Zord
In the universe of the
television series Power Rangers,
Zords are colossal mechanical or bio-mechanical robotic vehicles. When monsters grow to incredible sizes, the only way the Power Rangers can fight them is by summoning and piloting these robots. Usually this will happen towards the end of every episode.
The Zords are often in the shape of animals - sometimes living creatures, sometimes dinosaurs and sometimes mythical beings. When the individual Zords are inadequate for the task, they can join together into a more powerful, humanoid robot called a
Megazord.
Often, one Ranger has a Zord that becomes its own Megazord. Examples include the
Q-Rex, the
Samurai Star and the
Omegamax Cycle.
Every season of
Power Rangers from
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers onwards saw a new set of Zords being deployed by the current Power Rangers. Each set is based on the
Mecha from the connected
Super Sentai series. This change of Zords occurred even before the yearly costume change to match the equivalent
Super Sentai series.
The Zords used in
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were based on several subjects. They were originally themed after prehistoric creatures, then later after mythical beasts. The final group consisted of Zords based on various ninja-related animals. All of them were created by the sage warrior
Ninjor, though this was only revealed in the third season. The real reason behind the multiple themes of Zords is due to the fact that three different
Super Sentai series were used as the Zord fighting footage for each season. These series are
Zyuranger,
Dairanger, and
Kakuranger.
In
Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers at the end of the third season of
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Alien Rangers of
Aquitar brought their own "Zords" to help them battle evil. These
Battle Borgs very much resembled the Shogunzords (and may have helped inspire the Shogunzords construction, or vice versa), however rather than being piloted, they were controlled by
telepathy. The Battle Borgs, when activated, would copy any movement performed by the Aquitian Rangers.
The Zords used in
Power Rangers: Zeo were created and controlled by the Zeo Sub-Crystals and Super Zeo Gems, as well as by the
Gold Ranger of Triforia. They were kept in a secret hangar until the need for their use. The first Group was a collection of animals, including a pheonix, a bull, and a sphinx. These were piloted by the Red, Green, and blue rangers. The pink and yellow rangers also had zords, but in the form of tank like vehicles called "arsenals". Pryimidas, a giant prymid was piloted by the gold ranger. When combined with the other Zeo zords, it could transform into the more powerful "Warrior Mode". One of the most interesting zords in ranger history, the Warrior Wheel was also introduced in Zeo. It could turn into a wheel that could be hurled toward an opponent by a bigger zord. The final zords in the zeo series were the Super Zeo Zords. All five of them were humanoid robots and could combine into a larger form, the Super Zeo Megazord.
The Zords used in
Power Rangers: Turbo are a collection of giant cars and trucks built or brought to Earth. Also present are two sentient automobiles, Stormblaster and Lightning Cruiser.
The Zords used in
Power Rangers: In Space are an assortment of spacecraft. Some were created by the scientists of
KO-35, and others were left by
Zordon to be found.
The "Zords" used during
Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy were in fact sentient creatures called
Galactabeasts.
The Zords used in
Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue were colossal machines (initially emergency vehicles) constructed by Operation Lightspeed and maintained by
Angela Fairweather, then piloted by the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers.
The Zords in
Power Rangers: Time Force are highly advanced machines sent from the future that the Time Force Rangers can pilot.
The Wild Zords from
Power Rangers: Wild Force are living creatures of Animaria which share a bond with a Power Ranger. These could be summoned through the use of special orbs and their Crystal Sabers and the
Lunar Wolf Ranger's Lunar Cue. Although each Ranger has its own set of orbs, it was not uncommon for them to share these orbs with each other. Should a Wild Zord die, its orb would instantly shatter, and the Ranger bearer would lose his/her powers if his/her powers were given by that particular zord.
Each Wild Zord is, in effect, a replaceable part, and many combinations of Megazords could arise from the use of certain parts as the head, arms, and legs. Criticisms of this series often cite that there were too many combinations of zords, and thus it was difficult to ascertain what each Megazord could do.
The Zords of
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm, like the similarly-titled Ninja Zords of
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, were giant mechanical animals, piloted by the Power Rangers. They were maintained, at least originally, by
Cameron Watanabe, and then by his virtual duplicate, Cyber Cam.
The Zords of
Power Rangers: Dino Thunder were dinosaur-like robots, created by
Tommy Oliver and
Anton Mercer during their collaboration. They were mostly maintained by Tommy's friend Hayley.
The Zords featured in
Power Rangers: SPD were law-enforcement vehicles in use by the
Space Patrol Delta and its allies.
The Zords used in
Power Rangers: Mystic Force are mostly magical entities. However, the Zords of the core Ranger team are actually the Rangers magically transformed into forms called the mystic Titans. The White Mystic Ranger does not have a Mystic Titan form, but instead grows to the size of the Mystic Titans. The Solaris Knight is the only Ranger who actually pilots a Zord, a six-part train called Solar Streak Train that transforms into the Solar Streak Megazord.
Koragg the Knight Wolf also happens to control Catastros, a living horse Zord that can combine with himself. Red Mystic Ranger will later on in the series control Steedergon, a Unicorn-like Zord that like Catastros can combine with himself.
Several times during the Power Rangers' series, certain villains have piloted Zords of their own or overridingly taken control of the Zords belonging to the Power Rangers themselves. In truth, there is little to differentiate these machines from any other giant robot, however the word 'Zord' summons a feeling that the Rangers are now facing beings in some way like themselves. This motif has been used in many mediums to introduce increased tension and drama.
The first instance of this occurring was during the first season of
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, in the
Green With Evil arc, in which the Rangers first fought the evil
Green Ranger and his
Dragonzord. In this first instance, the Zord (and the Ranger) was soon turned to the side of good - although the Dragonzord would later be used for evil again, by
Goldar and by the clone of the Green Ranger. The same idea was reused at the 'culmination' of the first season of
Mighty Morphin, when
Goldar piloted the Zord
Cyclopsis against the Rangers.
Lord Zedd also piloted a Zord called
Serpentera, which was hugely powerful but never able to defeat the Rangers due to the fact that it was continually running out of fuel. Serpentera reappeared in the Red Ranger team-up episode,
Forever Red.
The idea of "evil Zords" was reused several times in later seasons, for example
Power Rangers: Turbo, in which
Divatox and her minions pilot several machines called DivaZords, and
Power Rangers: In Space, in which
Psycho Yellow takes control of the Mega Voyager while the Rangers are in it.
In
Power Rangers: Time Force there are several giant robots that are used by
Frax and are not addressed as Zords, although in
Mirai Sentai Timeranger (the Sentai Show that
Power Rangers: Time Force came from) one of the giant robots was named the G-Zord. This was the first and only time that the Zord term was ever used on a Sentai Program. The G-Zord was adapted into the Dragontron robot when the footage was used on
Power Rangers: Time Force.
In
Power Rangers: SPD, a large assortment of giant robots are used by the monsters of the series. While not referred to as Zords, these robots are Zord-like in operation.
There is one villain Zord in the US version which wasn't really a giant robot in the Sentai version. The one made-up Zord is the Zord
Lothor piloted at the end of
Power Rangers: Ninja Storm. This was done in order to use the final battle footage from
Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger, the Sentai Series that Ninja Storm is based on, and since Lothor is an
American-made Power Ranger villain.
List of evil Zords
*
Cyclopsis:
Goldar's War Zord. Destroyed by
Ultrazord, twice.
*
Serpentera: See
Serpentera. Destroyed by
Cole and his Wild Force Rider.
*
Metallosaurus: A Zord developed by
General Havoc. Destroyed by the
Rescue Megazord.
*
Terrorzord: A Zord used by
Elgar. Turned into a camel by one of Divatox's monsters by accident.
*
Divazord: A bird Zord piloted by
Divatox, and destroyed by the
Rescue Megazord &
Turbo Megazord.
*
Sharkzord: A shark Zord piloted by
Porto and destroyed by the Artillery Power.
*
Catzord: A ferocious big cat Zord piloted by
Rygog. During his battle with the Rangers, Rygog also piloted the Divazord and Sharkzord by remote control. The Catzord, just like the other two Zords, was destroyed by the Rescue Megazord's Artillery Power.
*
Dragontron: Remote control robot created by
Frax. Destroyed by the
Time Force Megazord & the
Q-Rex.
*
Doomtron: Zord-like robot created and piloted by
Frax. Both Doomtron and Frax were destroyed by
Wesley Collins & the
Q-Rex.
*
Zurganezords 1, 2, and 3: A trio of Zords created and piloted by
Zurgane. Zurganezord 2 has a Lightning Mode, while Zurganzord 3 can scan data of the Rangers' Megazords. All destroyed.
*
Hyper Zurganezord: Evil Zord created by
Zurgane from data collected by Zurganezord 3 on the Storm Megazord. Also had a Power Sphere, the
Hyper Sword. Destroyed by the
Hurricane Megazord,
Mighty Mammothzord and lots of Power Spheres.
*
Kaprizord: Zord piloted by
Kapri. Destroyed by the
Hurricane Megazord,
Mighty Mammothzord and lots of Power Spheres.
*
Marahzord: Beevil-lookalike Zord piloted by
Marah. Destroyed by the Samurai Storm Megazord.
*
Shimazuzord: Piloted by
Shimazu. Destroyed by the Samurai Thunder Megazord.
*
Lothorzord: Piloted by
Lothor. Destroyed along with Storm Megazord.
*
Replicantzord: Evil clone of Thundersaurus Megazord created by
Mesogog. Destroyed by the
Thundersaurus Megazord &
Mezodon Megazord.
*
Zelzord: Zord built and piloted by
Zeltrax. Destroyed along with the
Thundersaurus Megazord &
Mezodon Megazord.
*
A-Squad's Megazord: This Zord was used by the SPD
A-Squad Rangers when they kidnapped Cruger. Destroyed by the
SWAT Megazord. (interestlingly, if you pay attention to the image of the A-Squad Zord assembling, you will see it is actually Broodwing's drill vehicle)
*
Catastros/Centaurus Wolf Megazord: See
Zords in Power Rangers: Mystic Force.
One of the more comical situations that involves the term
Zord is that it is used to call other
mecha from various games, movies, and TV shows. The side that gets the worst of it is
tokusatsu because a majority of their "ROBO"/"TETSUJIN" have been associated with
Power Rangers and the fandom starts hypothesizing what the name of "Zord" will be the following year after watching the current
Super Sentai series. Other mecha that have been referred as "ZORDS" include
Mechagodzilla (due to its similarities to
Dragonzord),
Evangelions,
Gundams, even the mechs from the
MechWarrior series have been called "Zords" for reasons unknown. While it's possible people mistakenly call various mechs/mecha a "zord" because many aren't familiar with the vast array of mech/mecha types; usually, it is done intentionally. Other issues is the depiction of villains as "ZORDS," the most notable was turning the main
Hurricanger villain,
Tao Zanto, into Lothor's "zord."
* Although it is never stated in the series, it is assumed that the Zords are named after
Zordon, the first mentor of the Power Rangers.
* In the original "Day of the Dumpster" pilot, the Zords were referred to as "Droids".
* It has been tradition for the primary Megazords to wield swords while the other Zords would have blasters or cannons.
* Dragonzord's appearance is based on the King of Monsters,
Godzilla, wearing a suit of
samurai armor.
