The Zodiac Emperors are evildoers who were imprisoned 11,000 years ago. They were released again by Ophiuchus in 1999.
Description[]
Although the Emperors vary wildly in appearance, each wears the sign of the Zodiac Empires: a white compass rose with twelve black stars around its edge. As each of their constellations comes into alignment with the nearest sun, they grow in power, waning as it passes.
History[]
The Zodiac Emperors originally banded together to conquer the galaxy, and took a large portion of it, dividing it into twelve sections for themselves to rule. However, Scorpio (father of Scorpius and Scorpina) turned on the others, managing to overthrow them, though he lost his life and his daughter ended up imprisoned within the Earth. Scorpius imprisoned the eleven Emperors in retaliation, holding them for eleven thousand years as the Empire crumbled.
Fire[]
Aries[]
A cross between man and ram, wearing a golden fleece cape which can heal anyone it touches, Aries is vain and arrogant, wanting to come first in whatever he does, and aggressive due to a fear of being left behind or looked down upon.
Aries was the first to awaken after the Windjammers stole the prison ship. He attacked the mercenaries, only stopping when Ophiuchus arrived and explained the situation. Once he understood, he healed the monsters and began plotting a takeover of his former empire.
However, not expecting Ranger resistance, he was taken by surprise when the Red Ranger broke up his first attack. He was less than pleased with Ophiuchus, who'd told him there were no Power Rangers on Earth. Weakening as his constellation passed out of alignment, he handed the reins over to Taurus. He continued to monitor the situation and sided with Leo and Taurus, wanting to annihilate the Rangers as soon as possible, before they could grow stronger. When the Rangers and Scorpius's forces began to attack, he went to guard one of the Equinox's entrances. He participated in the fight between the Zeo and Galaxy Rangers, stepping in to attack Violet when he decided Galaxy Pink was being too slow. This, among other things, precipitated the Galaxy Rangers' decision that they were helping the wrong side.
After Taurus's loss, he was suspicious and eager to fight, pushing for a swift attack on the Rangers.
Leo[]
Leo is the most brash and reckless of the Emperors, since his hide is impervious to all weapons. His build is roughly humanoid, but covered in tawny fur, and with the paws, head and tail of a lion.
He was infuriated by Cancer's slowness, ready to attack the Rangers at once in spite of it not being "his turn" yet. Ophiuchus's attempts to appease him only infuriated him. Sagittarius's fired arrow shut him up. When the Rangers attacked the Equinox directly, Leo went looking for Cancer, demanding the plague he'd been working on. Cancer refused, so Leo stole the plague and used it on the Rangers, successfully incapacitating Red and Blue. Cancer was furious, and threatened to decapitate Leo, but the other Emperors were able to talk him down. He asked what Leo had done with the cure, and when Leo told him he hadn't known there was one, they realized intruders were aboard and set the ship on alert.
Not one to leave things to underlings, Leo entered battle himself, drawing the Rangers out and making Zeo Red an offer to join them. When it was refused, he attacked viciously, but held back instead of killing David, giving the Rangers "time to think about it." As some of his fellow Emperors suspected, he preferred the thrill of the fight to victory, and didn't want to destroy such entertaining opponents so quickly. While he trained, Virgo approached him and quietly pushed him to kill at least one of the Rangers, in order to prove himself to both sides, and he accepted. He chose Lidian, seeing him as the weakest member of the team, but he fought long enough for the others to arrive as backup. Everyone, including the Hex Rider, took a beating, but they were able to teleport out. Enraged, Leo ran to the Power Chamber on foot to finish the battle.
He grew giant-sized on the way, taking down ZeoZords I, II and III in swift succession. Reaching the Power Chamber itself he shrank back down and entered the tunnels, where he defeated the Hex Rider and Sabrina. As he'd wanted, David (the only one he saw as a worthy opponent) finally appeared to face him. Once again he refused Leo's offer, but as Leo was about to kill him, the Rangers deposited a massive load of debris on him, trapping and severely wounding him. The other Zodiac Emperors were able to teleport him to safety. It took him a long time to heal. When the Rangers and Scorpius's forces began to attack, he went to guard one of the Equinox's entrances.
In the aftermath of Taurus's death, Leo lashed out and demanding they fight back immediately. After Ophiuchus's ill-planned attack on the Blue Ranger, Leo accused him of trying to seize power. He was furious at the ensuing sneak attack on the Rangers, but Virgo helped the conspiring Emperors shut him down.
When the power started to shift to Emperor Capricorn, the other Emperors became aware of his absence. Leo demanded that he be found or the fight continue without him. After Libra left the discussion he went along with the others' plan to send out their new Blue Ranger.
Sagittarius[]
A brawny, dark-skinned, white-haired centaur, Sagittarius is also a powerful archer, and though he struggles with impulsiveness, he is intensely loyal, sometimes even noble.
He supported his descendant, Ophiuchus, when he suggested a plan of attack to the other Zodiac Emperors--doing so with an arrow to the table to silence the belligerent Leo. After Ophiuchus was severely burned stealing the Pink Zeo Subcrystal, Sagittarius visited his descendant in the infirmary. During that time he questioned Leo about his battle tactics; he'd had a perfect chance to kill the Red Ranger, and instead let him live. Leo became defensive, confirming Sagittarius's suspicions that he was only interested in a thrilling battle, not an efficient victory.
With Taurus dead, he advocated withdrawing and recovering before their next fight. The other Emperors promptly blamed Ophiuchus's poorly-planned attempt at fighting the Rangers on his ancestor. To vindicate himself and keep the situation balanced, he gave Ophiuchus a brutal beating as punishment. He was less than thrilled with the successful sneak attack on the Rangers, and confronted Ophiuchus. When the punishment came up he pointed out how dangerous any show of favoritism could have been; Ophiuchus might have ended up dead, not just battered. He was disappointed that Ophiuchus would stoop to that level, especially for the Blue Ranger, whom he'd thought Ophiuchus had more respect for. He did not receive an answer.
Wandering through Angel Grove Cemetery, Sagittarius took inspiration from the lack of any monument to the Blue Ranger, and created Monstele, sending it to destroy the other Rangers. He followed that failure up with Nevernight, this time equipping the monster with a special pocket dimension obtained for him by Aquarius. He checked in with her during the battle and left after telling her to keep monitoring the situation.
He followed Ophiuchus out of the Equinox and confronted him about his recent odd disappearances. Ophiuchus's response, that the other Emperors knew what he was doing, didn't make Sagittarius very happy--he didn't think it was right for the alliance to start keeping secrets from itself. Ophiuchus's questions about his tactics forced him to admit that he was deliberately avoiding any serious harm towards the Rangers. He'd heard about Scorpius's death and knew that the best thing to keep the alliance united was a common enemy. Ophiuchus realized this and said he was going through the motions, prompting Sagittarius to attack him. To prevent any more fighting, Ophiuchus agreed to show him the secret project. He also admitted that Sagittarius was right: he respected the Blue Ranger too much to kill her in her sleep.
Once the secret had been revealed, Sagittarius continued to support the actions of the alliance over fairness. He stopped Ophiuchus from interfering in Violet's punishment after she saved the rest of the Wildman family from Cancer's Jewel Golems.
Water[]
Cancer[]
A giant crustacean with a crabby disposition and a talent for biological warfare. Like the other Emperors, he sports the Zodiac Emperor symbol painted on his black shell. When his turn came, he began to focus on creating a disease to use against the Rangers, but not strong enough to devastate humanity. This delayed his work, but when asked by Ophiuchus (on behalf of the less patient Emperors) he said he'd be ready in a week. He maintained his stance even when the Rangers attacked the ship directly, refusing to give the unfinished plague to Leo.
When the other Emperor stole and used it, Cancer was furious. As he told Leo (while strangling him with his extremely sharp pincers), now the Rangers had a chance to find their own antidote, making the finished product useless. He threatened to decapitate Leo, but the others managed to talk him down. Calmer, he asked what Leo had done with the missing sample of the antidote, but Leo hadn't known it had existed, let alone taken it. The Emperors realized they had intruders aboard. He and Libra monitored the attacks by Scorpius's forces, and he suggested bringing out their human prisoners to fight, but Libra didn't think they were ready. He was less ready to believe that victory was a guarantee.
After Taurus's death, Cancer was all for focusing on the Rangers, caring little about their power vacuum. Cancer discovered Ophiuchus training, and noted his surprise at his own apparent increase in power. He suggested a theory of his, that the Zodiac Emperor powers were passed through the bloodline. With Sagittarius nearing alignment Ophiuchus would also increase in strength. He suggested Ophiuchus test out his new abilities. He participated in the nighttime attack on the Rangers, personally planting an explosive in the Byron home before being caught and chased out by Sabrina and Ezra.
When Capricorn turned up absent as his alignment neared, Cancer was all for continuing without him. He seized on Virgo's suggestion of using their Blue Ranger against the team since she was not the creation or property of any one Emperor and would not alter the order. After Libra left, he and the others sent her anyway. He helped monitor her battle, and got into an argument with Virgo after something interfered with their signal on her watch.
After Capricorn finally did attack, and Violet interfered with his Jewel Golems, Cancer was furious. He suggested Pisces punish her presumption, which he did.
Scorpio[]
The long-dead father of Scorpius and Scorpina. He was originally a humanoid warrior like Scorpina, but gave up his human body for one like Scorpius's, and the power that came with it. He fell in battle against the other Zodiac Emperors.
Pisces[]
Pisces is a warrior in fishlike gold-and-violet armor. He was involved in the secret plot to blow up the Rangers' houses while they slept, and afterwards worked on a second mysterious project in the same distant cave. When Ophiuchus checked in, he said his work would take time, and decided to create a temporal distortion to give himself some.
The other Emperors later learned that his secret project was Violet, rescued from the attack and now brainwashed into serving the Zodiac Emperors. Inside his dimension, he had control of her for three years, though even that was not enough in his opinion. When Libra asked, he reassured her that Violet's old memories were gone, never to be restored; he was more concerned that the Rangers might be able to otherwise convince her to join them. Thus he was suspicious of Libra allowing Violet to express a positive opinion of them. He preferred blind loyalty from his Andromeda Guard.
He blamed this free-thinking attitude for Violet attacking Capricorn's Jewel Golems, even though the Blue Ranger insisted she'd been averting a bad plan. He hauled her off for punishment
Earth[]
Taurus[]
A seven-foot minotaur with a talent for puzzles and riddles. He tends to work alone, and he ignores those he has not reason to be polite to, and he is very temperamental. His one quirk is his obsessive hatred of the color red.
When he took over the war against the Neo Zeo Rangers, he paid little attention to Ophiuchus's tour of the Equinox, finding him to be more of a nuisance than a help. He ordered their human prisoners transferred to his Labyrinth, and launched a diversionary attack on the Rangers by sending two Windjammers after their Zords.
As he cycled out of alignment, Taurus refused to give up control, throwing a tantrum when Ophiuchus tried to suggest it. He had their monsters kidnap Tommy, seeing the vetern Ranger and brother of his current foe as a useful target, but the others were able to rescue him. He reluctantly relinquished power to Gemini. Later, with Cancer delaying on his turn, Taurus urged immediate action against the Rangers, though he wasn't interested in Ophiuchus's suggestions for it. He trained himself on the reluctant Windjammers during his downtime, giving them a severe beating. As Virgo moved to collect her newest batch of "recruits," he played the back seat driver, not believing that she'd be able to best the Rangers. When the Rangers and Scorpius's forces began to attack, he went to guard one of the Equinox's entrances.
Despite Virgo's advice to the contrary, he insisted that he could still fight, and was not weak despite being at his nadir. He ended up fighting David, and nearly killed him but for the Red Galaxy Ranger's timely intervention. He grew giant-sized, forcing both teams to summon their Megazords, which destroyed him.
Virgo[]
An ordinary-looking blonde woman who usually wears black, Virgo maintains a facade of innocence and gentleness, but is secretly very manipulative and quick-witted, although not particularly strong. She has a mastery of poisons and potions. She hails from what later became the home system of the Karovan Empire.
She supported Ophiuchus against the more hot-tempered Zodiac Emperors, willing to at least listen to his ideas. After Leo's first attack, she went to him and quietly manipulated him into killing one of the Rangers. This, she told him, would prove to the other Emperors that he wasn't just toying with the Rangers for the thrill of the fight, and the Rangers would realize he was serious and a threat. During the beginning of her alignment, she asked Ophiuchus and Pitch (who happened to be in the infirmary) whether they thought it would be better to distract the Rangers from her real plan with a monster or not. Based on their advice she decided not to send anyone.
Later, she told Ophiuchus that she believed their tactics were failing. They were old and weakened, but fought like they were still strong enough to each take on an army single-handed. Inviting Ophiuchus to fight, she played the weakling long enough to learn his style, then quickly took him down. She continued to train him afterwards. Her plan was finally revealed: a love spell targeted on a movie star, taking most of the female population of Angel Grove hostage. She was eager to include Scorpina in that batch, along with the other two female Rangers, until Libra pointed out that the spell wouldn't last. Still, she suggested handing her over to Pisces as a substitute for the drug.
Later, she assisted Libra in explaining to Ophiuchus why his duel with the Blue Ranger had to be interrupted. Scorpius's forces were on their way. Virgo was in favor of allying with the Galaxy Rangers against him, since he was a common enemy. When the Rangers arrived, she told them that the Zeo Rangers were being used by Scorpio's sister to destroy them. Taurus called her out on her attempts at manipulation, and she readily admitted to what she was doing. At the moment it was in her best interest to keep everyone alive, so he had nothing to worry about.
In the wake of Taurus's death Virgo ran damage control, trying to get the others to agree on a solution to their new power vacuum. When Ophiuchus attacked the Rangers on his own, Virgo was furious. Rather than blaming him, she pointed to Sagittarius as the instigator of the fight, as a way to tilt the scales towards him. In order to allow both to prove their innocence, she suggested Sagittarius punish Ophiuchus--painfully. He acquiesced. She was not involved in the sneak attack on the Rangers, but after the fact approved of it and helped, as she put it, soothe the other Emperors' feelings.
She also approved of fighting despite the shift of power towards Capricorn, pointing out that the last time they'd broken their order they'd decimated the Rangers. She suggested they send down their Blue Ranger--after all, it was her funeral. After a disgusted Libra stormed out, she agreed with the others to send their Blue Ranger anyway. She monitored the fight, only for an unknown signal to interfere. Cancer scolded her and they started arguing.
Capricorn[]
A faun--horned man from the waist up, goat from the waist down. When his time came to fight, the other Emperors realized that not only was he absent from the meeting, but none of them could remember seeing him around at all.
It soon became clear that he was on Earth, disguised as a human and calling himself Tumnus. Ophiuchus confronted him, disgusted with his attitude. Capricorn quickly demonstrated that he was no wealking, chewing out Ophiuchus for his arrogance. Humbled, Ophiuchus asked if he'd created the music that stopped their captured Blue Ranger from taking the Scarab Rider. Capricorn admitted that he had, but only said he disagreed with the others' strategy. He promised he'd return soon and put his own plan into action, and sent Ophiuchus away. Once he'd gone, Capricorn made some Jewel Golems and sent them to attack the nearest Ranger, hoping that would keep the other Emperors pacified until his turn was over. He then went right back to playing his flute.
Air[]
Gemini[]
A shapeshifter, its default shape is two grey-bodied humanoids wearing white theater masks, one smiling, one crying. It tends to be mild-mannered, preferring manipulation over might. It has the power to create doubles of any living thing, linked to its own life force and completely under its control. When it learned that Taurus was unwilling to let it take command, it amiably told Ophiuchus not to worry about it. Its project wasn't ready yet, so Taurus's war would give it more time. All it wanted was some DNA from the Rangers, and Mirrorage provided samples from all but Lidian before his untimely demise.
Its plan was rather opaque to the other Zodiac Emperors, since it called for a few Jewel Golems and Gemini to meditate outside the ship for long periods of time. As Gemini told Ophiuchus, it required concentration on its part and inaction from the other Emperors--though a few scouting missions were acceptable to occupy them. He joined in the fight against the Zeo Rangers, nearly strangling Casey before Sabrina intervened. It participated in the sneak attack on the Rangers, though apparently just as a coordinator from the safety of the Equinox.
He didn't really disapprove of Capricorn's disappearance, suggesting he might be working on his own plan, but neither did he object to the other Emperors' decision to use their new Blue Ranger against Neo Zeo behind Libra's back.
Libra[]
A bronze statue of a woman in a Greek chiton, blindfolded and wielding a set of old-fashioned scales. In contrast with some of her more shady associates, Libra is intensely focused on justice, though that translates to punishing those she considers "wicked," often more severely than their crime deserves.
Libra indirectly supported Ophiuchus during his first attempt at a plan, or at least defended him from blame for the actions of the monster he'd sent out. She observed Virgo's attempt to kidnap most of Angel Grove's teenage girls, and voiced her doubts about Scorpina's trustworthiness.
When her turn came, Libra chose to target wrongdoers, mostly criminals, to fill her army. She went to Earth personally to collect them, but was indiscriminate in her choice, treating all crimes the same--jaywalking as bad as armed robbery. The Rangers caught her as she attempted to take a couple of kids who'd cheated on a test. They successfully argued that the punishment was too severe, and that the boys wouldn't contribute much. Libra left them alone.
The conversation left Libra unsure of her own actions, so she separated the mild and worse criminals she'd taken from each other at least. Ophiuchus asked to be part of her next plan, and she agreed, sending him down to occupy the Rangers while she revived their old foes. Each monster could only be defeated by explaining the justice of its death, something not all of the Rangers were able to figure out. Later, when the Scarab Rider arrived looking for the Hex Rider, Libra supported her quest by keeping the Rangers busy with her Jewel Golems. When the Scarab Rider gave up her quest, Libra sent Ophiuchus to find out why. However, Scorpius's forces appeared in their scans, and she aborted the battle so as not to wear out one of their better fighters She and Cancer monitored the Equinox's controls during an attack by Scorpius's forces. When the Rangers joined in, she rejected the idea of using their human prisoners, saying they weren't ready. Her confidence that they would win was somewhat shaken by the arrival of the Galaxy Rangers, whom she decided to open communications with.
She considered Taurus's later death to be just, and suggested that they continue to train their captive troops. After Ophiuchus's attempt to kill the Blue Ranger went awry, Libra demanded a just punishment for his arrogance. When Capricorn's turn came, and he was absent, Libra insisted that they follow order no matter what. When Virgo suggested sending their Blue Ranger to interfere in her own funeral, Libra was disgusted. Telling them that they should assume Capricorn was taking care of it, she left to continue training her slave army.
She visited Pisces and asked a few questions about what he'd done to Violet. With his permission, she struck up a conversation with the Blue Ranger, prodding her to admit that she saw how they protected their homeworld and seemed to want to help her. Libra told her that they'd tried to convince Neo Zeo to join them, but with their refusal the Zodiac Emperors had no choice but to conquer Earth. She encouraged Violet to acknowledge the good sides of their enemies. Pisces was less happy about this change, but Libra said that honesty would be more effective in keeping Violet's loyalty than telling lies about the enemy that Violet's own common sense could disprove. This decision is probably what resulted in Violet deciding to fight Capricorn's Jewel Golems and help the Wildmans, because she saw it as a bad plan. Libra did not object when Pisces punished her for it
Aquarius[]
A translucent woman made of water, with features slightly too rounded to be natural. Aquarius is quiet and can be almost lazy, only fighting as much as she needs to. She first encountered Ophiuchus when he stumbled into a plan she was making alongside a few of the other Emperors. She told him that she approved of his tactics and goal to win, politics be damned, and invited him to help with the plan. He agreed, and it went off without a hitch; she, Cancer, Ophiuchus, Gemini and Pisces were all involved in bombing the Rangers' homes in the middle of the night, wounding two and apparently killing one. She responded to Leo's resulting fury with cheeriness.
She helped Sagittarius out by finding and opening a pocket dimension for his monster, Nevernight, to trap the Rangers inside. He checked in briefly after the trap had sprung, then left, asking her to monitor the situation. She found this odd and speculated about it to herself.She also participated eagerly in the other Emperors' plan to send Violet to disrupt her own funeral.
She didn't seem concerned by Violet's apparent disobedience, only pointing out that the Blue Ranger couldn't explain herself if Cancer was strangling her.