Top 10 Power Ranger Moments That TRAUMATIZED Us
#10: The Cobra Tattoo
Top 10 Jason David Frank Tommy Oliver Moments In Power Rangers
“Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue” (2000) After years of lies and deception, Ryan finally broke away from the Demons and joined the Lightspeed Rescue rangers as the Titanium Ranger. But the victory was overshadowed by a terrifying nightmare where villains painfully etched a cobra tattoo onto his back. Ryan is then told that it will crawl towards his neck every time he morphs. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, watching the animated snake come to life and slither to his neck is pretty unsettling. What made the scene worse was the moment Ryan discovers he actually has the tattoo when he’s conscious. We’ve got to hand it to the Demons for creating a punishment that still haunts our nightmares.
#9: Frax’s Destruction
“Power Rangers Time Force” (2001) After fighting a harrowing battle in the season finale, the Time Force Rangers defeat the robotic Frax once and for all. But the clash ends on a disturbing note instead of a victorious one. As Frax lies dying, his entire face falls apart before he finally passes on. Along with being frightening to see, it feels like overkill when you consider everything that Frax has been through already. He was once a human scientist who showed kindness to those different from him. However, a series of horrible incidents caused him to lose his humanity, freedom, and eventually his life. It takes another villain to remind us that Frax wasn’t just another Power Rangers monster.
#8: The Barillian Bugs
Top 10 Darkest Power Rangers Moments
“Power Rangers in Space” (1998) Have you ever wanted to see two Rangers be horribly mutated into alien bugs? No? Well, then don’t watch this episode. During an ambush, Carlos gets stung by a Barillian (Bah-Ri-lee-an) Bug. He then slowly mutates into a humanoid monster. As if that’ s not bad enough, he later infects Cassie as well. The monster itself is gruesome to look at. And seeing Carlos-twitching in agony and covered in veins during his transformation is enough to make any viewer cringe. After becoming bugs, our two heroes become mindless beasts who stalk the Rangers. This plot briefly made the kid-friendly show feel like something from the horrifying“Alien” franchise. Thankfully, the rangers are able to reverse their terrifying transformations.
#7: The End of the Thunderzords
Top 10 Power Rangers Moments
“Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” (1993-95) When the Rangers find themselves ambushed by Rito Revolto and a squad of powerful monsters, they do their best to stay in the fight. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. The assault ends when the Zords literally fall to pieces. Watching the rangers lose hurts so much because of the detail they put into the destruction. As the Thunder Megazord and Tigerzord’s heads and limbs fall off, we see exposed wires and witness the horrified reactions of all of the rangers. We thought watching the Rangers lose a battle was traumatic enough. But the thorough and gruesome demise of their Zords was almost too haunting to bear. It was a surprisingly bleak scene for a light-hearted series.
#6: Astronema Gets Brainwashed
“Power Rangers in Space” (1998) After Astronema was twisted into being a big bad, red ranger Andros realizes that she’s actually his long-lost sister, Karone. This revelation made her willing to leave a life of evil behind and join the good guys. But right when things are looking up, they go bad in the worst possible way. While on a recon mission, Karone gets abducted by her former minions. Andros tries to find her as quickly as he can. But by time he reaches Karone, she’s been fitted with cybernetic implants that completely brainwash her into being evil again. Watching Andros’ sister get ripped away from him was extremely brutal. After this scene, it looked like all hopes for a family reunion were completely lost.
#5: Magna Defender’s Traumatic Past
“Power Rangers Lost Galaxy” (1999) Before he met the Galaxy Rangers, the Magna Defender was a virtuous warrior of justice and a loving father. But all that changed one fateful day. During a battle against Scorpius, Magna Defender’s son attempted to protect his father. The selfless act led to the kid being struck down in cold blood. Watching the show subject a young child to such a grim fate was already startling and shocking. However, adding a scene where the Magna Defender crawls to his son after it was too late to save him was just simply cruel. After seeing this traumatic flashback, we never questioned why Magna Defender was hellbent on eradicating Scorpius by any means necessary.
#4: Venjix’s Uprising
“Power Rangers RPM” (2009) Venjix is arguably one of the scariest villains in all of Power Rangers history. Not only did he conquer most of the world, but he nearly wiped out the human race. But the most terrifying fact about Venjix is that he was created by humanity. In a desperate attempt to escape a corrupt facility, Dr. K created the Venjix Virus to override the computer systems. Unfortunately, it was accidentally unleashed onto the world and brought mankind to its knees. The entire scenario is dark in every sense. And since a real life digital virus could actually wreak havoc in our modern world, Venjix is a villain that reminds us that people could easily create the thing that destroys humanity.
#3: Divatox’s Invasion
“Power Rangers Turbo” (1997) While “Turbo” was widely seen as a divisive season, most fans agreed that it featured one of the darkest scenes in the franchise. After Divatox sent an army of enemies to the command center, the rangers were forced to fight for their lives while their home base was being wrecked. But the heroes couldn’t win the battle. During the conflict, the villains set off explosives that destroyed the command center. Before we could absorb this horrifying news, the rangers found out that Zordon’s been captured. Did we also mention that their powers disappeared too? Seeing the rangers’ sanctuary and symbol of hope get torn apart before they lost even more was heartbreaking.
#2: Death of a Pink Ranger
Top 10 Funniest Our Flag Means Death Moments
“Power Rangers Lost Galaxy” (1999) No matter how many times we look back at this moment, it never gets any less tragic. During the Space and Galaxy Rangers’ team-up, a massive storm threatens to destroy all of Terra Venture. Seeing no other option, the Pink Galaxy Ranger Kendrix bravely rushes in to silence the storm. She succeeds with a decisive move. Although we expected Kendrix to walk away from the incident, she doesn’t survive. She ultimately went out as the hero who gave her life for the colony. Up to this point, we were convinced that the Power Rangers were completely invincible and could never die. But Kendrix’s heroic sacrifice ultimately changed the rules and gave viewers a harsh reminder that not all heroes come home alive.
#1: The End of an Era
Top 10 Power Rangers Moments That Have Aged Badly
“Power Rangers in Space” (1998) Zordon of Eltar was the mentor to the Rangers from the very first episode of the Mighty Morphin’ series. Not only did he constantly lend his wisdom to the rangers, but he became like a second father to so many of them. But his career came to an abrupt end. When a universe full of villains threatens to destroy everything good, Zordon advises the red ranger to do the unthinkable. Hearing the cosmic being offer his own life to save others was heartbreaking. And it was cruel that a ranger had to do it. When Zordon’s tube was shattered, we didn’t just witness the death of a character. We saw an era of our childhood come to a tragic end.
