My Thoughts On The Power Rangers 2017 Movie (WARNING – SPOILERS)

Well, I WAS going to do a vlog about the movie. Unfortunately, there are new tenants upstairs from where I live with little kids who like to run around a lot, so I opted to write about it instead. lol So, here they are, my written thoughts on the new Power Rangers movie, having just gotten home from seeing it with N. Harmonik.

Okay, I know that we live in the age where saying this sounds like an insult, but I thought the movie was GOOD. It’s not great, but it’s good and it’s fun to sit back and enjoy. And, believe it or not, THAT’S OKAY. I’m sick of people who take someone saying that something is good but not great as an insult. But yes, this movie is good. The best way to describe it is being dumb yet fun and ultimately harmless. And I will admit to being worried about it, particularly after finding out that Billy would be autistic and Trini would be gay. Why would that bother me? Because, if you’ll lean in real close so I can share a little secret with you: I’M ON BOTH THOSE SPECTRUMS…I know, I just revealed the best kept secret in the flipping world. I’ll give you all a moment to recover mentally. lol But anyway, my point is, with how very Bay-esque this movie was coming off in the trailers, I was worried the decision to make them autistic and LGBTQ would be simply to play up the stereotypes of both and have those BE their character traits. Thankfully, though, I think we may have dodged the bullet on that one. In fact, if I may be so bold, the reason I think this movie is actually better than both the Transformers and TMNT movies going on right now has a lot to do with the characters and our ability to actually LIKE them. And, that being the case, let’s go over each one, shall we?

The first thing you gotta know about the characters is that, while they’re people we can relate to and get on board with, they’re also very much delinquents. Jason, for example, finds himself in trouble after a prank gone wrong, to the point where he’s under house arrest. However, he’s still a good person, as shown when he stands up to a bully to protect Billy. He’s also the one who decides to go with being a Power Ranger first, much like his TV counterpart. I should also note that he’s not a martial artist, but rather a football player. In fact, none of the team go in being at all experienced in martial arts, and have to be trained by Alpha 5 (who is thankfully more adept than the TV version, or that would’ve ended horribly). However, he nonetheless comes off as the physically strongest (even after they get their powers) and seems to take on a leadership role rather easily. I did love how he at one point says they should stop pretending to be superheroes and then IMMEDIATELY goes into a superhero team leader speech. 😛

Zack is…the crazy one. No, seriously, that’s pretty much his character. He’s the more reckless of the team, opting to try and pilot his Zord before being able to morph, is all too willing to try and test the limits of his enhanced strength and leaping ability, and even gets into a fight with Jason at one point. However, he’s also the one to come up with the idea of sharing secrets around a fire as a means to help them get closer. And it turns out he might have a reason for his recklessness: His mother is dying, and he doesn’t know what to do with himself and his life when she goes. But, by the end, he finds he does have something more to live for: His friends. He also feels a connection to Trini, doing all he can to keep her with the group and helping her open up about herself. I’m not sure if that’s because he’s crushing on her hard or what, but the point stands that he gets her to be herself with the team.

Billy was honestly the one I was most concerned about since pretty much the first trailer. Of everyone presented, you could instantly tell through him that these were NOT going to be the same characters as we’ve known since 1993. And yes, that’s absolutely true, these are NOT your 90s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. However, here’s the thing you need to remember: That doesn’t automatically make these characters BAD. In fact, if I can be thoroughly honest, these characters are 100x more developed and interesting than the originals were in the beginning. They developed into much more well-rounded characters over time, but in the beginning? Not so much. And no, Billy’s character is not that he’s autistic. It’s a part of who he is, but it’s not his character, and as someone with Asperger’s Syndrome and having worked with people all up and down the autism spectrum, I was not offended at all by his character. Right from the beginning, he’s the one who values his new friendships the most, and because of that, he’s the first one to morph, albeit briefly. He also has a MAJOR moment late in the movie that…well, let’s just say I did NOT see it coming, but I honestly thought worked perfectly. Also, if you’re wondering, he’s in detention for blowing up his lunch box. Seriously. XD

Ahh, Trini, my first love. Which is why learning she’s LGBTQ in this movie is hilarious to me personally. lol And, much like Billy, her being gay is not her character. And while I was worried they might’ve only done that just so that they could have Rita go succubus mode on her, really, there’s only one line in particular that seems to have that kind of subtext to it. No, if I had to sum up her character, it’s best displayed in her sarcasm and her difficulty gelling into a group. In fact, her more sarcastic nature could even be seen as a defense mechanism/smokescreen. She quite literally has to be forcibly pulled into the group. But, once there, she realizes she likes being part of a group of friends that care for her and will watch her back, and is able to open up to them about her issues at home with her family who just want her to be “normal”. Granted, I still can’t say that I care for this character the same way I did Trini, but that’s my natural bias, and I did not have any kind of issues with this version. That said, what IS her last name now, since it’s obviously not Kwan? o.O

Kimberly is a bit of an odd nut to crack at first, but then the reveal is made why she is the way she is: She once leaked a photo of a friend of hers with some guy to her boyfriend. Looking on her actions in hindsight, it’s easy to see that she’s carrying the guilt of what she did the entire time, and when she considers that it may be her keeping this to herself that’s keeping them from morphing, she tells Jason, who tells her to carry that with her, and to be the person she wants to be. And yeah, they hint several times at the two having feelings for each other, though the kiss from the trailer has been removed. And all the better, I say. If they DO decide that’s the direction they wanna go as opposed to her with Tommy, better to have it develop slowly over a gradual amount of time.

Beyond the team, there are several other things that got revised for this movie. For example, Zordon is now the original Red Ranger, and rather than being trapped in a time-warp that he speaks through via a tube, he’s actually dead and had his consciousness transferred into his ship (the movie’s version of the Command Center) and speaks through a wall that reforms itself to be shaped like his head. Rita Repulsa is likewise the original Green Ranger, but betrayed and killed the team. And, if I can be honest…I really love that change. Honestly, it just fits, and even could’ve worked in the original version of the story without changing much. Hell, I don’t even think it was ever revealed exactly how she got her hands on the Green Power Coin originally in the show. Zordon being the Red Ranger is admittedly a little trickier to work in, but it could be done.

Now, about the Zords… … …Eh. Look, they aren’t bad designs, especially in their separated forms. Really, the only thing that bugs me is the multiple legs on the Mastodon Zord to make it “more alien”. Otherwise, they’re fine, and I actually appreciate the Pterodactyl Zord being the most useful of the group since…well, this is kind of a no-brainer, but because it can freaking fly. But then they combine, and…look, I get what they were going for, and it works for the most part, but it just does not hold a candle to the original design. And admittedly, that could totally be a me issue. What’s funny is, it was actually when I noticed something familiar about the Zords’ individual designs that something hit me about this movie. Specifically, I started to realize that there was one other PR story that this seemed to resemble a fair bit more than MMPR…

Think about it: The teens aren’t friends in the beginning and instead meet by chance that leads them to becoming Rangers after freeing the source of their powers from stone. Their mentor is a former Ranger. They actually have a tie to the time of the dinosaurs beyond the Zords simply being modeled after them, which, as I noted, actually look less like the original Dino Zords and more like the ones from Dino Thunder. Hell, even certain characteristics of the team can be seen as similar to the Dino Thunder team, like Jason being a sports jock. And I’m not even saying any of this as a negative thing. Honestly, if you’re going to use any season as a model of how to update the teenagers with attitude gimmick, Dino Thunder is the one to go with.

As for stuff I didn’t like…well, for starters, I was not a fan of some of the moments that seemed to be trying too hard to appeal to a more adult fanbase. For example, I did NOT need the thing with the cow’s penis, and frankly, I found that joke to be done better in City Slickers 2. I also did NOT need to hear Billy have to stop himself from saying motherfucker. That was going a bit too far with the gag of him having to stop himself and others from swearing. And while I agree that it’s probably for the best that Bulk and Skull are not in this movie, as they wouldn’t have fit the tone, the new bully is just the stereotypical bland bully that only exists to have his comeuppance and doesn’t really have a character. And then there’s Alpha, and while I appreciate him being more active and understand the reason for the new voice, the voice seems like a very random choice, and he doesn’t have much of a character at all, though putting developing that on the back burner for the first movie is understandable. Plus, while I understand where they were going with the new design…the eyes are weird. I’m sorry. lol

Now, all of that said, I have to be blunt about something: If you’re coming to this movie expecting to see a perfect adaptation of the original MMPR to the big screen, you will not get what you want. I’m sorry, but that’s just how it is. This is not the 90s MMPR. However, that does not make this a bad movie, and while there are things about it that are inferior to the original, there are also things about it that are better. Will it be beloved to me in the same way that the original was? Of course not. But it’s something that I enjoyed watching, and wouldn’t mind seeing a sequel to, especially since it’s been all but written in the sky that the next movie will be Green With Evil. And speaking of, I am totally in favour of the idea of making Tommy a girl, just so long as she remains the badass martial artist. That part of Tommy has to remain the same, no matter what else they change about him/her/it/they/whatever. Also, I would just like to point out that Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson are in this movie… … …That is all. XD

Anyway, I think that best describes my own personal thoughts on the movie. So, if anyone else was on the fence about seeing it, I hope I’ve helped you come to your own conclusions. Ja né, and may the power protect you always!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Oh, and lastly, N. Harmonik and I marked out like mad when Go Go Power Rangers played. XD

Jyger and N. Harmonik Watch Logan And Power Rangers Trailers

OMG, I just now realized I was wearing my Superman hat and Heroes Beacon (local comic shop) t-shirt while watching two superhero movie trailers. lol Anyway, if you haven’t seen them, here’re the trailers we watched today…

…and here’s our reaction to them. Enjoy!

What Do I Listen To While Writing Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia?

So, I’ve been writing my Power Rangers fanfic for a while now. Between the two ‘seasons’, the story is currently resting at 26 chapters long with 170,556 words. In other words, it’s the largest single project I’ve ever done, unless you count every article on my blog and add them all up together. However, one thing I’ve always liked to allude to is what I’m listening to while writing certain scenes. So, I’m here now to set the record straight as to exactly what I listen to as I write Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia.

http://bilico86.deviantart.com/art/Power-Rangers-Guardians-of-Gaia-logo-548959457

Now, obviously, while writing action scenes, I listen to a lot of Ron Wasserman. If you’re unfamiliar (which you shouldn’t be if you’re an old school PR fan, but it CAN happen), Wasserman did a LOT of the classic songs for Power Rangers, including the original Go Go Power Rangers, and came back to do the Power Rangers SPD theme and a demo for Power Rangers Mystic Force. He also did a number of remakes of his classic songs, which he released as Power Rangers Redux. Luckily, a lot of Wasserman tunes work perfectly for certain scenes of my fic. For example, in Chapter 9, ‘Knight of the Wind’ (which is also a song I listen to sometimes when I write Patrick in action, FYI), when Pat is making his big comeback against the monster, this is pretty much the intended tune to play along with the scene:

When the Wizard Ranger, who has plenty of gold on his suit and fights a lot like a combo of the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Solaris Knight, leaps in to help the team, a lot of times I listen to this:

And so on. However, on top of a lot of those themes, there’s also a mashup produced on YouTube of one of Wasserman’s songs that I’ve become rather taken with and listen to a lot…

Also, just the instrumental of Welcome To The Family on its own is a great song for writing PR action scenes to. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t bring up one of my favourite things to listen to while writing people kicking ass, and in particular during the opening to ‘Guardians of Gaia, Awaken! Part 2’: The soundtrack to Metal Gear Rising Revengeance, specifically…

Or hey, remember the two part finale to Season 1, ‘Into Darkness’, when they charged the Blots on horseback?

I also sometimes listen to music from Super Sentai. For example, in ‘Sisters’, there’s a moment where Layla and Madilyn team up to fight a monster, and for whatever reason, this was what was playing in my head as I was writing and I HAD to put it on:

Then there’s that scene in ‘Always A Ranger Part 3’ where…well, I don’t wanna ruin it too much for anyone who hasn’t read it, but let’s just say that the Gaia Rangers band together with some new allies to fight a horde of monsters led by Dradarius himself, and I HAD to use this song. And you’ll have to forgive the quality, since there was never an official release of this, though there IS a piano cover on YouTube…

And during the fight scene that followed THAT up, I listened to THIS awesome mashup:

But enough of the action scenes, let’s talk about some of the other moments in the fic. Now, this is a case where I wish there was a lot more of the background music for the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers available, but unfortunately, for whatever reason, many of those were never released to the public. So, a lot of times, I gotta go outside the box with other stuff. Now, obviously, for moments like Dradarius sitting on the Dark Throne in the Abyssial Fortress, there’s only one theme that could fit the scene perfectly, which thankfully IS available, and has actually been covered and remixed a few different times on YouTube:

However, for other moments of the villains plotting or being menacing, particularly Walker and Darkea, I find myself listening to this more often than not:

And that’s not the only scene I’ve used music from Kingdom Hearts for. For example, remember that heart-breaking scene from ‘Sisters’ that I thought people were gonna kill me for? Well, here’s what I was listening to during that sequence. By all means, re-read that scene with this playing in your headset:

I actually use that for a lot of sad scenes, especially those centered around Layla and Madilyn. And remember in ‘Indigo Nightmare’ where the team entered the Well of Regret? Well…

Anyway, that’s enough of Kingdom Hearts. For other emotional scenes (not necessarily sad), like Drayden and Nikki’s talk in ‘Crying Out For Mummy’, here’s a nice little tune I like to pop in and listen to:

And lastly, for relatively silly moments, like when Madilyn is being…well, Madilyn, here’s a pretty on-the-nose song that I turn on:

So yeah, that pretty much covers everything, other than a few random songs I listen to here and there. Lemme know what you think about this unofficial soundtrack for my fic, as well as if you ever do the same thing while writing or drawing or the like. Ja né!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Oh, and last of all, for the Lightless showing up in the next chapter…well… … …:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

All Power Rangers instrumental theme songs (Unmastered) by Lemos Design

This was just too fucking awesome to not share. Enjoy! ^_^

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0 Preview

Haven’t decided if I’m picking this up or not, but being a huge PR fanboy, I thought I’d go ahead and share the preview for BOOM! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0.

• What’s to Love: The Power Rangers franchise is a true multi-generational, worldwide franchises. With its flashy costumes, mecha Zords, and-at its core-a story of superpowered teens who fight against evil alien forces, the Power Rangers are a pop-culture phenomenon that has continued to resonate with fans for over 20 years. As a new film gets ready for release in 2017, we, as huge Power Rangers fans ourselves, are excited to produce a modern Power Rangers comic featuring the characters of the original Mighty Morphin series.
• What It Is: It’s Morphin Time! The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers make their BOOM! Studios comic debut in this kick-off #0 issue that sets the stage for the rest of the series. After escaping Rita Repulsa’s mind control, Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, joins up with the rest of the Power Rangers to combat her never-ending evil plans. Any semblance of a normal life is gone for Tommy now, but with his newfound family there lies hope for a brighter path. Includes the short story from the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics!

http://www.comicbookresources.com/comic-previews/mighty-morphin-power-rangers-0-boom-studios-2016

Another Power Rangers Guardians of Gaia Season 2 Preview

Lest you think I’m just sitting on my hands and doing nothing, I HAVE been working on Season 2 of GoG, I just have been working on the entire first few chapters at once, while also working on my blog and doing other things. But, for those that enjoyed Season 1 and are anxiously awaiting more content, here’s another preview of Season 2’s opening story arc, entitled ‘Always A Ranger’.

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“We’re here,” Adam stated as the group came to a large warehouse. Opening the steel doors of the loading dock, he led everyone inside, where they found a number of people huddled about, looking a bit scared and disheveled.

“City’s inhabitants?” Nikki asked, getting a nod from Adam. “What happened?”

“I got here just after it happened,” Adam explained, leading the team through the large room of people. “The Blots came in and overran the city. The police couldn’t stop them, and the military’s still licking its wounds from the invasion, so-“

“Whoa, INVASION?” Dirk inquired, confused.

Adam scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah…You guys have missed a lot. Earth was invaded by an intergalactic Armada. There was a team of Rangers that managed to beat them back, but the overall forces were so large that it took every last Power Ranger to finally stop them.”

“Aw man, and we missed it?!” Madilyn whined, getting odd looks. “…What? I wanted to fight alongside the other Power Rangers too!”

“Point is, we were still working to get past that, and when this happened, most of us were caught off-guard,” Adam continued as the group made their way to a door labelled ‘Front Office’. “Fortunately, after the war, a few of us veteran Rangers decided to stay in contact in case anything like this should happen again.”

Opening the door the group of seven walked in to find that the front office of the warehouse had been converted into a command center. Standing at different stations were an Asian man in a military-like blue uniform with a red beret, a blonde woman in a blue and black ninja-esque outfit, a brunette in a yellow hoodie and blue jeans, a somewhat shaggy man with brown hair in a purple and black gi, a young woman with dark hair in a white lab coat over an academy uniform of some sort, and a young Asian woman in a black and pink gi. They all looked up curiously to see the Gaia Rangers enter.

“Everyone, we’ve got some new friends,” Adam announced. “These are Nikki, Patrick, Layla, Dirk, Madilyn, and Drayden, the Gaia Rangers. Gaia Rangers, these are Eric, Tori, Kira, RJ, Doctor K, and Mia.”

“So, I hope you’re about to tell us these guys know more about what’s going on?” Eric asked, walking up to the team.

“We may have been operating on the parallel world they’ve been coming from for the better part of a year, yes,” Dirk replied.

“Finally, some good news,” Doctor K said. “Speaking of which, I’ve been trying to upgrade what surveillance we have in the city. It’s coming along slowly, but that’s to be expected with the low tech available to us.”

“Here, let me see if I can help with that,” Layla offered, reaching a hand out.

“…I’d shake your hand, but I’m told that I’m horribly anti-social,” Doctor K replied. “Also, I’m not even really here. I’m transmitting my physical parameters from my location on a parallel Earth.”

Layla’s eyes perked excitedly. “Wow, really? How’d you manage to send a broadcast through the dimensional barriers?”

“The barriers run on unique energy signatures, like radio waves,” Doctor K explained with a shrug. “Once you’ve figured out each one, it’s just as simple as tuning to match it. Took weeks to figure this one’s out, but who needs sleep when you have the unrestrained power of a sugar rush?”

“Y’know, that approach might help with tracking the Blots,” Layla realized. “Can I see your computer?”

Doctor K nodded, leading Layla to it as the others watched slack-jawed, Dirk finally piping up “…Oh dear God, there’s two of them.”

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So, let’s talk a bit about the team presented here and why I chose some of them. Adam, Kira, and Tori were all chosen because they’d previously worked on a team like this and thus knew each other fairly well, making them easier to gel as a team. From there, though, it was a matter of choosing Rangers confirmed to still have their powers and would round each other out well, not only in terms of powers but in terms of getting more characters from various points in PR’s history. I mean, there’s a larger presence on the team that’s from the Disney Era, but it’s a bit more spread out. Eric seemed like an obvious choice, both in being the only member of the team from the post-Zordon Saban Era, as well as being both a sixth Ranger that could fill in the Red Ranger position on the team. Plus, as someone who has led the Silver Guardians, he fits well as Adam’s second-in-command. RJ was likewise an option that made immediate sense in my head, both for having martial arts experience that even Adam hasn’t grasped and for being the first Purple Ranger in PR history. In addition, he also has a purpose from a story perspective, but we’ll get to that later. From there, all that was left was to choose a Pink Ranger, and I felt as though I should really have someone from the Neo Saban Era, my own personal feelings on it aside. And, since these Rangers are all members of teams prior to Megaforce, Mia is the only real option, though she does bring plenty to the team that’s unique to herself with her samurai skills and Symbol Power. Finally, because I just couldn’t resist (and really, how could you blame me?), I decided to have Doctor K be the team’s technical support. Hell, I’m honestly even considering having her pop in from time to time even after this, though I suppose I shouldn’t be pushing the idea too much.

Adam, Eric, Kira, Tori, RJ, and Mia

Anyway, I’m hoping to have this done for the beginning of this Fall, if not sooner. When it’s done, I’ll be sure to post a notice here on my blog. Until then, though, lemme know what you think about how this is shaping up thus far. Also, I have a question: Would you like to see all of Always A Ranger posted at the same time, or would you prefer to have each chapter posted when each is done? Let me know, and I’ll see what I can do either way. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 10?! – 10 Most Badass Red Rangers

I was recently having a conversation with my friend Sam about badasses in Power Rangers, when we eventually came upon the topic of who the most badass Red Ranger of all time is. I couldn’t really decide that, though, because in over two decades of Power Rangers, it’s usually a constant that the Red Ranger is a badass. Even the most unlikable of those that have worn the colour red have had plenty of badass moments. Nick, for all his belly aching, was still willing to charge The Master alone, and Mack, despite quitting with the other Overdrive Rangers in Once A Ranger, was willing on multiple occasions to sacrifice himself to save the world. Even Red Rangers that didn’t lead their respective teams, like Rocky, still had plenty of memorable moments where they put it all on the line to stop evil. So, with all of that in mind, I’m gonna try and determine who the 10 most badass Red Rangers are in all of Power Rangers. Before I do, though, here’re some ground rules…

1. Power Rangers ONLY, no Super Sentai entries. Main reason is because it makes the possible candidates even longer than it already is. In Power Rangers alone, there’s been like 30+ individuals that have worn Red or a variation of it, maybe even closer to 50 when you consider that the Samurai Rangers were a generational team.
2. Only one per team. In other words, if I, for example, picked one of the SPD Red Rangers, I can’t choose another.
3. No evil Rangers. Nothing against them, it’s just, when one generally thinks of badass Power Rangers, we usually think of them in terms of what they’re willing and able to do against the forces of evil.
4. The choices have to be made based on their credentials as Red Rangers, not any other powers they’ve had. As such, and I KNOW I’m gonna get a bunch of comments for this, Tommy is NOT on this list. Reason being, in having watched every episode of Power Rangers that Tommy was a participant in, his more badass moments happened when he was the Green or White Ranger, or even just as himself, plain Tommy Oliver, without his powers. Nothing against his tenure as the Red Ranger, he pulled off the role with the level of competence expected of him, just that in terms of those sheer “OMG, that was frigging awesome!” moments, they’re lacking when compared to other things he’s done.
5. The powers have to actually be THEIRS. In other words, as much as I’d like to include more potential female candidates, Gia and Emma assuming Legendary Red Ranger Mode doesn’t count toward this list.

And as always, remember that this is all opinion based, so don’t freak out if my opinion is different from yours. Anyway, with all of that out of the way, I suppose we might as well start off with the archetype and standard bearer of the badass Red Ranger…

#1 – Jason Lee Scott, the Red Mighty Morphin Ranger

There’s this constant argument over who was the more badass Ranger: Jason or Tommy. In fact, it’s an argument that spills out into real life, with people debating Austin St. John vs Jason David Frank. However, while I refuse to comment on that and thus get it started here, I will say that, much like how Tommy’s more badass moments occurred when he wasn’t the Red Ranger, Jason was probably a bigger badass when he WAS the Red Ranger, as opposed to, say, when he was the Gold Ranger in Zeo. When the Rangers lose their confidence after being subjected to horrific nightmares from Goldar, he still finds it in him to stop Goldar’s plot. He manages to fight off Goldar and Tommy as the evil Green Ranger when trapped on his own and without his powers long enough for the others to find him. He defeats a monster by himself when the Rangers have been kidnapped, and then goes to rescue them before their powers are taken. He defeated Tommy in battle and freed him of Rita’s control. He took Cardiatron out. And there’s just his opening line to the General Venjix in Forever Red: “You know, if you miss King Mondo that much, I promise we can help you join him.” In the end, all you can say about Jason is that he is a consummate badass, strong in mind, body, and spirit, and is able to stand up to any threat, no matter how imposing…Actually, here’s food for thought: In today’s day and age with Power Rangers, MMPR Season 1 probably would’ve ended with Jason fighting Rita while she’s in some powered-up form. Imagine THAT ending. lol

#2 – Carter Grayson, the Red Lightspeed Ranger

What else can I say about a guy that tried to run down a monster with a hummer, held off two giant monsters with just his side-arms, blew up a monster at point-blank range, charged through deadly energy blasts to punch a monster in the chest, and whose trademark response to a monster terrifying people was to pull his blasters and shoot ’em down?…Well, not much, other than to say that I’m pretty sure his theme song is Move Bitch by Ludacris. lol Add in the fact that he is both an action hero and a rescuer, more concerned with the protection of people than the kicking of ass, and you’ve got more than enough reason for Carter to be one of my all-time favourites.

#3 – Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger

This was REALLY hard to determine, given his competition on his team, but ultimately, I decided to go with Eric. The first sixth Ranger to wear the colour Red while being sixth, he’s just a really ballsy, hard-assed SOB that will plough down anyone who gets in his way. And of course the Q-Rex is sheer metal awesome, too. For those that have never seen it, it’s a giant robotic t-rex with a pair of cannons strapped to its back, and can also turn into a warrior mode just for funsies. But, if nothing else, you gotta look at his Mega Battle armour and think, really, how many people can you think of who look badass while wearing ROLLER-BLADES? With that said, I DO feel bad leaving Wes outta this, because he had his awesome moments on the show. One thing I’m actually kinda upset about is that we don’t see his final stand from the timeline where he didn’t make it. Why? Because according to that, he managed to take every single one of the bad guys with him! Hot damn, that’s a hell of a way to go out!

#4 – Leo Corbett, the Red Galaxy Ranger

………………Just show it.

 

Oh yeah, and he also had that fight to the death with Trakeena that ended with him blasting her at point-blank range with his Battlizer set to full power, and…My God, I could make breakfast on those abs…………………………………………*slaps myself* NEXT!

#5 – Lauren Shiba, the Red Samurai Ranger

Okay, I MAY be a bit biased in this pic given my general favoritism and desire to see a girl on this list, but let’s be fair, she DID manage to destroy a giant monster that had taken down the Claw Armour Megazord with just ONE Zord. Right from the get-go, she’s shown to be someone with skill on par or greater than Jayden’s. Plus, anyone that can take the long-since dead running gag about how Mia can’t cook and make it funny again is plenty awesome in my book. Really, the only reason Jayden might rank higher with some people is because he was around longer. I guarantee that if Lauren had been on the show from the beginning that we would’ve gotten plenty more awesome moments from her. But, I suppose I should give credit where it’s due and bring up some of Jayden’s more awesome moments, particularly his deadly duels with Deker, where he showed he was a force the likes of which only a few other Rangers could compare with.

#6 – Mackenzie “Mack” Hartford, the Red Overdrive Ranger

Looking back, I’ve realized that Mack really deserved to be on a better season with a better team. The potential of his character, being an artificial lifeform raised to believe he was human, could’ve been explored a bit more, and he wouldn’t have to be remembered as the Red Ranger on the worst season of Power Rangers. Also, while he DID quit with the others in Once A Ranger, he made it clear he wasn’t going anywhere, and I DO believe he would’ve at least tried to help out around the mansion and their base however he could. Then there’s his credentials as a badass, and he does have plenty. Ignoring probably the more infamous (and complete bullshit) of those moments, when he chopped a giant monster in half unmorphed, there’s the aforementioned moments where he was willing to die to stop evil, like when he was gonna blow himself and the Fearcats up, or when he went to the volcano alone to fight Moltor and retake the crown, or when he used every last bit of his power to destroy Flurious. Granted, one can argue that he did these things seeing himself as disposable with nothing to lose, but there’s still something to be said for his passion and relentlessness in the face of evil.

#7 – Cole Evans, the Red Wild Force Ranger

Yes, I like Wild Force. Leave me alone. lol And I like Cole Evans. Yes, his character was a ham and cheese sandwich, but he was still likable, and Goddamn if he couldn’t kick some serious ass. He was also capable of brushing off some pretty epic beatings, too. Just look at his fights with Master Org. These two lay the most epic of beat-downs on each other. He even took the team’s combined weapon, the Jungle Sword, and Savage Slashed the heck out of Zen Aku over and over on his own. AWESOME. And of course, there’s the infamous moment where he destroyed Serpentara with a frigging motorcycle. Although, looking back on it, you wanna know what annoys me more than that? The fact that, after doing so, he only ever uses said motorcycle for transportation. He has a War Zord slaughtering motorcycle, and he never uses it when, say, Master Org was killing the Wild Zords??? C’mon, given his character, you don’t think he’d summon that thing and go straight for Master Org’s head? That woulda been awesome! Oh well, Cole still had plenty of sweet moments, which make it all the easier to look past his cheesy dialogue.

#8 – Scott Truman, the Red RPM Ranger

It’s admittedly hard to stand out as a badass on a team FULL of them. For example, take Scott, RPM’s Ranger Series Operator Red and leader of the team. His whole team is one big pack of badasses. Even Ziggy, the clown of the team, has his fair share of moments where he’s walking awesome. So how do you stand out on a team like that? Answer: You be Scott. Everything he does exemplifies his awesomeness. He owns the room when he’s in it. He has mastered the art of being an action hero, where in his own words, “When it comes to talking, less is more”. And despite being from a completely different dimension than the mainstream PR universe, he’s clearly read from the Carter Grayson book of badass, in that if necessary, he can and has charged giant opponents with nothing but his weapons. To quote Jim Ross in talking about Shawn Michaels, Scott is “like a pitbulldog, he doesn’t know how big or how little he really is… he doesn’t really give a damn”. And everything he does just has this element of cool and charm to it, unless story-wise he’s specifically SUPPOSED to be shaken or vulnerable. He’s like the Will Smith of Power Rangers. How can you not like him?

#9 – Casey Rhodes, the Red Jungle Fury Ranger

Again, a tough crowd of Rangers to stand out from. Hell, one of the Jungle Fury Rangers is a blind warrior. Still, while he started off Jungle Fury as the new guy that was unsure of himself and made mistakes aplenty, Casey quickly grew into a kickass fighting machine. Even the big bad of the series, Dai Shi, found himself on the receiving side of a most righteous of beat-downs from Casey on more than one occasion, though the best was near the end of the season: Casey just walks through a squad of Rin Shi without much effort or thought put into it, and then proceeds to have a brawl with Dai Shi that trashes the villain’s lair. He’s also willing to put his life on the line to prove that Jarrod could overcome Dai Shi’s influence, turning his back on him and telling him to destroy him. He even dispenses of the standard Battlizer armour and instead gets smaller armour components meant to work with a kick-ass motorcycle that literally steams through opponents. Yes, Camille, Red IS the tough one. 🙂

#10 – Andros ‘Aliens Don’t Have Last Names’, the Red Space Ranger

HE SAVED THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE! Case dismissed! And even beyond that, just look at Andros’ first appearance, where he managed to infiltrate the meeting of the United Alliance of Evil. Not only does he manage to do so and get away while confronted with the biggest bads in Power Ranger’s history at the time, one thing I take considerable note of: He knocked Lord Zedd on his ass……..I will repeat that. Lord Zedd, one of the most feared enemies of the Power Rangers, the villain that tossed even Tommy around like a ragdoll and was only forced to retreat due to a stalemate in the fight, got KNOCKED ON HIS ASS by Andros. Anyone that can do that is a badass in my book. It kinda makes you wonder how quickly situations on Earth would’ve been dealt with if Andros was on Earth from the beginning. My guess is that, after Green With Evil, Andros would’ve been like “Nope, not going through this again, I’m taking my badass spaceship/Megazord to the moon and hacking that palace in half”.

Anyway, that’s my list. Who are some of your favourite badasses in Power Rangers? Leave a comment below, and we’ll see if the Red Dino Charge Ranger can live up to the legacy of the Red Ranger in February. Ja né!

Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Morphers From Power Rangers/Super Sentai

So a while back, I listed my 5 Favourite Henshin Devices From Kamen Rider. But what about my favourite Morphers from Power Rangers/Super Sentai? Well, let’s count ’em off now. And as always, since I know some people aren’t familiar with the Sentai footage, I’ll primarily use names, terms, and historical events on the PR side of things, while also giving Super Sentai names and history afterwards. Also, keep in mind that I’m going to try to keep this list limited to one Morpher per team (so not the Dino Morpher AND the Brachio Morpher at the same time). Speaking of which, let’s start with…

#1 – The Brachio Morpher from Power Rangers Dino Thunder (Dino Commander from Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger)

Tommy‘s Morpher in Dino Thunder (Asuka’s in Abaranger). People have brought up the similarity of this Morpher to Tommy’s previous Morpher, the Turbo Morpher, in that it’s a wrist-mounted device that uses a key. This is actually a coincidence, as the construction of the Morpher for Abaranger didn’t have Tommy in mind (since for obvious reasons, they hadn’t planned on bringing him back for Dino Thunder yet), but it does lead to a few fan theories. Anyway, the Morpher also lets him call the Brachio Zord, as well as some of the auxiliary Zords for that season, and since it houses the Black Dino Gem inside, it also allows Tommy to become invisible.

#2 – Legendary Morpher from Power Rangers Super Megaforce (Transformation Cellphone Mobilates from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger)

This Morpher has yet to officially appear in Power Rangers yet, but it is the Morpher for the Gokaigers, and when it débuts in PR, it will allow the Megaforce Rangers to become the Super Megaforce. In addition, by using the various Ranger Keys with it, the Super Megaforce Rangers can become a copy of whichever Ranger the key was modelled after, with all their powers and weapons at their disposal. Naturally, being cell phones, they can be used as communication devices, and are used to summon their Zords.

#3 – The Omega Morpher from Power Rangers SPD (BraceThrottle from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger)

Sam’s Morpher in SPD (Tetsu’s in Dekaranger). As cool as the standard Morphers are from that season, the Omega Morpher takes everything it can do (communicator, Judgement Mode, Containment Mode, etc.) and adds more. Revving the throttle on the Morpher allows Omega Ranger to use various modes, including Electro, Muscle, Lightbeam, Blast, and Hyper Modes, granting him different advantages against different opponents.

#4 – The Power Morpher from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Dino Buckler from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger)

The Morphers of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger). It was a toss-up between this and the Zeonizers, and frankly, it was a matter of “which one would fewer people kill me for”. lol Anyway, the Power Morpher is a metallic belt buckle that houses a Power Coin. The coins can also be transformed into Power Crystals, which were used to take full control of the Dino Zords during piloting, or fire beams of light from the Megazord.

#5 – The Transformation Gun Gaburivolver from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger

Like the Legendary Morpher, it has yet to appear in Power Rangers. By inserting different Beast Batteries into the Gaburivolver, the Kyoryugers can Morph, call upon their weapons, summon their Zords, and a few other things. Also, not only do they work as the team’s blaster side-arm, but they combine with the Gabricalibur (a sword side-arm) to become the Gaburu Cannon, a powered-up gun, which has been shown to assume a Bayonet Mode for mêlée attacks. So, yes, this is a Morpher, that is also a gun, that can also can become a sword. Something tells me that as soon as it hits stores, Lewis Lovhaug will drop everything he’s doing and go on a hunt for it. XD

Anyway, that’s all for now. Lemme know in the comments if there’s anything else PR/Sentai related you’d like to see me do a Favourite 5 of. Ja né!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Favourite Weapons from Power Rangers/Super Sentai

Y’know, right after the Zords, the thing that I would want most in terms of being a Power Ranger is a kickass weapon. And let’s be honest, they’ve had some pretty awesome ones. But which ones would I consider my personal favourites? Well, that’s what I’m here to count off. And once again, because I know some people aren’t familiar with the Sentai footage, I’ll primarily use names, terms, and historical events on the PR side of things, while also giving Super Sentai names and history afterward. Also, allow me to list criteria/limitations for this list right off the bat.

1. I’m going to limit this to one weapon per team, just so I don’t double up. As such, you won’t be seeing both the Power Sword and Power Ax on the list.
2. One weapon per Ranger, so only ONE of Tommy’s weapons. Not, for example, Saba AND the Brachio Staff.
3. They have to be single weapons. In other words, no Power Blasters. That said, single weapons that turn into a team’s blaster on its own, or Power Blasters/Cannons/etc. that aren’t a combination of weapons are all alright.

#1 – Fire Smasher from Power Rangers Samurai (Rekka Daizantou from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger)

So you know how some of the most awesome weapons in fiction are swords that turn into guns? Lightning’s gunblade, Ruby Rose’s Crescent Rose sniper scythe, Kamen Rider Wizard‘s Wizarswordgun, and so on. Well, PR/SS have had a number of these, one of the most recent being the Fire Smasher. It’s basically a Zanbatō that can turn into a cannon. In either mode, it is a powerful, albeit challenging to wield, weapon. It’s actually proven to be one of the more popular weapons, as aside from being used by the Red Samurai Ranger (ShinkenRed), it was also used by Kamen Rider Decade when he and ShinkenRed swapped weapons to battle a monstrous version of Kamen Rider DiEnd, and a giant version is wielded by Shinken GokaiOh.

#2 – Laser Lamp from Power Rangers Mystic Force (MagiLamp Buster from Mahou Sentai Magiranger)

Okay, as silly as the Solaris Knight’s (MagiShine) weapon is, it’s actually highly effective when put to use. By spinning the dial on the side, it charges up shots that, when fired, are guided light bursts that hit the target no matter where they are, even if they’ve gone underground. Also, by fully charging it, he can fire the genie inside, Jinji (Smoky), for a massive finishing attack. During team-ups, MagiShine has also loaded DekaBreak (SPD Omega Ranger) and Zubaan (the Sentinel Knight from Operation Overdrive) inside, allowing them to use their finishers alongside Smoky.

#3 – Saba from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Byakkoshinken from Gosei Sentai Dairanger)

This was one where if I didn’t include it, someone was gonna kill me. lol Anyway, Saba is an enchanted sword that was wielded by Tommy Oliver as the White Ranger (Kibaranger), as well as acting as a sort of partner to him. Beyond his natural abilities as a short sword, he’s also capable of speech, firing energy blasts, levitation, and assists in controlling the White Tigerzord, allowing it to mimic Tommy’s moves while it was in Warrior Mode. Also, in Dairanger, Byakkoshinken (or Byakko for short) voiced-over Kibaranger as a means of hiding his identity as a child.

#4 – The Quantum Defender from Power Rangers Time Force (DV Defender from Mirai Sentai Timeranger)

While Time Force had a TON of badass weapons, this choice again came down to which one would people kill me the most for leaving out. This is the personal weapon of the Quantum Ranger (TimeFire), though he has lent it to others where necessary. It’s also another example of a badass gun that turns into a sword and vice versa. While it may not be the biggest or baddest looking weapon when compared to the stuff that’s come out since, this little bastard still packs a hell of a punch. So whenever you’re gloating over how much ass you’re kicking, and you suddenly hear a sound like someone tapping a gun on the back of their hand, don’t bother turning around, just RUN. lol

#5 – The Falcon Summoner from Power Rangers Wild Force (Falcon Summoner from Hyakujuu Sentai Gaoranger)

Noticing a lot of red here…Meh, anyway, the Falcon Summoner is a simultaneous blaster, bow, and summoning tool for the Wild Force’s Falconzord (GaoFalcon). It also marked an interesting transitional period that most might not be aware of, but it is the first bow weapon on Power Rangers wielded primarily by a male Ranger, in this case the Red Wild Force Ranger (GaoRed). Granted, in Super Sentai, bows and arrows had been used by men since the very beginning, but not so much in Power Rangers. In fact, they were usually used by Pink Rangers. I don’t get that. Look at Robin Hood, or Hawkeye from the Avengers. They make the bow a manly weapon when it needs to be. And really, what’s more manly than a bow and arrow that summons a giant falcon out of a volcano? I ask you.

Anyway, those are my 5 Favourite Weapons from Power Rangers/Super Sentai. Got a favourite that wasn’t on the list? Feel free to bring it up in the comments below, and I shall see you guys the next time I put one of these together. Ja né!

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Jyger’s Favourite 5 – 5 Most Surreal Moments in Power Rangers

So I was thinking recently about surreal moments in Power Rangers. Basically, the moments where your eyes widened and jaw hanged low and you just went “…Did I really just see that?!” Now, of course, this is simply opinion-based, and you’re all free to leave your own list at the bottom. Also, gonna try to keep this limited to one moment per season, otherwise we’d be seeing a LOT of the same people on here over and over…In fact, as it is, there’s still at least one guy involved in more than one of these. lol And finally, as usual, this is not in order of personal preference, though I will be trying to put them in chronological order.

#1 – Kimberly’s Rita Impression in MMPR Season 2: Beauty and the Beast

…Okay, this one I’m gonna show footage of, because it’s just…WOW.

How much fun do you figure Amy Jo Johnson had to be having in this scene? Also, you gotta imagine Barbara Goodson was having a lot of fun watching it.

#2 – The Command Center exploding in MMPR Season 3: Hogday Afternoon

I should note that another MAJOR surreal moment in this season was Master Vile‘s End of the World party, but I opted to go with this one instead, simply for the massive emotional whiplash involved. The Rangers had just been returned to their proper age after spending several episodes as children, the Alien Rangers had just left Earth after defeating their greatest foe, and the Zeo Crystal had been reformed and was going to be used to return the Rangers’ powers. So what ends up happening? Rito and Goldar sneak in, steal the Crystal, and blow up the Command Center, seemingly with Zordon and Alpha inside. So what should’ve been the Rangers’ greatest victory is now their biggest defeat. It wasn’t until the first episode of Power Rangers Zeo that we saw it all get turned around in their favour again, and until then, we were left with the horrific thought of the Power Rangers without power, Zordon and Alpha dead, and Rita and Zedd in prime position to take over the Earth. SHOCKING.

#3 – The Turbo Rangers get baked into a giant pizza in Power Rangers Turbo: Trouble By The Slice

…..Y’know, this entire season, we’ve had Bulk and Skull turned in monkeys, main characters shuffled off with little to no recognition for their earlier endeavors on the show, four fifths of the titular characters swapped out, and now the Rangers get baked into a giant pizza! Now, I still stand by my statement that the Turbo movie was worse than the ensuing season, but the primary reason for it is because it was pretty much the starting point for all this crap. Plus, they weren’t using Sentai footage, so they couldn’t blame any of what happened in it on that…which, by the way, I will concede that this scene DID happen in Carranger, but for the love of crap, there was nothing that said they HAD to use this.

#4 – Every single thing that Lothor did in Power Rangers Ninja Storm

This guy gives me a frakking headache the size of which even Rita Repulsa would think was insane. Between this and the Ninja Storm drinking game (take a shot everytime someone says ‘dude’), it’s a mystery how Ninja Storm didn’t kill people who watched it. Again, I feel the need to point out a major runner-up, the time that Shane rode on Dustin’s back like a skateboard for a double-attack. However, as bizarre as that is, it pales in comparison to the bizarre activities of Lothor, AKA the man who would’ve been the worst villain in PR history if not for the existence of Divatox.

#5 – Tommy kicks a t-rex in the face in Power Rangers Dino Thunder: Day of the Dino

………….Just show it. -_-

No, I will NEVER get over this! Not only does Tommy spin-kick a mother fuckin’ t-rex, but he actually manages to get away with it! If this was Jurassic Park, that t-rex woulda eaten his ass! Seriously, what would the t-rex from that movie say to this one?

“Dude, really? You got pwned by one guy? What, did he have a grenade launcher?…He SPIN-KICKED you in the face?! Okay, unless he was Chuck Norris, I……Oh. JDF…….*sighs* Okay, nevermind…”

Anyway, those were the 5 Most Surreal Moments in Power Rangers. Leave your own list below, and I shall see y’all later! Ja né!