Ecliptor

"Red Ranger, I’ll see that you pay for this, if it's the last thing I ever do!!"

- Ecliptor's final words

Ecliptor is Astronema's second-in-command and the Princess' father figure. He raised Astronema after she was kidnapped by Darkonda, teaching her to be evil; he does have compassion though. His name may be a pun off of the word "Eclipse".

History & Description
Ecliptor was one of the most lethal fighters in the known universe and the veteran of countless battles. It is believed that he is responsible for the catastrophe on KO-35 that caused the settlers to evacuate. Nobody seems to know where Ecliptor came from adding a greater sense of mystery to this legendary warrior. Ecliptor has worked with the villainous bounty hunter Darkonda in the past and since then has formed an immense hatred for him.

Although his true motives are unclear one thing is certain, he seems fueled by his hatred for Andros the Red Space Ranger (probably because he thinks Andros will turn Astronema good). Ecliptor has followed Andros to numerous planets with the intention of destroying him once and for all. Ecliptor's immense power and strength make him more than a match for Andros or any other Ranger.

Ecliptor was built, not born, as a creature of evil. He was charged with raising the captured Karone into a life of evil, so that she would become Astronema, Dark Specter's most devoted acolyte. It is sometimes implied that Ecliptor is more devoted to keeping Astronema safe than to his evil cause, which would suggest some kind of love, or at least a protective instinct.

Ecliptor was rivals with Darkonda, a bounty hunter who worked for Dark Specter to capture Karone. Darkonda treats Ecliptor with disdain, always trying to one-up him. Darkonda can also merge with Ecliptor to form a powerful entity named Darkliptor. In this form, Darkonda is dominant, but Ecliptor can force them apart if he is strong enough. Ecliptor has even killed Darkonda on three occasions, during one of which, he saved Andros from a booby trap.

When Andros found out that his long-lost sister, Karone, was Astronema, Ecliptor attempted to keep them apart, in order to prevent Astronema from learning the truth. He failed, and Astronema returned to the side of good as Karone once again. Ecliptor remained devoted to his princess, defending her against the attacks of his own forces. He was branded a traitor and was captured by Darkonda. Later, Ecliptor was brainwashed by Darkonda to be fully evil, driving out any protective instinct he may have had towards Karone. It was this reprogrammed Ecliptor who captured Karone in order for her to be brainwashed into being Astronema again.

Towards the end of the Ranger's conflict with Astronema, Ecliptor gained an upgrade, turning red for a time. In this super-powered form, he destroyed the Delta Megazord before his new power expired, turning him back to normal.

When Andros inadvertently delivered Astronema a mortal wound during a battle, Ecliptor appeared as she lay dying. Breaking free of some of his programming, he rushed over to his princess, asking Andros how he could have done this to his own sister. He vowed to avenge her death, and the two began a heated duel. After being beaten by Andros, he crawls to Astronema's apparently dead body. Andros then destroys Zordon's energy tube. The destruction sends a wave of energy that dissolves Ecliptor into a pile of sand. He is the first of many Zordon-era villains to be destroyed.

Personality
Ecliptor is a merciless and brutal being who delights in combat and destruction. In fact, Ecliptor is the only villain in the United Alliance of Evil who is not interested in ruling the universe. His primary objective, aside from protecting his princess Astronema, is the destruction of Andros.

Despite this, Ecliptor has show to have some kind of paternal affection towards Astronema. This feeling is stronger than his evil motives. Ecliptor treats Astronema as both his queen and his daughter, offering advice when needed. He is always quick to reaffirm that Astronema is, and always has been, evil - although this is not the case. When Astronema learns the truth about her past, Ecliptor confesses that she was not born evil, and that he raised her to be evil. His love for Astronema ultimately culminated in him allowing her and the Power Rangers to escape Dark Specter's trap.

Unfortunately, when he was captured by Darkonda, Ecliptor was transformed into a being of pure evil, with no feelings towards Astronema. When he discovered her sneaking aboard the Dark Fortress, he was quick to capture her and delivered her to Darkonda to suffer the same fate he had.

Despite Dark Specter and Darkonda's alterations, Ecliptor retained vestiges of his original personality. He remained intensely loyal to Astronema and even supported her secret plot to overthrow Dark Specter. He also continued to despise Darkonda, and was quite happy when the newly brainwashed Astronema ordered him to throw Darkonda off the Dark Fortress.

When he was in the final moments of his life, Ecliptor managed to free himself from some of his programming and felt the paternal love towards Astronema he once felt. When Astronema was accidentally killed by Andros, he grieved for her and swore revenge on Andros. His last act is to shield Astronema's body from Zordon's energy wave.

Due to his kindness and loyalty towards Astronema, even when she'd turned to the side of good, it seems strange that he was destroyed by Zordon's energy wave while far worse villains such as Rita, Zedd, and Divatox were given a second chance at life. It is most likely due to the fact that Ecliptor was - by his own admission - created a creature of evil. Furthermore, considering that Zordon's wave demorphed the Rangers - including Andros - Ecliptor might have taken the opportunity to finish Andros off had he survived.

Powers and Abilities
Ecliptor is said to be one of the best warriors in the universe. Only the Red space ranger and Darkonda are the only ones with powers equal to Ecliptor's. His powers are:


 * Nigh-Invulnerability: Ecliptor's remarkable endurance makes him nearly invulnerable to most forms of attack. He may even be invincible since he has apparently been destroyed several times only to show up again days later in top fighting form, though it is possible he was simply rebuilt.


 * Hologram Projecion: Ecliptor can create a Cyber Shadow of himself or his head. Ecliptor projects a three dimensional transparent image of himself or his head into the air and from it he can see what it sees and fight through it (either by hand to hand combat or by firing * energy blasts).


 * Body Parts Separation: Ecliptor's head can detach from his body and both parts can fight simultaneously.


 * IIlusions: Ecliptor can create more than 6 illusions of himself at the same time in order to confuse his enemies.


 * Energy Projection/Telkinesis: Ecliptor can discharge massive amounts of energy from his body causing conventional damage or he can harness it into telekinetic power allowing him to manipulate objects from a distance. He primarily fires energy bolts from his hands or energy beams from his eyes.The reprogrammed Ecliptor can fire explosive rounds from each of his five fingers on his left hand.


 * Claws: Ecliptor has a rack of razor sharp claws that can shred through steel on his left knuckles.


 * Giant Size: He was also able to, when given a powerful enough energy boost, for him to turn into a giant, far more powerful red version of himself. In this form, he was powerful enough to destroy the Delta Megazord with one slash and seriously damage the Space Rangers' other Megazords single-handedly. He even had a small advantage over the Power Rangers during the hand to hand combat after the Megazord battle, however, it wasn't until after Andros used a combination of Battlizer and Spiral Saber attacks to explosively send him back to his regular form and cause him to retreat in the process.

Weapons
Ecliptor's primary weapon is his sword which like him is black with green lines, the Ecliptor can project powerful energy blasts from his sword. Ecliptor's sword like him was also upgraded after Ecliptor's been brainwashed the sword now had sharp edges on the blade. the sword also has three buttons on the hilt which allows Ecliptor to do special attacks with his sword.

Other Notes

 * When creating illusions of himself to confuse his enemies, Ashley the Yellow Space Ranger can use her lightstar helmet ability to pinpoint the real Ecliptor.
 * Ecliptor makes a cameo in Power Rangers Lost Galaxy in a flashback of Karone's in the episode "Facing The Past".
 * Ecliptor's sword was used for one of the Mut-Orgs weapons in Power Rangers Wild Force.
 * Despite being very similar to his japanese counterpart, it should be noted that Ecliptor's relationship with Astronema mirror those of Dr. Hinelar toward Shibolena and not Yugande.
 * Ecliptor's story is similar to that of Adjutant Booba of Changeman: an evil knight-like character working with the villains who works for and protects one who was formerly good and who ultimately becomes sacrificed even while working for their happiness.
 * Judd Lynn, one of the long-time producers and writers for Power Rangers, revealed an idea he had for a possible alternative origin for Ecliptor. In Lynn's story, Ecliptor would have been created by veteran Ranger Billy Cranston in an effort to create an artificial Power Ranger. However, Ecliptor's choice to take the path of evil would have led Billy to develop the Phantom Ranger powers and assume that mantle in an effort to atone for his failure. This idea is intriguing given Ecliptor's antagonism of Phantom Ranger in the series, but never came to fruition.