Some "final bosses" from Power Rangers never left their headquarters, while others directly faced the heroes in combat. For example, whereas Rita Repulsa was on the moon for most of the original series, Astronema went to Angel Grove a couple of times. Either way, some villains got much better results than others and came close to defeating their respective Power Rangers teams.

6 The Green Ranger

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

After multiple episodes in which the Power Rangers would easily defeat the monster of the week, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers raised the stakes by introducing the evil Green Ranger. Tommy Oliver's debut on the show came with one of the most impressive displays of power in all of the franchise as the Green Ranger easily beat the heroes. This was the first time we saw the Power Rangers lose a fight so badly, which is why the Green Ranger became an instant fan-favorite whose impact on the story would forever change the show.

As far as Power Rangers could show in of violence and defeat, there is not much else that the Green Ranger could have done to Jason and the others. With cooler toys, his personal Megazord, and even his own theme song, the Green Ranger showed us that the Power Rangers were not invincible. Fortunately, the heroes were eventually able to beat Rita Repulsa's spell out of Tommy, which led to the Green Ranger ing the team.

5 Lord Zedd

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Lord Zedd has a complicated legacy in Power Rangers. An original character with no Super Sentai counterpart, Zedd was supposed to be a more threatening, competent version of Rita Repulsa. However, considering how silly the villain became in the first half of the show, particularly after Rita's return, it can be easy to forget that Zedd was indeed quite scary and effective during his first few episodes. Upon his first appearance, Lord Zedd destroyed the Power Rangers' original Zords and later ended the Green Ranger once and for all.

Between the destruction of the Zords and the fact that Zordon had to create a whole new Power Ranger to make up for the vanishing of the Green Ranger's powers, Lord Zedd made quite an impact in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 2. Interestingly, Zedd once again came close to destroying the Rangers – and the entire universe – 30 years later in Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. The anniversary season was a reminder that Zedd can be a great villain when he is not treated as a joke.

4 Divatox

Power Rangers Turbo

Divatox may not be one of the best Power Rangers villains, but few characters in this franchise accomplished what she did. After losing every single weekly battle against the Rangers like all her predecessors, Divatox had the Command Center destroyed. As a result, the Turbo Rangers lost their powers and were left hopeless as Divatox went into space under the orders of Dark Specter. To make things worse, Zordon was kidnapped by the Alliance of Evil.

Power Rangers Turbo ends with a sense of hopelessness and despair that you cannot find in most seasons of the show. It was nice to see Turbo having long-lasting consequences on the franchise after how disappointing the season had been, especially in the first half. The events of Turbo's finale led right into Power Rangers in Space, during which T.J. and his friends teamed up with a mysterious Red Ranger from another planet and gained new powers.

3 Psycho Rangers

Power Rangers in Space

From Doomsday to Bane, some villains exist simply to destroy the greatest heroes. This applies to the Psycho Rangers, arguably the scariest, most vile monsters in the Power Rangers universe. While they present themselves in the form of corrupted Rangers, the Psycho Rangers are demons in disguise who exist solely to be evil. They were introduced in "Rangers Gone Psycho," one of the darkest episodes of the show that saw the Rangers get brutally defeated.

The In Space Rangers' first encounter with the Psycho Rangers was traumatizing, especially if you were a kid when the episode aired. There was nothing that the heroes could do against the Psycho Rangers, who seemed to be playing with their food the whole time. Although "Rangers Gone Psycho" is an unforgettable episode, it was not the last time the Psycho Rangers almost destroyed the Power Rangers. In fact, in Lost Galaxy's "The Power of Pink," Psycho Pink got Kendrix, the first Lost Galaxy Pink Ranger, killed.

Between their terrifying episodes in Power Rangers in Space and the death of the Pink Ranger in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, the Psycho Rangers might be the franchise's best villains. While the Psycho Rangers never appeared on the show again after "The Power of Pink," they have been revisited in the comics. The BOOM! Studios universe even introduced a Psycho Green Ranger and gave this evil team of monsters an origin story that surprisingly humanized them.

2 Astronema

Power Rangers in Space

The Power Rangers had a few bad days during In Space. Shortly after dealing with the Psycho Rangers, Andros and his team saw themselves fighting for the fate of the galaxy in a battle against Astronema's army. While Dark Specter's defeat was very underwhelming, Astronema did just fine as the leader of the Alliance of Evil. In "Countdown to Destruction," Earth and several other planets were invaded, meaning there was only so much the Power Rangers could do.

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Even with the help of other heroes, like the Zeo Gold Ranger, there seemed to be no hope. Seeing the Rangers having to fight as rebels without having access to their ship or Zords was very exciting and highlighted how close Astronema and her allies came to winning. Had it not been for Zordon's sacrifice at the end of "Countdown to Destruction, Part 2," the Alliance of Evil would have taken over the universe.

1 Robot Rita

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always

Rita Repulsa was redeemed at the end of In Space and even returned as an ally in Mystic Force. However, when it was time to bring the band back together for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, Rita had to be involved somehow. Enter Robot Rita, a resurrected version of the evil side of Rita Repulsa that was accidentally brought back to life by the original Blue Ranger. Once & Always opens with Robot Rita killing Trini, the Yellow Ranger, automatically making her scarier than the regular Rita Repulsa ever was.

Robot Rita was also able to capture not only most of the Mighty Morphin Rangers but also dozens of other Rangers from other teams. Granted, most of that happened offscreen, but that does not change the fact that Robot Rita came close to stealing the powers of several Power Rangers teams to go back in time and change history. Despite the bittersweetness of the Power Rangers reunion, having Rita as a genuinely threatening villain for once was a welcome change of pace.

Power Rangers

Created by

Haim Saban, Shuki Levy, Shotaro Ishinomori

First Film

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie

Latest Film

Power Rangers

First TV Show

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers

Latest TV Show

Power Rangers Cosmic Fury

Summary

Power Rangers is a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the Japanese Super Sentai series, Power Rangers became a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage from Super Sentai with new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children's franchises in the world.

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