I can't stop being critical about what Power Rangers does (or just any franchise), right? Well, I'm critical about Power Rangers because it seems is still way too stuck with "Go Go Power Rangers" from the time Haim Saban rebought it back up to this present with Hasbro. I still feel it's awkward Toei Ltd. could care less since they're getting paid royalties by whoever co-owns the brand name, right? The return of Lord Zedd to villainy just sounds weird. I guess not too many were happy with how Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa were purified during the finale of Power Rangers in Space. I still feel that the show that saved the franchise is an overrated mess after watching Dengeki Sentai Changeman of all shows.
Lord Zedd's non-canon return
One PS2 game I'm glad I never played is Power Rangers Super Legends. The non-canonicity of that game is just as non-canon as most Power Rangers games where the plot doesn't fit into the television. Who can remember playing Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers on the Super NES back then? The Sega Genesis version even had its ending where the Dino Ultrazord demolished the Moon Palace. Lord Zedd's non-canon return on the 15th anniversary of Power Rangers is something. I guess Toei Ltd. cared less how bad the game was as long as Disney paid them. Granted, we know Toei Ltd. did film extra sets of footage for Saban to use in Mighty Morphin' after the supposed finale. We know the power of the GREEED. Cake Boss seems to embody not just Saban but also TOEI Ltd. in so many ways.
Just thinking about Lord Zedd returning was something. True, Lord Zedd here wasn't voiced by Robert Axelrod. However, this Lord Zedd returned to evil after digging up the time crystals. It's quite a bad game really. It's too bad that THQ wasn't the one involved. I may still dislike Power Rangers but the PS1 games were rather good. I felt Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue and Power Rangers Time Force were pretty good games. I felt that both Bansheera and Ransik as the final bosses in the non-canon games were fun. Yeah, I dislike Power Rangers but they were good games. Even that Super NES Mighty Morphin' game is still playable and enjoyable. This is coming from a guy who actually enjoyed the badly-berated Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger Famicom game.
Lord Zedd supposedly got trapped in some time warp. Apparently, the whole game was non-canon.
Lord Zedd's canonical return in Dino Fury makes me go bonkers
As said, I could understand why the Black Cross Fuehrer made a return in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger's special Hero 199 Movie. Black Cross Fuehrer was pretty much a throwback to the first Super Sentai series presumably with the goal of introducing children to the first main antagonist. Gokaiger did bring a few villains back (non-canonically to their shows) such as how Ryuoun appeared as a resurrected corpse without the actor Junpei Morita. Most episodes in Gokaiger were more focused on the main plot than the guest stars. I admit that I wanted to cry foul when Ayumi Kinoshita didn't get so much screen time. Though, I didn't cry when the actress got married. Heck, I didn't even cry when Kim Tae Hee married Rain after I came ot terms long ago that she was a girl I'll never have.
What's the whole point of Lord Zedd's return in Dino Fury? It's already not enough that I ended up disliking Kishinryu Sentai Ryusoulger. Heck, I wish Hasbro skipped it entirely and went straight for an Ucchu Sentai Kyuranger localization! Instead, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury will carry over the cast like how Space carried over the four replacement rangers (midseason) from Power Rangers Turbo. That's why I feel that Gekisou Sentai Carranger not only ran over Kosoku Sentai Turboranger (but I love both) but also Turbo itself. The Turbo movie was bad, I don't get why the Zeo powers had to be replaced so soon, etc. I still prefer how Choriki Sentai Ohranger ended and the only time they teamed up with the Carrangers was in an obviously non-canon crossover. The Carrangers would actually wear out faster in real life if they underwent Commander Miura's harsh training in the film.
Lord Zedd returned and was this time voiced by Evox's voice actor Andrew Laing. I felt this return of Lord Zedd was really nothing more than an act of desperation. For old fans, they could relate especially Lord Zedd made his debut in 1994 during the Mighty Morphin' Season 2. I still felt (until now) it's kinda anti-climatic that Lord Zedd has been Rita's boss behind the scene. Heck, I felt later episodes didn't know what to do anymore after Lord Zedd did some divide-and-conquer plans. After the episode where Tommy Oliver lost all his powers - I felt Lord Zedd suffered character decay. Who can remember that insane moment when Lord Zedd wanted to make Kimberly his bride? It was rather stupid though it did feed on my sinister fantasies about the character for years to come. The incident was somehow forgotten, Lord Zedd married Rita (and the two showed they were better together), and we know how the two even managed to finally get rid of the Machine Empire. But then you know how I prefer Super Sentai's storytelling style where things don't get directly linked except in certain seasons.
Lord Zedd becoming the main villain for Cosmic Fury just sounds weird. I even wonder why the Cosmic Fury powres are even needed to start with? Will it be explained or will it become like what happened in the Turbo movie? Will the Dino Fury Rangers suffer the same fate as the finale of Turbo where the rangers lost their powers? I found the Turbo movie so dull to watch even before finding out about Carranger. Sure, Carranger's not perfect but somehow it got Vindicated by History. Though, I'm not exactly happy when some Power Rangers fans overpraise Carranger to beat up Turboranger almost just as much as Turbo. I guess Kaiju No Kami's bad review of Turboranger purposely made the reference to Turbo as an inside joke. I laughed at Kaiju No Kami's bad review of Turboranger though respecting his views and love how he apologizes every time he shared how much he dislikes it.
I feel Lord Zedd's return is just this. PURE FANSERVICE. I feel it's almost similar as to how Emperor Palpatine returns in the Disney canon of Star Wars. I think I'll always prefer Legends!Palpatine over Disney!Palpatine in many ways. Legends!Palpatine orchestrated the whole thing and was no last-minute surprise. Palpatine's return in a clone body in Legends is much more welcome than what Disney did. I feel The Rise of Skywalker simply rode on who could be Star Wars' most popular villain though Darth Vader seems more iconic. I feel Lord Zedd is getting the same treatment. We know how long it's been since Lord Zedd and Emperor Palpatine had their debuts. Palpatine made his first appearance in The Empire Strikes Back before the actor Ian McDiarmid appeared as him in Return of the Jedi and the Prequel Trilogy. I feel Disney didn't have the guts to stick to their guns when they made Supreme Leader Snoke be but a subordinate of Palpatine. I think the same has happened to Lord Zedd in regard to his current return.
Right now, I still feel that Lord Zedd has become pretty much a run-on-the-mill gag. I can't imagine if Ryusoulger had an episode where the Black Cross Fuehrer returned for one episode. I can't imagine if Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters would have an episode where the villains sort out items and mention the Black Cross Fuehrer. This also reminds me of why the Kamen Rider series of the Showa era was a mess. The Showa era kept making too many throwbacks. Just when you thought no throwback - Kamen Rider Stronger brings in both Kamen Rider X and Kamen Rider Amazon. I felt the Not-So-Great Leader escaping at the end of both The First Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider V3 was a bad joke. I even wonder was Kamen Rider BLACK RX was written as bad as it could get so Toei Ltd. would put the franchise to rest for the meantime? It seems to be as if they decided to experiment on Metal Hero and only made three Kamen Rider feature films. I did watch Kamen Rider Shin which was a typical feature film. The other two that followed it were short films. I feel Toei Ltd. wanted to focus on Metal Hero then find out how they can later revive Kamen Rider. It seems that Metal Hero was actually "revived" in the form of the Kamen Rider franchise instead. Think how Kamen Rider Kabuto was on the anniversary of B-Fighter Kabuto or how BLACK RX gave several Metal Hero elements.
I guess Lord Zedd might become nothing more than a running gag. The Not-So-Great Leader has returned a few times but only to get his ass kicked. The Not-So-Great Leader only appeared in crossover Kamen Rider movies only to have it as a What-If scenario. It's pretty much like Frieza's non-canonical appearances in the Dragon Ball Z movies. For some reason, the Resurrection of F was later retconned and given new events. Dragon Ball Super: Broly did have some events that clearly contradicted the old cartoon continuity. Frieza did come back in the Dragon Ball Z movie featuring Janemba and was easily beaten by Gohan as SAIYAMAN of all forms. Frieza was among the ghosts that were brought back in Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. I feel Frieza has become bad fanservice in his latest appearances as well. I feel Lord Zedd is in no better place either, huh?
Right now, I still feel that Lord Zedd has become pretty much a run-on-the-mill gag. I can't imagine if Ryusoulger had an episode where the Black Cross Fuehrer returned for one episode. I can't imagine if Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters would have an episode where the villains sort out items and mention the Black Cross Fuehrer. This also reminds me of why the Kamen Rider series of the Showa era was a mess. The Showa era kept making too many throwbacks. Just when you thought no throwback - Kamen Rider Stronger brings in both Kamen Rider X and Kamen Rider Amazon. I felt the Not-So-Great Leader escaping at the end of both The First Kamen Rider and Kamen Rider V3 was a bad joke. I even wonder was Kamen Rider BLACK RX was written as bad as it could get so Toei Ltd. would put the franchise to rest for the meantime? It seems to be as if they decided to experiment on Metal Hero and only made three Kamen Rider feature films. I did watch Kamen Rider Shin which was a typical feature film. The other two that followed it were short films. I feel Toei Ltd. wanted to focus on Metal Hero then find out how they can later revive Kamen Rider. It seems that Metal Hero was actually "revived" in the form of the Kamen Rider franchise instead. Think how Kamen Rider Kabuto was on the anniversary of B-Fighter Kabuto or how BLACK RX gave several Metal Hero elements.
I guess Lord Zedd might become nothing more than a running gag. The Not-So-Great Leader has returned a few times but only to get his ass kicked. The Not-So-Great Leader only appeared in crossover Kamen Rider movies only to have it as a What-If scenario. It's pretty much like Frieza's non-canonical appearances in the Dragon Ball Z movies. For some reason, the Resurrection of F was later retconned and given new events. Dragon Ball Super: Broly did have some events that clearly contradicted the old cartoon continuity. Frieza did come back in the Dragon Ball Z movie featuring Janemba and was easily beaten by Gohan as SAIYAMAN of all forms. Frieza was among the ghosts that were brought back in Plan to Eradicate the Saiyans. I feel Frieza has become bad fanservice in his latest appearances as well. I feel Lord Zedd is in no better place either, huh?
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