Combo Rangers

Template:Short description Template:Template other Combo Rangers is a series of webcomics created in 1998 by Japanese-Brazilian author Fábio Yabu. It is based on Japanese manga and the Super Sentai series. It started off as a parody, then developed more serious storylines that still included comedy. It features five main rangers (red, blue, green, pink and yellow) as well as an extra white one. They are led by O Poderoso Combo (The Mighty Combo, whom the Rangers call Tio Combo, or Uncle Combo in English), and fight against several forms of evil. Combo Rangers has won the HQ Mix Award three times.

Synopsis

The story is set in a fictional city called Cidade City ("City City") which is located in a fictional universe called "Yabuverso" ("Yabuverse"). This universe's Earth is depicted as having several superheroes and villains inspired by both American and Japanese media. The webcomic had three sagas (the first one, Zero and Revolution) and was continued by the print version by publishers JBC and Panini.

The plot starts when Retired superhero Poderoso Combo recruits a group of five kids (Fox, Tati, Lisa, Ken and Kiko), all about nine years old, to turn into the Combo Rangers to protect their city from an alien invasion by the Deskarga Empire led by General Monte. In the course of the story they meet a sixth ranger named Luke who came from the future to save Lisa from a greater threat. The first part of the story ends with the heroes sacrificing themselves in the final battle, but being resurrected with their memories as Combo Rangers erased.

In Combo Rangers Zero, a mysterious villain called Grande Mestre ("Grandmaster") appears using his henchmen Dr. Delírio and the young girl Fabi to spread terror in Cidade City, Combo decides to ask for help from the kids again (now older) to become Combo Rangers again, having their memories restored and gaining evolved forms. In the course of the saga they meet Maya, find Luke again, lose their powers, but get new powers with new forms at the end with the help of an alien wizard. The saga ends with Grande Mestre revealing himself as an evil clone of Combo and Delírio being Maya's lost father, Dr. Cooper.

In Combo Rangers Revolution after the defeat of Grande Mestre a new alien villain called Cardman appears wanting to dominate Earth with his henchman Deck. The saga ends with an incomplete end-of-the-world arc.

The JBC series followed with stories without continuity. The Panini series showed changes with more focus on other superheroes helping the protagonists with Fox gaining new powers (which are stolen by a villain in one of the arcs) and Tati leaving the group in the end being replaced by Sarah as the pink ranger.

Characters

Heroes

• Fox Fonseca, the Red Combo Ranger and leader of the team. He is portrayed as an immature, airheaded, lazy boy who hates studying, most often serving as the main comic relief; still, he is responsible enough to lead the team and has a great sense of justice. He starts dating Tati in Combo Rangers Zero.
• Tatiana "Tati" Rosa, the Pink Combo Ranger. In the first saga she was presented as a girl with a calm personality, but her personality quickly changed during the plot being portrayed as an extroverted and obsessive girl who had a platonic love for Fox to the point of constantly wanting to get his attention without success. In Combo Rangers Zero she starts dating Fox, with her relationship with him serving as comic relief in the face of an abrupt change in Tati's personality, beginning to show aggressive and envious behavior to the point of attacking Fox when she sees him around other girls, especially Maya. In the printed series, she matures in behavior and leaves the team in the last issues leaving the groupe leaving Sara to take her place as the Pink Combo Ranger.
• Lisa Lima, the Yellow Combo Ranger. Tends to be the most innocent and naive of the team. At first she was portrayed in the first saga as a poor girl who constantly struggled to try to study and have a better life, still in this saga she showed prominence by developing special powers and also a close relationship with Luke who becomes her boyfriend in the following sagas. Her best friend is Tati. Her early design was based on Fuu Hououji from Magic Knight Rayearth.
• Kenji "Ken" Ozora, the Blue Combo Ranger. A Japanese-Brazilian boy, he is sometimes seen as the group's second leader after Fox. Unlike Fox, he is more serious and focused on missions, in addition to being one of the smartest along with Lisa. His parents are divorced, his father is busy and he rarely sees his mother.
• Frederico "Kiko" Freitas, the Green Combo Ranger. An Afro-Brazilian boy, he has a calm personality and sometimes speaks with slang, in addition to having a passion for music. Among the characters, he is the one who is most seen changing his haircut between each saga.
• Luke, the White Combo Ranger. He was introduced during the plot of the first saga as a mysterious hero who often appeared to save Lisa. In time it was revealed that he was a time traveler from the future to save the Combo Rangers from a terrible fate. At the end of the saga he disappears after fulfilling his mission. In season Zero, his present-day counterpart returns, having initially died and having his body used by the villains to become the Black Combo Ranger to eliminate the protagonists, but he is later revived and has since become a permanent member of the team as the White Combo Ranger again. In the reboot he is introduced as one of the villain Satan Boss' servants alongside Deck, initially introduced under the name Giluke.
• Maya Cooper, a young genius girl who is one of the main allies of the team. She was introduced in the first saga as a girl from the future who was responsible for training Luke and sending him to the past to save the Combo Rangers. In Combo Rangers Zero her present-day counterpart gains a major spotlight as one of the main protagonists, after meeting and helping the team against Grande Mestre and Dr. Delírio while she was in the search of her father Dr. Cooper. Her early design was based on Hikaru Shidou from Magic Knight Rayearth.
• Poderoso Combo, the mentor of the Combo Rangers often referred to as Tio Combo ("Uncle Combo") by his students and other characters. He is a retired superhero of alien origin, he is characterized by his short stature, always wearing a mask and his immense lack of luck. He had retired in the past after an event in one of his fights that made him choose to no longer use his powers for health reasons. Alongside Fox, he is often portrayed as the main comic relief due to his immense lack of luck during his long life. He is a longtime member of a league of superheroes known as ASH (Associação dos Super-Heróis, lit.: "Superheroes Association"). His mask design is a reference to Ted Kord (Blue Beetle).

Villains

• General Monte, the main villain of the first saga of Combo Rangers. A poo-like alien that is the immature leader of an army of aliens who is on a mission to dominate the Earth for the Empire Deskarga, whose members are based in toilet things (Deskarga is a pun with descarga, "flush" in Portuguese). Among his main partners are Pum and Carolho. At the end of the saga his empire is destroyed by the Supernova Crystal Warriors and his fate becomes unknown. In the reboot, a human character based on him called Diretor Monte appears, being the principal of the school where the protagonists study, behaving like a military sergeant.

• Pum, a secondary antagonist during the first saga and Zero. An E.T.-like flatulent alien creature who communicates only by speaking his own name and has the ability to making the monsters giant through his gases (Pum by the way means "fart" in Portuguese) in a way similar to Gyodai from Changeman. He was introduced as General Monte's main partner in the first saga, but abandoned him after his defeat at the end of the saga. In Combo Rangers Zero he returns to serve the Grande Mestre, playing the same role as in the previous saga and serving as Fabi's partner in crime and also her best friend. Like Fabi, he redeems himself at the end of the saga and follows her after that, only returning in the Panini series where he reveals that he has achieved the ability to change shape.

• Carolho, a secondary antagonist during the first saga and a recurring villain in the following sagas. A round gray alien with lots of eyes that has the ability to reproduce small gray humanoid monsters called the Homens de Quatro Olhos ("Four-Eyed Men") who serve as minion monsters against the Combo Rangers. He was introduced as one of the main servants of General Monte along with Pum, being responsible for sending the monsters against the Combo Rangers. He remained the same until he accidentally merged with a gorilla monster in one of the stories, becoming the Macacacarolho who was killed, but later revived by Monte. Still in the first saga he received two evolutions by Monte: Cyber Macacarolho and Macacaloiro. He returns in Combo Rangers Zero being evolved by Fabi becoming the Super Macacaloiro (as a reference to the Super Saiyans from Dragon Ball Z), remaining in this form ever since.

• Grande Mestre, the main villain in Combo Rangers Zero. At first he is portrayed as a hidden and mysterious villain who gave orders to Delírio and Fabi to attack humans and steal their energy. At the end of the saga he reveals himself as an evil twin of Tio Combo who had arisen because of his negative feelings when he felt concern for his students being in danger during the first saga. He wanted to restore his powers so he could use them for world domination, but he was defeated in the end with Maya's help by convincing Tio Combo to forget his negative feelings. During his final appearance he was abruptly renamed Proteus.

• Dr. Delírio, one of the main antagonists in Combo Rangers Zero. Originally having been Dr. Paul Cooper (Maya's father), he moved to Cidade City where he ended up separating from his daughter and on the way he ended up adopting the young Fabi. He was eventually transformed into the villainous mad scientist Dr. Delírio by becoming the Grande Mestre's servant, being responsible for sending monsters and setting up other plans against the Combo Rangers. At the end of the saga he returns to his original self and reunites with Maya becoming a recurring ally in the following sagas.

• Fabi, adopted daughter of Dr. Cooper/Delírio is one of the main antagonists in Combo Rangers Zero. Originally an orphaned girl, she was adopted by Cooper when he arrived in Cidade City, just before they started serving the Grande Mestre. As a villain, she played the role of commanding the monsters against the Combo Rangers and occasionally expanding their powers, in addition to frequently being assisted by Pum, who over time became her best friend. She also demonstrates a great rivalry with Maya. Like Pum, she redeems herself at the end of the saga and leaves the city with his friend, only returning in the Panini series where he develops a relationship with Ken.

• Cardman, the main villain in Combo Rangers Revolution. Just like General Monte, he's an alien dictator that wants to conquer the Earth in order to take advantage of the natural resources. He is aided by the young boy Deck and his army of card monsters. At the end of the saga he leaves Earth during the end of the world arc and his fate is unknown.

• Deck, a secondary antagonist in Combo Rangers Revolution. A young alien human boy originally hailing from the devastated planet Oreo that serves Cardman as his main ally, acting very similar to Fabi. He is arrogant and demonstrates rivalry with Luke. Like Cardman, his fate after the saga is unknown. In the reboot he is introduced as one of the villain Satan Boss' servants alongside Luke.

• Marvin Maluco and Denis Demente, a duo of two young criminal brothers who are rivals in crime. Maluco Marvin was originally introduced as a filler antagonist in one of the Combo Rangers Revolution stories as an old enemy of Tio Combo during his youth as a superhero. In the printed issues it is revealed that the original Marvin trained an orphan boy to be his successor as a villain becoming the new Marvin Maluco, ignoring his brother who in an act of rebellion became the villain Denis Demente to rival them.

Other Characters

• The Teachers - Throughout the series the Combo Rangers were seen having two teachers. The first was introduced in the first saga until in a certain issue she is possessed by a vampire and transformed into a monster who is killed by Tati. She is later replaced by her twin sister who has remained in the series ever since. A recurring joke in the series is that Fox does not have a good relationship with them, due to his dislike for studying and being a terrible student.
• Yabu/Spectroseven, a recurring superhero who is one of the main allies of the Combo Rangers. At first he appeared as a joke character being a self-insert by Fábio Yabu, however, he later revealed himself to be a superhero of alien origin and an old partner of Tio Combo. His superhero alter ego, Spectroseven, is a parody of the Kyodai heroes Ultraman and Spectreman while his origin story of how he came to Earth is a reference to Superman.
• Garota Arco-Íris (lit. Rainbow Girl), a nature-related superheroine who is known for having her identity adopted by several girls chosen by the goddess Gaia. Notably, one of them even served as Tio Combo's love interest in the past and became the current school teacher of the Combo Rangers. Every time a girl turns 18 she loses her powers and memories as a superhero due to a curse imposed by the villain Gótica, who is Gaia's archrival. The current girl to possess the identity, Camila, becomes a frequent ally of the protagonists, allying with them in the Panini issues.
• Homem-Reflexo (lit. Reflection Man), a recurring superhero ally of the Combo Rangers. Being one of Tio Combo's old allies, he was introduced at the end of the Revolution saga. He is characterized by his head being a hand mirror and have the ability to turn everything into its opposite. His main weakness is that he cannot look at his own reflection, otherwise he becomes a villain until he looks at his reflection again. He had more prominence in the issues published by Panini, helping Combo train his students while at the same time being manipulated by one of the villains. In the reboot he is introduced as one of the retired superhero friends of Uncle Combo.
• Pacificador (lit. Peacemaker), an aggressive, serious and arrogant hero specializing in weapons and an ally of the Combo Rangers. Like Homem-Reflexo he was also introduced abruptly at the end of the Revolution saga and just like Homem-Reflexo he later began to interact more actively with the protagonists in the Panini issues helping Combo train his students, most notably becoming Ken's tutor. In the reboot he is introduced as one of the retired superhero friends of Uncle Combo who had trained Ken before giving him the Blue Ranger bracelet.
• Sara Luana Moon, a girl who was introduced in the final issues of Panini Comics. She is a girl who has the ability to possess whatever power she wants every 15 minutes who appeared as one of the new allies for the Combo Rangers in the final battle against the villain Chefão. After that, she became the Pink Combo Ranger after Tati decided to give up her position as a heroine, even being chosen as the new Garota Arco-Íris in the final issue, but giving up her powers and returning them to Camila. In the reboot, she is introduced as a close friend of Fox at school who made Tati jealous and had been chosen to become the Pink Ranger, but Tati ends up taking the bracelet in her place.
• Melissa Melon, a TV hostess who usually appears hosting a TV news covering events in Cidade City. She notably has anime-style green eyes as opposed to the black bead eyes of the other characters. She was introduced during the printed issues, but returns in the reboot.

Development

The series premiered in 1998 through its own website that was under the domain of the company UOL. Initially focused on children and being an independent project with a comedy webcomic produced by Macromedia Flash, however, as it became more popular, Yabu began to take his project more seriously, creating more complex stories and gradually hiring artists to assist in their work. Between October and December 2000, the third season entitled Combo Rangers Revolution was released, with its first 3 chapters released in printed form in a miniseries by the publisher JBC at the same time that the plot of the miniseries was presented in animated form by the website with professional voice actors such as Fábio Lucindo and Fátima Noya. After the inconclusive end of the webcomic, in August 2001 the comics began to be sold in print definitively by JBC, where it remained in publication for a whole year lasting 12 issues. In January 2003 the series was moved to another publisher, Panini Comics, which published the comics until it was canceled after 10 issues, according to Fábio Yabu for financial reasons as he was no longer able to pay the artists. In 2004, Yabu decided to stop writing the comic, in order to focus solely on his book "Princesas do Mar" (Sea Princesses).

In December 2012, Yabu ran a crowdfunding project on the website Template:Ill to release a new Combo Rangers story as a graphic novel. The funding was successful and the book was released in Brazil in 2013. It was followed by two sequel books, the latter of which had a crowdfunding campaign launched for it in 2017.

Reception and Legacy

The Combo Rangers series was very well received during its original publication having had a fan club with more than 20 thousand subscribers, and continued to be referenced as Fábio Yabu's main work even after its cancellation. For a time, the series and its characters were referenced among the main Brazilian comics. A line of dolls with the 6 protagonists was sold in 2003 by the manufacturer Multibrink.

The characters were even referenced in the animated series based on Yabu's book series Sea Princesses, that aired between 2007 and 2010, having appeared as background characters being teenagers on the beach in many episodes of the first season and as main characters being children in one of the season 2 episodes. In 2014, in a collaboration with Level UP, character skins from their graphic novel designs were temporarily inserted into the game Elsword. The first issue of the original JBC miniseries published in 2000 was reprinted in 2024.

External links

• Current official website
• Old official website via Web Archive