Power Rangers Samurai receives a lot of flak these days from its disillusioned fanbase. But unbeknownst to them, the series still made history with a list of franchise firsts. An adaptation of the Japanese Tokusatsu series, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, Power Rangers Samurai ran for two seasons, with the final season renamed as Power Rangers Super Samurai.
The Nighloks and their leader, Master Xandred, are the face of the show’s antagonistic force. They wreak havoc in the human world, looking to sow sorrow, which will raise the mythical Senzu river and allow the monsters to roam the Earth freely. With many of these villains culturally linked with silly Japanese folklore, their powers range from tricky to absurd. And sometimes, they are plain old weird.
10
Armadeevil’s Armor Shell-Shocks the Samurai Power Rangers
Power Rangers Super Samurai Season 2, Episode 2, “Shell Game”
Armadeevil is one of the toughest enemies the Samurai Rangers have ever handled on the battlefield. A Nighlok resembling an armadillo, Armadeevil’s name clearly states his predisposition as an evil-doer. Initially, he appears shy, hiding from Master Xandred before he can offer his services. But once he steps foot in the human world, his real personality shell shocks the Power Rangers.
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Armadeevil’s biggest strength is his nigh-indestructible outer shell. Much like armadillos in real life, Armadeevil can roll into a metal ball, making it hard for any attack to penetrate his shell. And once he starts rolling, no one can stop him. It is both funny and weird to see the steel-armored menace make a fool out of the Power Rangers, albeit temporarily.
9
Epoxar’s Weird Glue Creates a Sticky Situation
Power Rangers Super Samurai Season 1, Episode 11, “A Sticky Situation”
Not many Power Rangers Samurai villains can walk the talk with their trash talk, but Epoxar backs it up with his bizarre powers. He has a cannon on his shoulder that launches globs of sticky glue at unsuspecting targets. It is so potent that anyone who finds themselves trapped in the white blob can expect to stay like that forever.
Epoxar gets his name from the epoxy that he uses as his primary. He also has other abilities like eye lasers and good martial arts skills with his fork staff to have an edge over his multi-colored enemies. Not many villains have been able to lure and trap the Samurai Rangers in a sticky situation like Epoxar, whose cunning is his real power.
8
Rofer Extends an Arm’s Length of Trouble
Power Rangers Samurai Season 1, Episode 3, “The Team Unites”
Already into the show’s third episode, the Power Rangers face an enemy who almost breaks the team apart and places a huge question mark on their unity. And he does it all by simply extending his arms. Rofer arrives in the human world under the orders of his master to make a spectacle out of the Samurai Power Rangers, and that is precisely what he does.
Rofer can not only punch his enemies with his extended arms but can also burrow them deep into the group and quickly bring them up again for a surprise attack. That is how he almost takes out the Rangers the first time they meet. But with no variety behind his attacks, Rofer inevitably falls to the blades of the Samurai Rangers.
7
Antberry Gives the Rangers a Slip With His Slime
Power Rangers Samurai Season 1, Episode 15, “The Blue and the Gold”
Antberry is a slippery customer, not because he is some cunning Nighlok but because he is slimy in the literal sense. His powers can disarm even the strongest of the Samurai Rangers, as Antberry’s slimy attacks make it hard to hold onto their weapons. Once the Rangers lose their blades, the monster swoops in for a clear victory using his own scimitar-shaped sword.
Antberry manages to do all this using a special slime he calls the Senzu Slime, which he spits out of his mouth. Additionally, he is covered in the same gunk all over his body, making it impossible to hold him. Funnily enough, the slime does not affect Antberry at all. He can grip his sword or enemy as and how he likes without worrying about slipping.
6
Pestilox’s Flies Test Stomach Linings
Power Rangers Super Samurai Season 2, Episode 14, “A Crack in the World”
While most Nighloks have weird powers to terrorize the human world, Pestilox’s abilities make him a menace. Anybody who has ever experienced a bad stomach ache knows it is the worst feeling in the world. Pestilox’s ability does precisely that and in a horrifically freaky manner. He controls a swarm of flies that fly directly into a human’s stomach and cause them to fall flat on the floor, clutching their stomach. To some, that is just the same as an apocalypse.
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Pestilox was one of the Nighloks sent to Earth by Serrator to sow chaos. Although he manages to give a few bystanders an upset stomach, he fails to upset the audience by defeating the heroes. Nevertheless, it is undeniable that using flies to give stomach aches weirdly borders on creepiness.
5
Sergeant Tread Could Not Tread Over the Samurai Power Rangers
Clash of the Red Rangers – The Movie
Sergeant Tread does not appear in the show per se but does in the Clash of the Red Rangers crossover movie as one of the three main villains trying to defeat the Power Rangers. His name comes from the two giant wheels he uses as his weapon, which also serves as his mode of transportation to zoom past enemies. In the film, he partners up with Professor Cog on the orders of Master Xandred to take out the two Red Rangers forever.
However, Sergeant Tread neither plays a significant role in the plot nor in the ensuing fight between the Rangers and Cog. Although he does leave a mark with his trusty wheels, the Rangers defeat Tread fairly easily. Unlike the other Nighlok monsters, he does not even turn into a Mega Monster after his defeat.
4
Desperaino Covers the Sky in Despair
Power Rangers Samurai Season 1, Episode 10, “Forest for the Trees”
Something about rainy days and cloudy skies spells melancholy in people’s hearts. But despair is not the emotion one usually associates with rain. That is until the arrival of the Nighlok named Desperaino. A monster who can instantly turn any warm and fuzzy feelings into dark thoughts, Desperaino’s unique powers were perfect for Master Xandred’s plans on Earth.
Yet Desperaino hardly makes use of his powers on the Samurai Rangers. Not only does he fail to defeat the heroes, but he also uses his powers once throughout the episode, that too on unsuspecting civilians. Desperaino’s name is a portmanteau of the words “Despair” and “Rain.” His powers are zany, but his villainy hardly has the cunning to one-up the Rangers.
3
Grinataur’s Hunger Pangs Demoralize the Rangers
Power Rangers Super Samurai Season 2, Episode 10, “The Strange Case of the Munchies”
The usual villainy of the Nighloks includes going after the Samurai Rangers with the full might of their powers or terrorizing people on Earth with mind games. Grinataur falls in neither category, as his Nighlok powers are just too quirky. This monster’s unique ability is shooting black sand from his mouth, which makes people so hungry that they clamor to get their hands on food.
To keep up with the theme, Grinataur is not only cunning like most Nighloks but also gluttonous. The monster has multiple heads on his body, each with an open, grinning face that exposes his rows of white teeth. His powers are not limited to hunger, as his victims also show signs of terrible thirst.
2
Switchbeast Switches Things up With a Soul Swap
Power Rangers Super Samurai Season 2, Episode 3, “Trading Places”
Switchbeast first arrives on Earth at a flea market and immediately gets to work doing what he does best: being a menace. Sent by the scheming Serrator to help Master Xandred with his Power Rangers problem, Switchbeast uses his powers to swap the souls of humans with inanimate objects. It is a dangerous power because if anything happens to the object, the soul is lost forever.
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Switchbeast looks like a menacing knight with a cat’s mouth on his belly. He may look funny, but his powers are no joke. He is proficient with his two-bladed baton and can fire fireballs from the mouth of his cat-shaped gut. Despite it all, the Samurai Rangers managed to give him a taste of his own medicine when they duped him into exchanging his own soul with a soccer ball.
1
Negatron’s Sharp Tongue Brings Down People’s Esteem
Power Rangers Samurai Season 1, Episode 6, “Sticks and Stones”
The Nighloks are supposed to be vicious monsters whose only goal is to create immense misery for the Senzu River to overflow. And yet they have the goofiest powers in Power Rangers history. Negatron tops the list easily with his power to insult anyone and everyone. While other Nighloks use ridicule to taunt their enemies, Negatron is a walking-talking psychological warfare.
Dubbed the “smart mouth” attack, Negatron’s insults dig so deeply into a person’s psyche that they hurtle back furiously and hurt themselves. The first time he uses this attack on the Rangers, he disarms them all except the Yellow Samurai Ranger, Emily. Although played for the laughs, Negatron’s powers and his subsequent defeat come with an important lesson nonetheless.
Power Rangers Samurai
- Release Date
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October 15, 2011
- Directors
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Peter Salmon, Luke Robinson
- Writers
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David Schneider, James W. Bates
