Monday, June 15, 2009

The Infamous Battlizers

UPDATED AND CORRECTED JUNE 16, 2009 2PM EST
These are the most talked-about topic among Power Ranger fans when they are featured on the show. What I am talking about the Battlizer. Battlizers are armor/weapons on the Red Ranger (it is never on any other Ranger, if another color has a similar armor, it is not called Battlizer). Battlizers are unique to Power Rangers and did not appear in the original source Super Sentai. Only one Battlizer has appeared in Super Sentai but that was been afterward it had premiered in Power Rangers. Many fans complain that Battlizers are against what Power Rangers stands for... teamwork. Another complaint is that the Battlizer is shown to have a lot of firepower, and an episode or two later, the Rangers get a new upgrade that is stronger and the Battlizer fails rather quickly.

Battlizer (Power Rangers in Space)
The very first Battlizer in both the toys and show. In the toy line, the male Rangers (Black, Blue and Silver) also had their own and they were unique and different. It was summoned with a special wrist morpher-like device called the Battlizer. It was called Battle Riser in the Denji Sentai Megaranger. Maybe the word 'Battlizer' comes from Battle Riser where 'Riser' is like 'rising up', but who knows. Andros' Battlizer had big muscles and abs, maybe because American producers didn't like how Rangers don't have heavy armor (they expressed this when making the first movie).

Red Armored Ranger (Lost Galaxy)
While not being called Battlizer, on the show, it is called Battlizer by fans. Some fans didn't like how he would not call for the Power of Orion but it would appear beneath the armor. This one had more technology other than built-in abs and muscles. It is the first Battlizer that had a woman (Karone) that helped him get it.

Battle Warrior Armor (Time Force)In Time Force, it was the last year for the other male Rangers to get unique Battlizers in the toy line. Lightspeed Rescue Red Ranger had a bike transform on him and fans don't consider it a Battlizer and the Blue and Green Rangers had Mega Armor. Quantum Ranger in Time Force had a Mega Battle as well. In the Time Force-Lightspeed Rescue teamup, it was the first and only time there was so many 'Armored' Rangers... five. This battlizer was eloberate but not much in the technology like Lost Galaxy and Space.

Animarium Armor (Wild Force)In the toy line, the Black, Blue and Lunar Wolf Rangers had similar armors, chest-wise. This Battlizer was simple and stream-lined, not very complicated, which is a good thing. He transformed into this with a special buckle, which was a toy too, both exclusively American.

Battlizer Armor (Ninja Storm)
When Disney took over, the Battlizers got new wind and got more versatile. In the toys, all the battlizers were the same for the other male Rangers. Some people like this design but I am not crazy about the triangles and points in the design. Ah, and the molded-on abs came back! But no exaggerated muscles. This is the second time a woman helped the Red Ranger receive a Battlizer.

Battlizer Armor (Dino Thunder)
Many fans complained about this Battlizer because it had features that was a lot like Inspector Gadget, with extending arms and legs. It looks Bandai America was betting on this because they had toys about extending arms, etc. Technically, the Red Ranger didn't use this, he had to upgrade to Triassic Ranger to use it.

SPD Battlizer (Power Rangers SPD)
Fans did not like that to transform into this Ranger, the robot dog had to be split into pieces to become part of the armor. Fans didn't like the 'Cyber Diapers,' the silver codpiece he has. And on the show, they specifically made a comment that Battlizers were only for Red Rangers. In fact according to the origin story on the show, a woman made this battlizer. This is first Battlizer to ever appear in Super Sentai, as it didn't originate in Super Sentai. The Battlizer appeared in Magiranger vs. Dekaranger, with its own transformation sequence and origin story.

Red Dragon Fire Ranger (Mystic Force)
This is the first Battlizer to be featured on the boxes for other toys and had its own Ranger name. Like the SPD one, they had to split a Dragon apart to make it. The Dragon was original to Power Rangers and was not from the original Mahou Sentai Magiranger.

Red Sentinel Ranger (Operation Overdrive)
This battlizer had its own name and toys and stuff but didn't appear on the packaging this time. Just like the SPD and Mystic Battlizers, someone had to be split apart but this time, it was the Sentinel Knight. Sentinel Knight a.k.a. Zuuban in Boukenger didn't merge with the Red Ranger. This is the last Battlizer ever. And this is the fourth Battlizer in which a woman helped in getting the Battlizer, it was made by Rose, the Pink Ranger.

Note: All these pictures were scanned by my site partner Mike Bastian.
~Lavender Ranger

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