Zords in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
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The Zords used in the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are themed after prehistoric, mythical, and ninja animals. They were created by Ninjor, a wise warrior who also created the Power Coins and the Battle Borgs.
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[edit] Season 1
[edit] Dinozords
The first set of Zords used by any team of Power Rangers were used in the very first series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Each of the five original Rangers (Red, Black, Yellow, Blue, Pink) possessed their own Zord, which appeared in the form of a dinosaur (note that the Zords of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder are also called Dinozords). In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Dinozords here were referred to as "Dino-Droids".
- Jason, the Red Power Ranger, piloted the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord. It slept deep underneath the Earth when not active. Out of the 5 main Dinozords, the Tyrannosaurus is most capable of finishing off a monster by itself due to its shape. It was able to cause heavy damage by swinging its tail and bashing monsters. It also had a set of cannons built into its jaw, and could destroy a monster by firing a powerful beam of energy towards them. It can also stand on its tail to deliver high kicks to its enemies. Because in the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Zords were referred to as "Droids", it's more than likely that the Tyrannosaurus was called the "Tyranno-Droid".
- Zack, the Black Power Ranger, piloted the Mastodon Dinozord. It slept underneath a glacial area while inactive. It was capable of firing streams of frozen gas from its trunk, which would freeze monsters. In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Mastodon was referred to as the "Masto-Droid".
- Billy, the Blue Power Ranger, piloted the Triceratops Dinozord. It slept in a desert while inactive. The Triceratops did not have legs, but rather had high speed treads underneath its body. It had a double barrel cannon on the end of its tail, which could fold over and shoot at an enemy. It was also capable of launching its horns on chains. In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Triceratops was referred to as the "Tricera-Droid".
- Trini, the Yellow Ranger, piloted the Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozord. It slept in a jungle while inactive. The Saber-Toothed Tiger was similar to the Triceratops, except it had legs instead of treads. It had a beam cannon built into its tail. In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Saber-Toothed Tiger was referred to as the "Saber-Droid".
- Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, piloted the Pterodactyl Dinozord. It slept inside a volcano while inactive. It could fire blue energy blasts from its shoulder. The only Dinozord capable of flight, it excels at hit- and-run missions, but is incapable of prolonged combat by itself. Because in the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Zords were referred to as "Droids", it's more than likely that the Pterodactyl was called the "Ptero-Droid".
Note that although the term Dinozord is used to refer to these Zords, they were the only Zords known at the time and were often (but not always) just called 'Zords'. Jason, the Red Ranger, would exclaim "We need Dinozord Power, now!" in order to summon the machines. It is interesting to note that, of the five "Dinozords", only two (Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops) were actually dinosaurs. Saber-Toothed Tigers and Mastodons were mammals, while Pterodactyl is a common term for some types of a pterosaurs.
[edit] Megazord
The five individual Dinozords could combine into a larger machine called the Megazord. First, they joined together into a Tank Mode, which itself transformed into a humanoid, Voltron-style. Triceratops and Saber-Toothed Tiger formed the legs and feet. Tyrannosaurus formed the body and head. Mastodon formed the arms, back, and shield. And the Pterodactyl finished by forming the chestplate.
All five Rangers piloted the Megazord from inside its head. The Megazord was able to switch between human and tank mode instantly to suit the situation. It wielded a large Power Sword which could only be used in its right-hand, which it frequently used to deliver finishing blows to the monsters it fought. It also used the Mastodon Dinozord's head as the Mammoth Shield. It could also summon a beam of energy called the Cranial Laser from the tip of its forehead to destroy enemies.
The Megazord was apparently solar-powered. In the fourth episode of the Green with Evil saga, Rita Repulsa created a solar eclipse which halved the Megazord's power, making it easy for the Green Ranger, Goldar, and Scorpina to destroy it. The fact the Megazord was never used at night seems to support this. It was also poorly suited for underwater situations. If the Red Ranger was not present in the Megazord's cockpit, the other 4 Rangers were apparently able to retain full control.
When Lord Zedd arrived on the moon and forced Rita Repulsa out of power, his Pirantishead monster turned the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord against the Rangers and froze the other four Dinozords. The Dinozords were subsequently used as the base for the more powerful Thunderzords. The Dinozords could be seen transforming into the Thunderzords for the remainder of the second season of the show to indicate the upgrade, but were never actually piloted again. In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Megazord was referred to as the "Mega Dino-Droid".
[edit] Dragonzord
When a sixth Ranger, Tommy the Green Ranger, was added to the lineup, he had his own Zord, the Dragonzord. It resembled Godzilla (if Godzilla had worn samurai armor) and even rose out of the sea in a similar fashion.
Most of the time, Tommy did not directly pilot this Zord, per se. Rather, the Dragonzord seemed semi-autonomous, and Tommy merely guided its actions through use of the Dragon Dagger, by using it as a flute (though two episodes show him in a cockpit while controlling the Zord, once in 'The Green Candle Part 2' and another time in 'Football Season').
When Tommy lost his powers, Jason was still able to control the Dragonzord by using his Dagger. Tommy later regained his powers, though limited, and piloted the Dragonzord alongside both the original and Thunder Megazord. The Dragonzord was later controlled by an evil clone of Tommy. Dragonzord's main weapons are its finger Dragonzord Missiles and its drill tail. The Dragonzord could join together with three of the five Dinozords (the Tyrannosaurus and Pterodactyl being excluded) to form the Dragonzord Battle Mode, as well as the Megazord proper to form the Mega Dragonzord.
Whenever the Dragonzord was lacking in power, Tommy would play a different musical tune on the Dragon Dagger to increase its power. The Dragonzord was also more suitable for underwater use than the Megazord, making it ideal for water-based monsters. Its chest had several lights which would indicate when it was about to use its weapons. It was constantly partnered in battle with the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord due to its able-body.
The Green Ranger was able to use the Dragonzord alongside the other Rangers' Thunderzords in the beginning of season 2, but as Tommy's powers faded, Dragonzord eventually became unusable and returned to an indefinite sleep under the sea near Angel Grove. It reappeared in the episodes "Return of the Green Ranger", where it was used by the evil Green Ranger clone against Tommy (by then the White Ranger). It is likely that the Dragonzord still sleeps at the bottom of the ocean floor or not, however, as the clone of Tommy had a restored Green Ranger power, and presumably said coin is on a separate grid, assuming the Dragonzord was not touched since the last episode of "Return of the Green Ranger", it remains the only functional Zord of the Mighty Morphin' reign.
Due to its reuse on several occasions, the footage of the Dragonzord crunching on a striped smokestack with its steel jaws like a candy-cane has become a running-joke among fans.
[edit] Dragonzord [in] Battle Mode
The Dragonzord could combine with the Mastodon, Triceratops, and Saber-Toothed Tiger Dinozords to create the Dragonzord in Battle Mode. In this form, the Dragonzord becomes humanoid, and its tail becomes a powerful Power Staff. This megazord combination was first revealed to the Rangers when Tommy joined the team, and Zordon told him to awaken the Dragonzord. This humanoid fighting machine very much resembles a lancer, sporting the stereotypical lance-type weapon and dragon armor.
Alpha does indeed refer to this setup as "Dragonzord in Battle Mode", although is has in several instances erronously been referred to as "MegaDragonzord" or "Dragonzord in Fighting Mode." While this formation apparently had a huge fanbase, it did not appear nearly as often as its sentai counterpart did in ZyuRanger. The Dragonzord Battle Mode is physically stronger than the Megazord, but it seems to be slower.
This formation was usually piloted by the 5 main Rangers (despite the fact that the Pink and Red Ranger's Dinozords were not part of the formation), although the Red Ranger used the Green Ranger's Power Crystal to control it. In "Itsy Bitsy Spider", the Black, Yellow, and Blue Rangers piloted the Zord without the help of the others. The Tyrannosaurus Dinozord often assisted it.
[edit] MegaDragonzord
The Dragonzord had the ability to combine with the entire original Megazord to form the MegaDragonzord. In this form, the Dragonzord turns into armor that attaches to the top of the Megazord, turning its finger cannons into shoulder cannons. The MegaDragonzord was the most powerful of all three of the season one Megazords, physically stronger than even the Dragonzord Battle Mode, but slower due to being the most top-heavy megazord. This mode was used infrequently by itself however, because it's usually only being seen when it combined with Titanus to form the Ultrazord.
[edit] Titanus
When Tommy and Jason went to search for special weapons to destroy Rita's new Super Putties, they encountered Titanus, a white-and-black Brachiosaurus Zord. Titanus was guarding the special weapons but after Tommy and Jason worked together to get past him and retrieve the weapons, Zordon told the Rangers he was on their side. From then on the Rangers called forth Titanus when they got in big trouble, and with the Megazord and Dragonzord they could form the Ultrazord, a combination of the MegaDragonzord and Titanus.
When the Rangers got their Thunderzords they stopped using Titanus and instead used Tor as their Carrierzord. But when the Thunder Megazord and White Tigerzord were destroyed, the Power Rangers called on Titanus again to assist their new Ninjazords. Zordon and Alpha 5 configured Titanus to link up with the Ninja Megafalconzord or the Shogun Megafalconzord to form the Ninja Ultrazord or the Shogun Ultrazord.
Titanus has not been seen since the Rangers' Power Coins were destroyed and is probably in a dormant state (Titanus' return was an MMPR only situation). Although not shown in Power Rangers (only in ZyuRanger), Titanus and the Megazord were capable of combining without Dragonzord, with the Megazord holding its sword and shield.
It is ironic that Tommy later used a gold Brachiozord in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.
[edit] Ultrazord
In times of dire peril, all six Zords (as the MegaDragonzord), along with Titanus, the Carrierzord, could combine into the most powerful form: the Ultrazord. They did this, for example, when battling the evil 'Warzord' Cyclopsis. The Ultrazord destroyed enemies by firing a massive amount of weapons.
On the figure's actual box, the Ultrazord setup was dubbed as the "Ultimate Battle System" with the corresponding slogan, "Nothing can stand up to Ultrazord!".
Note: On a few occasions, an Ultrazord was summoned when its necessity was questionable at best, often this was used against monsters that were too tough for the Megazord and Dragonzord, but probably not the Dragonzord Battle Mode.
[edit] Season 2
[edit] Thunderzords
The Thunderzords were used during the second series of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The choice to replace the original Zords with the mecha from Gosei Sentai Dairanger (on which the Thunderzords were based) was an important decision, partly because it paved the way for similar occurrences throughout Power Rangers continuity, and also because the producers had already requested special footage featuring the original Dinozords, which became obsolete. See the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers main page for more details. When Lord Zedd came to the Moon, to try to destroy the Power Rangers and take over Earth himself, he sent down Pirantishead. Pirantishead succeeded in freezing four Dinozords and taking control of the other two. A refractoring of morph waves by Alpha 5 transformed the Dinozords into Thunderzords, much more powerful than their predecessors. The Thunderzord squadron battled the forces of Lord Zedd with their massive power throughout the second season. When Rito Revolto attacked Angel Grove, the Morphing Grid overloaded and the Thunder Megazord was destroyed in a series of massive explosions.
The Thunderzords were as follows:
- Red Dragon Thunderzord, piloted by the Red Power Ranger (initially Jason Lee Scott and later Rocky DeSantos). The Zord is shaped like a chinese dragon and is capable of flight. The Red Dragon Thunderzord could transform into a humanoid form that wielded a staff as a weapon. Similar to the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, the Red Dragon Thunderzord was capable of fighting and defeating a monster on its own. Its wrists were capable of spinning at high speeds, allowing it to use its staff like helicopter blades. It was also able to ride the White Tigerzord while it was in tiger-mode.
- Lion Thunderzord, piloted by the Black Power Ranger (Zack Taylor then Adam Park) (This zord was originally a Green Ranger's mecha in DaiRanger, and therefore appears more green than black). The Lion Thunderzord is seemingly useless on its own, having no attack functions. However, in DaiRanger, the Lion Thunderzord could supposedly create illusions.
- Unicorn Thunderzord, piloted by the Blue Power Ranger, Billy Cranston. It has a basic block shape side from its head, and is capable of launching boulders at monsters. It is similar in design to the Griffin Thunderzord (this Zord was originally a Chinese version of Pegasus in Dairanger).
- Griffin Thunderzord, piloted by the Yellow Power Ranger (Trini Kwan then Aisha Campbell). It has a basic block shape side from its head, and is capable of firing flaming rings at monsters. It is similar in design to the Unicorn Thunderzord (this Zord was originally a Qilin, a creature that may have been based on a giraffe, in Dairanger).
- Firebird Thunderzord, piloted by the Pink Power Ranger, Kimberly Hart. It appears as a large phoenix, and is capable of creating an energy tornado and sending it towards monsters.
[edit] Thunder Megazord
The Thunderzords combined to form the Thunderzord Assault Team, with the Red Dragon riding the other four combined as an airborne chariot. This is not the official name, but accepted as so since this is the only name given to it when the toys were made.
They could also join into the Thunder Megazord. Unlike the Dinozords, the Thunderzords could not easily switch between these two formations. The Red Dragon formed the majority of the Thunder Megazord and wore the other zords like body armor. The Lion formed the gloves, shoulder pads, chestplate, and helmet. The Griffin and Unicorn formed the boots. And the Firebird wrapped itself around the waist forming skirt-like leg armor. The Thunder Megazord was modeled after Gosei Sentai Dairanger's Dairenou. Unlike the Megazord, the power-crystals weren't needed to transform the Thunderzords. While piloting the Megazord, the Rangers would stand in the cockpit located within the green window on the chest.
The Thunder Megazord's main weapon was the Thunder Saber, which hung in a sheath on its hip while not in use. It also had a speared polearm which combined the firebird's tail with the Red Dragon's staff, although it was cut out from the Power Ranger episodes.
It was sometimes called the "Mega Thunderzord".
[edit] White Tigerzord
When Tommy's Green Ranger powers finally failed, Zordon and Alpha 5 were able to create new White Ranger powers for him, making him the leader of the team. His zord, the White Tigerzord, was controlled by his talking sword, Saba. The Tigerzord could change from its Tiger form to a humanoid form, in which it wielded a curved saber. In its warrior form, the Tigerzord could fire flame orbs from its chest. The Tigerzord could also combine with the Lion, Firebird, Unicorn, and Griffin Thunderzords to form the Mega Tigerzord.
When Rito Revolto attacked Angel Grove, Tommy battled him alongside the Thunder Megazord but the morphing grid overloaded causing Tigerzord to explode.
[edit] Mega Tigerzord
The White Ranger's Tigerzord could combine with the Firebird, Griffin, Lion and Unicorn to form the Mega Tigerzord, similar to its predeccessor the Dragonzord being able to combine to form the Dragonzord in Battle mode. The Mega Tigerzord would often fight alongside the Red Dragon in Warrior mode. It had a claw on its right wrist, which was formed by the Firebird. It could shoot out, energized by a fireball from the Tigerzord, to finish off monsters. The Lion formed the Mega Tigerzord's shoulder pads and back, the Firebird its claw, the Tigerzord its head, arms, and torso, and the Unicorn and Griffin each one of its legs.
[edit] Tor the Shuttlezord
Zordon presented the Rangers with the turtle-shaped Tor the Shuttlezord to help them on their journey to get the Sword of Light. Tor can withstand big blasts, and even Serpentera couldn't destroy it with its sheer weight. The Red Dragon Thunderzord can ride inside Tor's central cavity while Tor is in Warrior Mode in order to use the powerful leg cannons. Unfortunately, both of Tor's modes contained very little functionality. Also, Tor can combine with the Thunderzord Assault Team (on top of which is the Red Dragon Thunderzord) and the White Tigerzord to form the Thunder Ultrazord. Like Titanus and Dragonzord, Tor is likely dormant somewhere on Earth.
[edit] Thunder Ultrazord
The six Thunderzords (including the White Tigerzord) could combine together, along with Tor the Shuttlezord to form the powerful Thunder Ultrazord. The Tigerzord was encased within Tor's shell, and the Thunderzord Assault Team was affixed to the top. The Thunder Ultrazord's main attack would consist of the Red Dragon Thunderzord spinning its staff around like a helicopter, pulling the entire Ultrazord upwards. Once the Ultrazord was completely above the monster, the Red Dragonzord would cease spinning and cause the Thunder Ultrazord to land on the monster, crushing it in a massive explosion.
[edit] Season 3
[edit] Ninjazords
When the Thunderzords were destroyed by Rito Revolto in the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Power Rangers were given new Ninjazords by the sage, Ninjor. They were all based on living animals. Unlike most of the Thunderzords, the Ninjazords were very useful outside of megazord form as well. The Ninjazords were taken with the Shogunzords by Ninjor when he returned to the Desert of Despair. These Zords came from Ninja Sentai Kakuranger footage.
- Tommy, the White Ninja Ranger, piloted the Falconzord. It could use its wingtips as lasers. It was briefly captured by Lord Zedd.
- Rocky, the Red Ninja Ranger, piloted the Ape Ninjazord. It was similar to the Red Dragon Thunderzord in Warrior Mode, the Ape was human shaped and the fighter of the group, armed with twin ninja-to. Some fans call it "Samurai Lincoln" after a joke made by Meatwad in Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
- Adam, the Black Ninja Ranger, piloted the Frog Ninjazord. It could breath fire and release several smaller Frog Zords, which would latch on to their target and produce an electric shock.
- Billy, the Blue Ninja Ranger, piloted the Wolf Ninjazord. It could use its tail like a sword and also shoot powerful eye blasts.
- Aisha, the Yellow Ninja Ranger, piloted the Bear Ninjazord. It could use an earthquake stomp attack and also shoot powerful eye blasts.
[edit] Falconzord
The Falconzord was Tommy's Ninjazord given to him by Ninjor at the Temple of Power. The Falconzord can shoot powerful beams from its mouth. It could also shoot cannons from its eight wingtip cannons. The Falconzord could latch on to the Ninja Megazord, giving it the ability of flight. With the combined energies of the Falcon, Ape, and Wolf, the Ninja MegaFalconzord could do a Double Punch Divebomb. When Kat stole the Pink Power Coin while on an evil spell, she used it to steal the Falconzord. This made the remaining Ninjazords inoperable. Luckily, the rangers adopted Shogunzords. Later in the show, when Master Vile schemed to steal the Zeo Crystal, Tommy and Kat stopped him. Tommy retrieved the Zeo Crystal, while Kat pretended that she wanted to be evil. Tommy used the Zeo Crystal to save Kat and the Falconzord. Master Vile sent the zords to his home region of the M51 Galaxy, where the corrosive atmosphere covered the Falconzord, Ninja and Shogun Megazords into rust. The rangers went to the deserted planet where the zords were. By this point, Master Vile had moved the Zeo Crystal from the Falconzord to the Shogun Megazord's engine room. They used their Blade Blasters to break though the corrosion. The Falconzord could also combine with the Shogun Megazord to become the Shogun MegaFalconzord. The Wingtip cannons could destroy the enemy.
[edit] Ninja Megazord
The Ninja Megazord was formed by combining the Ape, Frog, Bear, Wolf, and Crane Ninjazords. The frog formed the entire lower body. The Bear formed the chest, with the Ape and Wolf forming the arms and the Crane forming the head. Equipped with its Power Gloves, it can throw super energy punches. The Ninja Megazord possessed amazing speed and physical skill. Unfortunately, it was unable to hold anything due to the lack of hands.
The Ninjazords and Ninja Megazord were featured in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. However, all footage of the Zords was made from scratch via CG-imaging; the artists used the Kakuranger toys for reference. Despite this however, the Ninjazords featured in the movie barely resembled their actual television counterparts, both in Zord and Megazord form. Noticeable differences would be the change in transformation mechanisms, the functional hand from the ape arm, the wolf's head for a right hand, and the use of the Shogun Megazord's Fire Saber as a Power Sword.
[edit] Ninja Megafalconzord
The Falconzord could attach to the back of the Ninja Megazord, giving it the ability of flight. It could do a Double-Punch Divebomb.
In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, the Ninja Megafalconzord was dubbed the "Ninja Falcon Megazord".
[edit] Ninja Ultrazord
When the Ninja Megafalconzord rode atop of Titanus, which returned as the carrier Zord this season, they joined to form the massive Ninja Ultrazord. This footage was made with the American toys.
[edit] Shogunzords
Part way through the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Lord Zedd kidnapped Ninjor and used him and Kimberly as hostages, demanding that the Power Rangers pilot his new Shogunzords to destroy the Earth. Ninjor was eventually freed, and the Rangers were able to use the Shogunzords for their own purposes (i.e. for good instead of evil). Originally called the "Lost Zords" or "Ancient Zords" they were found by Finster along with Squatt and Baboo. The Lost Zords were based on the technology from the Falconzord. Lord Zedd powered the Zords off the captured Ninjor. Billy was able to gain control of the Zords and power them off the Rangers' Power Coins. The Shogunzords were humanoid robots of different colors and with different armor around the head, the heads resembling the animals the Ninjazords were based off of. The Shogunzords were considerably more useful than the Ninjazords due to their human form.
In the original Super Sentai series Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, there were only five Mecha - no Pink Ranger existed to pilot a sixth. The arc in which the Shogunzords featured prominently was therefore the same arc in which Kimberly Hart was written out of the series, and set during the transition period before Katherine Hillard came to replace her. After this, when the Shogunzords were used, both Katherine and Tommy piloted the white Shogunzord together. Some American and British viewers saw the introduction of a second set of Zords partway through a series as an instance of jumping the shark, though Power Rangers remained popular after this (and the inclusion of a second set of Zords partway through the series would become standard practice throughout the following series). The Shogunzords, along with the Ninjazords, were taken by Ninjor when he returned to the Desert of Despair.
[edit] Shogun Megazord
The combination of the five Shogunzords. Whereas the Ninja Megazord was fast and agile, the Shogun Megazord was strong and powerful, yet lacking in speed. It was heavily armored yet was able to retain its functionality. Its main weapon was the Shogun Megazord Fire Saber, modeled after a katana. After being banished to the M51 Galaxy by Master Vile, he had transferred the Zeo Crystal to the Shogun Megazord's engine room, where Master Vile established an energy link. The Rangers found the "big toe emergency exit", and used their Blade Blasters to break through the rust and corrosion that had ravaged the zords on the planetoid to get in. Once inside, they focused the energies from their Power Coins in conjunction with the Morphing Grid and broke Master Vile's link to the Zeo Crystal. This in turn also returned control of the Shogun and Ninja Megazords as well as the Falconzord to them.
[edit] Shogun Megafalconzord
While ostensibly a Ninjazord (see above), Tommy's Falconzord could combine with the five Shogunzords to make the powerful Shogun Megafalconzord. This Megazord's main weapon was a series of cannons made up of the Falconzord's wings that slid in between the Megazord's arm-sockets.
[edit] Shogun Ultrazord
Titanus was also able to join with the Shogun Megafalconzord when the rangers needed extra help. Much like the original Ultrazord, it simply fired massive amount of blasts to destroy the enemy. (Like the Ninja Ultrazord, the Shogun Ultrazord was created using the American toys. The "Pink" Shogunzord is the most obvious clue.)
[edit] See also
| Power Rangers Zords |
|---|
| Mighty Morphin Zords • Zeozords • Turbozords • In Space Zords • Galactabeasts • Lightspeed Rescuezords • Time Force Zords |
| Wild Zords • Ninja Storm Zords • Dino Thunder Zords • S.P.D. Zords • Mystic Force Zords |
