Intro to the Minon Graveyard

I'm zPutty and I have an unhealthy fascination with Power Rangers, Super Sentai and Tokusatsu minions. You know, those spandex-clad humanoids you see hundreds of throughout a series, who usually end up defeated on the ground or utterly destroyed by the good guys? Well, I've always liked those guys, and it started with the zPutties from the second season of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

zPutties had it rough. To date (and if memory serves me correctly), they were the least equipped of all Power Rangers minions and the most vulnerable. Their predecessors, the regular Putties would at least some times have the sword-hands or ball-hands, and the successors, Tengas, at least had the advantage to fly away when the going got tough. But the zPutties were often left high and dry: no weapons, minimal chance for survival. One hit to the chest—hell, one touch to the chest—and they were done. Shattered into clay bits. Such a pity.

Well, the zPutties have my sympathy. Over time, the series came and went and I found myself watching the show only for that reason—to see what the cannon fodder looked like for that year. If I liked the minions, I'd look to watch the series. If I didn't, the series went mostly ignored.

I've always wondered what it would be like to be one of hundreds or thousands of nameless henchmen whose only purpose in life is to be thrown at a group of brightly-colored spandex-wearing fellows who you probably already knew were going to do you in. What goes through your mind? Do they really think they have a chance? I mean, the first few times, yeah, but how often can you be sent out there thinking, "Man, this time we're gonna get 'em!"?

See? Unhealthy. I probably think about such things way more often than necessary. But in my expeditions across the Internet, I've found but a handful of websites devoted to such a thing. Well, darn it, here's another one on the (short) list. Everyone loves the Putties (they're like the rock stars of Power Rangers minions), but I feel a number of the minions just get the short end of the straw. And since most of them are dead and gone (obliterated by one means or another), the title of this blog will be The Minion Graveyard.

So stay tuned. This blog will profile various Power Ranger, Super Sentai and Tokusatsu henchman, catalogue their highs, their lows, and any sort of instances that are worth note. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your visit to the Minion Graveyard.