Merrick Baliton

Merrick Baliton is a fictional character from the Power Rangers universe, appearing in the television series Power Rangers: Wild Force.

Merrick 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. Merrick soon became the Lunar Wolf Ranger and comes to the others' aid when needed.

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 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.

Merrick was portrayed by actor Phillip Andrew.

Trivia

*Merrick is the fifth Power Ranger to have come from a different time than that of the current Ranger team, the first four being Jen, Trip, Katie, and Lucas from Power Rangers: Time Force.
*Merrick is the first character to have a villianous alter ego and later to reform after being revealed to be a long-lost ally. This will repeat in Power Rangers Mystic Force, with Koragg the Knight Wolf, both coincidentally "wolf based rangers".