Masked Rider (TV series)

Story

Characters

Main

• Prince Dex Stewart/Masked Rider – An Edenoite who is the hero of the story. He is the grandson of King Lexian. Dex originates from the fallen planet of Edenoi. In Edenoi's royal family, the powers of the Masked Rider are passed down from generation to generation. As the current Masked Rider, Dex is sent to Earth as "Dex Stewart" to stop his evil uncle Count Dregon from enslaving the Earthlings. He is adopted by the Stewarts and tries to interact with US-American "culture". Dex has many capabilities that Earthlings do not possess. He can materialize a crystal on his forehead to transmit his thoughts to others, use it to scan and x-ray, and sense nearby danger. Dex has superhuman strength, super-speed, light wave generation, and telekinetic abilities. While trying to blend in, he appears unusual to everyone else. In order to transform into Masked Rider, he shouts out the phrase "Ectophase Activate!"
• Ferbus – Dex's pet and friend. Ferbus is a furry bipedal alien with a beak, and looks similar to furby. He wants nothing more than to be at Dex's side. Ferbus has a big appetite and can get into some trouble at times, but fortunately, Dex manages to bail him out at the right moment. When Ferbus first arrived, Molly and Albee had to hide him due to Hal's allergies, but Hal is not allergic anymore around Ferbus; once he revealed himself, Ferbus was accepted as part of the family. In the episode "Pet Nappers," Nefaria states that Ferbus' species is called the "Monotomonax". The puppet for Ferbus was created by Chiodo Bros. Productions.
• Hal Stewart – Dex's adoptive Earth father, a full-time handyman and part-time inventor. His personal workspace is filled with assorted junk and recycled parts. Hal often assembles a weird invention in his spare time which sometimes backfires. He has, however, invented very useful items with some help from Dex. One of his more successful creations is the alien detector alarm that goes off when Count Dregon or his agents come within the radius of the house. Hal was at one point allergic to animal fur, though he had seemingly developed a tolerance as he no longer sneezed around Ferbus.
• Barbara Stewart – Dex's adoptive Earth mother. She works as a caterer and part-time as a homemaker. Barbara keeps on eye on the family's well-being and constantly has her husband stick to his diet. In one episode, Count Dregon imprisoned Nefaria in one of the monster jars and brainwashed Barbara into his new commander Barbaria. Barbara's love for Dex broke the spell on her.
• Molly Stewart – Dex's adoptive Earth sister. Molly always tries to steer Dex in the right direction and help him adjust to life on Earth. Since his arrival, they develop a strong sibling relationship. Dex in turn always supports Molly to the best of his ability. In one episode, Molly tried out for the cheerleading squad and made the cut, though her career as a high school cheerleader is never mentioned afterwards.
• Albee Stewart – Dex's adoptive Earth brother. Albee looks up to Dex with enthusiasm as any little brother would. He tries to help Dex get accustomed to Earth by encouraging him to watch a great deal of television. Of course, Albee's help can sometimes lead to Dex acting strange in public. In one episode, he dreamed that he gained the Masked Rider's powers upon bumping into Dex. In his dream, Count Dregon put Albee through a triple death match against three tough Insectivores consisting of Manosect, Dread Dragon, and Cyborgator, but Albee managed to destroy them all.

  Villains

• Count Dregon – An Edenoite who is the main antagonist of the series. He is Dex's uncle, the youngest son of King Lexian, and younger brother of one of Dex's parents. Because of his place in the royal lineage, Count Dregon could not inherit the Masked Rider powers. He was banished from Edenoi for his evil deeds. Count Dregon is determined to have the powers even at the cost of destroying his own family and Edenoi. Count Dregon took advantage of Edenoi's peaceful way and enslaved everyone in full swoop. He wears a gold mask to hide scars he sustained in a duel with King Lexian. In the three-part Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode "A Friend in Need", it's said that Count Dregon was an old rival of Lord Zedd.
• Nefaria – A human-looking female in black-and-red armor Nefaria uses the yellow feather on her helmet as a weapon or to write messages. She hardly goes into battle and is often seen on Earth giving commands. Nefaria has sometimes flirted with Count Dregon, but she's often ignored. Sometimes, Nefaria accompanies any Insectovores in the Supernatural category. Her eyes regularly glow bright red and she has an extremely sinister laugh.
• Cyclopter – A blue one-eyed robot biker in a leather jacket and slacks. Cyclopter has faced Masked Rider in battle occasionally. He is armed with a laser gun and a powerful motorcycle named Cannon Wheels. His head can detach from his body to float around on its own. Sometimes, Cyclopter accompanies any Insectovores in the Robot category.
• Double Face – A tall man dressed in a blue-green naval coat and white tights. Double Face's distinct feature is that he has two faces: his primary face is the large red visor on his "helmet" and the tiny face on his forehead. He has gone to battle Dex personally with various type of swords and daggers. Sometimes, he accompanies any Insectovores in the Man-Beast category.
• Gork – A small unusual creature that speaks in rhyme. Gork is constantly hopping about and annoying everyone else on the Spider Base. He is most cowardly and quick to ditch a battle before it's even over. Sometimes, he accompanies any Insectovores in the Alien Lifeform category.
• Fact – A small robot that gives out statistical data, calculations, and probabilities concerning a plan before Count Dregon makes any final decision.
• Plague Sentry – The horse-riding insectoid-like leader of the Plague Patrol that oversees the enslaved Edenoites. The Plague Sentry first appeared in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode "A Friend in Need". He fits the category of Double Face's unit.
• Plague Patrol – Three horse-riding monsters that worked for the Plague Sentry. With their boss, they oversee the enslaved Edenoites on Edenoi.
• The Maggots – Tall, humanoid maggots that serve as Count Dregon's foot soldiers. They're not so bright, and hardly get the job done. Count Dregon makes reference in one episode that the Maggots belong to Nefaria when he commands her to "dispatch her Maggots". They can spew slime and shoot threads from their mouths. A Maggot was seen in the Onyx Tavern in the Power Rangers in Space episode "Flashes of Darkonda" and the Power Rangers Lost Galaxy episode "Heir to the Throne". The Maggot costumes were created by Chiodo Bros. Productions.
• Commandoids – The Commandoids are an alternate set of foot soldiers with hockey mask-like faces. They come in three colors: gray, brown, and black.
• Cogwarts – A trio of toad-like mutants that were sent to assist Plague Sentry and his Plague Patrol in their battle against Masked Rider and the Power Rangers. The three of them were destroyed by Masked Rider in "A Friend in Need" Pt. 3.

  Monsters

Supporting

• King Lexian – Dex's grandfather and the ruler of the Edenoite race. King Lexian bestowed the powers of the Masked Rider to Dex when he became far too old to carry on the responsibility. He still communicates with Dex from time to time giving Dex guidance. King Lexian also built Alpha 5 who had been assisting Zordon years before Dex began his mission on Earth.
• Magno – Masked Rider's talking car. Magno is a red car modeled after an ant-like bug. She is capable of driving at high speeds and digging underground.
• Combat Chopper – Masked Rider's talking chopper. Chopper is a wisecracking motorbike modeled after a grasshopper. According to part two of the episode "Escape from Edenoi", he can go at a higher speed than that of Magno. With the help of Dex, Chopper can also change into two other variations depending on if Masked Rider uses his Super Gold form as "Super Chopper" or his Super Blue one as "Ultra Chopper".
• Patsy Carbunkle – Patsy is a spoiled child that thinks the world should revolve around her. Patsy always lies to further enhance her reputation as the most popular girl at Leawood High School. Patsy is condescending towards the Stewarts and thinks they're all weird, and often rivals with Molly. She does, however, have a soft spot for Dex and occasionally tries to flirt with him.
• Herbie – Patsy's friend and unwitting partner in her schemes, Herbie is a stereotypical geek. Although he is friends with the brattiest girl in Leawood, he is still a nice, albeit cowardly, guy and a pretty experienced Dirtbiker. He and Patsy are considered to be this show's version of Bulk and Skull, or the exact predecessor to Devin and Cassidy.
• Principal Henry Chalmers – The principal of Leawood High School. Chalmers is much like Principal Caplan from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and encourages teamwork and enforces discipline. He has an obsessive suspicion of Dex's unusual behavior. Although he means no harm, Chalmers constantly keeps his eyes on Dex hoping to find answers.
• Moon Dude – The owner of the arcade that Dex, Molly, and Albee frequently hang out at. His arcade has been host to several events and competitions that Dex and his siblings have participated in, such as a dance contest and a video game tournament. In one episode, Moon Dude employed Dex when Dex was looking for a job.
• Donais – An Edenoite who is one of Dex's friends. In "Super Gold", Donais is sent to earth to give Dex the crystal to enable Dex to harness the powers of Super Gold. Unfortunately, he was kidnapped by Count Dregon's Maggots and the crystal was used to transform him into Robo Rider when Donais yells out the phrase "Robo Rider Force!" to fight Dex. This forced Dex to battle his own friend. In the end, Dex helps Donais see that he is Dex's friend. After being restored to normal, Donais hands over the crystal and Dex assumes his Super Gold form to fight Edentada. In "Unmasked Rider", Donais returned to Earth to give Dex the power of Super Blue. This time, Dex saves Donais from the Maggots. When Donais finishes upgrading the Masked Rider powers, Dex assumes his Super Blue form which he uses to destroy Tripron.
• Masked Rider Warriors – A team of ten warriors from different time and space who used the powers of the Masked Rider. They are summoned by King Lexian to help Dex battle the super-monster Bruticon. The Masked Rider Warriors are actually based on the ten Kamen Rider heroes prior to Black, who appeared on this show via footage from their guest appearance in the final seven episodes of Kamen Rider Black RX. The names were carried over from RX aside for a few changes. However, almost all of the Riders except for Warrior Leader and Z-Cross ended up introducing themselves with switched names during the due to a mix-up between the edited footage and the voice clip that was used.
• * Warrior Leader – This was Kamen Rider 1.
• * Warrior Commander – This was Kamen Rider V3.
• * V3 – This was Kamen Rider X.
• * Riderman – This was Kamen Rider Amazon.
• * Masked Rider X – This was Kamen Rider Stronger.
• * Amazon – This was Skyrider
• * Strongman – This was Kamen Rider Super-1.
• * ZX – This was Kamen Rider ZX, the only Rider whose name was not switched nor changed in the adaptation, although the pronunciation was changed from the original "Zed Cross" to the Americanized "Zee Cross".

  Production

Home video releases

Reception