Artificial Human No. 17

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"Alright. Have it your way pal. But I suggest you loosen up before you rust."
— Artificial Human No. 17 in "Deadly Beauty"

Artificial Human No. 17 (人造 人間 十匕号, Jinzō Ningen Jūnana-Gō; FUNimation "Android No. 17") is Doctor Gero's seventeenth creation. No. 17 is designed to serve Gero's vendetta against Son Goku, who overthrows the Red Ribbon Army as a child. Despite his interests not deviating from this mission, No. 17 takes it upon himself to murder Gero, who is uncooperative with Artificial Human No. 18's curiosity in activating Artificial Human No. 16.

Appearance and personality

Future No. 17 and Future No. 18

No. 17 had shoulder-length black hair and blue eyes. Underneath his hair, he had two gold hoop earrings. Around his neck, he wore an orange bandanna. He wore a short sleeve black shirt with the Red Ribbon Army's logo, and underneath, he wore a long sleeve white shirt. He wore a belt to hold up his blue jeans which have a tear just above the knee of the left leg. Just below the first belt, he wore another belt with a gun holster and another pouch. No. 17 wore green socks and blue and white shoes. During his cameo in the Buu Saga, he wore a blue jacket, and during the Super 17 Saga, he wore a tan, knee-length jacket.

Initially a reckless anarchist, 17 later revealed himself to be more than a rebel without a cause. When he was revived by Shen Long because of a wish that restored both the lives of all of Cell's victims and all the damage caused during the Cell Games, No. 17 went on to live a life of peace in obscurity. At the end of Dragon Ball Z, 17 provided energy for Goku's Super Spirit Bomb to destroy Kid Buu. He reappears in Dragon Ball GT when scientists Gero and Dr. Myu brainwash him telepathically and he is eventually merged with Hell Fighter 17, a Machine Mutant version of himself created by the scientists in Hell. Yet even without the ability to maintain his mind, No. 17 still exhibits some of his sensitivity, especially towards his twin sister. This is in stark contrast to his alternate self from Future Trunks's timeline, where he is a murderous sociopath who cares for no one but himself and No. 18. No. 17 is considered a part of the Z Warriors, mainly because he has killed sinister characters such as Dr. Gero (twice) and Dr. Myu; and he has helped to defeat other major villains such as Cell and Buu. While under control, he forced his transformed-self to reveal his own weak point, thus allowing Goku to kill him.

No. 17's strongest personal trait is his sense of self. He does his best to resist the will of Dr. Gero (or later, Dr. Myu), and fights a futile battle against Imperfect Cell to assert his identity and his pride. He has an energy pistol which sees use by Future No. 17 against Humans, although it is assumed to be generally ineffective against the likes of the Z Warriors. This pistol can be seen holstered to his character model in the video game Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3.

Biography

Early life

No. 17 is the first Artificial Human designed by Dr. Gero to be created by fitting a human being with cybernetics. As a mortal man, he and his twin sister Lazuli (the eventual No. 18) were runaways whom Gero kidnapped and conducted experiments on, resulting in their transformation into cyborgs. Gero's blueprints for No. 17 in the Funimation dub of the Imperfect Cell Saga suggest otherwise however, instead citing that No. 17 and No. 18 "are made up of organic substances padded after human cells". On the other hand, aside from nothing there suggesting that the human cells cited couldn't be their own original human cells, every other account of the series, including biography sections within video games and a piece in a later saga within the same dub, agree with the former. In the Japanese equivalent of this scene, Bulma, as she looks over No. 17's blueprints, explains he "has been almost entirely remodeled with just organic components".

Betraying Gero

No. 17 betraying and murdering Gero.

No. 17 and his twin sister No. 18 are awakened by their "creator", Dr. Gero, when he is pressed into a desperate situation by the Z Warriors, who have surpassed his expectations because of the intense training they endured after Dr. Gero collected their statistic data. Greatly disloyal to Dr. Gero in contrast to the Android models which precede himself and his sister, No. 17 turns rogue on the scientist, impaling and decapitating him. No. 17 and No. 18 proceed to activate No. 16 and decide to challenge Goku not because they have been commanded to do so, but merely as a form of entertainment.

When Vegeta (as a Super Saiyan) intercepts the trio, No. 17 and No. 18 implore No. 16 to step in and fight interested to see him in action (their main purpose for activating him in the first place). No. 16, however, refuses to fight him, thus prompting No. 18 to volunteer. When Future Trunks, Kuririn, Piccolo, and Tenshinhan arrive as Vegeta's reinforcement, No. 17 hopefully takes the opportunity to ask if No. 16 will join the fight, though as he initially assumed No. 16 once again opts not to. At the conclusion of the encounter, thanks to Trunks breaking 17's non-interference truce when he could not bear to see Vegeta injured by No. 18, everyone is rendered incapacitated besides Kuririn, who is spared so that he may see the others healed by Senzu. This is one of many examples that sets No. 17 (as well as No. 18) apart from his future timeline counterpart, especially considering they are much stronger in the mainstream timeline than in Future Trunks's timeline.

Unlikely alliance With Piccolo

No. 17 preparing to fight Piccolo.
No. 17 being absorbed by Imperfect Cell.

Piccolo (after fusing with Kami) challenges No. 17 hoping that he can defeat at least one of them and prevent Imperfect Cell from absorbing just one of his targets. No. 17 accepted Piccolo's challenge and contends to fighting Piccolo one-on-one rather than fight with No. 18; this vastly increasing Piccolo's chance to win. Piccolo appears to have the upper hand in the battle; until No. 17 confesses that up until now he hasn't been taking their struggle seriously. Once both choose to go at full power, they find that they are an even match. Equal in both power and strength; No. 17 having an advantage because of his unlimited energy and speed, and Piccolo matching that with his regeneration and variety of energy attacks (Scatter Shot, Light Grenade, as well as other attacks).

The fight is an apparent draw until Cell's arrival interrupts the match (ironically, Cell is able to detect Android 17 through the nearby presence of Piccolo, who had engaged No. 17 in an effort to impede Cell's progression to perfection). Piccolo assists No. 17 in avoiding Cell and 17 thanks him in return. This makes #17 the first of the three androids to join forces with the Z Warriors. While Piccolo tries to aid in the battle against Cell, he is tossed aside after Cell admits to have become stronger. Struggling to defend himself, Android 16 steps in to fight Imperfect Cell. 16 is able to hold Imperfect Cell off for some time, repeatedly surprising him with intense attacks such as the Blasters Fire! beam cannons. However, this sudden turning of tables creates an overconfidence in Android 17, who lingers to the scene of the battle, where the wounded but thriving Cell surprises and ultimately absorbs him, triggering his transformation into Semi-Perfect Cell.

All evidence of No. 17 is destroyed along with Cell's initial body, when Cell detonates himself as a last ditch effort to emerge victorious in the Cell Games (as his design allows him to regenerate so long as a single cell of him remains intact). However, 17's life is restored after the Z Warriors use the Dragon Balls to revive those who died as a result of Cell's campaign. A second wish made to Shenron by Krillin removes the self-destruct device within No. 17's and No. 18's bodies (Kuririn originally intends to use the wish to turn 17 and his sister into Humans, but this proves beyond Shenron's power). In the manga, Shenron states he cannot restore their humanity because their strength is greater than his.

Life in obscurity

No. 17's brief cameo during the Kid Buu Saga.

No. 17 makes a brief appearance in the manga and Dragon Ball Z episode "People of Earth Unite" during the Kid Boo Saga, while Goku gathers energy for a Spirit Bomb, in an effort to defeat Kid Buu. No. 17, apparently a vagabond in a mountainous region, is walking down a forest trail when he recognizes Goku's voice, then encounters two hunters passing through. No. 17 raises his rifle to trick the two into raising their hands, unaware that they are supplying Goku with their energy. To the hunters' confusion, the android smiles and proclaims, "You beat me to it", before raising one of his own hands. The manga-equivalent of this scene does not feature 17 encountering the hunters; he merely raises his hands to pass on his energy.

Prior to this scene, Kid Boo had previously destroyed the Earth with his Planet Burst technique, killing 17 again along with nearly everyone else. While fighting Kid Boo on the Sacred World of the Kais, Vegeta asks Dende to make a wish to Porunga for the Earth and the lives of all its good-willed inhabitants to be restored. The fact that 17 was not exempt from this wish, as confirmed by his appearance, is proof of 17's inherent goodness.

Super No. 17

No. 17 confronting his sister during the Super 17 Saga.
Hell Fighter No. 17 fusing with No. 17.

In Dragon Ball GT, No. 17 does not appear in the Baby Saga but is presumed that he was possessed by Baby and later cured by the Sacred Water. He was presumed to have also been sent to Planet Tuffle before Earth's destruction. Dr. Gero and fallen colleague Mu brainwashed No. 17 telepathically via Hell Fighter 17, a Machine Mutant version of himself created by the two scientists in Hell with the design of merging with him into the ultimate killing machine. Before merging, No. 17 asked No. 18 to join him, a gesture which she mindlessly obeyed until a fatal attack on Krillin brought No. 18 back to reality, causing her to attack her brother. Seeing what she had done, he then targeted Marron so that he could gain full control of No. 18, but No. 18 defended her daughter from No. 17's energy wave, leaving her in a critical condition. No. 17 located his Hell Fighter 17 counterpart and the two finally merged becoming Super No. 17 (スーパー 17号, Sūpā Jūnana-Gō).

The Z Warriors were shocked by the transformation until Vegeta attacked him, resulting in being knocked back by one punch. Majuub then tried in vain, followed by Goten and Trunks who attempted a combined attack to no avail. Son Gohan then tries a Kamehame-Ha which does absolutely nothing to the super Artificial Human (it was absorbed). Dr. Gero then told Super 17 to demonstrate his true power, which led him to strike down every Z Warrior, again using only a single hit. The Saiyans then assumed their Super Saiyan forms, but Super 17 released a Flash Bomb weakening them enough to revert from Super Saiyan. Pan's ploy to have Gero bring No. 17 to a halt was ruined when Mu revealed his programming placed him in full control of the super Artificial Human, and so Super 17 killed Gero for the second time. Piccolo and Dende created a gateway between Hell and Earth allowing Goku to escape and confront Super 17 before any other Z Warriors could be killed. Goku was later joined by No. 18, whose appearance reminded No. 17 of both his own and Mu's true nature, contributing to the ends of both Mu (who was killed by No. 17's Electro Eclipse Bomb) and Super 17 himself.

As is revealed after the end of the fight, the real No. 17's psyche gives the Z Warriors a chance to destroy the super Artificial Human, and both No. 17 and Hell Fighter 17 in the process, by taking complete control of the body of Super 17 and powering up as No. 18 was launching shots of energy. This revealed to Goku that Super 17 could not simultaneously move while absorbing energy, thus leaving him vulnerable to physical attacks. It was then that Goku used the Super Dragon Fist technique to literally punch his way through Super 17, with the resulting hole rendering him unable to absorb the ensuing barrage of multiple Kamehame-Ha, finally killing him.

According to Dragon Ball GT: Pāfekuto Fairu Vol. 2, Goku's final request of Shenron at the conclusion of Dragon Ball GT to restore the lives of those who didn't deserve to die between the Super 17 and Shadow Dragon sagas revived No. 17.

There is some debate as to whether or not No. 17 and his sister are still alive 100 years after the events of Dragon Ball GT (particularly during the time of the 64th World Martial Arts Tournament and the events of the special A Hero's Legacy). While Dr. Gero states that the process of reconfiguring the siblings into cyborgs has made the two immortal, this is contradicted by the special A Hero's Legacy, where it is narrated that Pan is the only character remaining from the generation of the original Z Warriors.

Video games

Abilities

Android 17 is one of the most powerful fighters in the world, due to the cybernetic enhancements Dr. Gero gave him, including an unlimited supply of energy, allowing him to have endless stamina and not tire out in a fight. He was powerful enough to be an even match for Piccolo after he fused with Kami. Besides his power, Gero's android technology effectively makes 17 immune to aging. Android 17 is slightly below Android 18's power but was on par with Piccolo (fused with Kami) until Piccolo went into the ROSAT (Room of Spirt and Time) then the Namekian surpassed 17, however 17 still is a powerfull fighter and remains much stronger then the average Super Saiyan. It was verified by Akira Toriyama that a flaw in his programming made him weaker than he was initially meant to be.

Special abilities

Future No. 17 firing his Finger Beam.
  • Accel Dance - No. 17 and his twin, No. 18, double team with a combo of punches and kicks, ending with a barrage of energy attacks. No. 17's alternate timeline counterpart and alternate future sister use it to kill Future Son Gohan in Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks, and it is also No. 17's ultimate move in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3.
  • Android Barrier - A technique where energy is thrust out from the body in the form of a barrier with great force. The barrier can be used to both defend against oncoming projectiles and to expand and damage its surroundings, used in Dragon Ball Z and several video games.
  • Energy Attack - The most basic form of energy wave used by androids.
  • Finger Beam - A barrage of narrow rays emitted from the index finger of its user, similar in execution to the Death Beam, which alternate future self and his sister use in The History of Trunks special.
  • Finish Sign - This is a power up move that No. 17 used in the Budokai Tenkaichi video game series and Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.
  • Flight - The ability to fly without the use of ki.
  • Full Power Energy Ball - Android 17's alternate future self used it on Future Gohan in The History of Trunks. Android 17 uses this attack in the Budokai Tenkaichi series and in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.
  • Kiai - Android 17 uses a special type kiai blast that explodes on contact with the opponent, whereas a regular kiai would just blow the opponent away. He uses this attack instead of actual energy attacks during his fight with Piccolo.
  • Photon Flash - a technique his alternate future self uses against Future Trunks in The History of Trunks special. It is a ball of energy similar to the Big Bang Attack, which is charged until it reaches a size larger than its user's body, where it is then emitted from the hand of its user. 17's alternate future self prepares to kill Future Trunks using this technique, but is stopped at the intervention of his sister's alternate future self.
  • Power Blitz - A strong energy wave fired from the palm of his hand. It can be launched as a single energy wave, concentrated into a ball of Ki or volleyed in a rapid barrage of energy waves named the Accel Shot. This is the signature finishing move for No. 17 and No. 18 in the Budokai video game series.
  • Endgame - A powerful physical technique. He used this technique to kill Dr. Gero.
  • Now We're Playing for Keeps! is an attack that Android 17 used in Dragon Ball: Raging Blast.

Voice actors

Trivia

  • Android 17 is the only Android of the trio never to meet Goku (both in the manga and anime since Goku met Super 17, not the original 17). It is possible, however, that he might have met Goku at some after the Buu saga.
  • In the Buu saga, Android 17 is seen mentioning how he recognizes Goku's voice not meeting yet in the series. However, it is most likely possible that he was program to know Goku's voice by Dr. Gero.
  • His super finishing move in Budokai Tenkaichi 3 is identical to what his and 18's future counterparts do to Future Gohan to kill him.
  • In Dragon Ball GT, Trunks recognizes Android 17 when he attacks him. This seems impossible, though, because Trunks was a baby when 17 was activated and never saw him. It is possible, however, that he could have met him in the 7 year time period between the Cell and Buu Sagas, the 10 year time period between Kid Buu's death and the 28th Tenkaichi Tournament, at some prior to the Super 17 Saga in Dragon Ball GT, or that one of the Z Warriors told Trunks about him.
  • Android 17 is revealed to be a very adept driver despite having no prior experience. He easily manages the stolen truck while driving off-road and successfully gave a group of motorcycle bandits the slip by luring them into an oncoming train and swerving at the last second. This may be explained due to Gero's designs (Gero may have given 17 the ability to maneuver and operate vehicles). On the other hand, it may be explained due to 17's previous human life before being turned into an android along with 18. 17 may have known how to drive during his human existence.
  • In Tenkaichi 3, Chi-Chi says 17 is the younger twin.
    • Since 17 had to have been transformed and rechristened with a number first based on having the earlier number of the two twins, this would indeed confirm that they were siblings as humans.

 
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