to defeat Cell Max, there's no denying that the villain does manage to push his combatants to their absolute limits before meeting his end.

Despite that fact, Cell Max's presence in "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" has proven to be surprisingly divisive among fans of the "Dragon Ball" franchise.

On the official "Dragon Ball Super" subreddit, u/HiFiMAN3878 created a post asking their fellow "Dragon Ball" fans what their reactions were to "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero." In their post, the Redditor offered some of their thoughts about the film. In specific, the fan revealed that they were disappointed by the depiction of Cell Max in "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero." Commenting on Cell Max's role in the film, the Reddit user wrote, "Cell Max was a pretty dull enemy."

In response to the Redditor's comments about Cell Max, u/LaMattige wrote, "I get what you say about Cell Max, but I think he was like a final Boss more than anything." In the same Reddit thread, another fan revealed that they were also disappointed by how one-note of a villain Cell Max turned out to be, writing, "Cell Max was lame because he's just a rage monster and those enemies are boring."

Conversely, u/HarryTwigs explained why they disagree with their fellow fans' criticisms about Cell Max, arguing, "[Cell Max is] the final antagonist to be sure, but the villains are Magenta and the Red Ribbon Army. Cell Max is [just] an extension of [their] evil." Elsewhere, u/UncleBoomie similarly wrote, "I think Gamma 1 and 2 had enough character and personality that we didn't need Cell Max to have one. Making Cell Max just a rage monster was a good idea."

In other words, while most "Dragon Ball" fans seem to agree that Cell Max ultimately proved to be a physically powerful final combatant for the heroes of "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero," there are some viewers out there who will likely continue to find the film's actual depiction of the villain to be fairly lackluster.