Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' Rogues' Gallery

Paul Freeman as Ivan Ooze in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie (1995).

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers' Rogues' Gallery

(pop culture)Since the Power Rangers premiered as TV's hottest karate-kicking defenders of the world, they have been popular with kids across America. In continuing incarnations of the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers show, which first aired on FOX from 1993 to 2001 and thereafter on ABC and its affiliates, these superpowered teenagers have fought hundreds of adversaries, notably a variety of (often gigantic) witches, demons, monsters, and aliens. In the early years of the show (1993–1996), the villains were mainly extraterrestrials serving the alien sorceress Rita Repulsa or the self-proclaimed “Emperor of Evil,” Lord Zedd. In later seasons, menacing the Power Rangers were demons who served Queen Bansheera; mutant criminals that had traveled back in time with the criminal Ransik; pollution-oriented creatures called Orgs; aliens that served the ninja-master Lothor; servants of the dinosaur-like Mesogog; and Troobians, a warlike space race in the service of Emperor Gruumm. Armed with the ancient secrets of martial arts and huge biomechanical machines called Megazords, the Rangers have battled Divatox, Master Org, Dark Spector, Toxica, Jindrax, and dozens of other evil-doers, most of whom have been shrunk to miniatures, thrown in jail, reduced to ooze, or otherwise discarded. Though Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers has been criticized for promoting violence to children, many observers have noted that its heroes exhibit positive traits like camaraderie, teamwork, cultural harmony, and perseverance as they battle progressively stronger villains from season to season. In the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers liveaction film (1995), the Rangers journeyed to outer space to defeat millennia-old villain Ivan Ooze (portrayed by Paul Freeman) in his attempt to take over the world with an army of phlegm creatures. Often ranked the top action-figure line for boys by licensing and toy trade journals and web sites, Power Ranger toys are perennial favorites. As of 2006, Bandai has produced more than 150 million Power Ranger action figures, playsets, Megazords, vehicles, and role-playing items, with many supervillain products among the mix.