TMC
07-02-2025, 12:34 AM
https://dekkareviews.wordpress.com/2025/06/16/ranger-spotlight-top-10-worst-megazords/
June 16, 2025
Dave Cameron
https://dekkareviews.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/prlr-zrds-lifeforcemegazord.png?w=636&h=354
WARNING: Prolonged use of Megazord will cause eventual death.
Power Rangers has given us some of the most iconic giant robots in pop culture, with legendary Megazords that have thrilled fans for decades. But not every Megazord is a winner. Some are clunky, uninspired, or downright useless, whether due to poor design, lackluster fights, or just failing to live up to the hype. In this list, I’ll be focusing strictly on the Megazords that appeared in the TV shows and movies (yes, all two of them). So, if you were hoping to see toyline or comic-exclusive Megazords here, they’re off the hook—for now.
10. Replicantzord/Blizzardforce Megazord (Dino Thunder) – Sometimes, a Megazord feels completely out of place, and the Replicantzord is a perfect example. Appearing out of nowhere in “Power Rangers Dino Thunder”, it debuts in the penultimate episode “A Test of Trust” after the Rangers defeat a monster literally credited as “Ugly Monster.” Just when it seems like the battle is over, Mesogog sends out the Replicantzord (Blizzardforce Megazord in the toyline), only for it to be revealed as an alternate form of the defeated Ugly Monster.
This sudden twist feels random, and there’s a good reason for that. The Replicantzord’s design comes from “Abaranger”, Dino Thunder’s Japanese counterpart, where it was known as BakurenOh. However, in “Abaranger”, BakurenOh had a much more significant role, acting as its own separate entity rather than just being an extension of a one-off monster. Its inclusion in “Dino Thunder” seems like an attempt at cross-promotion since the BakurenOh toy had just been released in Japan. Unfortunately, this resulted in a bizarre and forgettable Megazord battle that felt more like a last-minute marketing decision than a meaningful part of the story.
9. Brightstar/Phoenix Unizord (Mystic Force) – Speaking of movie-exclusive mechas that make one-off appearances in “Power Rangers”, here’s one that feels just as out of place. In “Power Rangers Mystic Force”, the two-parter “Heir Apparent” introduces Brightstar, a mysterious, dimension-hopping unicorn that appears out of nowhere to help Daggeron escape the Dimension of Wandering Souls. He then casually hands her off to Nick, who uses it to fight Chimera and later Koragg, forming the Phoenix Unizord, a white redeco of the Centaurus Phoenix Megazord.
The only truly memorable thing to come out of this was the fight between Nick and Koragg (who, unbeknownst to them at the time, were in a father-and-son battle). Mirror match fights like these are rare in Power Rangers, and it was cool to see. But Brightstar’s inclusion feels incredibly random, especially for a one-off appearance. What makes it even stranger is that despite only being used in a single episode, the Phoenix Unizord is prominently featured in the revised “Mystic Force” title sequence (post-“Dark Wish”), as if they were a major part of the series. This all gives the impression that they were meant to be more important but were ultimately just another forgettable addition to the show.
8. Wolf Pride Megazord (Jungle Fury) – When a new Ranger joins the team and gets their own Zord, you expect something flashy, powerful, or at least unique. Instead, when RJ, the Wolf Ranger finally gets his Megazord in “Power Rangers Jungle Fury”, we get… the Wolf Pride Megazord, which is about as lazy as it gets.
Rather than receiving an entirely new set of Zords, RJ just borrows Casey and Theo’s Tiger and Jaguar Spirit Zords, which he literally manifests out of thin air. The only difference? His Wolf Spirit Zord now forms the left leg. That’s it. To make things worse, this exact combination had already happened in the previous episode! It feels completely uninspired, like an afterthought rather than a proper new Megazord debut.
The possible reason for this? Budget cuts. “Jungle Fury’s” Sentai counterpart, “Gekiranger”, came right after “Boukenger”, which was Super Sentai’s 30th-anniversary season and likely drained a lot of resources. Toei may have been cutting corners, which explains why RJ’s Megazord is just a slightly rebranded version of something we already saw. And honestly, if they were going to recycle assets, the least they could have done was repaint the Tiger and Jaguar Spirit Zords purple to match RJ’s color scheme. But nope, they didn’t even do that, making the Wolf Pride Megazord one of the most disappointing and forgettable additions to the franchise.
7. Gosei Command Megazord (Megaforce) – I was torn between this and the Gosei Jet, but I didn’t want to keep harping on movie-exclusive mecha. So, Gosei Command Megazord gets the spot, mainly because it just looks bad.
This Megazord is a mess of bulky, awkward proportions, with the Rangers’ five Ultra Zords combining with the Command Ship’s chest to form a giant version of Gosei’s face. And the weirdest part? It looks nothing like Gosei in “Megaforce”. The show never explains (or even tries to explain) why Gosei suddenly has a Megazord form, which, in true Megaforce fashion, is another wasted opportunity.
On top of that, it didn’t translate well in either Power Rangers or Super Sentai’s toy line. The design just doesn’t lend itself well to figures, making it one of those Megazords that’s unappealing both on-screen and on store shelves. For a show meant to celebrate Power Rangers’ legacy, the Gosei Command Megazord feels like yet another confusing and disappointing addition to “Megaforce’s” long list of misfires.
6. Animus (Wild Force) – Animus is one of the most frustrating Megazords in “Power Rangers Wild Force”, both in design and in character.
In-universe, Animus is the precursor to the core five Wild Zords, essentially making him a god-like entity. It makes sense, then, that he’s a retool/repaint of the Wild Force Megazord. The problem? The color scheme they chose for him is an absolute mess. You’ve got the bright cyan Condor and orange Jaguar Wildzords, which stand out WAY too much against the other three Zords, the black Lion, brown Buffalo, and crimson Sawshark. These colors don’t blend well at all, making Animus look like someone threw together random Zords from different teams rather than a cohesive Megazord design.
Now let’s get to Animus as a character, because wow, he makes things even worse. For most of his time on the show, he exists as an amnesiac child named Kite, that is, until he regains his memories and learns about humanity’s pollution problem. His reaction? Taking away the Rangers’ powers and all the Wild Zords (causing Princess Shayla to go into another deep sleep, since she’s their guardian) because the Rangers weren’t doing enough to stop pollution. Yes, really. It’s a ridiculous and unnecessary move that puts the entire world at risk, all because the Rangers didn’t personally stop pollution.
And then, in classic “bad mentor” fashion, he reveals that it was just a test to see if they were truly committed to protecting the Earth. After that, he just gives Cole the Wild Force Rider, which was a toy gimmick needed to help fund Forever Red.
Between his clashing, poorly thought-out Megazord design and his self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude, Animus easily earns his spot as one of the worst Megazords in “Power Rangers” history.
5. Ninja Megazord (1995 Movie) – For the first “Power Rangers” movie, the production team went all out: armored Ranger suits, elaborate set designs, and even moving production to Sydney, Australia. But when it came to the Zord battle, they made a bold choice: ditching practical effects and suitmation for CGI. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t age well… even in 1995.
CGI was still in its early days, and the limitations really show in the final product. The Ninja Megazord looks stiff and unnatural, moving more like a video game cutscene than a towering warrior. The textures are plasticky, the lighting is off, and the animation lacks the weight and impact that made the TV show’s suit fights fun to watch. That said, there were some cool aspects of this version. The redesigned Ninjazords actually did more fighting (outside of their first appearance), like when they took on Ivan Ooze’s Scorpitron individually. The Ape Ninjazord, in particular, finally looked like an actual ape rather than a robotic Abraham Lincoln. And seeing an American interpretation of a Japanese-style mecha was interesting, though they still got the proportions and scaling wrong in certain shots.
There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment where they actually used the toy version of the Megazord. When Titan Ivan hurls the Megazord into a building, the CGI briefly cuts to a quick, darkly lit shot of the toy. It’s almost like the production team knew how bad the CGI was and tried to sneak in a practical effect for one shot. While the Ninja Megazord from the movie is definitely unique, it’s also a prime example of how early CGI wasn’t quite ready to replace the practical effects that made Power Rangers what it was.
4. Manticore Megazord (Mystic Force) – The Manticore Megazord is disappointing for two major reasons: it’s a rip-off for most of the team, and it’s just plain ugly.
First, let’s talk about how Power Rangers Mystic Force did Xander, Chip, Vida, and Maddie dirty. When the Rangers seek out new power, the Tribunal of Magic grants them upgraded Legend Warrior Modes—cool, right? Well, not exactly. Instead of getting their own, separated badass new Zords, they’re forced to fuse together to form the Mystic Lion. Meanwhile, Nick (since he’s The Light), gets his own separate transformation as the Mystic Firebird. So, while the rest of the team gets robbed of individual Zords, Nick gets to shine on his own. Fair? Not at all.
Then we get to the combined Manticore Megazord, and wow, it’s just not a good design. The combination itself is as basic as it gets, the Firebird forms the wings, the Lion forms… everything else. But the proportions are weird, the color scheme is decent (a regal white and gold), but overall, it just looks clunky. And if the show model wasn’t bad enough, the toy somehow made it even worse, thanks to an auto-combining gimmick that made it look even less impressive.
For a mid-season power-up Megazord, the Manticore Megazord should have been something grand and powerful. Instead, it’s one of the biggest letdowns in Mystic Force and that’s saying something.
3. Ninja Fire Megazord (Ninja Steel) – Of the four Megazords in “Power Rangers Ninja Steel”, the Ninja Fire Megazord is easily the worst of the bunch. While there are some things to appreciate, its overall design just doesn’t work.
Individually, the Zords look great, and I do like how they maintain a uniform color scheme matching their respective Rangers. It’s also nice to see all six Rangers actively involved in the final regular Megazord formation, something that doesn’t always happen in “Power Rangers.” And I’ll admit, the finisher, Ranger Blast, where the Rangers are literally launched out of the Megazord’s chest cannon is a pretty cool and amazing touch.
But then there’s the look of the Ninja Fire Megazord, and that’s where it completely falls apart. It just looks way too bulky and awkward, making it visually unappealing. It lacks the sleekness or imposing presence that a Megazord should have, instead feeling like a jumbled mass of parts that barely fit together. For what was supposed to be Ninja Steel’s big six-Ranger Megazord, it ends up being one of the most forgettable and disappointing designs in the entire franchise.
2. Lifeforce Megazord (Lightspeed Rescue) – The Lifeforce Megazord is on this list for two big reasons: one, it’s just a lazy repaint, and two, its very existence makes zero sense.
After Diabolico and Olympius destroy both the Lightspeed Solarzord and Supertrain Megazord, as well as heavily damaged the Omega Megazord, Dr. Fairweather dispatches the Lifeforce Megazord as the team’s latest trump card. But here’s the problem: it’s literally just a black-and-gold recolor of the Lightspeed Solarzord. It’s the first on-screen instance of a black-and-gold repaint fighting
But the worst part? It runs on the Rangers’ lifeforce energy. Yes, you read that right. Why would Lightspeed Rescue, a team dedicated to saving people willingly use a weapon that slowly kills its own pilots? It’s completely reckless and undermines everything Lightspeed is supposed to stand for.
To make things even more frustrating, the Super Sentai version handled this concept slightly better. In “GoGoFive”, Max Victory Robo – Black Version was powered by the thoughts and feelings of the Tatsumi siblings’ parents, which, while still unconventional, at least made sense thematically. Meanwhile, “Power Rangers” just went with, “Yeah, let’s hook the Rangers up to a machine that drains their life force. What could go wrong?”
The Lifeforce Megazord is easily one of the most baffling, poorly conceived Megazords in the franchise and the fact that the team just went along with it makes it even worse.
1. Dino Megazord (2017 Movie) – The 2017 Power Rangers movie set out to modernize the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers designs, including the iconic Dino Megazord. But instead of honoring the original Mighty Morphin, Zyuranger or even taking cues from the unmade Zyu3 concept art (https://www.reddit.com/r/powerrangers/comments/2e5ley/if_zyu_3_footage_had_been_ordered_japan_wouldve/), the movie went in a completely different direction, one that felt more like something out of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies rather than Power Rangers.
Individually, the Zords range from fine at best to ugly at worst. They’re barely recognizable as dinosaurs, with overly sleek, alien-like designs that lose the charm of the originals. But the biggest issue comes when they combine (or rather, fuse together) to form the Dino Megazord. Instead of a recognizable update of the classic design, what we got was a strange, humanoid-looking mech that had more in common with Mazinger Z than the Dino Megazord. Gone were the clear, distinct dinosaur elements, the Megazord looked like a generic giant robot with barley any resemblance to its individual components.
Even Bandai didn’t seem to know what to do with this design when making the toys. They released two completely different versions of the Megazord: one was an electronic, non-combining figure, while the other was a set of five individual Zords that combined into a massive Megazord figure. This set was later sold in a giant gift set at Toys “R” Us, and it was clear that Bandai struggled to make this thing work as a functional toy.
For a movie that tried to reimagine “Power Rangers” for a modern audience, the Dino Megazord ended up as one of its biggest misfires. It lost everything that made the original design iconic, leaving us with a generic-looking robot that failed to capture the spirit of “Mighty Morphin”.
Dishonorable Mentions
Artilitron (Turbo)
Samurai Gigazord/Samurai Shark Gigazord (Super Samurai)
Fusion Ultrazord (Dino Fury)
June 16, 2025
Dave Cameron
https://dekkareviews.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/prlr-zrds-lifeforcemegazord.png?w=636&h=354
WARNING: Prolonged use of Megazord will cause eventual death.
Power Rangers has given us some of the most iconic giant robots in pop culture, with legendary Megazords that have thrilled fans for decades. But not every Megazord is a winner. Some are clunky, uninspired, or downright useless, whether due to poor design, lackluster fights, or just failing to live up to the hype. In this list, I’ll be focusing strictly on the Megazords that appeared in the TV shows and movies (yes, all two of them). So, if you were hoping to see toyline or comic-exclusive Megazords here, they’re off the hook—for now.
10. Replicantzord/Blizzardforce Megazord (Dino Thunder) – Sometimes, a Megazord feels completely out of place, and the Replicantzord is a perfect example. Appearing out of nowhere in “Power Rangers Dino Thunder”, it debuts in the penultimate episode “A Test of Trust” after the Rangers defeat a monster literally credited as “Ugly Monster.” Just when it seems like the battle is over, Mesogog sends out the Replicantzord (Blizzardforce Megazord in the toyline), only for it to be revealed as an alternate form of the defeated Ugly Monster.
This sudden twist feels random, and there’s a good reason for that. The Replicantzord’s design comes from “Abaranger”, Dino Thunder’s Japanese counterpart, where it was known as BakurenOh. However, in “Abaranger”, BakurenOh had a much more significant role, acting as its own separate entity rather than just being an extension of a one-off monster. Its inclusion in “Dino Thunder” seems like an attempt at cross-promotion since the BakurenOh toy had just been released in Japan. Unfortunately, this resulted in a bizarre and forgettable Megazord battle that felt more like a last-minute marketing decision than a meaningful part of the story.
9. Brightstar/Phoenix Unizord (Mystic Force) – Speaking of movie-exclusive mechas that make one-off appearances in “Power Rangers”, here’s one that feels just as out of place. In “Power Rangers Mystic Force”, the two-parter “Heir Apparent” introduces Brightstar, a mysterious, dimension-hopping unicorn that appears out of nowhere to help Daggeron escape the Dimension of Wandering Souls. He then casually hands her off to Nick, who uses it to fight Chimera and later Koragg, forming the Phoenix Unizord, a white redeco of the Centaurus Phoenix Megazord.
The only truly memorable thing to come out of this was the fight between Nick and Koragg (who, unbeknownst to them at the time, were in a father-and-son battle). Mirror match fights like these are rare in Power Rangers, and it was cool to see. But Brightstar’s inclusion feels incredibly random, especially for a one-off appearance. What makes it even stranger is that despite only being used in a single episode, the Phoenix Unizord is prominently featured in the revised “Mystic Force” title sequence (post-“Dark Wish”), as if they were a major part of the series. This all gives the impression that they were meant to be more important but were ultimately just another forgettable addition to the show.
8. Wolf Pride Megazord (Jungle Fury) – When a new Ranger joins the team and gets their own Zord, you expect something flashy, powerful, or at least unique. Instead, when RJ, the Wolf Ranger finally gets his Megazord in “Power Rangers Jungle Fury”, we get… the Wolf Pride Megazord, which is about as lazy as it gets.
Rather than receiving an entirely new set of Zords, RJ just borrows Casey and Theo’s Tiger and Jaguar Spirit Zords, which he literally manifests out of thin air. The only difference? His Wolf Spirit Zord now forms the left leg. That’s it. To make things worse, this exact combination had already happened in the previous episode! It feels completely uninspired, like an afterthought rather than a proper new Megazord debut.
The possible reason for this? Budget cuts. “Jungle Fury’s” Sentai counterpart, “Gekiranger”, came right after “Boukenger”, which was Super Sentai’s 30th-anniversary season and likely drained a lot of resources. Toei may have been cutting corners, which explains why RJ’s Megazord is just a slightly rebranded version of something we already saw. And honestly, if they were going to recycle assets, the least they could have done was repaint the Tiger and Jaguar Spirit Zords purple to match RJ’s color scheme. But nope, they didn’t even do that, making the Wolf Pride Megazord one of the most disappointing and forgettable additions to the franchise.
7. Gosei Command Megazord (Megaforce) – I was torn between this and the Gosei Jet, but I didn’t want to keep harping on movie-exclusive mecha. So, Gosei Command Megazord gets the spot, mainly because it just looks bad.
This Megazord is a mess of bulky, awkward proportions, with the Rangers’ five Ultra Zords combining with the Command Ship’s chest to form a giant version of Gosei’s face. And the weirdest part? It looks nothing like Gosei in “Megaforce”. The show never explains (or even tries to explain) why Gosei suddenly has a Megazord form, which, in true Megaforce fashion, is another wasted opportunity.
On top of that, it didn’t translate well in either Power Rangers or Super Sentai’s toy line. The design just doesn’t lend itself well to figures, making it one of those Megazords that’s unappealing both on-screen and on store shelves. For a show meant to celebrate Power Rangers’ legacy, the Gosei Command Megazord feels like yet another confusing and disappointing addition to “Megaforce’s” long list of misfires.
6. Animus (Wild Force) – Animus is one of the most frustrating Megazords in “Power Rangers Wild Force”, both in design and in character.
In-universe, Animus is the precursor to the core five Wild Zords, essentially making him a god-like entity. It makes sense, then, that he’s a retool/repaint of the Wild Force Megazord. The problem? The color scheme they chose for him is an absolute mess. You’ve got the bright cyan Condor and orange Jaguar Wildzords, which stand out WAY too much against the other three Zords, the black Lion, brown Buffalo, and crimson Sawshark. These colors don’t blend well at all, making Animus look like someone threw together random Zords from different teams rather than a cohesive Megazord design.
Now let’s get to Animus as a character, because wow, he makes things even worse. For most of his time on the show, he exists as an amnesiac child named Kite, that is, until he regains his memories and learns about humanity’s pollution problem. His reaction? Taking away the Rangers’ powers and all the Wild Zords (causing Princess Shayla to go into another deep sleep, since she’s their guardian) because the Rangers weren’t doing enough to stop pollution. Yes, really. It’s a ridiculous and unnecessary move that puts the entire world at risk, all because the Rangers didn’t personally stop pollution.
And then, in classic “bad mentor” fashion, he reveals that it was just a test to see if they were truly committed to protecting the Earth. After that, he just gives Cole the Wild Force Rider, which was a toy gimmick needed to help fund Forever Red.
Between his clashing, poorly thought-out Megazord design and his self-righteous, holier-than-thou attitude, Animus easily earns his spot as one of the worst Megazords in “Power Rangers” history.
5. Ninja Megazord (1995 Movie) – For the first “Power Rangers” movie, the production team went all out: armored Ranger suits, elaborate set designs, and even moving production to Sydney, Australia. But when it came to the Zord battle, they made a bold choice: ditching practical effects and suitmation for CGI. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t age well… even in 1995.
CGI was still in its early days, and the limitations really show in the final product. The Ninja Megazord looks stiff and unnatural, moving more like a video game cutscene than a towering warrior. The textures are plasticky, the lighting is off, and the animation lacks the weight and impact that made the TV show’s suit fights fun to watch. That said, there were some cool aspects of this version. The redesigned Ninjazords actually did more fighting (outside of their first appearance), like when they took on Ivan Ooze’s Scorpitron individually. The Ape Ninjazord, in particular, finally looked like an actual ape rather than a robotic Abraham Lincoln. And seeing an American interpretation of a Japanese-style mecha was interesting, though they still got the proportions and scaling wrong in certain shots.
There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment where they actually used the toy version of the Megazord. When Titan Ivan hurls the Megazord into a building, the CGI briefly cuts to a quick, darkly lit shot of the toy. It’s almost like the production team knew how bad the CGI was and tried to sneak in a practical effect for one shot. While the Ninja Megazord from the movie is definitely unique, it’s also a prime example of how early CGI wasn’t quite ready to replace the practical effects that made Power Rangers what it was.
4. Manticore Megazord (Mystic Force) – The Manticore Megazord is disappointing for two major reasons: it’s a rip-off for most of the team, and it’s just plain ugly.
First, let’s talk about how Power Rangers Mystic Force did Xander, Chip, Vida, and Maddie dirty. When the Rangers seek out new power, the Tribunal of Magic grants them upgraded Legend Warrior Modes—cool, right? Well, not exactly. Instead of getting their own, separated badass new Zords, they’re forced to fuse together to form the Mystic Lion. Meanwhile, Nick (since he’s The Light), gets his own separate transformation as the Mystic Firebird. So, while the rest of the team gets robbed of individual Zords, Nick gets to shine on his own. Fair? Not at all.
Then we get to the combined Manticore Megazord, and wow, it’s just not a good design. The combination itself is as basic as it gets, the Firebird forms the wings, the Lion forms… everything else. But the proportions are weird, the color scheme is decent (a regal white and gold), but overall, it just looks clunky. And if the show model wasn’t bad enough, the toy somehow made it even worse, thanks to an auto-combining gimmick that made it look even less impressive.
For a mid-season power-up Megazord, the Manticore Megazord should have been something grand and powerful. Instead, it’s one of the biggest letdowns in Mystic Force and that’s saying something.
3. Ninja Fire Megazord (Ninja Steel) – Of the four Megazords in “Power Rangers Ninja Steel”, the Ninja Fire Megazord is easily the worst of the bunch. While there are some things to appreciate, its overall design just doesn’t work.
Individually, the Zords look great, and I do like how they maintain a uniform color scheme matching their respective Rangers. It’s also nice to see all six Rangers actively involved in the final regular Megazord formation, something that doesn’t always happen in “Power Rangers.” And I’ll admit, the finisher, Ranger Blast, where the Rangers are literally launched out of the Megazord’s chest cannon is a pretty cool and amazing touch.
But then there’s the look of the Ninja Fire Megazord, and that’s where it completely falls apart. It just looks way too bulky and awkward, making it visually unappealing. It lacks the sleekness or imposing presence that a Megazord should have, instead feeling like a jumbled mass of parts that barely fit together. For what was supposed to be Ninja Steel’s big six-Ranger Megazord, it ends up being one of the most forgettable and disappointing designs in the entire franchise.
2. Lifeforce Megazord (Lightspeed Rescue) – The Lifeforce Megazord is on this list for two big reasons: one, it’s just a lazy repaint, and two, its very existence makes zero sense.
After Diabolico and Olympius destroy both the Lightspeed Solarzord and Supertrain Megazord, as well as heavily damaged the Omega Megazord, Dr. Fairweather dispatches the Lifeforce Megazord as the team’s latest trump card. But here’s the problem: it’s literally just a black-and-gold recolor of the Lightspeed Solarzord. It’s the first on-screen instance of a black-and-gold repaint fighting
But the worst part? It runs on the Rangers’ lifeforce energy. Yes, you read that right. Why would Lightspeed Rescue, a team dedicated to saving people willingly use a weapon that slowly kills its own pilots? It’s completely reckless and undermines everything Lightspeed is supposed to stand for.
To make things even more frustrating, the Super Sentai version handled this concept slightly better. In “GoGoFive”, Max Victory Robo – Black Version was powered by the thoughts and feelings of the Tatsumi siblings’ parents, which, while still unconventional, at least made sense thematically. Meanwhile, “Power Rangers” just went with, “Yeah, let’s hook the Rangers up to a machine that drains their life force. What could go wrong?”
The Lifeforce Megazord is easily one of the most baffling, poorly conceived Megazords in the franchise and the fact that the team just went along with it makes it even worse.
1. Dino Megazord (2017 Movie) – The 2017 Power Rangers movie set out to modernize the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers designs, including the iconic Dino Megazord. But instead of honoring the original Mighty Morphin, Zyuranger or even taking cues from the unmade Zyu3 concept art (https://www.reddit.com/r/powerrangers/comments/2e5ley/if_zyu_3_footage_had_been_ordered_japan_wouldve/), the movie went in a completely different direction, one that felt more like something out of Michael Bay’s Transformers movies rather than Power Rangers.
Individually, the Zords range from fine at best to ugly at worst. They’re barely recognizable as dinosaurs, with overly sleek, alien-like designs that lose the charm of the originals. But the biggest issue comes when they combine (or rather, fuse together) to form the Dino Megazord. Instead of a recognizable update of the classic design, what we got was a strange, humanoid-looking mech that had more in common with Mazinger Z than the Dino Megazord. Gone were the clear, distinct dinosaur elements, the Megazord looked like a generic giant robot with barley any resemblance to its individual components.
Even Bandai didn’t seem to know what to do with this design when making the toys. They released two completely different versions of the Megazord: one was an electronic, non-combining figure, while the other was a set of five individual Zords that combined into a massive Megazord figure. This set was later sold in a giant gift set at Toys “R” Us, and it was clear that Bandai struggled to make this thing work as a functional toy.
For a movie that tried to reimagine “Power Rangers” for a modern audience, the Dino Megazord ended up as one of its biggest misfires. It lost everything that made the original design iconic, leaving us with a generic-looking robot that failed to capture the spirit of “Mighty Morphin”.
Dishonorable Mentions
Artilitron (Turbo)
Samurai Gigazord/Samurai Shark Gigazord (Super Samurai)
Fusion Ultrazord (Dino Fury)