Power Rangersfeatures some of the great villains of the 90s. Rita Repulsa’s epic goals, crossed with her petty cruelty, made her endlessly compelling. Paul Freeman’s Ivan Ooze remains one of the best scenery-chewing performances to grace the big screen. Most seasons introduce new all-powerful antagonists, but they often share tactics. One of their favorite methods involves constructing Evil Power Rangers to combat the good ones.
Most antagonists share traits with the heroes they fight. Various children’s entertainment uses theconcept of evil doppelgängersor villains briefly stealing superpowers. It’s a fun way to demonstrate the hero’s virtues beyond their physical abilities or promote creativity in a team used to relying on their strengths. Though the Evil Knockoff trope is routine in the genre,Super SentaiandPower Rangersare poster children for its use.
What are Evil Rangers?
Evil Rangers are a broad group of malevolent equivalents to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.Villains like Lord Zeddand Rita Repulsa recruit and arm them in various ways to fight Zordon’s teens with attitude. Their favorite method is creating imitations through cloning. They’re typically the series' traditional henchmen in disguise, somehow wielding similar powers to fight on the same level as their foes. Though this was routine, it was far from the only way to get Evil Rangers. Several other examples involved finding a group of ne’er do well teens to empower. Those bullies and delinquents would fight for the villain justas the Power Rangersfought for Zordon. Antagonists have used everything from robots to magic spells to create their Evil Rangers.
The most famous Evil Ranger is likely Tommy Oliver. Tommy was a transfer student to Angel Grove who demonstrated martial arts mastery rivaling the local pros. When Rita Repulsa spotted him, she resolved to use him as a tool. She brainwashed him before arming him with a secret sixth Power Coin.Tommy became the Green Ranger, one of the Power Rangers' deadliest foes. In their first encounter, Tommy nearly killed Jason, the original Red Ranger. Jason helped Tommy escape Rita’s spell. After some time on his own, Tommy became the White Ranger, the first Sixth Ranger. He would go on to become the longest-serving Ranger in franchise history.
Notable Evil Ranger Teams
The lion’s share of Evil Ranger teams are one-off antagonists created to play out a near-identical plot. Most earn no name beyond attaching the word “Evil"to their nemesis' title. The first Evil Ranger team was called the “Evil Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.” They were disguised putty patrollers led by a shapeshifting alien called Twin Man. Rita Repulsa deployed them into Angel Grove to ruin the Power Rangers' reputation. Their reign was short-lived, as the original Rangers defeated them in combat. That’s thefate of most examples. They’re created for a similar purpose and summarily slain. Some are, however, more engaging. Here’s a short list of fun iterations:
Countless teams appear for an episode or two, but every Evil Ranger team is a little different.
What Happens to Evil Rangers?
The first two examples tell most of the stories. Evil Rangers routinely turn good. Those that don’t tend to be destroyed in combat with theirmorally righteous counterparts. Brainwashed Rangers almost always escape their capture and become allies. Most Evil Ranger teams only exist for an episode or two. The Psycho Rangers only earned their extended tenure through their excellent design. Most are weekly villains alongside any other minor creation.
Evil Rangers are often fascinating antagonists in any givenPower Rangersseries. Most of the villains appear as weekly one-off enemies to make use ofSuper Sentai material. It’s easy to retrofit Ranger gear into a new evil form, allowing almost every series to borrow the idea. Evil Rangers might feel similar, but there’s more to them than a change of costumes.
