In the 2022 3D anime film,Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, the Dragon Fighters have their work cut out for them as they face the resurgent remnants of an enemy long thought to have been destroyed by Goku in the events of the originalDragon Ball.The Red Ribbon Army returns again inDragon Ball Super: Super Heroto exact revenge upon Goku. Led by Magenta, the son of Commander Red, the new Red Ribbon Army enlists the help of Dr. Hedo, the grandson of Dr. Gero to build a pair of Androids powerful enough to defeat Goku.
Hedo, a young man who is heavily inspired by superheroes, builds two Androids he dubs Gamma 1 and Gamma 2, modelling them after the eponymous character from the Ultraman franchise. Magenta’s big plan with Hedo; however, is to improve upon the schematics of Gero’s magnum opus, Cell, resulting in the creation of Cell Max. Eventually realizing that they’re siding with the bad guys, Dr Hedo and the androids risk everything to put a stop to the rampaging Cell Max, and Gamma 2 loses his life in the struggle. This behaviour isn’t the first we’ve seen in an Android, and heroism is built into the values of both Gammas; especially Gamma 2. Here’s how:
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Eighter
One of the first androids introduced to theDragon Ballfranchise is someone Goku meets as a child during the Red Ribbon Army arc. His character design is meant to be menacing as his appearance pays homage to Frankenstein’s monster; however, Android #8 was a kind, peace-loving android who never wanted to fight. “Eighter”, as he came to be nicknamed by Goku, was labeled faulty due to his good nature, but despite being a pacifist, Eighter fought whenever he was angered and even attacked his handler, General White, when he shot Goku. Like 17 and 18, Eigher was built by Dr. Gero with a bomb in his chest, however, it was removed with Goku’s help. The last time we see Eighter isduring the Buu Sagawhen Goku asked the world to provide energy to produce the final Spirit Bomb. In the filmDragon Ball: The Path to Power, which is a retelling the original story, Eighter is killed by Commander Black, which triggers Goku’s rage and subsequent crushing of the Red Ribbon Army.
Like Eighter, Android 16 is another Gero creation that lacks the will to engage in combat. Android 16’s pacifism (except when it comes to Goku) was likely built into him by the mad scientist, who modeled him after his late son, Gevo. 16 has a similar impact on Goku’s son, Gohan, as Eighter did for the former, and like with Android 8, 16’s death at the hands of Cell cause Gohan to unlock a whole new tier of his power. What’s interesting about this development is that 16 is simply 8 twice, and in theDragon Ballnarrative, these two androids are best remembered for their development as unwilling combatants and lovers of nature, which reinforces the aforementioned mathematics. There are several androids introduced throughout the series, and in the currentDragon Ball Supermangaarc, Gero’s grandson Hedo has been introduced alongside a small legion of Androids whose designations are in the format Greek letter-dash-number, such as Gamma 1 and Gamma 2. The thing is, these new designations aren’t exactly that different from Gero’s original numbers. In fact, Hedo’s androids are continuing the counter.
Gematria
The Hebrew written language consisted of 22 letters, which were each assigned a numerical value based on an alphanumerical cipher. This practice, known as “gematria”, would go on to have variations based on the Greek alphabet, the English (Roman alphabet) and others. The Greek written language has been in use since the 8th or 9th centuries, and like with Hebrew, the Greeks had their own system for assigning the alphabet numerical value, referred to as “isopsephy” – the practice of adding up the numerical values of letters in a word or phrase and coming up with a single value. The new androids created by Hedo have Greek letters in their designations, and the two introduced inDragon Ball Super: Super Heroare of the “Gamma” line of Hedo’s androids (an Alpha and Beta line are introduced inDragon Ball Superchapters 88 and 89).Gamma is the third letter of the Greek alphabet, meaning that its isopsephical value would be 3 – meaning that androids “Gamma 1” and “Gamma 2” could also be understood as androids “3-1” and “3-2”. If this pattern is to be taken to its logical conclusion, it would then make them Androids 31 and 32 respectively.
Multiplied
The consequence of this reading of Gamma 2 as Android 32 would then add a new layer of context to his heroism in the final stages ofDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, especially with how his sacrifice became the trigger that unleashed Son Gohan Beast. The movie’s set up of Gohan’s ascension was a reference to his achievement of the Super Saiyan 2 transformation during the Cell Saga, in which Android 16’s demise at the hands of Cell pushed him over the edge. Now, inDragon Ball Super: Super Hero, faced with the same enemy, Gohan witnesses his friends in the middle of a hopeless situation, and watches a new (android) ally be permanently shut down by some iteration of Cell, which in turn become the catalyst of a wholenew level of powerfor the Saiyan hybrid.
Gamma 2 being “Android 32”, with 32 being a multiple of 8 and 16, the designations of two notable androids in theDragon Ballnarrative who were known for their kindness, lines up with his ultimate sacrifice, which is also based in Hedo’s superhero programming. Gamma 2’s heroism and disgust at discovering the true alignment of his activities under Magenta. Like 16, Gamma 2 puts up an offensive against Semi-Perfect Cell (Max), putting his entire life into a powerful charged tackle that destroys the gigantified Cell’s left arm. Like with the death of 16, Cell tries to stomp on the weakened android to fully destroy him, but Piccolo intervenes, allowing Gamma 1 to retrieve his brother’s body. Gamma 2 being Android 32 would also serve as a continuation of the trend of androids with designations that are multiples of 8 being peace-loving, “good” androids despite theevil or misaligned intentionsof their creator, and given that his death pushed Gohan beyond his limits in a way that was reminiscent of the death of Android 16, but with greater stakes, hence “32”.
