Tag Archives: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Morpheus: The Sinister Sentinel

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Hey kids (of all ages), it’s Saturday Morning Cartoon time again!

It’s pretty well-known that the ’90s live-action MIGHTY MORPHIN’ POWER RANGERS series adapted most of its designs and tons of stock footage from the Japanese SUPER SENTAI franchise. But I may have stumbled upon the source for the non-Japanese elements…

A multiracial group of kids granted superpowers and directed by an alien intelligence in the form of a giant, bald, holographic floating head assisted by a dwarf-sized comic relief robot. Sounds a bit familiar, right? Only the YOUNG SENTINELS did it sixteen years before the Power Rangers.

One of only a handful of Filmation productions not based on licensed properties, the Sentinels were already on the air when STAR WARS hit popular culture like an anvil dropped on a coyote’s brain-case. So, to emphasize the sci-fi nature of the series, it was re-named SPACE SENTINELS partway through its run. But that run wasn’t particularly long. Thirteen episodes, which is about par for the 1970s Saturday Morning game. It takes more than superpowers to beat both MR. MAGOO and SCOOBY-DOO, who were in the same time slot with new programs.

But the oddly Nordic “Hercules” from this show would be incorporated into Filmation’s even shorter-lived superhero offering the next year. From September 1977. More from the OldHorseman.

InfraMan

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Princess Dragon Mom

Today’s Trillion $ Movie, Inframan, is a 1975 film from Hong Kong that can stake out three claims to fame — some of the wildest mutant monsters on the planet, ferocious kung-fu action and the vixenish villainess, Princess Dragon Mom, a power-mad dominatrix who cracks a mean whip and looks like a cross between a Valkyrie and a K-pop star with bleached-blonde hair.

The film doesn’t waste any time. Hong Kong is practically leveled within the first three minutes, as Princess Dragon Mom awakens from a 1,000-year sleep, causing her volcanic lair, Mount Devil, to erupt and transform before our eyes into a skull-capped peak. She quickly summons her minions — the Octopus Mutant, the Laser Horn Monster, the Giant Beetle Monster, the Driller Beast, the Emperor of Doom, the Iron-Fist Robots, the She-Demon and her hordes of Skull Warriors. They stand ready to back up her nefarious plans for world dominion, which she plainly announces:

“Greetings to you, Earthlings! I am Princess Dragon Mom. I have taken over this planet. Now I own the Earth and you will be my slaves for all eternity.”

Just a few of Inframan’s foes.

Not so fast, Dragon Mom. At Science Patrol headquarters, Professor Chang scratches his loose-fitting toupee as he ponders how to protect the planet from a fate worse than death. His answer: Subject his willing assistant Rayma to a near-lethal dose of radiation. As a result of this bionic process, Rayma will become InfraMan, a flying superhero with X-ray vision, who can withstand “the suffering of hell” and fight back with Thunder Ball Fists.

Inframan was made by the Shaw Brothers, who cranked out fast-punching, hard-kicking kung-fu movies by the dozens. Here, they not only add a cool, sci-fi veneer, but also many wonderful layers of campy silliness. You won’t soon forget the sight of the mutant monsters dancing inside the cave they call home.  A Japanese superhero with his own TV show, Ultraman, inspired this Hong Kong knock-off, and both, in turn, served as forerunners for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Enjoy the fun, and do return next Friday for another Trillion $ Movie.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The full movie of INFRAMAN is no longer available on YouTube, except for paying customers. Since we can’t show you the full movie, we’ll present the trailer as well as one of the better scenes.).