Power Rangers: 10 Facts About the Zords

The Power Rangers movie is about to hit theaters, bringing us director Dean Israelite’s bold new vision of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise.

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That new vision includes new versions of franchise staples like the Power Ranger costumes, their Zords, and even their enemies.

The Zords are a particular fixation of the Power Rangers fansbase, and this new movie will be adding to a massive Zord/Megazord canon. In fact, even if you’re the most die-hard Power Rangers fan, you still may not be aware of just how much history the Zords have in the franchise.

Before you head out to see the new Power Rangers movie, Here are 10 Fun Facts About the Zords that you may like to know!

They Come in Multiple Categories

The Zords are the Power Rangers’ mecha battle robots, which combine into one big robot, known as a Megazord.

However, in the franchise’s many iterations, it has been revealed that the Power Rangers have multiple types of Zords at their disposal.

There are Carrierzords used for transporting other Zords; Warzords and Battlezords (exactly what they sound like); and the famous Ultrazords (when various Megazords and Carrierzords combine into even bigger robots!).

They Can Form Different Configurations

The other fun thing about the Power Ranger Zords in particular is that they offer more possibilities than most giant robot properties.

A Power Rangers team’s Zords don’t just form one Meagzord robot – they can configure into several different forms, as the battle demands.

Fans of the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers series will remember how the Zords and Dinozords could configure with Dragonzord to form Dragonzord Battle Mode, or Dino Megazord, or even Ultrazord.

By comparison, Voltron is pretty lame!

There are HUNDREDS of Them

There have been twenty-four seasons of Power Rangers spread across about twenty shows, and each of the shows has had multiple versions of different variations of Zords.

If you’re not a math expert, that means that, altogether, there have been a lot of individual Zord models. Like, a lot, a lot.

As of the latest series, Power Rangers Ninja Steel, there are over 200 Zord models! That’s just the Zords themselves, not the Mega-to-Ultra Zord combinations they also form!

In other words: these Power Rangers Zords are a merch-money faucet that never stops flowing.

Some Megazords That Don’t Use Zord Combinations

The main thrust of Power Rangers mythology revolves around the idea of the team using their Zords and the spirit of teamwork to “come together” as Megazord.

However, not all Megazords come from Zord combinations.

The Delta Megazord from Power Rangers In Space is simply a spaceship that turns into a robot, while other Zords like Samurai Star Chopper or Defender Torozord (a Ranger and a Zord fused together) use different methods to achieve transformation.

Zord Toys Have Been Recycled Into New Toys

The Power Rangers toys are internationally popular – but they have, at times, been known to cut a few corners to make a sale.

The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers series first hit the US in the ’90s, using footage from the 1970s Japanese series Gosei Sentai Dairanger spliced with new footage of the US cast members. That meant that there were also a lot of pieces of merchandise from the Japanese series that was re-packaged and resold in the US.

A famous example is the Lion Thunderzord from the original MMPR series: In the Japanese series it was a vehicle for the Green Ranger; in the US, it was the Black Ranger’s vehicle. That meant a simple paint job was needed, before the toy was repackaged and sold in the states.

Some Zords are Nearly Extinct

The Dinozords in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series eventually met their end.

It happened in later seasons when the new threat of Lord Zedd rose up to replace Rita Repulsa. Zedd and the Power Rangers battled over control of the Zords – a battle that eventually ended in the Zords’ destruction during a battle with Rito.

However, even though the original Dinozords are gone, they left one survivor: Tommy’s Dragonzord escaped destruction, and is still waiting dormant a the bottom of the sea.

There Are Evil Zords

Not all Zords have been introduced as tools of the Power Rangers – some have been the tools of evildoers, first and foremost.

The Green Ranger and his Dragonzord, as well as the Centaurus and Stratoforce Megazords, all started off as a tool of villains, before becoming allies of the good guys.

The Cyclopsis and Serpentera Warzords are straight up evil – and in the new Power Rangers movie, even Goldar may be Rita Repulsa’s evil version of a Megazord.

Some Zords Are Alive

While Zords are generally considered mechas (or robots), that’s not one-hundred percent true across the board in Power Rangers canon.

Some Zords are “alive” in the sense that they are sentient thinking beings.

A lot of the animal-themed Zords were sentient (Galactabeasts, Wildzords, Dino Thunder Zords, FoldingZords.Some of the Megazords (Galaxy, Defender Torozord, Predazord, Titan) were also sentient.

Power Rangers Galactabeasts Sentient Zords

One Ranger Has Piloted the Most Zords By Far

Actor Jason David Frank’s Dr. Tommy Oliver has been the one character to appear in the most Power Rangers TV shows – going all the way back to his epic start as the villainous Green Ranger in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series.

Since Tommy has appeared in so many Power Rangers TV series, it’s only logical that he’s piloted the most Zords.

Not only has Tommy piloted over a dozen Zords – he’s piloted some of the coolest ones. That includes iconic Zords like the Dragonzord, Tigerzord and Ninja Falconzord, and White Shogunzord.

Power Ranger Zords Came Before Voltron’s Lions

The Power Rangers is an import of the ’70s Japanese Super Sentai series Himitsu Sentai Goranger, which is something that’s always important to remember, when tracking the franchise’s impact on geek culture.

Power Rangers didn’t make to the US until nearly a decade after popular geek-culture staple, Voltron – but in real chronology, Power Rangers’ was airing in Japan nearly a decade before the fist Voltron cartoons (starting with Beast King GoLion in 1981).

So, even though Power Rangers has had to (and continues to) suffer a lot of criticism for being a Voltron clone, the truth is that Voltron’s ideas for mechanized lions and their pilots was likely influenced by Power Rangers!

Voltron 80s Cartoon Influenced Power Rangers Zords

More Power Rangers News

Currently, Power Rangers has a respectable 3.51/5 rating in our Comicbook.com user rankings for Non-Comic book movies, which tells us that even with some questionable design choices (like eight-legged mastodon and all-gold Goldar), there’s still a general sense of excitement for this flashy superhero action origin story.

Are you excited for Power Rangers? Let us know by rating your anticipation in our rankings below!

Power Rangers is scheduled for release on March 24, 2017.

MORE POWER RANGERS NEWS

Saban’s Power Rangers follows five ordinary teens who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove – and the world – is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.

Saban’s Power Rangers stars Dacre Montgomery as Jason Lee Scott/the Red Ranger, RJ Cyler as Billy Cranston/the Blue Ranger, Becky G as Trini Kwan/the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin as Zack Taylor/the Black Ranger, Naomi Scott as Kimberly Hart/the Pink Ranger, Elizabeth Banks as Rita Repulsa, Bill Hader as Alpha 5, and Bryan Cranston as Zordon.

The film is being directed by Project Almanac-helmer Dean Israelite and was written by Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz.

Are you excited for the Power Rangers to hit the silver screen once again? Let us know how much you’re looking forward to movie in the ComicBook anticipation rankings below!