Was Cell's power predetermined?

[SSJ2]

For example if Imperfect Cell absorbed every human on earth, then absorbed Android 17, would Semi Perfect Cell have been stronger as a result?

 

[Spiral-Force]

Depends on how seriously we take the antagonist POV. Gero and Cell treated cyborg absorption as the ultimate pathway for dominance. Under that framework, you could conclude that human gains reach diminishing returns by the time Cell's strong enough to overwhelm 17 & 18.

 

[Cell-Max]

Depends on how seriously we take the antagonist POV. Gero and Cell treated cyborg absorption as the ultimate pathway for dominance. Under that framework, you could conclude that human gains reach diminishing returns by the time Cell's strong enough to overwhelm 17 & 18.

Gero's absorption capabilities seem to just recharge his batteries as he's not running on the same mechanism 17 and 18 are.

Imperfect Cell seemingly grows stronger each time he absorbs enough humans, getting to a new threshold of power.

Android 19 or Android 20 don't ever cross from one power boundary (Imperfect Cell arguably being around SSJ Vegeta level) to another (Android 16 level). And, depending on how strong you believe 16 is the gap could be monumental.

Furthermore, Imperfect Cell never stopped absorbing people because of diminishing returns. Instead, it was because he wasn't going to miss his opportunity to absorb the twins. They don't have a power signature so finding them was incredibly difficult for him.

 

[Very fast Coconut]

Of course he would have been even stronger. If absorbing Android 17 would've set him at a certain power level then if he absorbed every human on earth he would lose power after absorbing 17. Obviously every human combined would be a higher power level than Android 17.

And don't forget there are some strong humans like Hercule Mr. Satan Mister Roshi and I'm 100% sure there are are strong humans that we never got to see. We in our world have people like Mike Tyson and Brock Lesnar and you know that in DBZ they also have people like that. If Cell absorbed all of them not only would his power level reach insane levels but remember he also learns the skills of people he absorbed. He would know every fighting style like Muay Thai and BJJ he would know every kick every punch. Cell would basically be beyond Ultra Instinct just by the sheer amount of skill alone.

 

[Spiral-Force]

Gero's absorption capabilities seem to just recharge his batteries as he's not running on the same mechanism 17 and 18 are.

Imperfect Cell seemingly grows stronger each time he absorbs enough humans, getting to a new threshold of power.

Android 19 or Android 20 don't ever cross from one power boundary (Imperfect Cell arguably being around SSJ Vegeta level) to another (Android 16 level). And, depending on how strong you believe 16 is the gap could be monumental.

Furthermore, Imperfect Cell never stopped absorbing people because of diminishing returns. Instead, it was because he wasn't going to miss his opportunity to absorb the twins. They don't have a power signature so finding them was incredibly difficult for him.

The idea of non-diminishing returns would be another concept you can throw into the mix.
There's no hard and fast rule with this aspect of Cell, so I'm treating it as more of an idea-based discussion. Cell himself was surprised about what his post-perfect self was capable of, since he didn't expect he could come back stronger.

There's also the idea of Cell getting stronger through traditional training; benefiting from Saiyan and Frieza cells to bolster development.

If Cell didn't have to worry about timing, do you think a flourishing Imperfect Cell (taking advantage of all strength-gaining resources before getting to 17/18) that scales beyond his canon perfect self would still make proportional gains from 17/18 absorption?

(btw: my mention of Gero was about what he and Cell envisioned about Cell's cyborg absorption (i.e. absorbing the twins to reach untouchable power)

 

[Cell-Max]

The idea of non-diminishing returns would be another concept you can throw into the mix.
There's no hard and fast rule with this aspect of Cell, so I'm treating it as more of an idea-based discussion. Cell himself was surprised about what his post-perfect self was capable of, since he didn't expect he could come back stronger.

There's also the idea of Cell getting stronger through traditional training; benefiting from Saiyan and Frieza cells to bolster development.

If Cell didn't have to worry about timing, do you think a flourishing Imperfect Cell (taking advantage of all strength-gaining resources before getting to 17/18) that scales beyond his canon perfect self would still make proportional gains from 17/18 absorption?

(btw: my mention of Gero was about what he and Cell envisioned about Cell's cyborg absorption (i.e. absorbing the twins to reach untouchable power)

If you look at it that way, you could argue either side. I saw this as a debate and responded that way. My apologies.

I now wonder if Cell would still be able to absorb the twins if he was unable to get stronger than he was initially, and if he was, what techniques he would use?