Goldar

For the main character of The Space Giants, see Ambassador Magma.

Goldar (or Flydar in the pilot episode), is a fictional character from the Power Rangers universe, first appearing in the American series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He is based on the Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger villain Grifforzer. He is a powerful yet very overconfident warrior that served under the command of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. He usually fought alongside Scorpina or Rito Revolto.

As his name implies, Goldar sports a golden suit of armor with a matching helmet. Goldar is a humanoid lion with red eyes and a gravelly voice. His voice was provided by Kerrigan Mahan.

Unlike many other henchmen, Goldar was one of the few who was capable of holding his own against the entire Power Ranger team. As time went by in the series, Goldar's character became less threatening and more comical, especially in the first feature film. He was a dangerous fighter initially, being able to defeat the original power ranger team in battle single-handedly. Later, however, he began to lose his edge, with Jason handing him his first major defeat in the episode Missing Green.

Character history

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Goldar led Rita Repulsa's first invasion against the Earth. However, he was soon faced the Power Rangers and was beaten by their Megazord after an intense fight. He also became notable for telling Rita what to do frequently, and always promised that they will get revenge for their schemes' failures. He also has been called a "bumbling fool" by Rita in "A Star is Born", and was scolded vehemently by Rita in "Happy Birthday, Zack", being called a "worthless misfit" and a "dweeb". This pattern also happened when Lord Zedd was introduced as well; in addition to insulting the now apparently incompetent golden warrior, he often blamed Goldar for his own failures, and had a habit of silencing him (and Squatt and Baboo) frequently.

Ever since then, Goldar fought the Rangers and their Zords, growing a strong hatred for Jason and Tommy, the Red and Green Rangers, for their continual victories in single combat. Goldar also had a Zord of his own known as Cyclopsis, an ancient war machine, but this Zord was defeated by the Rangers' Ultrazord after a prolonged battle. He was also involved in one of Bulk and Skull's more memorable encounters with a monster, in which Goldar (giant sized) picked up a bus with the two inside.

When Lord Zedd arrived on the Moon, Goldar eagerly abandoned Rita for Zedd, regaining his wings in the process. As Zedd's right hand man, Goldar led many missions for him, encountering Tommy (now the White Ranger) again and again. Each time they fought, the White Ranger would best him, sending Goldar back to Zedd in disgrace. When Rita returned to the moon and married Zedd, Goldar was aghast. When he finally discovered it was a sham, he immediately set out to make things right and had Finster create an antidote for the love spell that Rita used. Unfortunately for Goldar, it was revealed that Zedd had come to love Rita on his own, potion or not. Even after Rita dropped her secret plans of usurping Zedd, Goldar still had a massive dislike for her. Often paired with Rito Revolto, Goldar was disgusted by the skeleton's stupidity (and stench).

Goldar was also essential in Lord Zedd's powering of the Shogun Zords, as he soundly defeated Ninjor, allowing Zedd to capture and use him as a power source for the Shogunzords.

In Mighty Morphine Power Rangers: The Movie

In the movie's alternate continuity, Goldar serves Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, but when Ivan Ooze shows up, Mordant and he switch sides almost automatically after Ooze traps both Rita and Zedd in a snowglobe, depriving them of the their powers. He thinks Kimberly is cute, and when the time comes, he runs away at the sight of the Ninja Megazord. In this film, he is portrayed as a bumbling sidekick, very similar to Squatt in the main series. At the very end, Rita and Zedd are not pleased with him as he had taken over their palace after Ivan Ooze was defeated, calling himself King Goldar.

In the film Goldar is without his sword, although he is always seen with it in the television show.

In Mighty Morphine Alien Rangers

Goldar and Rito planted a bomb outside of the Command Center, but it was defused by Alpha 5. Goldar also played a role in the destruction of the Ninja power coins. Later, Goldar and Rito were sent to the Command Center, having been given a map of the Command Center's basement, and attempted to destroy the Command Center with an implosion device. The bomb went off, destroying the Command Center. Just before the implosion device went off, Goldar stole the Zeo Crystal with the help of Rito.

In Power Rangers Zeo

In Power Rangers Zeo, the Rangers discovered the Zeo Crystal in the ruins of the Command Center, surmising that Rito and Goldar must have dropped it. Rito and Goldar also lost their memories (and in Goldar's case, his wings), and ended up wandering around Angel Grove. They eventually found Bulk and Skull, and ended up becoming their butlers in exchange for food and shelter. Zedd and Rita eventually found them and restored their memories (and Goldar's wings). They returned to their employers and helped them in their quest to destroy the Machine Empire.

In Power Rangers in Space

Goldar's final appearance was in the final episode of Power Rangers In Space, "Countdown to Destruction". Unlike Rito, Goldar went with Zedd and Rita to the Cimmerian Planet for Dark Specter's conference, where he was responsible for revealing Andros' identity as a Power Ranger by removing his cloak. He was later present in their invasion of the Vica Galaxy, helping to subdue the Gold Ranger. It was not shown what happened to Goldar following Zordon's destruction as the subsequent energy wave either destroyed or purified the other villains.

In Power Rangers: Super Legends

Goldar is the main villain in the Mighty Morphin' section of the game. He is first seen complaining about Rita making him do her dirty work. Suddenly, Lord Zedd appears in a time hole and tells him to contaminate Angel Grove's water supply, zombifying everyone there to form an army of Z-Putties. Goldar follows Zedd's demands, however the Power Rangers are hot on his tail. The "chase" ends at Angel Grove, where Goldar is ready to contaminate the water supply, however the Power Rangers stop him and he is forced to grow. He is defeated in the Megazord battle.

Change in appearance

From the first episode, Day of the Dumpster, to Lions and Blizzards, the Goldar costume looked like Grifforzer, his Zyuranger counterpart. This caused his snout to rise whenever he was talking. Starting with Crystal of Nightmares, the head was modified so that the jaw (or just the bottom teeth) would move down. This new costume was used for all footage filmed in the U.S. onward, but the rising snout Goldar would appear in recycled footage in the second season.

In addition to the changes in his facial appearance, the revised costume notably has a pair of extended wings. Although Goldar is shown with the ability to fly in early episodes, the wings on the original costume are folded behind him and later disappear for reasons not explained within the season. In "Mutiny, Part I" when Goldar immediately acid trip defects from Rita upon Lord Zedd's arrival, the evil emperor states, "Your spineless, sniveling attitude leads me to believe you will serve me well. For that, I shall restore to you what was once taken away." Zedd then uses his staff to re-grant Goldar his wings.