Villains in Power Rangers in Space

The villains of the television series Power Rangers in Space are a group of aliens commanded by a villain called Dark Specter. This group included many villains from previous seasons of Power Rangers.

Dark Specter

Dark Specter is played by T.J. Rotolo and voiced by Christopher Cho.^[1]. Dark Specter is a gigantic entity, as the Dark Fortress is smaller than his hand. Dark Specter is actually a reincarnation of Maligore from the previous season's featured film, and after his supposed 'death', he gains the intellect and manages to assemble the United Alliance of Evil. He is portrayed as the ultimate evil; the other villains are terrified of him. He is known as the Grand Monarch of Evil. As the Grand Monarch, Dark Specter forms an alliance of villains consisting of Lord Zedd, Rita Repulsa, Goldar, Squatt, Baboo, Finster, Master Vile, the Machine Empire, Divatox, Rygog, Porto, Elgar, General Havoc, Ecliptor, Darkonda, the Psycho Rangers, and Astronema.

He captures Zordon, the Power Rangers' former mentor, and drains him of his powers. Selecting Astronema to battle the Space Rangers, Dark Specter makes sure they never rescue Zordon from his clutches. In Countdown to Destruction, Dark Specter initiates a full-scale assault on Earth, Gratha, Triforia, KO-35, and Eltar. Astronema, who was now fully evil and brainwashed by Dark Specter, turned on him in order to destroy him by prolonging the attacks of the Psycho Rangers and other evil forces that drew power from him; while she was able to seriously weaken him in this manner, she did not succeed in destroying him. Though the attack was going well, Dark Specter is assaulted by Darkonda, who tried to slay Dark Specter with a planet-destroying missile. The attack destroyed Dark Specter, but only after he swallowed Darkonda's Velocifighter whole, completely destroying the bounty hunter along with his steed.

He is also considered the true antagonist of In Space since he created Astronema and is leader of the alliance of villains known as the United Alliance of Evil.

Astronema

Astronema (played by Melody Perkins) is known throughout the universe as the Princess of Evil, Dark Princess of Space, and the Princess of Darkness. She is the main antagonist of Power Rangers in Space. She is also known for being one of two primary female villains in the Power Rangers series to enter hand-to-hand combat with the Rangers themselves. She carried a staff called a "Wrath Staff" that shot lightning, and a boomerang. Anytime Astronema is out of her Dark Fortress, she wears what she calls her "Battle Gear", which consists of two shoulder plates, a chest plate, and a back plate. This "Battle Gear" helps protect her when she is in hand-to-hand combat.

Once known as Karone, sister of Andros (the Red Space Ranger), she lived on the planet KO-35, a human space colony. She is kidnapped by Darkonda when she and Andros are playing in the park with a toy sphere and practicing telekinesis. She is transported to another planet, where she meets Ecliptor and Dark Specter, the Grand Monarch of Evil.

When Andros discovers Astronema's true identity, he tries to reform her. She becomes an honorary Power Ranger. However, she is captured once again by Dark Specter and his forces. Ecliptor cybernetically brainwashes her, using advanced computer implants to suppress her emotions. She becomes Astronema once again.

In the finale of Power Rangers in Space (Countdown to Destruction), she becomes the Queen of Evil after Dark Specter's destruction. After she becomes the Queen of Evil, Zordon reaches out to her, telling her that because she is now the leader, she doesn't have to do Dark Specter's bidding anymore. His plea almost breaks through the power of the cybernetic brainwashing implants, but it does not work. Then, Astronema begins to attack Earth. Andros sneaks into the Dark Fortress and tries to convince his sister to stop and come back to him, as Zordon did. A battle ensues, and when she delivers a powerful energy blast to finish Andros, he protects himself with his Spiral Saber, deflecting it back to her and seemingly killing her. After Andros destroyed the energy tube of Zordon at his command, it released a wave of purifying energy that eradicated all evil, but left Astronema's body unchanged. Andros cried, and two tears ran off his nose and landed on her cheek. This removed Astronema's cybernetic programming. Restored, she returns to Earth with Andros and the other Rangers.

She was also Zhane's love interest for a time, but after Zhane had to stand her up to defeat a monster, she seemingly lost all interest in him, but was seen holding onto her photograph of him at the end of the episode.

In Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, Karone returned, as she welded the power of Kendrix's Quasar saber after Kendrix died and became the second Pink Galaxy Ranger.

Elgar

Elgar (played by Kenny Graceson, voiced by David Umansky) is a rather dim-witted goon from Turbo who served under Divatox. However, when Divatox was relegated to transporting Zordon from world to world, Dark Specter transferred him under Astronema's command. Astronema obviously didn't like Elgar due to his illiterate and buffoonish nature. He served mainly as an assistant to Ecliptor and Darkonda, and also operated the Satellasers, a beam of energy fired from Astronema's space base to the planet's surface to enlarge monsters. He was destroyed by Zordon's energy wave along with many Quantrons and Piranhatrons in the battle at Angel Grove.

Ecliptor

Ecliptor (played by Yasuhiro Takeuchi (Megaranger footage) and Danny Wayne Stallcup (U.S. fooatge), voiced by Walter Lang) is Astronema's second-in-command. He is a powerful general, capable of holding his own against even the Red Space Ranger, Andros. He wields a sword, which can fire electric blasts, fires beams from his eyes, and make a duplicate of himself, called a Cyber Shadow.

Ecliptor was built to be a creature of evil. He is charged with raising the captured Karone to be evil, so that she would become Astronema, Dark Specter's most devoted acolyte. It is implied that Ecliptor is more devoted to keeping Astronema safe rather than to furthering his evil cause, which would suggest some kind of love, or at least a protective instinct. Ecliptor treats Astronema as both his queen and his daughter, offering advice when needed. He is always quick to reaffirm that Astronema is, and always has been, evil - although this is not the case.

He is destroyed in battle against the Astro Megazord, but was revived in a bulkier second form.

Ecliptor's arch-rival is Darkonda, a bounty hunter who worked for Dark Specter to capture Karone. Darkonda treats Ecliptor with disdain, always trying to one-up him. Ecliptor places a very high value on loyalty and hates the treachery in which Darkonda delights. Darkonda can also merge with Ecliptor to form a powerful entity named Darkliptor. In this form, Darkonda is dominant, but Ecliptor can force them apart. Ecliptor killed Darkonda on three occasions, during one of which, he saved Andros from a booby trap set for him by Darkonda.

When Andros discovered that Karone was Astronema, Ecliptor attempted to keep them apart, to prevent Astronema from learning the truth. He failed, and Astronema returned to the side of good as Karone once again. Ecliptor remained devoted to his princess, defending her against the attacks of his own forces. He was branded a traitor and was captured by Darkonda.

Ecliptor is brainwashed by Darkonda to be fully evil, driving out any protective instinct he may have had towards Karone, and he is turned into a more powerful version of himself. It was this reprogrammed Ecliptor who captured Karone for her to be brainwashed into being Astronema again.

Towards the end of the Rangers' conflict with Astronema, Ecliptor gains an upgrade, turning red for a time. In this super-powered form, he destroys the Delta Megazord and severely damages the other Zords before his new power expired, as after taking hits from each of the Rangers' individual weapons, he took one slash from Andros' Spiral Saber (in addition to a couple of hits from Andros' Battlizer), turning him back to normal.

In Countdown to Destruction, when Andros inadvertently kills Astronema, Ecliptor appears. Partially free of his programming, he demanded to know how Andros could have done this to his own sister. He vowed to avenge her death and they began dueling. Andros strikes him down and then destroys Zordon's energy tube. The destruction creates a wave of energy which dissolves Ecliptor into a pile of sand. He is the first of many Zordon-era villains to be destroyed.

Ecliptor was also one of the few Power Rangers characters to exhibit the "honorable villain" personality, which was used again for Villamax, Diabolico, Ransik, Nadira, Jindrax, Toxica, Zen-Aku, Koragg, and several others.

Ecliptor was the fourth villain to battle a Megazord one on one after Goldar, Rito and King Mondo.

Darkonda

A bounty hunter from an unknown world, Darkonda (played by Naoki Ofuji (Megaranger footage) and Yoshio Iizuka (American footage), voiced by Steve Kramer) was the first treacherous antagonist in the Power Rangers series. Darkonda, as well as later villains such as Deviot, Frax, Vexacus, Zeltrax, Broodwing, Imperious, and Serrator claimed allegiance to the primary villain of the series - in this case Astronema and Dark Specter - while working for their own agenda and plotting behind their leader's back. In this way, Darkonda was portrayed as the rival of Ecliptor, a villain who was wholly loyal to his superiors. This rivalry was brought to a head when he forcibly merged with Ecliptor to create the being known as Darkliptor.

In Darkonda's first appearance, he injects Carlos Vallerte, the Black Space Ranger, with the venom of a Barillian Bug. He became one of Dark Specter's commanders, and is responsible for taking Karone from KO-35 to Ecliptor for brainwashing. He attempts to destroy the Rangers and Ecliptor as well as his superior, Astronema, several times during the series.

He is Andros' greatest torment, having kidnapped Andros' sister when they were children.

Darkonda died several times during the series, but was regenerated each time. After each 'death', he marked another life on a scroll of paper that he carried with him, as he had only a limited number of lives to live.

In Countdown to Destruction, in a final act of betrayal, Darkonda commandeers a Super Missile to destroy Dark Specter in an attempt to take power in controlling the universe for himself. However, he is destroyed in turn by the evil monarch before he fell. This is Darkonda's last life.

Darkonda, according to his scroll, had 9 lives during the series similar to a cat, although only 7 of his deaths were shown on-screen. It is unknown if he had any more lives prior to his first appearance. Another fact was that he was one of the few villains in the Zordon era not to be dissolved by Zordon's energy wave as he died before the finale to Countdown to Destruction.

Psycho Rangers

Evil rangers created by Astronoma after being forced to become her old self again. The Psycho Rangers oringily drew their energy from Dark Specter, who felt the drain more strongly if the Psychos fought hard. As spirits, they sought a way to return to physical form; this lead them to the lost city, where they used a digitizing device in reverse to become real again. However, the rangers digitized them into data cards; the cards later ended up in Deviot's possession. Keeping with their team name, the Psychos are indeed psychotic.

Quantrons

The Quantrons are Astronema's robotic foot soldiers. They wield dual edge blades and pilot the Velocifighters. As Andros and Zhane were able to disguise themselves as Quantrons, it implies Quantrons are robots wearing armor.

Monsters

The monsters used in this season work for Astronema. The monsters are adapted from the monsters that are featured in Denji Sentai Megaranger. To make a monster grow, Astronema would give orders to fire the Sattelaser at the monster making it grow.

• Manta Menace - A stingray monster occasionally fought on the Simudeck.
• Electrotramp (voiced by Blake Torney) - Electrotramp is an electrical monster that Astronema used to draw out the Rangers to have her mesmerized Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles "help" them defeat him. Electrotramp's suit is a recolored hybrid of two monster suits. In battle, he summons large spheres of electricity which he then throws at his opponents. Destroyed by the Ninja Turtles. Electrotramp is a hybrid of two monster suits: It has the head of Ohranger monster Bara Police (unused in Power Rangers Zeo) and the body of a Varox.
• Clawhammer (voiced by Kim Strauss) - Clawhammer is a shrimp monster from the planet Kalderon who can project an energy blade from his claw. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Voltage Hog (voiced by Kirk Thornton) - Voltage Hog is an electrical monster that can drain electricity from powerlines and use it in its tentacles to fight its enemies. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Elephantitan (voiced by Michael Sorich) - Elephantitan is a titanic elephant monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Waspicable (voiced by Ken Merckx) - Waspicable is a kind-hearted wasp monster. He was able to project powerful energy blasts from his eyes and teleport in a little ball beam. Waspicable is a recolored version of Grumble Bee with a buck tooth and different wings added onto it.
• Sting King (voiced by Bob Papenbrook) - Sting King is a robotic hornet monster partnered with Waspicable. He could fire a rapid series of lasers from his stinger arm or release a swarm of bees. When in space, his blasts can affect an entire city. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Crocovile (voiced by Tony Oliver) - Crocovile is a regenerating crocodile monster used by Astronema to distract the Rangers while Dark Specter whisks Zordon far away from them. Crocovile was capable of duplicating himself: one with a crocodile head for a left hand, and another with a crocodile tail for a right arm. Destroyed by the Astro and Delta Megazords.
• Destructipede (voiced by Mike Reynolds) - An illusion-casting centipede monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Powerdriller (voiced by Kirk Thornton) - A rhinoceros-like drill monster summoned by Destructipede. When he walked, he created earthquakes. Destroyed when Destructipede was destroyed.
• Fearog (voiced by Ezra Weisz) - A toad monster summoned by Destructipede. Destroyed when Destructipede was destroyed.
• Behemoth (voiced by Richard Cansino) - A moth monster summoned by Destructipede. Destroyed when Destructipede was destroyed.
• Mamamite (voiced by Jackie Marchand) - A termite monster. Destroyed by the Spiral Saber's Booster Mode and Quadrablaster.
• Termitus (voiced by Dave Mallow) - A soldier termite-themed monster that was formed when the cloud of Mamamite's termites combined. Termitus could eat through the Rangers' weapons and has the ability to separate itself into a cloud of termites in order to evade the Rangers attacks. Destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Barillian Bug (voiced by Kim Strauss) - Barillian Bugs are insect monsters that once attacked KO-35 turning whoever it stun into the scorpion-like Barillian Bug Monsters. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Mutantrus (voiced by Brett Walkow) - A giant squid-like monster grown from a portion of the giant mutated Darkonda. He could fly through space and blast lasers from his forehead. Destroyed by Mega V1 and V3.
• Lionizer (voiced by Ken Merckx) - A robotic lion monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Mega Voyager.
• Body Switcher (voiced by Ezra Weisz) - A body-switching monster used by Astronema. On a related note during Body Switcher's demonstration of his abilities, five of the monsters Body Switcher turned into were Beetleborgs monsters Rocket Man, Cataclaws, LottaMuggs, Unctuous, and Firecat. Destroyed by the Mega Voyager.
• Lunatick (voiced by Bob Papenbrook) - Lunatick is an antlion monster from the planet Kadix that had battled the Space Rangers including the Silver Space Ranger. Lunatick spoke a strange alien language (unique to most characters in Power Rangers). Destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Crocotoxes (voiced by Michael Sorich) - A breed of toxic eel monsters (one red, one blue) created by Darkonda on Deketa 5. The Crocotoxes' toxin gave people black spots when they were in the water. One is destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord, the other by the Silver Ranger.
• Praying Mantis (voiced by Dave Mallow) - A robotic mantis monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Mega Voyager.
• Destructoid (voiced by Ezra Weisz) - An unspecified monster that attacked Astronema. Destructoid was originally featured on Beetleborgs Metallix as Mole Monster (but with a different hair style).
• Horror Bulls (voiced by Brad Orchard) - A set of bison monsters used by Ecliptor. First is destroyed by the Spiral Saber's Booster Mode and Quadrablaster. Second is destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Coralizer - (voiced by Tadahiro Nakamura) A coral monster used by Darkonda. He infected the KO-35 Rebels with corals to grow on them on the planet Centaur B. Destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Lizwizard (voiced by Ezra Weisz) - An electrical chameleon monster used by Astronema. His long tongue enables him to switch places with whoever is wrapped up in them. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Batarax - (voiced by Richard Cansino) A sonic-emitting bat monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Spikey (voiced by Bob Papenbrook) - Spikey is a cactus-based monster with sharp claws on one of his hands who was created by Astronema. Destroyed by the Mega Voyager.
• Frightwing (voiced by Tony Oliver) - A condor monster used by Astronema. Destroyed by the Winged Mega Voyager.
• Owl Monster (voiced by Brad Orchard) - A robotic owl monster. He could fire light blasts and lasers from his eyes in battle. Destroyed by the Astro Megazord.
• Datascammer (voiced by Richard Horvitz) - A robotic data-gathering lizard monster used by Astronema. He could emit blasts from his mouth and scanned information from the Power Rangers for Astronema. Destroyed by the Winged Mega Voyager.
• Jakarak (voiced by Lex Lang) - An anglerfish monster from the planet Tirna who was the former master of Seymour. He had a flower on his head that was capable of turning anything into stone. Destroyed by the Astro Delta Megazord.
• Vacsacker (voiced by Richard Epcar) - A robotic vacuum-themed monster that was used to abduct people to Secret City. Destroyed by the Mega Voyager.
• Tankenstein (voiced by Derek Stephen Prince) - A powerful shapeshifting mechanical entity used by Astronema. He could regenerate himself as well as electrocute anything with hidden cables. Self-destructed in order to destroy the Mega Voyager.

References