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Rita Repulsa
 
Played By
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Soga Machiko (1993 - 1994, 2004-Clip Show)
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Carla Perez (1994 - 1998, 2004-Clip Show)
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Barbara Goodson (Voice)
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Julia Cortez (MMPR:TM)
Rita Repulsa was released from captivity by two
unknowing
astronauts. Once released from their space dumpster, Rita and her
minions
set their sights on Earth. Creating a palace on the moon, Rita
commanded
one of her servants to begin creation of a clay army called Putties.
Another
servant, Goldar, was her general and often chief advisor. Rita's
weapons
include a staff, with is in the shape of a circle, with a red orb
enclosed
in it. With it, she can fire energy blasts, as well as increase her
monsters'
size.
 
After many failed attempts, the empress finally
revealed
her secret weapon; a green power coin. With it, she placed a teenager,
Tommy Oliver, under her control and kept him that way by presenting him
with the Sword of Darkness. Her first order for her Ranger was to take
out Zordon, followed by an attack on the Rangers. To further increase
her
power, Rita called forth her old friend Scorpina. It seemed as though
she
had finally won, until Alpha was able to restore Zordon's link to the
Earth.
He, knowing the secret of the Sword of Darkness, was able to over see
the
Green Ranger's defeat and subsequent betrayal of his empress. Tommy
joined
the Rangers in the fight, making Rita's blood boil.
Some time passed before Rita got her revenge. But
eventually, she orchestrated Tommy's temporary downfall. Using a candle
formed from magic wax, she drained his powers away to nothing. The two
were linked. When the candle burned out, so too did the Green Ranger's
powers. This delighted her, but her joy was short lived. Zordon saw to
it that Tommy's powers were restored. Though this time, they were on
temporary.
The candle was, as such, only a partial victory for Rita.
With a year gone and the Ranger still alive, the
empress soon was forced to face her master. Lord Zedd returned,
outraged
by her failures. Scorpina vanished and Goldar pledged his loyalty to
the
emperor, leaving Rita helpless. Zedd took away her powers and though
she
begged him for another chance, her request was denied. Rita was reduced
to the size of a child's toy and imprisoned once again in a space
dumpster.
Zedd cast her into space in what seemed like her last good-bye.
Though cocky, Zedd hadn't seen the last of Rita.
Much
time passed and it was once again time for his hundred-year recharge.
This
was her chance. The pint-sized queen made her way into Zedd's
reconstructed
version of the palace and called upon Finster for assistance. He
returned
her to her true form and proceeded to follow her orders. He was truly
the
woman's only friend, but luckily the only one she needed. Seeing that
Lord
Zedd was helpless, Rita drugged him. The effects of the drug made his
hatred
for her vanish and replaced it with blind devotion. He had fallen in
love
and thanks to the potion, saw his former servant through rose colored
glasses.
Much to Goldar's displeasure, the two wed in a ceremony of darkness and
then set out against the Rangers. Though they defeated the wedding
guests,
they were too late to stop the sinister marriage. Rita and Zedd were
one
and proved to be their biggest challenge of that time.
Not long after the two tied the knot, Rita's brother
came to the palace, bringing with him an army of bird-like creatures
called
Tengas. Zedd considered him an unwelcome guest, but Rita accepted her
brother
as part of their dysfunctional family.
Rita's time locked away hadn't tarnished her evil
spirit in the least. She placed yet another teenager from Angel Grove,
Katherine, under her spell. She was to be a spy and took the form of a
white cat named PC. Zedd wasn't onboard with the plan at first, but
soon
saw the good in it. Katherine took Kimberly's coin, slowly causing her
to lose her powers. But when she watched Kimberly's life hang in the
balance,
Rita's spell was broken and history seemed to repeat itself. Katherine,
liked Tommy, joined the Rangers and infuriated the evil queen.
The next member of Rita's family to show up was
her father, Master Vile. The made Zedd all the more angry, but again,
Rita
welcomed her relative. After turning the Earth back in time, Vile
returned
to his home galaxy, again giving Rita and Zedd control of the moon.
Within
this time, the two were able to destroy the Rangers coins, leaving them
powerless. Their victory, as usual, didn't last long, however. Once the
Earth was returned to its true time by the Zeo crystal, the Machine
Empire
invaded and launched an attack on the lunar palace. Out of options,
Rita
called on her father for assistance. She used him to find shelter from
the robots' rapid fire.
After also spending some time in a moble-home, Rita
and Zedd had finally had enough. They played the Machine Empire, making
them believe they wanted peace. They went on to give a gift to the
machine's
son, Prince Sprocket. Naturally, said gift was a bomb. It destroyed the
empire and left them free to attack the Rangers. Sadly for Rita, she
was
beat to the punch by the Pirate Queen Divatox.
Rita's next appearance was at a meeting of Dark
Specter's alliance. She, along with other forces of darkness, had been
called into his service. Upon learning not herself, but Astronema,
would
be leading the fight against the Rangers, Rita was very upset. She and
Divatox had blown their chances seconds earlier by going at each other
like cats and dogs.
Once Dark Specter's master plan had begun to unfold,
Rita was left to tend to the Gold Ranger. But all of her years of
experience
couldn't prepare her for what came next. Zordon committed suicide, with
Andros' assistance, in order to save the Earth. And though the wave
reduced
most of her army to dust, Rita was spared. She and Zedd were set free
of
Dark Specter and their evil sides destroyed. This gave them a chance at
a happy life. In the end, the two of them danced happily off screen, in
a very surprising happy ending.
Interesting Facts:
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The character Rita was originally recycled footage of Bandora from
Sentai
Zyuranger.
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To cover up the recast in '95, a special 'moon mud' was used to make it
appear as though she had gotten a facial to impress Lord Zedd.
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Rita & Zedd's anniversary is on Valentine's Day, 1995.
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Rita bares no resemblance to her brother or her father. My theory is
that
she was either adopted or her mother was humanoid.
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If you look closly at Rita's palace, the neon sign above the door
reads,
"Bandora Palace". This is due to her Sentai origin.
- Special Features -
Image Gallery: Episode pictures of the original Empress of Evil.. |
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