Sergeant Major Purple

Ninja operative of the Red Ribbon Army.

Sergeant Major Purple is a ninja operative of the Red Ribbon Army who serves under General White at the northern stronghold known as Muscle Tower. He and his four identical brothers are deployed against Goku during his assault on the facility. Purple is one of several specialized forces the army uses to defend its installations.

Quick Facts

Affiliation: Red Ribbon Army
Rank: Sergeant Major

Facts from the source article.

Did You Know?

General Blue has special telekinetic abilities that allow him to paralyze others and control objects.
Doctor Gero eventually implants his own brain into a replica of his body and calls himself Android 20.

Mercenary Tao {{anchor|Taopaipai}}

Mercenary Tao, known as General Tao in some English dubs, is a professional assassin who the Red Ribbon Army hires to kill Goku and take his Dragon Balls. He is the younger sibling of Master Shen, the Crane Hermit, who is Master Roshi's lifelong rival. Tao wears a distinctive pink gi that has the kanji for "kill" on the front and the English phrase "KILL YOU!" on the back. He kills General Blue using only his tongue, murders Bora the guardian of Korin Tower with Bora's own spear, and appears to kill Goku.

After winning their first fight and taking most of Goku's Dragon Balls, Goku challenges him again after gaining new strength from Korin. Tao is caught in the blast from his own grenade and is believed dead. Master Shen later enters his students Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu into the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament, ordering them to hurt and kill Goku and Master Roshi's other students to avenge his brother. Tao is later revealed to have survived and been turned into a cyborg using the money from his past assassination jobs.

He enters the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament backed by Master Shen, but is easily beaten by Tien Shinhan, his brother's former student. In the anime, Tao appears again in filler episodes during Dragon Ball Z's fifth season. In Japanese, Chikao Ōtsuka voices him in Dragon Ball and Yukimasa Kishino in Dragon Ball Z. In the Ocean dub, Scott McNeil provides his voice, while in the Funimation dub, Kent Williams, who also voices Dr. Gero, plays the role.

Android 17

Android 17, also known by his real name Lapis, is a Red Ribbon Android built by Doctor Gero. He and his sister, Android 18, were unleashed as a last-ditch effort to stop Goku’s friends, but they turned on their creator and killed him. The pair then set out to find Goku, but 17 was later absorbed by Cell. He was revived when the Dragon Balls brought back everyone Cell had killed. By the time of Dragon Ball Super, 17 works as a forest ranger on a remote island that shelters rare animals. He is married and has three children, two of whom are adopted. Recruited for Team Universe 7 in the Tournament of Power, 17 secured the victory for his team. Using his wish on the Super Dragon Balls, he asked for all the universes erased during the tournament to be restored.

Akira Toriyama created 17 and 18 after his editor, Kazuhiko Torishima, disliked Androids 19 and 20 as the planned villains soon after they appeared. A brief cameo by 17 during the Boo arc was originally meant for Lunch, a character who does not appear in the second half of the manga. Toriyama revealed 17’s real name, Lapis, in 2014.

In all Japanese media, Shigeru Nakahara voices Android 17. In the English Funimation dub, Chuck Huber provides the voice. Huber considered 17 his biggest role, noting that nobody liked Garlic Jr. as much as they liked Android 17. He called the role his easiest and a “voice actor vacation,” because director Christopher Sabat told him not to put on a voice and to speak in a calmer dialect. Huber personally described the character as a “giant jerk,” though he still liked him for that trait.

Android 16

Android 16 is a massive, purely mechanical android built in the image of Gevo, Dr. Gero’s son, who was a high-ranking Red Ribbon Army soldier killed by an enemy bullet in an unknown battle. Gero considered 16 a failure and kept him deactivated until Android 18 turned him back on and set him free. Unlike 17 and 18, 16 has a built-in system that can sense and track power levels instantly. He does not enjoy fighting, unlike his fellow androids, and strictly follows his programming: find and kill Goku.

Despite his intimidating size and cold exterior, 16 is gentle and friendly, much like Android 8. He cares about humanity and nature, seeing Cell as a destructive evil that threatens both. While trying to shield 17 and 18 from Cell, 16 is heavily damaged, but Bulma and her father repair him. After that repair, he puts his mission to kill Goku on hold to help fight Cell.

Like 17 and 18, 16 was built with a self-destruct function, but it was removed during his repairs. This fact only comes to light when 16 attempts to blow himself up to destroy Cell, but Cell retaliates and destroys him instead. However, 16’s head and consciousness survive, only for Cell to crush them. This act pushes Gohan over the edge, triggering his transformation into Super Saiyan 2, the power needed to defeat Cell.

In Japanese media, 16 is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa; in the Ocean dub, by Scott McNeil; and in the Funimation dub, by Jeremy Inman.

Android 21

Android 21 first appears in the main story of the video game Dragon Ball FighterZ. She is introduced as a mysterious scientist working for the Red Ribbon Army, linked to a strange anomaly that drains power from Dragon Ball characters and spawns hostile clones of them. Over the course of the game's three story arcs, her backstory and true nature are slowly uncovered, and she serves as the final boss in each arc. Like Cell, Android 21 is a Bio-Android built from the genetic material of many powerful fighters, giving her immense strength, endurance, and speed.

She has two forms with different personalities: a human-like form with a kind disposition, and a true form resembling Majin Buu, with pink skin and similar clothing, driven by a malevolent desire to consume all life. She can fly and fire energy beams using her ki. Much like Buu, she can turn objects or living beings into sweets and other confections by shooting them with an energy beam, feeding her insatiable hunger. She can also copy and use the abilities of others by stabbing them with an energy blade projected from her hand.

After completing the story mode, she becomes a playable character for all game modes. A second playable version, featuring her human design and lab coat, was added as downloadable content in February 2022. Android 21 and the cloned enemies from Dragon Ball FighterZ appear in the animated opening of the Super Dragon Ball Heroes: World Mission update for the Dragon Ball Heroes digital card game, but have not yet appeared in the promotional anime itself.

She also appears in other games, including 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 Vomi, the wife of Dr. Gero and the mother of Gevo, who served as the model for Android 16. Vomi is briefly seen during a media presentation by senior members of the rebuilt Red Ribbon Army, as they try to recruit her surviving grandson, Dr. Hedo.