The Power Rangers villains often make a lot of noise, but the franchise’s most dangerous threats tend to be the ones wearing a helmet. When a villain gets their hands on Ranger-level power, the heroes can no longer rely on their advantages in firepower or Zords. Some of these evil Rangers were heroes under a spell, some were created in a lab to be the perfect Ranger hunter, and a few chose to turn on their teammates entirely. Whatever the origin, they have forced the good guys into some of the toughest fights in Power Rangers.
Ranking them by raw power means looking at what each one actually did. That includes who they beat, how many Rangers they took on at once, what their Zords could do, and how they were eventually stopped. A few entries on this list stretch the definition of “Ranger,” and one comes from the comics rather than the TV series, but all 10 earned their spot by making the heroes look outmatched.
10
Ollie Akana May Be the Easiest Ranger in the Franchise to Turn Evil
Cosmic Fury
Ollie Akana was a core member of the Dino Fury team, but Lord Zedd’s mind-control poison turned him against his friends in Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. After Scrozzle gave him a new Morpher, Ollie became the Dark Fury Ranger, a darker version of his Dino Fury Blue Ranger suit. The upgrade gave him more strength than his original form, along with teleportation, the ability to summon an army of Zentinels, and a Tricera Blaster that fires energy lasers. He could also open a Cosmic Gateway, which Zedd used to blast Zayto to another planet.
But his results in Cosmic Fury were uneven. Ollie nearly gained the upper hand on Zayto and Izzy until the rest of the team arrived, and his Squidrill kept losing to the Cosmic Fury Megazord. Amelia put him down with the Snooze Dino Key, and a bomb on his Tricera Statue eventually destroyed his powers and purified him. Ollie was a dangerous recurring threat, but he never put the whole team away on his own, which is why he is at the bottom of this list.
9
Hitting a Shadow Ranger Meant Hitting Yourself
Wild Force
Onikage’s light beams created evil clones of anyone they struck, and the Rangers could not damage their shadows without hurting themselves in the process. The Shadow Rangers of Power Rangers Wild Force are not Rangers who turned evil. They are copies, created by the Duke Org Onikage from the real team’s shadows, which gives them a unique kind of power. Each Shadow Ranger could match its counterpart’s fighting style move for move, and the team included shadow versions of all six Wild Force Rangers, including the Lunar Wolf Ranger. A Ranger who landed a hit on their shadow would feel it, too, which made the fights nearly impossible to win.
That ability made them more of a puzzle than a pure power threat, which is why they sit at the lower end of the list. The Shadow Rangers could not be beaten by brute force, but they were also not stronger than the Rangers they copied. The heroes won by turning Onikage’s own power against him. One of his light blasts was reflected back to create a shadow double of Onikage himself, and Red Ranger Cole destroyed it with the Falcon Summoner. Once Onikage and his shadow were gone, the Shadow Rangers vanished with them.
8
Ryan Mitchell Didn’t Even Need a Weapon to Beat Lightspeed Rescue
Lightspeed Rescue
In multiple fights, the Titanium Ranger took on the entire Lightspeed Rescue team and overwhelmed them with martial arts alone, with the Titanium Laser staying in reserve. He could also teleport and called on the Max Solarzord when he needed it. His path to that point started with a car accident that left him, his father, and his sister hanging off a cliff. Diabolico offered to save a young Ryan on the condition that he raise him, and he convinced Ryan that his father, Captain Mitchell, had chosen to save his sister, Dana, over him.
On his 20th birthday, Ryan stole the prototype Titanium Morpher from Aqua Base and set out to destroy the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers. He was able to withstand the Morpher’s circuitry, something Miss Fairweather said an ordinary human could not do. Ryan nearly succeeded in his mission, and it took the newly developed V-Lancers to overpower him. Captain Mitchell then stopped the Rangers from destroying him and revealed the truth about what happened to his son. Ryan rejected Diabolico and joined the team in “Truth Discovered.” Not many evil Rangers can say they overwhelmed a full team without even drawing a weapon.
7
The Thunder Rangers Were Fueled By Misguided Revenge
Ninja Storm
The Thunder Megazord shrugged off the Storm Megazord’s Serpent Sword, intercepted Power Sphere 04, and finished the fight with its own finisher, leaving the Wind Rangers unconscious. That sequence in “Thunder Strangers” is the clearest display of what Hunter and Blake Bradley could do as the Crimson and Navy Thunder Rangers in Power Rangers Ninja Storm.
Hunter and Blake had already beaten the Wind Rangers in combat without the Megazords. They ambushed Shane, Tori, and Dustin on the Tsunami Cycles, and they were more experienced than the team they were fighting. They were also not under any spell. Lothor had convinced them that Sensei killed their parents, and they acted on that belief by kidnapping him and using the Thunder Blaster on the Wind Rangers who tried to stop them. The ghosts of their parents ended it by naming Lothor as the real culprit, at which point Blake and Hunter switched sides.
6
Trent Was the Most Physically Dominant Evil Ranger in the Franchise
Dino Thunder
Trent Fernandez-Mercer was a new student in Reefside who found the White Dino Gem in Mesogog’s lair. Mesogog and Elsa had rebuilt the Gem so that it had a mind of its own, which meant it could transform Trent whenever it wanted and corrupt his gentle personality. As the White Dino Ranger, he had super speed, camouflage, teleportation, and the Drago Sword, which fired explosive laser arrows. He also had access to the Dragozord and later the Stegozord.
In terms of pure combat, Trent was one of the most dominant evil Rangers in the franchise. He could easily defeat Conner, Ethan, Kira, and Tommy all at once, on multiple occasions, and he overpowered Kira in “Truth and Consequences” while she was in Super Dino Mode, before Trent had unlocked it himself. He also defeated Zeltrax and Elsa individually in “White Thunder.” Trent’s evil was ended when a Life Extractor, that Mesogog aimed at him, backfired and destroyed the corruption in the Dino Gem, leaving his Ranger powers intact. He then earned the team’s trust by saving Tommy from Zeltrax.
5
Koragg the Knight Wolf Was the Most Noble Evil Ranger
Mystic Force
Koragg is what happens when a legendary warrior falls to dark magic. As Mystic Force‘s recurring nightmare, he wielded a terrifying arsenal of dark spells, armored himself in nearly impenetrable wolf-themed plate, and commanded his own Zord. The Mystic Force team threw everything at him, and he shrugged it off in each fight. He was just as dangerous in the giant-sized fights. Koragg could merge with Catastros into a centaur, form the Centaurus Wolf Megazord, and use the Rangers’ stolen combining power to build his own giant form.
Koragg tore apart the Mystic Titans’ dragon formation, overpowered the Solar Streak Megazord with dark magic, and knocked the Rangers out of Legend Warrior mode. His code held him back, though. He refused to attack defenseless opponents, which cost him opportunities more than once, and he still lost fights to Nick, Solaris Knight, and the Titans. In the end, it was not a Ranger who beat him; Udonna called him Leanbow and told him that Nick was their son, and the revelation broke the memory spell. Koragg is considered by some as the first Purple Ranger in the series, though many argue against this, as his suit turns crimson once he turns good and becomes the Wolf Warrior.
4
The A-Squad Rangers Betrayed the Entire S.P.D.
Power Rangers S.P.D.
Power Rangers S.P.D.‘s finale hinges on a Megazord that the B-Squad had no good answer for. Gruumm left a Zord for the A-Squad, and it fired lightning from its forehead and chest, walked through the charged-up Delta Blaster, and smashed the Delta Sword in one swing. It destroyed the Delta Squad Megazord and badly damaged the Omegamax Megazord before the B-Squad found the hidden Zord flyers and formed the S.W.A.T. Megazord to finish the job.
The team piloting it was supposed to be the best S.P.D. had. The A-Squad vanished for most of the season, and when they returned, they had defected to Emperor Gruumm of their own free will, not under any mind control. They attacked S.P.D. facilities and kidnapped Commander Cruger to deliver him to Gruumm. Unlike most evil Rangers on this list, there was no redemption arc waiting for them. Jack Landors judged them guilty, and the A-Squad was contained.
3
Tommy Oliver’s Set the Standard for Every Evil Ranger That Followed
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Every evil Ranger who came after owes something to Tommy Oliver’s first appearance in “Green with Evil.” Rita Repulsa watched him fight Jason to a draw, put him under a spell, and handed him the Dragon Power Coin. The Sword of Darkness later made the spell permanent after Tommy passed a trial against a team of Putties using only his skill.
From there, Tommy went after the team as personally as possible. He slipped into the Command Center, infected Alpha 5 with a virus, and tore out the control panels, which cut Zordon off from the Rangers. He jumped inside the Megazord and ejected the whole team, sent Jason to the Dark Dimension, and nearly killed him there. During Rita’s eclipse, he helped Goldar and Scorpina knock the Rangers and their Zords out of the fight. It took Jason in a one-on-one duel to end it, destroying the Sword of Darkness with his blaster and freeing Tommy from the spell. Being the blueprint for so many other evil Rangers had to put Tommy in the top three of this list.
2
Psycho Rangers Prove Why Teamwork is Left to the Heroes
Power Rangers in Space
“Faster, smarter, and stronger” is how the Psycho Rangers described themselves to the Space Rangers, and the first fight did not make that sound unreasonable. Astronema built them as evil counterparts to the team, and each one carried the powers to prove it: summoning lightning, teleporting short distances, and moving as color-coordinated blurs. Their signature ability was Brain Drain, which absorbed a victim’s energy and memories, and every Psycho had a monster form for Megazord battles.
Psycho Red even thrashed the whole team on his own, but what undid the group was ego. Red insisted that he alone should finish the Rangers, which led to friendly fire, and the Rangers used the opening to fire a spaceship-sized missile that vaporized the Psychos. Even then, a robot reanimated them, and they returned as ghosts in Lost Galaxy. The second round proved to be far deadlier. Psycho Pink used Brain Drain on the Pink Galaxy Ranger and picked up the Savage Sword, an energy-sapping blade that grew with every swing. The energy blast that followed her storm killed Kendrix. The Psycho Rangers were too powerful to be any lower on the list.
1
Lord Drakkon Was a Multiversal Threat
BOOM! Studios Comics
Every other entry on this list has a ceiling. Lord Drakkon, the evil Tommy from the BOOM! Studios comics who never left Rita’s side, did not seem to have one. He conquered his Earth with Rita, killed Zordon, Jason, Billy, and others, and then killed Rita herself. He took the Rangers’ Power Coins, apart from Billy’s, and fused the White Ranger coin with his Green Ranger powers to become a hybrid with both powers and twice the strength.
In “Shattered Grid,” he took his reach across universes. He tricked Ninjor into repairing his powers and then trapped him, stole the Chaos Crystal from the Command Center, and murdered other versions of Tommy, starting with the Zeo counterpart. He drained most of the Samurai Rangers’ morphers to build his Sentries. He also picked up the Psycho Rangers, the A-Squad, and Koragg as allies, which makes three entries on this list his employees. His final form was able to enter the Morphin Grid, defeat the Emissaries, take the Morphin Masters’ Hearts, and destroy the multiverse. Other evil Rangers have threatened a city or a planet, yet Drakkon is the only one on this list who actually brought the multiverse down.
