History NightmareFuel / MightyMorphinPowerRangers

* "No Clowning Around" has the story taking place in an AmusementParkOfDoom where Putties and the MonsterOfTheWeek Pineoctopus are disguised as {{Monster Clown}}s, Pineoctopus as "Pineapple the Clown", who subjects poor Trini to a large helping of AdultFear when he lures her little cousin Sylvia away when the group is distracted and she has to frantically look for them in the crowd. Then he transforms her into a cardboard cutout ramping up Trini's horror until Alpha figures out how to revert her back to normal later on. When the Rangers fight the Putties, Pineapple manages to lure Billy away from the others and [[EnemyRisingBehind eerily comes up from behind him]] with a SlasherSmile to turn him into cardboard, but Billy sees him in a reflection and ducks down letting a Putty Patroller get transformed instead.

* "No Clowning Around" has the story taking place in an AmusementParkOfDoom where Putties and the MonsterOfTheWeek Pineoctopus are disguised as {{Monster Clowns}}, Pineoctopus as "Pineapple the Clown", who subjects poor Trini to a large helping of AdultFear when he lures her little cousin Sylvia away when the group is distracted and she has to frantically look for them in the crowd. Then he transforms her into a cardboard cutout ramping up Trini's horror until Alpha figures out how to revert her back to normal later on. When the Rangers fight the Putties, Pineapple manages to lure Billy away from the others and [[EnermyRisingBehind eerily comes up from behind him]] with a SlasherSmile to turn him into cardboard, but Billy sees him in a reflection and ducks down letting a Putty Patroller get transformed instead.

** The opening of "Calamity Kimberly" shows Squatt spying on Kimberly from her bedroom window and "For Whom the Bell Trolls" has him sneaking into Trini's bedroom while she's sleeping to transform her Mr. Ticklesneezer doll into the MonsterOfTheWeek right there and then. They teleport away instead of attacking her while she's at her most vulnerable with her guard down, but still. To younger viewers who may already struggle with nightmarish ideas such as monsters under the bed, seeing Squatt spying and entering into the protagonist's bedroom while they sleep certainly won't help them do that at night.

* Rita has a special advantage most other villains don't: with her telescope and witchcraft, she is constantly aware of where the Rangers are. That means most of her attacks come in the form of sneak attacks, aiming to pick off the Rangers in compromised positions. Imagine the psychological stress that must cause the Rangers, knowing that Rita could attack at absolutely any moment. The one safe place on Earth is the Command Center, but even that is shown to be vulnerable in a few episodes.

*** Said scene actually damaged the Thunder Megazord costume. DairenOh doesn't appear in other ''Super Sentai'' crossovers outside of stock footage, with the Red Dragon Thunderzord suit used instead.

* Evil!Tommy. Yes, there is some {{Narm}} at play here, but seeing Tommy, all glowing eyes and EvilLaugh, can be ''slightly'' off putting if you're accustomed to his more familiar characterzation. Credit to Creator/JasonDavidFrank, he plays T.O. with enough underlying malace that if you didn't remember what show you were watching, you'd swear he was about to snap necks on a dime.

** The scariest part is when Rita causes Titanus to sink into the earth. Titanus is the strongest of the Zords, unstoppable. Nothing stands up to the Ultrazord, which is pretty much "the other zords ride its back." While it doesn't have much in the way of facial expressions, somehow those limited movements, combined with its roar and eye-lights, convey the ''pure terror'' that the invincible machine is in as the ground devours it with only a ''gesture'' from Rita.
* And then there's Lokar. A giant floating blue head with spines all over it that Rita can summon. Nothing is mentioned about his background (other than that he almost wiped them out the last time Rita summoned him). He has breath that can enhance monsters (as he did to Mutitus), shoot lightning, and causes general destruction. Only the Ultrazord can make him flee the first time. The second time, he assumes a [[OneWingedAngel new, scarred form]] ([[CallBack presumably thanks to the Ultrazord's barrage]]) and helps bring back Cyclopsis. This time, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse he isn't shown retreating, he just disappears]] (they cut the sentai shot of his destruction, since it was simultaneously [[YourHeadASplode disturbing]] ''and'' [[SpecialEffectsFailure cheap]]). His ''Zyuranger'' counterpart was also ''Satan''. (Additional cut shots included his mutation of Mutitis into his final form -- ''Mutitus' skull split open''.)

** Similarly, Season 3's See Monster looked like a old bald man wearing a flasher's trenchcoat... that would reveal fleshy innards with eye balls sticking out all over whenever it was open.

** Lord Zedd's personal Zord, Serpentera, is powerful enough to destroy an entire planet, can fly across the Galaxy almost as fast as the Rangers could teleport, and was more or less indestructible when compared to any weapon at the Ranger's disposal. It's only weakness was it's absurd energy usage. The only thing standing between the Earth and certain destruction is not the Power Rangers, it's the time between Serpentera's next recharge.

* It didn't happen often but every now and then Rita would really lose her temper and lash out directly at the Rangers with her magic. When she did the Rangers went down hard every time, even the Ultrazord wasn't able to withstand her anger. And you never knew when she would snap and strike them down but when she did you finally understood why she was the one everyone was afraid of.

[[caption-width-right:223:Lord Zedd. [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Awesome]] to some, [[NightmareFuel scary]] to others.]]

* Lord Zedd himself is this trope personified; a skinned corpse with metal armor/featureless faceplate over his crotch/face and tubes that pumped blood throughout his body that was portrayed as competently evil with the EvilPlan victories to prove it, to the point that he was toned down to reduce the scariness factor.

* Evil!Tommy. Yes, there is some {{Narm}} at play here, but seeing Tommy, all glowing eyes and EvilLaugh, can be ''slightly'' off putting if you're accustomed to his more familiar characterzation. Credit to JDF, he plays T.O. with enough underlying malace that if you didn't remember what show you were watching, you'd swear he was about to snap necks on a dime.
* An early WhamEpisode featured the hitherto undefeated Megazord being completely and utterly trounced by the giant forms of Goldar, Scorpina and Tommy who was still evil at the time. Moreover, a solar eclipse rendered the (solar-powered) Megazord unable to defend itself to the best of its ability. The villains suddenly foregoing the MonsterOfTheWeek premise and fighting three on one is enough of a shock as is, even if it didn't show each of the Zords sinking into lava with agonized metallic screeches.

* "Green With Evil 5": The Rangers had discovered who the Green Ranger was, and Kimberly went looking for him to futily try and talk him down. Finding Evil!Tommy at the Youth Center, she tells him they know... and he hits a DeathGlare that visually ''terrifies'' Kimberly, before warning her of the Rangers' impeding demise. Again, if you only know Tommy as TheHero, you'll be unsettled by this whole scene. Credit to Amy Jo Johnson, her wide-eyed fear was utterly palpable, as she knows Evil!Tommy could've killed her right then and there, Rita's orders being the likely reason he didn't.

* The Lizzinator. Even the goofy "Ah-nold" voice doesn't quite gloss over the fact that he's pretty much INDESTRUCTIBLE, to the point that the Rangers have to summon a special Zord that's basically a giant cannon on wheels to take him down. But not before he beats the Red Ranger half to death behind the school in the middle of the day, while everyone is still attending class.
* One more from ''Mighty Morphin'': Rita's War Zord Cyclopsis, from ''Doomsday''. Rita brings her palace to Earth, giving her the power she needs to raise it from the mantle. It was scary enough to make the Megazord's knees tremble. It took the Ultrazord to beat it.

* It didn't happen often but every now and then Rita would really lose her temper and lash out directly at the Rangers with her magic. When she did the Rangers went down hard every time, even the Ultrazord wasn't able to withstand her anger. And you never knew when she would snap and strike them down but when she did you finally understood why she was the one everyone was afraid of.

* And then there's Lokar. A giant floating blue head with spines all over it that Rita can summon. Nothing is mentioned about his background (other than that he almost wiped them out the last time Rita summoned him). He has breath that can enhance monsters (as he did to Mutitus), shoot lightning, and causes general destruction. Only the Ultrazord can make him flee the first time. The second time, he assumes a [[OneWingedAngel new, scarred form]] ([[CallBack presumably thanks to the Ultrazord's barrage]]) and helps bring back Cyclopsis. This time, [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse he isn't shown retreating, he just disappears]] (they cut the sentai shot of his destruction, since it was simultaneously [[YourHeadASplode disturbing]] ''and'' [[SpecialEffectsFailure cheap]]). His ''Zyuranger'' counterpart was not only the BiggerBad, but also ''Satan''. (Additional cut shots included his mutation of Mutitis into his final form -- ''Mutitus' skull split open''.)

* The skeleton Rito Revolto could have gone this way if he wasn't made a comic relief character: his destruction of the Thunderzords (previously known to be indestructible) was a moment of high {{HSQ}}.

[[caption-width-right:223:Lord Zedd. [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Awesome]] to some, [[NightmareFuel scary]] to others.]]

* [[MindControl "Hail Lord Zedd, Hail Lord Zedd..."]], and [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "Hail Lord Fred, Hail Lord Fred..."]] for Bulk and Skull.

** What was particularly nightmare-inducing about Pirantis Head? He was powerful, sure, but Nightmare Fuel?

** What was particularly nightmare-inducing about Pirantis Head?

* Lord Zedd himself is this trope personified; a skinned corpse with metal armor/featureless faceplate over his crotch/face that was portrayed as competently evil with the EvilPlan victories to prove it, to the point that he was toned down to reduce the scariness factor.

** Any time a series' Megazord gets destroyed is scarring, but the most heart-rending is the destruction of the Thunder Megazord and the White Tigerzord. The White Tigerzord's head falls off before the body, trailing wires and sparking, and collapses backwards. The Thunder Megazord stretches an arm out imploringly - the other falls off, then the entire zord falls apart bit by bit.

** Also, though the Rangers can get into a dire situation even at Zord level, the zords usually convey this feeling of invincibility - even when fighting a losing battle, it's usually a "more hit sparks than usual" situation. Not to mention the fact that they are (a) quite sentient, and (b) the rebuilt forms of the original Dinozords. This is also before pretty much any season finale might have zords blowing up. These almighty living machines who'd been as much a part of this world as the heroes themselves from day one, who'd survived ''two'' "oh god the zords are being destroyed" moments (Green With Evil, where they got better once contact with Zordon was restored, and The Mutiny, where they were transformed into the Thunderzords) were just falling apart, section by section, with the Rangers, Zordon, and Alpha helpless to do anything.

* One early episode featured a monster called The Terror Toad with a glowing energy tongue that would wrap around a Ranger and lick his or her head, turning the Ranger into a ball of energy that would go into his mouth, and a cartoonish imprint of the Ranger's face mask could be seen on his stomach, on his first encounter with the Rangers; in the following one, he switched to [[ImAHumanitarian a solid tongue that bodily pulled the Ranger inside]]. It didn't help that this monster managed to eat ''all but one ranger'' (Prior to Tommy joining the team) and left Kimberly all but powerless to stop him from eating her as well.
** The Invenusable Flytrap monster that ate the Power Rangers was made worse by its voice: specifically, its usual voice was very high-pitched and reminiscent of an old lady, but it could switch to a deeper, demonic-sounding one. When it tells {{Heel Face Turn}}er Tommy that it'll give the others back if Tommy rejoins the villains (and this is after it ate the other Rangers), after Tommy refuses, it says "''(high voice)'' Fine with me! I was ''(switches to deep, demonic voice)'' very hungry ''(instant switch back to high voice)'' anyway! ''(EvilLaugh)''"
** The Invenusable Flytrap was voiced by Creator/RichardEpcar, who would actually later voice ComicBook/TheJoker in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' and, for all you ''Digimon'' fans, Myotismon in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''.

* Goldar's Dark Dimension in Green With Evil: a cage area, with the floor filled with a thick mist, with nothing else there! Outside the cage is an empty space that goes on forever, and inside there's Goldar, hunting down Jason, who is unmorphed. Jason is hiding in the mist along the floor as Goldar stabs around with his sword, nearly impaling Jason's head at least once.

* The piranha monster from the Season Two premiere, Pirantishead, from the maker of "Invenusible Flytrap."
** The season one Goo Fish (not one of Zedd's, though they share a voice actor), had a fearsome face, and after taking enough attacks started to come apart messily.
* The Lizinator. Even the goofy "Ah-nold" voice doesn't quite gloss over the fact that he's pretty much INDESTRUCTIBLE, to the point that the Rangers have to summon a special Zord that's basically a giant cannon on wheels to take him down. But not before he beats the Red Ranger half to death behind the school in the middle of the day, while everyone is still attending class.

* The episode where Kimberly and {{those two guys}} are working in a cab service and then the villains zap their cab so that it turned into this freaky mutant monster cab thing called Crabby Cabbie. Said girl and guys got stuck in its stomach.

*** In ''Samurai'', Deker tries the same thing with Jayden (three times - the Red Ranger dodges them all here), except they're by the sea and in clear sight of one another.

* The episode where {{those two guys}} are working in a cab service and then the villains zap their cab so that it turned into this freaky mutant monster cab thing called Crabby Cabbie. Said guys got stuck in its stomach.

** The Invenusable Flytrap was voiced by Creator/RichardEpcar, who would actually later voice SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker in ''VideoGame/MortalKombatVsDCUniverse'' and, for all you ''Digimon'' fans, Myotismon in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' and ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''.

* An episode of the early series featured a scene where the Rangers fought Goldar and some villainess called Scorpina. After a bit of swordfighting, Rita does the whole [[MakeMyMonsterGrow magic-wand-grow-Godzilla-size shebang.]] While Goldar kept his form, Scorpina [[OneWingedAngel mutated into something]] that looked like a hybrid of the Predator, a cobra, and a scorpion, complete with dreadlocks and a fleshy whip for one hand.

* The episode where {{those two guys}} are working in a cab service and then the villains zap their cab so that it turned into this freaky mutant monster cab thing called Crabby Cabbie. Said guys got stuck in its stomach.

[[WMG:TheMovie:]]

* Ivan Ooze in the [[NonSerialMovie first movie]] was equally as scary, despite being more camp than Lord Zedd was at the time: in one scene where the kids of Angel Grove are partying down with Ivan's Ooze while their parents are mindlessly wandering to the quarry to "leap to their doom". Said Ooze was advertised and sold by Ivan while wearing an outfit reminiscent of that worn by Merlin in ''[[Film/MerlinsShopOfMysticalWonders Merlin's Shop of Mystical Wonders]]''.
** When he does the above advertising by saying his full name, and having a relatively rubbish disguise, [[WeirdnessCensor no-one besides the heroes suspect a thing.]] {{Magnificent Bastard}}ry of epic proportions.
* The "leap to our doom" thing deserves special mention. Once he'd gotten the brainwashed citizens to complete his HumongousMecha, he ''ever'' so casually tells them to go kill themselves and dismisses them without a thought; they go to do so with no hesitation, hell bent on carrying out the command with nothing anyone can do to stop them.
* In the same movie, we learn that the stuff above Zedd's crown, tiara thing, isn't more exposed muscle, but an exposed, pulsating brain.
* Zordon outside of his tube: the bold mentor transformed into a frail, helpless old man. [[UnexplainedRecovery He got better, thankfully.]]

* Any time a series' Megazord gets destroyed is scarring, but the most heart-rending is the destruction of the Thunder Megazord and the White Tigerzord. The White Tigerzord's head falls off before the body, trailing wires and sparking, and collapses backwards. The Thunder Megazord stretches an arm out imploringly - the other falls off, then the entire zord falls apart bit by bit.

* Pumpkin Rapper has the charming ability to encase the Rangers' heads in pumpkins, leaving them unable to breathe.

** In the same movie, we learn that the stuff above Zedd's crown, tiara thing, isn't more exposed muscle, but an exposed, pulsating brain.
* Zordon outside of his tube: the bold mentor transformed into a frail, helpless old man. [[UnexplainedRecovery He got better, thankfully.]]
* The episode where {{those two guys}} are working in a cab service and then the villains zap their cab so that it turned into this freaky mutant monster cab thing called Crabby Cabbie. Said guys got stuck in its stomach.