Pages

Friday, October 20, 2023

Villain Convert: Kyuranger/Zyuohger/Power Rangers Cosmic Fury

 Since there are 10 episodes, there is not much time to develop these characters so I am going by their significance in Sentai, more than their overall significance in Power Rangers. Also, I am comparing Lord Zedd and Scrozzle to Sentai characters that are alike, but not necessarily inspired by. 

Lord Zedd/Jark Matter
Lord Zedd is not inspired by Jark Matter but fans thought they would use the suit for the final form of Lord Zedd. Jark Matter is the Kyuranger main villain. The similarity is that they both have brains exposed. Both wanted to take over the universe. Jark Matter was destroyed and Lord Zedd was handled with humanly, having to live his nightmares on a planet. Lord Zedd had a soft spot for Ollie. 


Ikargen/Inkworth
Both were very gentlemanly, Ikargen is calm and calculated. Inkworth is a butler but fights the Rangers very toughly. Inkworth seems to think of himself not in the best light. Mardakko is Ikargen; 's partner, she is absent in Power Rangers. 

Bajillia Naire/Madakko
Madakko is Ikargen's partner and she has around five to six lives in Kyuranger. Many fans think Bajillia is inspired by Madakko because they are both squid-inspired. It is likely the costume for Madakko wore off with time and wasn't usable and Hasbro wanted to create new characters. I don't know the truth. Brajillia is the mastermind behind the whole operation of CEO of Squid Ink. She is the mother of Squillia. She cares more about her looks and optics. Barjillia and Squillia are AMerican made. 

Scrozzle/Finster
Scorzzle is American Made and was introduced in Beast Morphers, he appeared sporadically in Dino Fury. He very much is like Finster, creating devices and monsters. Finster wasn't never destroyed, and neither was Scorzzle. 

Krymzo/Scorpio
Scorpio was the Orange Kyuranger's brother who became evil, they fought and in the end, he was destroyed. He had an important arc that fans loved. Unfortunately, Krymzo was only in 2 episodes and was just a dancer who was quickly dispatched. 


Kuervo/Omwhyzo
Kuervo was a hero ally of the resistance that betrayed the good side and sided with Jark Matter and merged with a villain. Omwhyzo is a general who deals with Squillia and is defeated by Tarrick. I liked the character and wish we saw him more. 

Deathworms/Scuttleworms
There were different Deathworms and Scuttleworms. Deathworms were more of pets and used as minions. Scuttleworms were inhabitants of their home planet who had babies and were disturbed by the Rangers. It is debatable. I mean, they had to footage of the zords fighting these worms and they had to have them in space, so they had to find a way to make a story. So the story they made up was they were hostile creatures. 

Jozotic/Bangray
Bangray was one of the generals from Zyuohger. Simon Bennett said that Toei gave them some suits from other shows, even if they weren't adapted into Power Rangers. I don't know if they gave them suits to choose from, or just sent whatever suits they had available. Toei had intended to clear out from their warehouses and the suits were given to Hasbro before its discarding. Joztic was a villain who helped Ollie fight the Rangers and ultimately just disappeared and wasn't seen again. I would have liked to see him more with Ollie if they had more episodes. 

Jadana/Naria
Naria was one of the generals from Zyuohger. Jadana was just a dancer who was quickly dispatched by one of the Rangers. 



Thursday, October 19, 2023

Character Convert: Kyuranger/Power Rangers Cosmic Fury

SPOILERS

 Cosmic Fury was a unique season as it has only 10 episodes and adapted zord footage from Kyuranger, so not the suits. Also, it was the third season of Dino Fury, with returning characters and actors from Dino Fury, much like MMPR Seasons 2 and 3. So I am comparing them with Kyuranger characters even though they didn't use the same suits. So in some cases I am going with color or situation or events. Villains in the next post


Amelia / Lucky
I know Kyuranger fans are going to say it is not fair to compare these two because of how much love they have for Lucky. There are also people who dislike Lucky. Lucky is rash and impetious and often shouts, "Lucky." Lucky had his charms. Amelia on the other hand has prove herself as a leader, caring about her teammates and putting them and the team first. SHe did feel bad for her love Ollie turning evil but did not wallow in that melodrama. When Billy told them not to risk taking on Zedd until the toher teams recouped, she knew the risks and took the risks.  

Izzy/Hammie
This is pretty easy as both are cool, playful and sarcastic. They sure have things in common. What they don't have in common is that Hammie was training to be a Ninja Master. Izzy is a high school graduate and was about to go to college when they had to deal with Lord Zedd taking their powers and declaring war on them. Izzy's arc in Cosmic Fury is that she is afraid something will happen to her girlfriend Fern and is fetful of she being in space and getting in danger. Of course, she ultimately realizes that Fern is brave and that is what attracted her to her in the first place. 

Javi/Champ
Javi and Champ might not seem to have much in common other than their color, but they do. Champ is a robot and Javi has a robotic arm. Champ had to deal with Stinger being the one sent to kill his creator Dr. Anton while Javi had to deal with losing his arm. Javi tried using the Morphin Master staff on the altar and lightning striking and him losing his arm. He had to accustom to his new mechanical arm. The differences of course are that Javi is human and Champ is not.


Aiyon/Spada
Aiyon is Gold and SPada is yellow but I decided to compare them because they are both cooks. Also, Aiyon uses the Shark Zord which was the Kajiki Voyager for Spada. Spada began cooking at a young age and cooked for his siblings, he aspired to be the best cook. Aiyon has a cafe now and cooks for the team when they are in deep space in order to calm because his fears about Zayto. He struggles in Cosmic Fury with his concerns about Zayto and keeping his secret for a while. 



Ollie/Naga
Ollie and Naga are both good Rangers that temporarily become evil. Ollie turned evil thanks to a venom that was designed to make him evil. He took a father-son relationship with Zedd. Zedd being fond of Ollie and calling him 'child' and 'boy.' Naga came from a species of humans that have no emotion whatsoever. When he became evil, of course he had a personality but evil. They had similar arcs. Other than that, they don't have much in common. As for Garu, who was the Blue Kyuranger, they don't have much in common there. Garu was a father and missed his family. 


Zayto/Tsurugi
Zayto has no color equilavent as his color is more of a champagne/beige. Tsurugi is the Houhou Soldier that acts as a Sixth Ranger, even though he technically is a 11th Ranger. They are similar as they come later on and Tsurugi was frozen and Zayto was unconcious in a tree, healing. Technically, Zayto was frozen in the beginning of Dino Fury. Zayto is on borrowed time and is on the journey to become a Morphin Master and is using magic, if he uses too much, he might die. Ultimately he does die and become a Morphin Master. Also, Zayto is tied with the zord creators and Tsurugi was one of the scientists of the technology to go aganist the villains. 

Fern/Stinger
Both orange. Fern is Izzy's girlfriend that accidently ends up in space and saves Solon and bonds with her, becoming the first Orange Ranger in Power Rangers. Stinger, was once an assassian for Jark Matter, the villain and his brother Scorpio became a villain and he had to fight him. All they have in common is colors. Stinger is caring but stern and cold on the outside. Fern is sunny and courageous. She serves as an audience surrogate. 

Billy/Shou Ronpo
Billy is the OG Blue Ranger from MMPR. Shou Ronpo is Ryu Commander, the 'boss' and sort of mentor of the Kyuranger but he is goofy and fun-loving. Billy is a caring and concerned mentor, he is also tech support. Shou Ronpo wasn't so helpful with dilemmas but he is dependable that he will fight for his teammates. Billy didn't have to stay with the Cosmic Fury team but he did and supported them.

Mick/Raptor
Maybe I am pulling at strings here as they don't seem to have much in common or that they both piloted the pink agle. Raptor was tech support before she became a Kyuranger. Mick was more of a scout, he was going to other planets to find Zayto and help the Rangers with their mission. The differences are that Micj is a shapeshifter who rather hide that fight and Raptor did want to fight, she could also get dreamy. 

Heckyl/Ferocious Knight D
Ferocious Knight D is Deathryuger and his monster form was used for Badussa in Dino Charge. Apparently, the Deathryuger suit could not be used for Dino Charge because of rights issues. Heckyl's Dark Ranger suit in Cosmic Fury was the Deathryuger suit and KyoryuNavy helmet with the silver stripe. Apparently, Toei gave Hasbro the KyoryuNavy helmet without explanation and was not allowed to color it. Heckyl was a bad guy but eventually became good. He had two sides, Heckyl and Snide. They were split apart and his planet Sentai 6 had returned because of the changes the Dino Charge Rangers did. Heckyl became Dark Ranger in the comics and off-screen for Power Rangers the TV show. Ferocious Knight D had no human form and was destroyed. 


Where's the Red Cosmic Fury Ranger Halloween Costume?

We finally have a female red ranger in merchandise for Cosmic Fury like the morpher and bookbags but where is the Halloween costume? Cosmic Fury has no pink ranger but ironically the only girl Power Rangers Halloween costumes there are in 2023 in stores are Pink Dino Fury. They did make a Zenith Ranger kid costume, but no other colors. I know in the past Halloweens, I have seen pictures of moms posting of their daughters in Red Ranger costumes on social media. 

Here is a mockup, not perfect of a Red Cosmic Fury Ranger costume. 


Power Rangers Cosmic Fury - Beyond Repair - Episode Review

 SPOILER ALERT



Billy does measurements on Javi's arm and Solon brings him a hot chocolate. Billy says he will help Solon and calls Javi a hero. Javi worries about telling his parents. Amelia and Ollie's mom have lab jackets on. Billy has a heart to heart with Javi. Amelia holds Ollie's hand. Ollie's mom sprays the antidote on Ollie. Aiton tells Mick where Zayto fell in. Mick says Aiyon shared the memory with him many times. Mick is in the Grizzly zord cockpit in his Ninja Steel Red uniform. Mick flies away from Earth in the bear zord. Back at Aiyon's cafe, Izzy as the Green Ranger has a meeting with her dad (who doesn't know it is her), Jane, and J-Borg. Green says they have told world leaders of the possible invasion. Green says Zedd knows who they are and where they are from. Aiyon arrives and gets a coffee for Carlos. Carlos tells her he doesn't want to worry his daughter and son. Jane says Javi is at a fancy recording studio recording a demo and Izzy is ready to go to college with her girlfriend. Izzy takes this to heart. They all agree not to tell anyone about Zedd yet until they have more info.

Back with Zedd, he gets interrupted by Squilla with his secret plan. He gets a message from Doodrip who stole a Squid Drill. He wants his job back, he stole Squilla's drill. Zedd decides to take credit for Doo Drip's hard work. Ollie wakes up and Amelia thinks it works. Ollie tries to reach for Lani's teleporter. They lock Ollie in and Amelia teleports out. The poison has corrupted his Ranger energy. Lani says she is focusing her energy on facts and asks about the poison. Amelia says he gets his energy from Dino Henge. Fern and Izzy pack for college. Fern asks if everything is okay but Izzy thinks back to what Carlos said and claims the Ranger business was fine and in space. Fern asks if she is still planning to go to college. Izzy says she is great at multitasking. Just then, Solon calls Izzy.  Izzy says she will be at Fern's at 3. She teleports away. 

Izzy wants to take the zords into orbit to fight the Mega Drill. Javi says he can't morph since he is down an arm. Amelia says to take his time. Billy says it is an honor to fight with the younger generation. Aiyon says he is the older generation. Izzy says he was unconscious for 65 million years so it doesn't count. Amelia, Izzy, Zayto, and Billy morph. The Rangers take the zords and fight the Mega Drill of Doodrip. Doodrip calls them. Aiyon calls him "Blue Goo Guy" which reminds me of Blue Globber from Season 3 of MMPR. Scorpion, Lion, Bull, Wolf, and Chameleon combined. Aiyon is in the Scorpion zord, Izzy is in the Bull Zord and the Chameleon is on remote. They do the COsmic Mega Blast and the Drill goes down and Doodrip is destroyed. 


Solon calls them back. Javi uses his new arm but has trouble syncing with it. Billy says the sync rate will fluctuate. He almost hits a red button they can not press, it hasn't been pressed in 65 million years. They encourage Javi. Ollie is still trying to escape. Lani wants to harness the energy from the Tricera Statue. Billy asks about Amelia's parents being evil, Amelia says it has been a saga.  They plan to sanitize his corrupted link to the Morphin Grid.  Fern goes looking for Izzy to no avail, she then thinks of checking Dino Henge. In Dino Henge, Izzy creates an Invisi Cloak. Billy and AIyon keep an eye out and AIyon spots Zentinels. Billy fights them. Aiyon spots Fern. Fern encounters Zentinels. Aiyon tells Billy who she is. Izzy wants to go but Amelia offers, Javi offers instead and morphs and teleports. Javi saves Fern but his arm jams. Lani links the machine. Ollie acts like a good guy to trick Amelia, she is not falling for it. 


Amelia morphs. Fern asks what is up with Javi's arm. He asks if Izzy told her. They teleport in the base. Fern goes to the bathroom. Amelia fights Ollie, Javi grabs him. They teleport outside. They blast Ollie. The shield goes down. The Zentinels find Dinohenge. Zedd arrives. Solon leaves. Zedd blasts the Rangers. Zedd destroys the statues except for Ollie's. They lose their powers. Ollie convinces Zedd to spare the statue so he can serve him. Ollie scratches Amelia's face with his sword. The Rangers enter the base. Zedd calls a Squidrill. A Squiddrill drills into the ground. The alarms go off in the base. Aiyon wants to press the button. Solon asks if they are sure and she presses it. Zedd and Ollie find it is gone. Zenitenls take the Tricera Statue away. The Rangers arrive on a deserted planet Erridus, which is similar to Earth but 30 million light years away. They are stranded on the planet. Amelia says they tried helping Ollie and Zayto is missing and they are without powers but she refuses to give up. They have Billy and Solon and they will survive. Izzy says it is no big. Fern comes to them and asks if it is no big. Izzy is shocked. 

Franchise Shout-Outs:
* Fern mentions NASADA


Episode Review:
No, no Cosmic Fury suits just yet. They actually transform in episode 3. All the 10 zords all came out in Episode 1, while in Kyuranger they took a while and the bear came a while later. The bears actually appeared after the dragon. I like the moments with Ollie's mom Lani and Billy. Supposedly according to Simon Bennett, Ollie's acto Kai couldn't commit to the season and could only do Voice Over so they decided to make him evil, so that's why he appears so little physically in other episodes.  This is a good episode to explain how they lost their powers. The pacing is great. Just wish the rest of the season had this balanced pacing. The less of J-Borg, Jane and Buzz Blast the better. What is interesting is the choice of monsters from Sentai, they are not only from Kyuranger but from Zyuohger and other Sentai. Also, a pretty cool cliffhanger with Izzy and Fern. 



Power Rangers Cosmic Fury - Lightning Strikes - Episode Review

  SPOILER ALERT





"Lightning Strikes"

A battle ensues between the Dino Fury Rangers, and the Morphin Masters against Zedd's forces on the planet Zordnia. The Morphin Masters fly around everywhere. Zayto fights in his White Ranger/Ghost Ranger suit. Lord Zedd is given a drink by a squid alien. Bajilia introduces herself as the CEO of a mining corporation. She released Zedd from his crystal as it had a strong energy signature. She wants to start an intergalactic war, she says he is in charge. Billy comes out of the woodwork and fights the Zentinels. Ollie recognizes him. Mick changes from a rock. He exclaims to Billy that it is some research trip. Ollie helps fight with Billy. Billy says his team is back on Earth. Amelia updates Mick by using her Rafkon powers and doing a recap of last season.

Squilia is a fan of Lord Zedd and the daughter of Bajilia. Brajilia shows the Squid Drills and it makes the Zentinels, the footsoldiers.  Zedd is about to fight and Squilia wants to go and Brajilia sends a Copy Guard with her. The Rangers fight Zedd. Zedd recognizes Billy. Billy says it is impressive he reminds him. They fight. Zedd blasts Billy. Aiyon tells Zayto about his cafe. Ollie wishes they still had zords. Ollie makes a Cosmic Portal and Amelia sends two monsters inside. Zedd is upset. Squilla brings Doodrip. Izzy makes fun of him Doodrip drops blue poison on all the Rangers, he says it is the same one Zedd used before to make Rangers evil. Zedd clarifies it was only designed for Ollie. Hence, Ollie becomes evil. No, seriously. Some goo makes him evil. Ollie opens a portal and sends Zayto away. Aiyon tries to reach for him but he is gone.

The Rangers fight Ollie. Zedd fires Doodrip. Red Morphin Master sees Mick and turns him into his old Red Ninja Steel Ranger form. He joins the fight. (Side note: this reminds me of when the Monitor turned Cisco back into Vibe in the Crisis on Infinite Worlds crossover on the Flash) Scrozzle arrives with a device, the Master Captivator. They capture the Morphin Master and convert them into energy. Zedd likes this. Red drops his staff to Javi and he gets a vision of where to go. Billy says to regroup. They all teleport away. Brajilia says the masters can not help the Rangers. The Rangers teleport to the place Master Red showed Javi. Billy says they are safe for the moment so they demorph. Mick says it is the Altar of Zordnia, what Billy and Mick were looking for. Lightning strikes it. Ollie and Squilla use a Squid Drill to look for the Rangers. Izzy asks if the altar has animals. They think it might form a Megazord. Billy says it is the planet that his team got the Shogunzords years ago. Mick says the Cosmic Fury Zords are zords that have been hidden for years. Aiyon thinks the Morphin Master staff might fit.


Billy says the altar is dangerous, maybe only Morphin Masters can use it. Mick takes away the staff. Ollie's Squid Drill arrives. It changes to Battle Mode. They are blasted at. Javi grabs the staff from Mick and Billy protests. Javi places it in and a lot of lightning hits it and it glows. Javi is pushed back. Cosmic Fury Zords appear from the sky. They start blasting the Squid Drill. Billy says they are semi-autonomous and he likes that in his zords. Javi realizes his arm is gone and goes into shock. Mick and Javi teleport away. The others morph. Amelia says to take any zord they want but she takes the Lion Zord because it is the center. Aiyon takes Shark, Izzy takes Chameleon, and Billy takes Wolf. They try to figure out the controls. Billy can remotely pilot any zord as well. Amelia doesn't want to leave Ollie. Billy calls the Megazord so Cobra, Chameleon, Lion, Wolf, and Shark combine. Ollie makes fun of it. They fight. Izzy tries the lash. Billy switches the Chameleon for Cobra for the arm. They call a Mega attack in hopes Ollie will surrender. Squilla leaves. Ollie doesn't surrender. Amelia leaves and her zords go to remote. She teleports into the drill and asks Ollie to go with her. She fights the Zentinels and calls Snzooze time, putting everyone to sleep. She grabs Ollie and teleports away. They destroy the drill. 



Billy sees more ships coming. Amelia has the cosmic key so they leave. Inkworth is the new butler of Zedd in the Mega Drill. Squilla arrives and gives Zedd the bad news. They set the fleet's course to Earth. Back at the base on Earth, Aiyon, Tarrick, Mick, Pop Pop and Izzy argue. Amelia has Solon roar. Amelia lays it for them. Mick says Billy has put word out to the other Ranger teams about the possible invasion.  Tarrick says he will warn his Rafkonian people. Aiyon is more worried about Zayto. Mick calms him. Mick goes to Billy, he says Javi and Ollie are both stable, both being in the med bay. Izzy asks about Javi's arm. Billy says it can't be reversed. Izzy thinks about Javi's well-being mentally as he is a musician. Solon says he is not the only one who has gone through something like this and offers to help. Ollie's mom says they will try to find a way to help everyone. She will recreate the antidote. Billy says they have all been put through the wringer but this is a challenge he is sure they are all ready for. 

Franchise Shout-outs:

* Zordnia is a deepcut from season 3, where the Shogunzords came from.


Episode Review:
It is smart to continue having a lightning theme throughout the season as lightning is the iconic core symbol of the entire Power Rangers franchise. I also would have liked if they explained how Mick and Billy met and what led them to look for the Zord Altar. I also wish they named the zords because I think some went unnamed. This reminds of the Disney days when some zords went without a name. Switching zord cockpits gets disorientating because they are clearly going by the footage without explaining why they went with a specific zord. As I said before, I don't like how Ollie became evil, with a sudden dousing of ooze. I did like how Javi lost his arm though, it showed part of his character, willing to take a risk and then having to face the consequences. I also like the inclusion of Pop Pop, Ollie's mom and Tarrick. And those worried about Saturna, she doesn't appear in this season but is about six months pregnant. 

Wednesday, September 27, 2023

Spoiler Free Zone

 UPDATED 9/28/23

Cosmic Fury is premiering Friday, September 29 and I am going to keep this a spoiler-free zone. I won't be posting summaries and reviews until thanks to a Poll I put on Twitter, Sunday October 1st. I will indeed put a Spoiler Alert warning. 




Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Cosmic Fury: New Photos Confirming Fern as Orange Ranger

This Netflix Life Article (https://netflixlife.com/2023/08/23/power-rangers-cosmic-fury-release-updates-and-everything-we-know-so-far/) has these exclusive photos showing Fern in the Morphing Pose and has her listed as the Orange Ranger.  






Also Simon Bennett posted this Behind the Scenes shot of Aiyon in a cockpit of what looks to be the cyan-colored grizzly Zord.

Here is a comparison of the Bear symbol from Kyuranger and the symbol on the Grizzly Zord cockpit for comparison. 

UPDATED 8/27/23
Picture from @redrangerfanpage


Thursday, August 17, 2023

Cosmic Fury Theme and New Info

It had to be the first day of school (I am a teacher) that they had the biggest news on Cosmic Fury, now set to premiere on September 29, 2023 internationally on Netflix. Entertainment Weekly revealed the opening theme song for the first episode. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqavPsG0HOk

The biggest news for fans is that David Yost will indeed be joining the team as the MM Blue Ranger and mentor. There is a shot of him piloting the wolf zord. 

Here is the main cast, with Javi's cybernetic arm. 


Jacqueline Joe (Fern) has also joined the cast. 


\Lord Zedd's footsoliders who are original to the shows and not from Kyuranger. The helmets were first shown on Simon Bennett's social media earlier. 


The villain in the center is American-created. 

Ikargen from Kyuranger seen in one shot with the other villain. 


The Tsuyoindavers were superior commanders from Kyuranger. 


The Rangers' cockpits. 

The symbols changed from Kyuranger.



Simon Bennett has revealed that Lord Zedd will set up his base on Eltar, Zordon's home planet.