Category:A-Squad Rangers

The A-Squad Rangers are the first team of S.P.D. Rangers, and are the first truly corrupt team of Rangers (instead of being brainwashed into becoming evil, such as Tommy, manipulated like the Thunder Rangers, or being created as evil, such as the Psycho Rangers).

History
The A-Squad was the Space Patrol Delta Academy's elite Ranger team, the defenders of Earth. During their early appearances in the series, they only appear morphed and are sent out to face the newest threat to the planet's safety. However, the A-Squad were already corrupt; Bridge has sensed "something off" with their aura in the first episode, but didn't have the chance to find out what. In the episode "Confronted", the A-Squad is sent to the Helix Nebula to defend it from Emperor Gruumm; this was a trap, and contact is lost with them in "Walls" after it was made clear they were being overwhelmed. They were considered "Missing in Action". (In this episode, A-Squad Red's voice was distorted in editing to sound male instead of female).

Unknown to the Rangers, the A-Squad survived and defected to Gruumm's side, wanting to be on "the winning team" (as stated in "Endings"). They bided their time, destroying the SPD Gamma 4 base for unknown reasons which gave Kat and Cruger some suspicions of who the attackers were after an interrupted distress communication made by a SPD personnel have startled them (confirmed at conventions and in interviews by the show's producers), before finally faking a crash-land on Gamma-Orion and sending an SOS to have the B-Squad 'find' them alive. The B-Squad Rangers soon became frustrated when Cruger abruptly dismissed them to debrief the A-Squad and they realized that they were once again "the reserves, zord cleanup detail," as Jack Landors put it. (Ironically, Jack and Z were never the "reserves", as Jack put it, since they joined S.P.D. at almost the same time the A-Squad disappeared.) After a year of being Earth's main line of defense, they were pushed aside.

However, at the end of "Resurrection", the A-Squad revealed their true allegiance and kidnapped Commander Cruger. Following this treachery, the B-Squad battled with the A-Squad. Despite the A-Squad initially having the upper hand in combat, the B-Squad managed to overcome them with a combination of smarter battle tactics and S.W.A.T. Mode. Escalating the battle, the A-Squad upped the ante by unleashing their own Megazord, which transforms from Broodwing's drill vehicle. A battle ensued, but when the Delta Command Base has been overtaken by Broodwing's forces and transformed into the Delta Command Megazord to destroy the city, the Omegamax Megazord was disabled and the Delta Squad Megazord was destroyed. After the B-Squad had recovered, they recovered the S.W.A.T. flyers from the secret underground zord bay- which only Bridge had known about-, using the S.W.A.T. Megazord to destroy the A-Squad's Megazord, finally defeating them.

The A-Squad was found guilty of treason and contained by the B-Squad with their Delta Morphers without a further fight. As a consequence of this action, and at the request of B-Squad- who felt that they were B-Squad rather than A-Squad-, the A-Squad "ranking" was retired.

In the pages of Jetix Magazine, the A-Squad make an appearance in the S.P.D. comic strip, in the two part "finale" of the strip "Invasion". Here, they are brainwashed by Gruumm as opposed to corrupted, and turn on the S.P.D. defense armada orbiting Earth. They are arrested by the B-Squad with the charges of treason, and are never seen again. Their ranking is given to B-Squad for defeating Gruumm and Omni however, they turn it down and remain the B-Squad instead.

Powers
The full capabilities of the A-Squad are unknown. They have the ability to morph instantaneously without using a Delta Morpher, and their Ranger suits are heavily armored, suggesting greater endurance. Their primary weapons are large and powerful laser cannons, but they do not appear to have anything beyond that. Aside from the Delta Runners, they were shown piloting a Zord that could transform into a drill-based vehicle. It is presumed to be of S.P.D. origin, due to its cockpit design and various "S.P.D." decals; however, its outward appearance, when compared to other S.P.D. zords, suggests it may have been modified heavily.

In terms of fighting ability, they are said to be the best of the best, able to take down their counterparts easily; however, once the B-Squad converted to S.W.A.T. Mode and had equal armor and weaponry to the A-Squad, they were able to easily defeat the A-Squad. It has been speculated that the A-Squad underestimated the B-Squad's skills and were caught off-guard.

Suits
The A-Squad suits were kitbashed together from various sources, most recognizably the re-molded helmets from Power Rangers in Space. The updated helmets featured silver around the visors with an S.P.D. logo above the visor and silver vents adorning the top and sides of the helmet. The Black Space Ranger's helmet was repainted green for this series. The actual suit also appears to be color matched motocross padding with black spandex, the same or similar armor being sourced from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy. The lasers appear to be modified airsoft or paintball guns.

Trivia

 * While they do not have official names, members of the Power Rangers fanon have given the other four A-Squad Rangers names. The names are Rachel (the pink ranger), Cliff (the green ranger), Ivan (the yellow ranger) and Beevor (the blue ranger). At a convention, Bruce Kalish admitted he liked the names, however whether or not the names are canon has not been determined.
 * The armour on the A-Squad's suits is reminiscent of the B-Squad's SWAT Mode. This is likely their equivalent, which would explain how B-Squad could only defeat them after they went into SWAT Mode.
 * This is the second Ranger team that has both a male Yellow Ranger and Blue Ranger on the same team, the first being the Alien Rangers.
 * They are the first Ranger team that turned to evil of their own choice. Not because of blackmail or brainwashing. They are also the first team with a female Red Ranger.

Gallery
A-Rangers