Power Rangers’ Best Villain Wasn’t From Super Sentai

Despite how the Power Rangers franchise draws much of its material from the Japanese series Super Sentai, the series’ best villain is not from its parent show. Power Rangers features a lot of enemies, some of which hail from its monster-of-the-week format, while others have more staying power. Oftentimes, Power Rangers pulls its weekly villains from the Super Sentai series, but then develops its ultimate antagonist for each season independently. This has allowed the series to tailor its cultural impact in America separate from its roots in Japan, helping make the Power Rangers franchise what it is today.

At its most basic level, each Power Rangers season tells the story of a group of people, often teenagers, chosen to battle the forces of evil by transforming into master combatants with signature weapons and robots. Each Ranger team faces its own weekly and season-arc villains, although the most popular antagonists also often return in each season along with the Rangers. This precedent was first set with the original release of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993, when the series first introduced Lord Zedd (Robert Axelrod), Emperor of Evil in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 2.

Lord Zedd Was Power Rangers’ First Original Villain

While Lord Zedd has become one of the hallmark antagonists of the Power Rangers franchise, he has also earned his laurels as the series’ first original villain. Prior to his introduction in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 2, the main antagonist was Rita Repulsa, whose character is based on and dubbed from the evil sorceress Bandora (Machiko Soga) in the Super Sentai season Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. While Lord Zedd would later be followed by new villains such as the pirate queen Divatox (Hilary Shepard), few have become as synonymous with evil in the universe as him.

Lord Zedd Was Power Rangers’ Best Villain (Because He Changed The Tone)

As the first new villain for the Power Rangers, Lord Zedd has been a hallmark antagonist of the series for years. This is largely because his introduction allowed the series’ producers to take the show in a different direction, even while following the main plot of its Japanese counterpart. To distinguish Power Rangers from Super Sentai, Lord Zedd changed the tone of the show by upping the ante for what a Power Rangers villain could be. The respect and fear he commanded brought a gravitas to the show, and his darker, gothic design that seemed like muscle and bone signaled that the Power Rangers would be challenged like never before.

Even more so, the Power Rangers Lord Zedd distinguishes himself as a more serious villain by being willing to use more brutality and targeted attacks against the Rangers. His monsters were stronger and more resilient against the heroes, forcing the Rangers to search for other ways to even the playing field. Additionally, Lord Zedd introduced an element of nuance to his plans by attacking the Rangers from a variety of angles, including manipulation, trickery, and personal attacks that were more vindictive than the villainous plans that came before.