The Best in Fictional Weaponry: The Blade Blaster

*Originally published on 2/20/12



When you think about the weapons wielded by the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, you probably envision them using their trademark individual weapons like the red ranger and his sword or the pink ranger with her bow and arrow. These did become their primary weapons, but the rangers had another weapon at their disposal, one that they utilized even before Zordon bestowed their individual weapons to them. This weapon was the blade blaster.

Now, people have often tried to combine the melee capabilities of a sword or dagger with the long range capabilities of a gun. You have real life examples like the bayonets that used to be attached to rifles and you have more over the top examples like the infamous "gun blade" from Final Fantasy VIII. The blade blaster used a similar idea, but to a different effect.

While bulkier than a standard dagger, the blade blaster was able to be wielded much like one in close range combat. The rangers would often charge at their opponents head on and attempt to slash at the monstrous foe of the episode to varying effect.

Interestingly enough, the blade blaster had movable parts that allowed it to change into a gun with a few quick tweaks and turns. Rather than fire traditional bullets, this gun fired a stream of laser bolts that weren't as powerful as the mega-blaster that they would later use to finish off foes in those rare instances where Rita didn't make the monster grow, but still powerful enough to inflict no small amount of pain.

While it would've been interesting to see the rangers mix it up and have some fight melee while others laid down cover fire with the blasters, they usually all kept to the same form at any given moment in a fight.

The weapon became secondary once each ranger was given a unique weapon, but it still managed to pop up from time to time. It never attained iconic status, but it was recognizable enough that a toy was still made for it.

The blade blaster was light enough that it could be held in one hand and stored on the rangers' belt without weighing them down too much. This also enabled certain rangers to "dual wield" the blade blaster with their more recognizable weapon. Again though, this was usually in the blade form, which makes sense as they were usually engaged in hand to hand combat at the time.

The blade blaster was relegated to a backup weapon, but it was still a potent weapon in its own right. It gave the wielder the option of short or long range attacks and didn't weigh them down by being too bulky or unwieldy. Even converting from blade to blaster form and back again was relatively simple, with two or three quick twists and turns. This allowed the wielder to change things up without needing to think up ways to stall for time. All things considered, it's a pretty solid addition to the fictional weapon collection.