Although the Power Rangers were tasked with defeating Rita Repulsa at large, each week they were faced with a new monster-of-the-week, who tested their limits, and as a result, made the team stronger. Some of these monsters include King Sphinx, Face Stealer, Eye Guy, Snizzard, and Lanterra. Although these villains are not long-lasting, they definitely had an effect on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise as whole. And in fact, there is one major Power Rangers villain that stands out among the rest of the flock because of just how much she changed the status quo.

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Madame Woe Broke Power Rangers' Villain Formula

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Madame Woe broke barriers when it came to the villain formula. First introduced in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 1, in the episode entitled "Peace, Love, and Woe," Madame Woe is a water fairy monster. Her main power is that everything she touches becomes imbued with woe, or sadness. She also has the ability to teleport, fly, and use her braided hair to entrap or electrocute others. Madame Woe is a conniving and cold villain who enjoyed watching others suffer. Her defeat by the Power Rangers was a big enough feat that Billy later used it to revive his lost self-confidence.

There are many reasons why Madame Woe was so important to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and one of the biggest is that she was not just another henchman of Rita Repulsa's. In fact, Madame Woe was not made by Finster at Rita's request, and instead, was likely created thousands of years ago just like Rita. In this way, Madame Woe is essentially on the same level as Rita, which Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had never done before. By beating Madame Woe, the Power Rangers proved that they could handle high power bosses, and in turn, would one day be able to take down Rita.

Madame Woe Was The First Female Monster-Of-The-Week

Another major difference between Madame Woe and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' previous villains is that Madame Woe was the first female monster-of-the-week. In the previous 12 episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 1, the Power Rangers had only gone up against male monsters-of-the-week. In turn, Madame Woe was a big change, because not only was she a powerful being that stood apart from Rita, but she was also a female monster. In many ways, Madame Woe was a signal of how Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was changing over the course of its first season. The series was no longer going to settle for the same old monsters.

Overall, Madame Woe's gender changed the future of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers because it opened the door for more unique monsters-of-the-week. Unlike other villains who used simple brute force against the Power Rangers, Madame Woe used emotion and more complex means of violence via her braids. In general, Madame Woe was proof that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers could introduce more difficult villains for its superheroes to defeat, and they did not necessarily have to be physically strong to be dangerous. Once again, Madame Woe was an omen of what was to come later in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Madame Woe Fought The Power Rangers In Another Dimension

Finally, one of the most important aspects of Madame Woe was the fact that she fought the Power Rangers in a different dimension. While all of the previous monsters-of-the-week had faced off with the Power Rangers in random parks around Angel Grove, Madame Woe transported the Power Rangers to her dimension, wherein they fought and the superheroes won. Like her gender and her origins, this was a major departure from what Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had done in previous episodes. Overall, this change expanded what was possible in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers world. And, in many ways, Madame Woe set the stage for the best enemies and fights in Power Rangers history.