Machine Empire

The Machine Empire

The Machine Empire is a group of robotic villains in the Power Rangers universe, who first appeared in the television show Power Rangers Zeo and were later mentioned in Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers Wild Force.[1]

History

The Machine Empire was a massive alien race and galactic empire of mechanical beings, led by the Royal House of Gadgetry. Possessing countless Cogs, Quadra Fighters, and monsters, the Machine Empire had already conquered an entire chain of galaxies before reaching Earth. It was when the Empire arrived on Earth that they finally encountered a foe capable of repelling their forces, the Zeo Rangers. Numerous monsters from the Empire perished at the Rangers' hands before King Mondo himself took to the battlefield and was destroyed by the Super Zeo Megazord.

It was during Mondo's absence that the Empire was led by Louie Kaboom, a renegade robot created by Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, King Mondo's bitter rivals seeking to reclaim their evil empire. He meant well and succeeded in taking over the Machine Empire by exiling Queen Machina and Prince Sprocket. However, Louie squandered their forces and was eventually overthrown by Mondo and Machina's eldest son, Prince Gasket, and his wife, Archerina. The two led the Machine Empire against the Zeo Rangers rather well, initiating a massive, all-out invasion on Angel Grove. Gasket and Archerina came close to beating the Rangers a few times, but were consistently interfered by both the Rangers and one time by Lord Zedd(whom the latter realized that if Gasket succeeded in defeating the Rangers, the Machine Empire would take over Earth and leave both him and Rita in exile). After this invasion failed, King Mondo returned, causing Gasket and Archerina to flee. When the Royal House of Gadgetry were later destroyed by Rita and Zedd, the Machine Empire went into a period of inactivity, useless without the Royal House to lead it.

The Royal House of Gadgetry later appeared, rebuilt, as part of Dark Specter's alliance. When Dark Specter initiated his universal invasion, the Machine Empire invaded KO-35 and the Phantom Ranger's homeworld, conquering both planets and defeating the Karovan rebels, the Phantom Ranger, and the Blue Senturion. When Zordon's energy wave struck these planets (during Countdown to Destruction), much of the Machine Empire (including King Mondo) was destroyed, being reduced to a pile of sand.

Years later in an episode of Power Rangers Wild Force called "Forever Red", the remnants of the Machine Empire led by General Venjix gathered on the moon to make a final strike against the Power Rangers and the Earth. Unearthing Lord Zedd's Serpentera, they brought the massive Zord to full power, but were foiled by a team of ten Red Rangers. The other generals destroyed, General Venjix and Serpentera were destroyed by the Red Lion Ranger in his Red Wild Force Rider.

Royal House of Gadgetry

The Royal House was the ruling body of the Machine Empire at the beginning of Power Rangers Zeo. It consisted of King Mondo and Queen Machina, Prince Sprocket, and their top servants, Klank and Orbus.

King Mondo

King Mondo, also known as the Machine King, was the ruler of the Machine Empire and the main antagonist in Power Rangers Zeo. Driving Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd off the moon, Mondo believed the Earth would be an easy conquest, but was shocked when his army of Cogs was repelled by the Zeo Rangers. He was intrigued by the Rangers, as his other conquests had been far too easy, and decided that the Rangers proving to be formidable enemies would make eventually winning more enjoyable. However, Mondo soon grew tired of the Rangers, and just as it seemed he would defeat them, the Gold Ranger arrived and foiled Mondo again. Mondo, tired of fooling around, unearthed the ancient Sword of Damocles. He grew and battled the Rangers, but was defeated and destroyed by the Super Zeo Megazord.

King Mondo was later rebuilt and returned to the throne, chasing away Prince Gasket and Archerina. He also discovered that Zedd and Rita has returned to the Moon and is attempting to overthrow his family to reclaim their evil empire. Mondo then failed at an attempt to steal the Gold Ranger powers by growing giant, but was defeated by the Zeo Rangers and Trey the original Gold Ranger who also grew giant to battle him. Afterwards, Mondo confronted Zedd and Rita for not assisting him against the giant sized Power Rangers. They pretended to give up and offer Mondo and his family a peace offering gift, which was a bomb disguised. It soon blew him and the rest of the Royal House of Gadgetry to pieces. Mondo's head survived the blast and he swears revenge on Zedd and Rita.

He then returned in Power Rangers in Space as part of the invasion in Countdown to Destruction. Zordon's energy wave destroyed Mondo for good.

King Mondo was voiced by David Stenstrom who previously portrayed Hal Stewart from Masked Rider.

Queen Machina

Queen Machina is King Mondo's wife, mother of Prince Sprocket and Prince Gasket, and queen of the Machine Empire. She usually carries a metal fan with her. She loves her husband and son dearly. Machina did show favoritism towards her other son, Gasket, over Sprocket a few times. This was most evident when he and Princess Archerina came to help her rid themselves of Louie Kaboom, an interloper machine developed by Rita and Zedd, and they came close to beating the rangers using Tommy against them. At one point, it was her birthday (or to be techinal, the anniversary of her construsction) and Mondo attempted to kidnap the Mysterious Musician (a disguised Skull) to play for her. She was destroyed at the end of the Zeo arc by Lord Zedd's bomb, was rebuilt, and then destroyed again by Zordon's energy wave. She is one of three (possibly five) female characters to be destroyed by Zordon's Wave.

Queen Machina was originally voiced by Alex Borstein. However, in Power Rangers in Space, she was voiced by Brianne Siddall.

Prince Sprocket

Prince Sprocket was the younger son of King Mondo and Queen Machina. He was the first childlike villain of Power Rangers. Prince Sprocket was spoiled by his parents and liked to play, often with the Rangers. Sprocket would often steal Klank and Orubs's ideas, claiming them for himself; he always got away with it, since King Mondo considered them to be idiots who deserved blame for failed ideas. He had a bitter rivalry with his older brother, Gasket in who had better plans in defeating the Zeo Rangers. Sprocket was destroyed at the end of Power Rangers Zeo by Lord Zedd's bomb, rebuilt, and destroyed again in Countdown to Destruction.

Sprocket was voiced by Barbara Goodson

Klank and Orbus

Klank is one of the top two robots that serve the Royal House of Gadgetry. Klank is a humanoid robot, while Orbus is more of a module. They serve as the monster enlargers of the Zeo arc, and are often kicked around by their masters. Klank has a rather thick Scottish burr for a mechanical background, though as the other robots also have accents (and "American" is an accent too for an alien). He is also quite pompous and thinks highly of himself. He serves his masters with fierce loyalty, but never inserted himself physically into battle.

Orbus is one of the top two robots that serve the Royal House of Gadgetry. Orbus is a mini module. They serve as the monster enlargers of the Zeo arc, and are often kicked around by their masters. Klank would swing Orbus on a thread and throw him at monsters, and Orbus would then make the monster grow. Orbus has a high-pitched voice.

Both were eventually destroyed by Zordon's energy wave in Countdown to Destruction.

Klank was voiced by Oliver Page in a Scottish accent and Orbus was voiced by Barbara Goodson.

Usurpers

Towards the end of the Power Rangers Zeo series, King Mondo was seemingly destroyed, and control of the Machine Empire was left to several usurpers to the throne - first Louie Kaboom and later Prince Gasket and Archerina. Their voice actors, however, were all uncredited.

Louie Kaboom

Louie Kaboom was sent by Rita and Lord Zedd in an attempt to take command of the Machine Empire once King Mondo had been temporarily destroyed. Goldar and Rito were sent to Earth to launch him from there as an attempt to avoid Machina discovering their secret return to the Moon. Unfortunately, though successful, Goldar and Rito lost the remote control they were using to control Louie, which infuriated Rita and Zedd as it left them with no other way of controlling Louie. After a failed attempt by the Power Rangers to use the remote to shut Louie down, Louie had himself rewired so that the remote no longer affected him.

Louie did his best at leading the Empire, trying to win Queen Machina's affections in the process, but was met with failure each and every time. Meanwhile, Zedd and Rita were trying to regain control of Louie, but were less than successful. Louie quickly grew bored of Machina's resistance in not becoming his queen, took over the Machine Empire and imprisoned both her and Sprocket. Unlike Mondo whom often took the advice of his family, Louie took the advice of Klank and Orbus in how to defeat the Rangers.

When Prince Gasket and Archerina arrived on the moon, Archerina took control of Louie with one of her love arrows. She had him attack Angel Grove and battle the Power Rangers, but he was destroyed by the Rangers' strongest weapon: the Super Zeo Ultrazord.

Louie Kaboom was voiced by Lex Lang in a rather thick Brooklyn accent.

Prince Gasket

Prince Gasket was the first-built son of King Mondo and Queen Machina and older brother of Prince Sprocket. He fell in love with Archerina, daughter of Mondo's nemesis, King Aradon. Knowing their marriage would never be approved of, the two of them eloped a la Romeo and Juliet.

Gasket has a bitter sibling rivalry with Sprocket over who is the true heir apparent to the Royal House of Gadgetry, over Queen Machina's favoritism, and over who has better plans against the Zeo Rangers.

When news of Mondo's death reached him, Gasket returned to take care of his mother, depose of the interloper Louie Kaboom and take his rightful place as the Machine King. Gasket notably brainwashed Tommy Oliver, Zeo Ranger V, into temporarily thinking that he was the King of the Machine Empire and that the other Rangers were his enemies. Another time, he trapped the people of Earth in a time loop, forcing them to relive the same day over and over so that he could observe the best way to attack them. Unfortunately for Gasket, Tommy knew there was a time loop thanks to Gasket's earlier tampering with his brain and was able to use that knowledge to put a stop to the plan.

When Mondo was rebuilt and returned, Gasket and Archerina fled temporarily, but then they came back in the episode "Hawaii Zeo," where Prince Sprocket offered the idea of growing into giants to defeat the Rangers. This actually was a cunning attempt by Sprocket to get rid of his brother (as he knew full well that any creature that grew would be destroyed by the rangers). Following Sprocket's plan, Gasket and Archerina grew into giants. After an intense battle where they held their own and nearly overwhelmed almost the Rangers' entire arsenal of zords, they ultimately became overwhelmed by the Zeo Ultrazord. But just as Prince Sprocket came out of hiding and began celebrating the apparent destruction of his brother and sister-in-law, the two were revealed to have survived the blast (though they shrank back to normal size), and just as they were about to face Sprocket, King Mondo arrived to confront them. Prince Gasket and Archerina then fled, this time for good.

Prince Gasket bears a strong resemblance to Link from The Legend of Zelda. His helmet is similar to Link's minish cap, and his outfit is comparable to Link from Ocarina of Time with the green and silver trim. The most obvious of all is Prince Gasket's sword, which other than color, it is identical to the Master Sword.

Prince Gasket was voiced by Douglas Sloan, one of the show's directors, writers, and its producer.

NOTE: In Ohranger, Prince Gasket's Japanese equivalent is actually the upgraded form of Prince Sprocket's Japanese equivalent (note that in all instances where the princes appeared together, they use slightly different color schemes as with all of the American costumes for the Machine Empire). Also in Ohranger, Prince Gasket and Archerina were destroyed by the Zeo Ultrazord where they left behind a child prior to their destruction.

Princess Archerina

Princess Archerina is a robot princess with the appearance of a female archer, and she is the wife of Prince Gasket. Archerina is the daughter of King Aradon, King Mondo's nemesis. Archerina and Gasket eloped and fled from their parents, knowing that both their families will disapprove of their marriage.

She can fire arrows of energy which she can use to make others fall in love with her. Archerina is also capable of firing arrows of destructive energy from her bow. Archerina can teleport with a fiery aura, turning herself into a living missile. Her bow can also transform into a sword to be used in close combat.

She and Gasket returned when King Mondo was destroyed by the Zeo Rangers, and took over in his absence. When the tyrant Louie Kaboom tried to take over, Archerina used her love arrows to make him her slave, forcing him to obey her, which later led to his destruction.

Archerina's jealousy of Katherine Hillard led to the formation of a strong grudge against her.

Upon King Mondo's return, Archerina fled the Earth with her husband, but came back in "Hawaii Zeo" to confront the Rangers once more. After becoming a giant alongside Gasket, both Gasket and Archerina were defeated by the Zeo Ultrazord, but they survived. However, King Mondo arrived to confront the two of them, and they quickly escaped, never to be seen again.

Archerina was voiced by Melora Harte.

NOTE: In Ohranger, Prince Gasket and Archerina were destroyed by the Zeo Ultrazord where they left behind a child prior to their destruction.

Machine Empire Remnants

Years after Countdown to Destruction in the Power Rangers Wild Force episode Forever Red, the last generals of the Machine Empire gathered on the moon. Determined to obtain revenge for the destruction of their beloved monarch King Mondo after what happened to him in the "Countdown to Destruction" event, they set out to resurrect Serpentera. Led by the Generals Venjix, Tezzla, Gerrok, Steelon, and Automon, the Machine Empire unearthed the giant Zord and placed a neo-plutonium core inside to power it. However, just as they were about to board Serpentera, a team of 10 Red Rangers arrived on the moon. The Generals battled the Rangers, and Tezzla, Gerrok, Steelon, and Automon were destroyed. Venjix escaped to Serpentera, which he flew towards Earth. However, the Red Wild Force Ranger used his Wild Force Rider to reflect Serpentera's blast back into it. The Zord was destroyed, along with Venjix and the Machine Empire.

It should also be noted that the Machine Empire Remnants are really recycled Big Bad Beetleborgs/Beetleborgs Metallix costumes. Due to the use of these Beetleborg costumes, the Machine Empire Generals appear to be more technologically advanced than the rest of the Machine Empire including the Royal House of Gadgetry itself.

General Venjix

Four years after the destruction of the Machine Empire, surviving members of the Empire remain seeking to destroy the Earth. Tezzla, Gerrok, Steelon, and Automon (and many Cogs) are all that is left of the Empire, as well as General Venjix, their leader. They have recently learned that Earth's Moon is the resting place of Serpentera, a gigantic war machine created by Lord Zedd with the power to destroy a whole planet. Ever since Lord Zedd was changed into a human being, this happened in "Countdown to Destruction", the location of Serpentera remained a mystery for many years. Venjix finds it and begins using Cog soldiers to dig it up, refitting it with a Neo Plutonium reactor to power it. Venjix and his other Generals prepare to board Serpentera, but they are then interrupted by the Red Rangers. Venjix sends Cogs to distract the eight Rangers while he and the others flee to Serpentera. The Rangers battle the Cogs unmorphed and easily defeat them. Eventually, Cole escapes the barrage of Cogs and chases after the Generals. Venjix fires at him, but Cole is rescued by Leo and Aurico on Leo's Jet Jammer. Then all the 10 Red Rangers gather, morph with their respective morphing calls (except for Aurico, who has already morphed), and battle the Generals. Red Wild Force Ranger Cole Evans and Red Mighty Morphing Ranger Jason Lee Scott fight Venjix, Cole having trouble at first but coming back strong after Jason single-handedly overwhelms Venjix with a corkscrew kick to show off to Cole.

Cole later severely damages Venjix with his Crystal Saber (Blazing Lion attack). Battle-damaged, Venjix then jumps into Serpentera and takes off. The Rangers fear they have failed, but Cole calls upon his Wild Force Rider to battle Venjix. Cole uses the Wild Force Rider to fly into Serpentera and destroy it from the inside. Both Venjix and Serpentera are finally destroyed, and Cole ends up surviving the explosion despite the others' momentarily thinking he may have been destroyed too.

General Venjix is voiced by Archie Kao.

NOTE: General Venjix is a recycled version of Shadowborg.

Tezzla

She fought and engaged the Quantum Ranger Eric Myers and Red Alien Ranger Aurico, they destroyed her with great team work and Eric using his Quantum Defender.

Tezzla is voiced by Catherine Sutherland.

NOTE: Tezzla is a recycled version of Ladyborg without the antenna.

Gerrok

He battled the Red Zeo Ranger Tommy Oliver and Red Time Force Ranger Wesley Collins, Tommy destroys him with the Zeo Flying Power Kick.

Gerrok is voiced by Walter Emanuel Jones.

NOTE: Gerrok is a recycled version of the Green Hunter Borg.

Steelon

He engaged Red Space Ranger Andros and Red Lightspeed Rescue Ranger Carter Grayson, who destroyed him by combining power from their Astro, Rescue, and Thermo Blasters.

Steelon is voiced by an uncredited Scott Page-Pagter.

NOTE: Steelon is a recycled version of Dragon Borg minus the dragonfly wings on the head.

Automon

He excellently fought against Red Turbo Ranger T. J. Johnson and Red Lost Galaxy Ranger Leo Corbett as they destroy him with their Quasar Saber, Transdagger, Turbo Blade, and Turbo Lightning Sword attack.

Automon is voiced by an uncredited David Walsh.

NOTE: Automon is a hybrid of two Beetleborgs suits. He has the head of Fire Borg and the body of Lightning Borg.

Cogs

The Cogs are the Machine Empire's foot soldiers. They pilot the Quadrafighters and are able to blast lasers out of their eyes. They appeared mostly as silver-suited robots with yellow heads; however, there were also some that had maroon versions of the suit. Some were capable of speech, but very rarely.

NOTE: Zordon said Cogs had to be completely dismanatled in order to be stopped; however, the rangers only badly damage them. Perhaps he meant they had to be completely destroyed or the Cogs would simply be repaired and sent back to fight again.

Monsters

The monsters of this show are robots created by the Machine Empire. They are adapted from the monsters featured in Chōriki Sentai Ohranger. To make a monster grow, Klank would swing Orbus around until he latched onto the monster emitting an energy that would enlarge the monster.

References

  1. ↑ Terrace, Vincent (2002). Crime Fighting Heroes of Television: Over 10,000 Facts from 151 Shows, 1949-2001. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 121. ISBN 0786484454. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
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