Villains in Power Rangers: Time Force
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The fictional villains of the Power Rangers universe that appeared in the television series Power Rangers: Time Force were, for the most part, mutant criminals that had travelled back in time with the criminal Ransik (exceptions include his robotic minion Frax, and the demon Quargenon, who appeared only once in the crossover with Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue).
Villains from this series are also notable due to the fact that they are portrayed more as sympathetic characters than outright evil. Ransik, and the other mutants, are shown to be byproducts of the future's genetic experiments, and were shunned by much of society. In the finale, certain characters were redeemed by the Time Force Power Rangers and willingly gave themselves up for judgment, returning in the following series to aid the Rangers in the crossover with Power Rangers: Wild Force.
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[edit] Ransik
Ransik (played by Vernon Wells) is a mutant created by accident in the year 3000 and the main antagonist in Power Rangers Time Force. He had possessed abilities such as energy projection, martial arts, and telekinesis. After being bitten by the mutant Venomark, he became dependent on a serum developed by Dr. Ferricks. He rewarded the scientist by setting his lab on fire and leaving him for dead. He also encountered the last surviving Orgs of that time period, and let them copy his body in exchange for the ability to pull weapons from his skin.
Ransik's plans involved commandeering the Time Force cryo-prison and traveling back in time to take over with an army of mutants. He was thwarted in his first attempt by Alex, the original Red Time Force Ranger, whom narrowly manages to arrest him. However, en route to the prison, Ransik was rescued by his daughter Nadira and his minion Frax. They escaped and accomplished Ransik's goals, and also put Alex out of action for a long amount of time.
In the past, Ransik found himself menaced by Alex's teammates, who followed him to the year 2001. He utilized various schemes and mutants to attack the Rangers, but never succeeded. He temporarily took control of the Quantasaurus Rex, but it was reclaimed by the Quantum Ranger.
Shortly afterward, Frax betrayed Ransik and destroyed all his serum. He revealed, before escaping, that he was the robotically modified Dr. Ferricks, who had sworn revenge on Ransik. Unfortunately for Frax's plan, the Bio-Lab company had begun producing the serum they replicated from a sample Wes had found after Venomark's defeat. Ransik broke in and left Wes' father in a coma.
Ransik eventually ran out of mutants to unfreeze, but managed to capture and reprogram Frax. He unleashes a mass assault on the city, destroying the Rangers' clock tower base. However, Ransik's plans were thwarted by the Rangers, whom he then engaged in combat. During the fighting, he accidentally injured Nadira, who had changed her attitude towards humans. After talking with her briefly, and realizing how close he had come to losing what he most cared about, Ransik willingly turned himself in.
During Power Rangers: Wild Force, Ransik came back to the present with the Time Force Power Rangers to stop the Mut-Orgs, the three Orgs he had found in the future. Ransik, having already seen the error of his ways showed a clear of guilt for the Mut-Orgs existence. He aided the combined Time Force/Wild Force Ranger teams, and during the battle he launched a near-suicidal attack on the Mut-Orgs and destroyed their mutant half, but nearly died in the process. He was later shown to be alive, and his mutant side was purged, making him completely human, and one of the few Power Ranger villains to find redemption.
Ransik was notable for being one of the more serious Power Rangers villains. Whereas most villains in Power Rangers are melodramatic, burlesque characters, Ransik, like Astronema of Power Rangers in Space, was much more a cold, calculating mastermind with a penchant for convoluted Machiavellian evil schemes. He possessed a dry, cynical sense of humor and was highly intelligent. He proves himself to be the most powerful of the mutants at the climax of the series when he takes on the Rangers in person. He exhibits great physical strength and considerable skill in combat, soundly defeating the Rangers with the greatest of ease. He was a formidable swordsman and demonstrated the ability to fire energy projectiles from his body.
[edit] Nadira
Nadira (played by Kate Sheldon) is the mutant daughter of the criminal Ransik, who traveled back in time with her father to the year 2001. She is a rather obnoxious humanoid, who loves being told how much she is beautiful. She is similar to Trakeena from Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy but is much less malevolent. Nadira would much rather run than fight, but when necessary she was a formidable opponent who possessed the ability to extend her fingernails to use as weapons. She also displayed superhuman strength, the ability to alter clothing, and to teleport. Nadira adores the 21st century fashion, frequently stealing clothing and jewelry.
Nadira engineered Ransik's escape from custody, lying down on the ground and pretending to be injured. She aided her father's raid on the Cryo Prison and prevented the mutant criminal Gluto from being cryogenically frozen. Along with Ransik, Frax and Gluto, she traveled back in time to the year 2001.
Nadira believed that the key to controlling the world in this time period was to have lots of money, and she frequently tries to accumulate more through extortion or theft. However, she is always defeated by the Time Force Power Rangers. A running gag on the show was that Gluto had a crush on her and would try in vain to woo her, but would always be rejected.
In the last episodes of the series, as Gluto and the Cyclobots hunt down Frax, Nadira diverts herself by taking over a clothing store. Trip shows up alone to stop her, and the Xybrian takes on the mutant. But, when a woman goes into labor, the two stop and try to help her. Trip forces Nadira to help the woman deliver her baby. Nadira emerges from the dressing room with the newborn, who she calls beautiful. Trip tells her that humans can't be all that bad, and Nadira agrees with him. After playing with human children, Nadira questions her supposed hatred for them. Nadira goes to an imprisoned Frax for answers. He tells her that hate is a vicious cycle propagated by humans and mutants. As Frax is taken away in chains, he sees a spark of goodness in Nadira, and urges her to break the cycle. As Nadira tries to make Ransik stop the hate, he scolds her for mourning over Frax, and knocks her down. When a baby was left behind during the attack, she decided to keep it safe and try to find its parents. While doing that, she is accidentally wounded by Ransik, and asked him to do the right thing.
Within a year of her return to the future, Nadira is working with children. Apparently Lucas managed to set her up so that she either didn't have to go to prison, got community service or didn't have to go to prison for long. She accompanied Ransik and the other Time Force Rangers in the Power Rangers: Wild Force team-up episode to help them fight the Mut-Orgs. Apparently she likes Lucas as in one episode she goes out on a date with him after thinking he wrote poetry about her (it was about his race car) but in Reinforcements From the Future at the end he walks off with her holding hands indicating that he may possibly return her feelings.
[edit] Frax
Frax (voiced by Eddie Frierson) is a robot in the service of Ransik, responsible for constructing the army of robot minions that Ransik sends against the Time Force Power Rangers. A robot himself, he dislikes Ransik's belief that robots are inferior, as well as the mutant's habits of destroying his creations when he is angry. This rage goes unnoticed by Ransik for much of the series. Frax's arsenal consists of a claw arm that transforms into a hand-like missile launcher.
Frax, it is later revealed, is all that is left of Dr. Louis Fericks (portrayed by Louis Griggs), the scientist from the future that attempted to heal Ransik of his poisoning by Venomark, a mutant criminal who was later captured and placed in the X-Vault. It was he that provided the serum that Ransik must consume regularly to combat the poison; Ransik destroyed his body in return. Frax harbors deep resentment against Ransik for this.
Later in the series, Frax discovers the X-Vault, where the worst prisoners are contained. He releases many of them without Ransik's approval, including Venomark (an action that particularly angers Ransik due to their past history). As a form of revenge, he destroys all of his serum and runs away from Ransik. He begins constructing massive robots, run on powerful Trizirium crystals from Mr. Collins' lab.
In the finale, Frax is caught by Ransik with the aid of Gluto. Nadira, Ransik's daughter, comes to him after she begins to doubt her father's mission. Frax explains that the hatred and prejudice between humans and mutants is a vicious cycle, and he urges her to break it before being taken away and having his memory erased. He is then reprogrammed to obey only Ransik and to use his robot "Doomtron" to destroy his enemies. The Power Rangers are able to return and destroy Doomtron, killing Frax.
Despite his overwhelming evil tendencies, Frax is one of the more sympathetic villains in Power Rangers history. He has an incredibly detailed background, and it is easy to see the tragic series of events that lead him to his life of crime. He was also the first villain to leave the main villain behind and become a threat to the Rangers on his own, a role later filled by Zeltrax and Broodwing.
[edit] Gluto
Gluto (voiced by Neil Kaplan) is a minor, mafioso-themed, mutant criminal who joins the service of Ransik when he is saved from stasis by the arrival of the villain's forces. He aids Ransik in the 21st Century, serving as the dumb muscle of the mutant army. A running gag throughout the series is his crush on Ransik's daughter, Nadira, and his attempts to win her affection; he would always be promptly rejected. Gluto later finds the treacherous Frax, and brings in Ransik to collect him. During the final assault on the city, Gluto decides to freeze himself inside the prison, unwilling to stick around for whatever might happen. His name is most likely derived from glutton or gluttony, considering his obesity. Gluto had the ability to use his flatulence to propel himself into the air.
[edit] Quarganon
Quarganon (voiced by Ron Roggé) is a Super Demon who was imprisoned within an artifact known as the Solar Amulet. When Vypra comes back to life, she attempts to steal the Amulet. However, because she is a ghost, she cannot take it from inside its case.(It is interesting to note she had energy project abilities that could hurt people but could not, or simply did not think of, using them to break open the case.) She forms an alliance with Ransik and succeeds in stealing it, then summons the powerful Super Demon during the sun's alignment with the stars through this incantation:
- From the deepest shadows far below,
- where no mortal will dare to go.
- Only Demons toss and burn.
- Now mighty Quarganon, it's your time to return!
However, the Lightspeed Power Rangers arrive to help the Time Force Rangers destroy both him and Vypra.
[edit] See also
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