The Wild Force Rangers are fictional characters and heroes in the Power Rangers universe, starring as the primary protagonists in the television series Power Rangers Wild Force.
The Wild Force Rangers are granted mystical powers and charged to protect the Earth from pollution-created creatures called Orgs. More specifically, they defend the fictional city of Turtle Cove, and are stationed aboard a flying island called the Animarium. Their mentor is Princess Shayla, and her mentor is Animus (who is an ancient Megazord). The Rangers represent the Ancient Animarium Warriors who also fought to destroy the Orgs and save the Earth.
The Rangers morph using devices known as Growl Phones (which have three operating modes: normal, human-form, and Power Animal Mode that resembles an animal). Each Ranger is also armed with a Crystal Saber (into which an Animal Crystal is inserted to call a Wild Zord).
The Rangers have displayed claws on their gloves while morphed (making this team unique among Power Rangers incarnations). The Yellow Ranger, additionally, has wing-like flaps under her arms, giving her the ability to fly and glide on currents of wind.
When the Rangers put their weapons together they create the Jungle Sword, which can be used by the Red Ranger to defeat certain enemies.
As well as their Zords (known as Wild Zords), the Rangers pilot other vehicles, known as the Soul Bird and the Savage Cycles.
Wild Force was the first team since the Alien Rangers to not include a Pink Ranger. Instead, it features a female White Ranger with pink trim.
When the Wild Zords speak to them telepathically, Cole is the only one who can understand them.
Cole is the only Ranger who spends any time with his respective Wild Zord, as he spends more time with the Red Lion than the other Rangers spend with their Wild Zords.
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Cole Evans is the protagonist and the Red Lion Ranger. He is the son of scientists Richard and Elizabeth Evans, who were killed by Master Org twenty years ago (10 years before the original series, and also the main Power Rangers Storyline). Cole, a baby at the time, was found by a tribe of natives and raised in the jungle. This life gave him an incredible connection to nature. The tribe later sent him on a quest to find out about himself, giving him a photo and a red crystal that turned out to be the Lion animal crystal.
Cole, despite being the rookie of the team, was appointed its leader, just as the Lion is the king of the jungle. Cole believes that there is good in all living creatures, despite the lack of hearts in Orgs. Cole even forgave the late Viktor Adler for the murder of his parents, placing a single rose on Adler's grave. After the Wild Force was disbanded, Cole used his talents to help animals. The original script to The End Of The Power Rangers mentions that he would become a veterinarian.
Before becoming a Wild Force Ranger, Cole was raised in the wilderness by a tribe, which greatly prepared him to be a Ranger. He has amazing agility, sharp senses, and thinks on his feet. When the natives felt Cole was old enough, they gave him a few items they found on him as a baby - a picture of his parents, and the Red Lion orb. With only these two things to go on, Cole left the wilderness for the city of Turtle Cove to find his destiny. Shortly after, he was found by Princess Shayla and the Rangers, and chosen by the Red Lion to be the Red Wild Force Ranger.
Cole has a love for animals and the wilderness. He immediately fell in love with his new home on the Animarium. His connection with nature allows him to communicate with animals, including the Wild Zords. He once tried to appeal to the heart of an Org, only to find with his senses that the Org had none. Cole is a bit inexperienced in the ways of civilized man, but approaches each new challenge with zeal, such as learning to ride his Savage Cycle.
As the Red Ranger, Cole fights with the ferocity of the Blazing Lion. He is also equipped with the Red Lion Fang, Lion Blaster, Falcon Summoner, the Falconator, and the Animarium Armor. His Power Animals are the Red Lion, the Green Gorilla and the Ruby Falcon Wildzords.
Cole was portrayed by Ricardo Medina, Jr.
Taylor Earhardt is the Yellow Eagle Ranger and second-in-command of the team, formerly the leader. As a young girl, Taylor looked out an airplane window and saw the Animarium. She later landed on it while serving in the Air Force, and found Princess Shayla then became the leader of the group till Cole Evans came and joined the group. Taylor was the first Wild Force Ranger to be recruited and had served as a Ranger for over a year prior to being replaced as leader by Cole Evans, the Red Ranger and rookie of the team, much to her dismay.
Taylor's military past has made her rather regimental, tomboyish and unsensitive, leading her to write a rule book for the team. The jealousy she felt towards Cole deepened when he disregarded it. After Master Org was defeated, she rejoined the Air Force, and frequently meets her friend the Yellow Eagle in the sky.
As the Yellow Ranger, she has the grace of the Soaring Eagle. She is also equipped with the Golden Eagle Sword, Soaring Darts, and Armadillo Puck. Her Wild Zords are the Soaring Eagle, and brother bear zords.
During the cross-over with Time Force, she has a rather tense love/hate relationship with the equally dominant and commanding Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger.
Taylor was portrayed by Alyson Kiperman, and is also the first blond-haired Yellow Ranger, followed by Summer Landsdown, and Emily. Her last name resembles the American pilot woman Amelia Earhart.
Max Cooper is the Blue Shark Ranger, and commands the Blue Shark Wild Zord, Polar Bear Zord and the Orange Giraffe Zord. He is best friends with Danny Delgado, the Black Ranger.
Max was the third Wild Force Ranger to be recruited and both he and Alyssa were rangers for roughly six months prior to Cole joining the team. Max became a Power Ranger when he aided two girls in escaping from Turbine Org. After Taylor and Alyssa successfully chased off the Org, the Blue Shark animal crystal materialized in Max's pocket and he became the Blue Wild Force Power Ranger.
Max was originally training to be a pro-bowler when he became a Power Ranger. When he quit, he lost the respect of his teacher. Max later returned to learn his mentor's ultimate bowling technique, the Tornado Spin, for use against Bowling Org. After much convincing, his teacher taught him the move.
Max is considered the "kid" of the group, because of his youth and child-like behavior. He constantly tries to prove himself, leading to cockiness and aggressiveness on his part. He brings a sense of humor to the Rangers, and is a master of improvisation. Max also hates being called a kid. He usually calls the Blue Shark "Sharky", implying that they share a very strong bond.
After surrendering their powers, Max and Danny left Turtle Cove together and went on a long vacation around the world, something they like to call the "Never Give Up" tour.
Max was played by Phillip Jeanmarie
Danny Delgado is the Black Bison Ranger. His motto is "Never give up" which is mentioned several times during the season. Most times, Max Cooper, the Blue Shark Ranger, would have to remind him what that motto is whenever he feels like giving up. There is no clear origin of this phrase from a character standpoint. But the phrase may come from a quote from Winston Churchill, in which he was quoted with saying; "Never, Never, Never give up".
He works at a flower shop, where he is very passionate about the flowers. Danny was the fourth ranger to be recruited and had served as a ranger for two months prior to Cole joining the team.
Danny is the strongest Wild Ranger physically, but deep inside is a peaceful man, with a sweet side and some childish quirks (like sleeping with a Teddy Bear). He is madly in love with a girl named Kendall, who works in the same flower shop as he, but he is too shy to tell her, and gets (even more) clumsy when she is nearby. Eventually, she found out that he was the Black Ranger, but decided that he needed to focus on his mission, and turned him down. When the Rangers disbanded, he and Max Cooper embarked on a global vacation, visiting different cities around the world. According to an earlier script, Kendall was supposed to join them.
While Cole was originally thought of as the only Wild Force Ranger who could understand the Wild Zords (a trait which Merrick also probably shared), Danny has been shown on more than one occasion to be able to understand the Bison Zord. Whether he can talk to anyone else's zords remains unknown.
Danny was portrayed by Jack Guzman.
Alyssa Enrilé (portrayed by Jessica Rey) is the White Tiger Ranger.
Alyssa is the kind, nurturing member of the group. When any Ranger is injured, she is right there tending to their wounds. Alyssa tries to defuse any tension between team members. Being a kind-hearted young woman, Alyssa often was in the position of peacekeeper. In the early days of the team, Alyssa tried to keep peace between Cole and Taylor who would have conflicting ideas on what was best for the team. Alyssa often took care of the others Ranger's when they were injured as well. She would cook for them and even read stories to Danny and Max. There have been a few hints that Alyssa may have a crush on Cole. When Alyssa wasn't fighting Orgs, she stayed active by riding her bike to school and taking dance classes at Turtle Cove University.
Alyssa was trained in the martial arts by her father, who is a renowned martial arts instructor. He intended for her to eventually take over running his school, and was heartbroken when Alyssa decided to move to Turtle Cove and attend Turtle Cove University. One day when he visited his daughter, he was proud to discover that not only was she a Ranger, but she had excelled in the martial arts he taught her. As a result he accepted her decision to continue her education.
When all the Orgs were defeated, Alyssa was relieved of her life as a Ranger. She finished college and became a kindergarten teacher. In the last episode, she is seen telling her story to her class in a fairy tale fashion, making her the narrator of the series.
As the White Wild Force Ranger, Alyssa fights with the guile and agility of the Noble Tiger. She is also equipped with the Tiger Baton and Deer Clutcher. Her Power Animals are the White Tiger, the Cyan Elephant, Black Bear and the Jade Deer Wildzords.
Alyssa is the second ranger to join the team (after Taylor and before Max, Danny and Cole).
Merrick Baliton (played by Phillip Andrew) is the Lunar Wolf Ranger, the sixth Ranger of the series. He was once one of the original six warriors of Animaria. He witnessed the battle between the ancient, evil Master Org and Animus, a force for good. When Animus fell, Merrick took it upon himself to defeat Master Org.
Knowing that he did not have enough power to defeat Master Org alone, he donned a cursed wolf mask which gave him the power of the Duke Org sealed in it, Zen-Aku. With this power, he was able to defeat Master Org, however he was soon corrupted by the mask's power and Zen-Aku took control of his body. Merrick pleaded with his comrades to destroy him before the mask took complete control. He was then taken over completely by the mask's power and attacked them. But rather than destroy Merrick, they sealed him into a stone-coffin in order to protect the world from Zen-Aku's power.
Centuries later, he was released by Nayzor to destroy the Wild Force Rangers of the present day. As Zen-Aku, he battled them on several occasions until the Power Rangers learned the truth and helped free him from the curse, with help from the Rhino and Armadillo Wild Zords. Princess Shayla had figured out the curse's power was tied to his Zords and had the Rangers destroy his Zords as the Predazord, breaking the curse. Before that, it seemed like Merrick was gaining short busts of control, such as when he saw Alyssa lying injured and unconscious after tumbling down a hill, he stops to bandage up her wounds. Merrick soon became the Lunar Wolf Ranger and comes to the others' aid when needed. He is also the strongest Ranger of them all, as he was able to defeat the others while he was still Zen-Aku. His Silver Wolf, Violet Hammerhead and Emerald Alligator Zords combine to form the Predazord. Unfortunately, breaking the curse also freed Zen-Aku from his curse and he returned to do battle with the Rangers. Merrick had to face his apparently unbeatable dark side, but using a new pool trick he learned from his friend and boss Willie, Merrick weakened Zen-Aku and destroyed him himself with the help of the Armadilo Zord. Its later revealed that Zen-Aku somehow survived, but he seeks redemption now like Merrick.
Unlike Rangers turned from evil to good in previous series of Power Rangers (notably Tommy Oliver in the original series and Ryan Mitchell in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue), Merrick did not immediately join the cohesive group of the other Rangers. Indeed, he is notable for remaining something of an antihero, like his Time Force counterpart Eric Myers throughout the series because of his largely self-imposed exile from Animaria. He, however, befriends a roadside bar operator named Willie, who he convinces to stay with as an employee after defending his establishment from thugs. It is repeatedly hinted that Willie is aware of his identity as a Power Ranger due to his mysterious disappearances. He is an avid player of pool, although he only plays pool to repeatedly practice one trick shot (the same one used in his Lunar Cue finishing move, which also served to summon his Wild Zords).
It is suggested throughout the series that Merrick has long been romantically involved with Princess Shayla, although presumably the guilt he had being under the curse of Zen-Aku, along with his self-imposed exile, prevented them from expressing it for a long while.
In the finale, it is revealed that Merrick has made his peace with the now independent Zen-Aku, and that they are travelling the world together both seeking redemption for their actions.
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