The “bad Sixth Ranger turns good” schtick had been done so many times by 2002 that it was probably difficult to keep it interesting. So they threw a chin beard on a handsome guy to mix things up a little. This is the story of Merrick, Defender of the Animarium, Ancient Warrior, Guardian of the Earth, and King Simp of Princess Shayla.

NAME: Merrick Baliton
RANGER DESIGNATION: Howling Wolf/Lunar Wolf Ranger, Power Rangers Wild Force
BASE OF OPERATION: Turtle Cove
FIRST APPEARANCE: “The Ancient Warrior” – Power Rangers Wild Force
LAST APPEARANCE: “The End of the Power Rangers Part 2″ – Power Rangers Wild Force
PERSONAL WEAPONS/GEAR: Lunar Caller; Lunar Cue; a pretty sweet flute
ZORDS: Predazord w/ Wolf, Alligator, & Hammerhead Shark Wildzords
PORTRAYED BY: Phillip Andrew

PROFILE

The evil Orgs tried very hard to get the upper hand on the Wild Force Power Rangers. One of their attempts to do so was by awakening the ancient Duke Org Zen-Aku from his supposed eternal slumber. The Rangers’ mentor (idk if she actually taught them anything tbh), Princess Shayla, did a vibe check on Zen-Aku and found out something terrible: he was possessing the body of her old bodyguard and possible lover, Merrick.

You see, back when the Orgs did their evil thing 3,000 years ago, Merrick wore this dope ass but also cursed wolf mask in order to summon the power to destroy the original Master Org. However, the evil power behind the mask took over his entire being. The five Ancient Warriors had to seal him in a casket to sleep eternally, because they just couldn’t find it within themselves to put the dude out of his misery.

So when Zen-Aku attempted to finish off the Rangers, the spirit of Animus stopped him at a very convenient time and an eclipse reverted him to his human form. The Rangers offered to fix the curse and make him a good boy again, and he agreed in order to help the Princess. Turns out all they had to do was simply destroy Zen-Aku’s giant robot and everything would be hunky-dory. They saved Merrick by kicking his Megazord in the chest with an armadillo, which is very reasonable.

With the curse busted, the Rangers tried to convince Merrick to join them. But he felt bad for being such a big meanie head, so he convinced the new Master Org that he was still on their side in an attempt to assassinate him. It didn’t work, because Merrick wasn’t very clever. Instead, the Master took some Zord Crystals and made them into an ugly monster. That’ll show him.

The Rangers came to his rescue but got their butts handed to them by the Quadra-Org. Merrick went a little bananas trying to save them and ran headlong into the battle. I guess this was proof enough that he was a good dude, because Animus gave him a Morpher and Merrick became the Lunar Wolf Ranger, the newest member of Wild Force and I’m pretty sure the first Ranger to ever have facial hair. With his power and Zords purified, Merrick used his new billiards-themed powers and Predazord to help the others take down the Quadra-Org and some guy named General Nayzor.

Despite obviously being a great part of the team, Merrick felt he had to do the whole lone wolf thing because he’s dark and brooding and it’s kind of his theme. His time was much better spent at the local billiard hall fighting ornery bikers. He loved to be like Tommy and he show up at the very last minute to deal the final blow to the Orgs during battle. The real reason he kept his distance was that he was in love with Princess Shayla, and if she or the Rangers got hurt he’d be emotionally compromised or something.

Merrick had a big green friend named Deer Zord who was really pissed when he disappeared on him during the big ancient Org battle. He never had a chance to tell Mr. Zord that he was entombed for 3,000 years, on account of being entombed for 3,000 years. To make it up to their dear deer friend, Shayla and Merrick serenaded him with a flute song. I promise you it’s a certified bop. Deer Zord thought so too and decided to help them after hearing it.

Shayla promised that she would play the song every single morning from now on, which I’m sure everybody loved. Especially Merrick, who had to back her up on the flute. The things men will do for a little booty sometimes.

In spite of being a good dude, Merrick still had to spend some time reckoning with his past. Nayzor, an Org leader that he worked for as Zen-Aku, returned and caused a scene, sending the four non-Red/Silver Rangers into a wacky dream state with some weird kid barking orders at them. They had to solve a puzzle like they were in a really boring Zelda dungeon or they would be stuck in the dream place forever. Cole and Merrick were left to handle the Org on their own until the others escaped by the skin of their teeth and gave the Red Ranger a fancy new toy.

Somehow, Zen-Aku returned! All on his own! He was a little miffed about getting dumped by Merrick, so he tried to get back together with him. Literally. This dude wanted Merrick inside of him. And I mean, who wouldn’t? He insisted on fighting the monster on his own, even after Alyssa saved him from near destruction. Then his motorcycle saved him and he understood the power of friendship and all that, so the other Rangers helped him destroy Zen-Aku once and for all (allegedly). While he may not have joined them at the after-party, Merrick went to the pool hall to have a little more low-key fun.

Shayla and Merrick were up to their usual morning routine of playing their hits to the Deer Zord when the music was interrupted by a horrible Org’s flute sound. The Princess overreacted and assumed that Merrick was just being a dick, playing off-key just to troll her. Because if Merrick is anything, he’s definitely a prankster, am I right? No. I’m wrong. That was sarcasm. He visited the Animarium specifically to clear things up about how he didn’t like being in the Animarium because it reminded him of the past, which as we all know made him very sad and moody.

Animus, a part-time ancient jungle god and part-time shithead 10 year old, took the Wild Zords away from the Rangers because global warming happened and they didn’t stop it or something like that. He offered Merrick the chance to join him and the Zords, as he was from a time when humans allegedly cared more about the Earth. He decided he didn’t want to hang out with a shithead 10 year old the rest of his life, and Animus was cool with his choice because he gave Merrick his Zords back and fought alongside him to defeat the monster of the week.

Merrick was the first to lose his powers and Wild Zords during the final confrontation with Master Org. Once he was defeated, Merrick said goodbye to the Princess and wandered around in the woods alone. Zen-Aku returned again and stalked him, but in a friendly way this time.

RANKING

Merrick is so aggressively average and his only real development happens during his introduction while he’s cursed. After that, he learns the power of friendship about 15 times and at the end he chooses to be alone again. If it weren’t for the Lunar Wolf Ranger having one of the top five sixth ranger suits in the series, I’d probably have forgotten to include him on this list.

He’s not bad by any means. Hell, he even has some pretty badass moments. But he also doesn’t really stick out beyond the surface level. Like a more boring Tommy.

It’s worth noting that Merrick is my little cousin’s favorite Ranger. That has to count for something, right? I’m still gonna throw him somewhere in the middle. Say, right above Damon and below Xander as the new number 19 on the list of Zordon Children.

Make sure to check out that list if you’re new here and you can see all of the insightful musings I post about characters from a kid’s show that peaked in 1995. You can also find me on Twitter and all that other nonsense. No Context Power Rangers has an Instagram now, did you know that? I post there when I feel inclined to. You may follow if you have a similar inclination.

Have a lovely day, and until next time when we have a little chat about Connor McKnight from one of those Dino seasons. I don’t remember which. Charge? Fury? Force? Something like that.