For @week-of-toku-ladies day 5 I picked the roles played by probably the most prolific villainess actress in the history of Toei tokusatsu, the legendary Machiko Soga. This isn’t every role she ever portrayed as there are various villains of the week and monster voices she provided but here are a smattering of some of her biggest and most well-known roles.
Machiko Soga played the main villain and leader of the Vader Clan in 1980′s Denshi Sentai Denziman. Her goal was to cause misery and suffering, pollute the world and destroy all beauty on the planet Earth. Despite her evil nature, she cared deeply about her subjects and their well being, making her slightly more sympathetic. Slightly.
Though defeated at the end of Denziman, Queen Hedrian would be revived in the sequel series Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan by the evil Black Magma organization and given a cyborg heart as a way to serve them and bring her evil expertise to their side.
Her name, Hedrian, comes from the Japanese word Hedoro (へどろ) which means ooze, slime or sludge and was also used in the name of the Smog Monster Hedorah in the 1971 Toho film Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
Though a rather minor character, Laraba was an important plot point in the 1987 series Hikari Sentai Maskman. She is the mother of the Underground Empire Tube commander Baraba. While he is about to face ultimate disgrace, she comes to the aid of her son and helps him (through treachery, deceit and an act of self-sacrifice) to kill Devil Dogler and retrieve the Imperial Underground Sword, this returning him to the good graces of Emperor Zeba. Both Laraba and her son are members of the Baluga Tribe.
Not from a Super Sentai series this time but menacing the lead character in the Metal Hero series World Ninja War Jiraiya, Machiko Soga returns as a spider-themed villainess who is part of the vile Sorcerors Clan. They use black magic as well as Ninjitsu in an attempt to conquer the world. She uses spider themed weapons including electrified spider webs, bombs shaped like spiders and the ability to transform into a giant spider! She also has the necromantic ability to summon the souls of dead Ninja to her side and use them against the living!
Queen Pandora is the ruler of the Waller Empire in the Metal Hero show Space-Time Warrior Spielban despite her claims to being merely a servant of the god Waller. In truth, she invented the evil God and uses him as an excuse for her cruel behavior and intolerance of failure among her underlings. She travels the universe stealing water from various planets for the made up reason of keeping her imaginary god alive.
Machiko Soga’s most famous role is that of the evil sorceress Bandora in 1992′s Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger. She was the former queen of Dall tribe 170 million years ago but sold her soul for magical power to Dai Satan after the death of her son at the jaws of a dinosaur. As part of her deal, she had to attack children and cause misery. She eventually defeated and sealed away on the planet Nemesis by the combined forces of the other five tribes.
She was revived 170 million years later to continue her evil work and try to destroy the world. She hates children and cannot stand the idea of love or happiness, though she does promote them among her own minions. Much like Queen Hedrian, she actually cares about her underlings; rewarding them for success and not punishing them for failure.
