The original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was a pop culture phenomenon in the 1990s, mostly due to its combination of martial arts and giant robots. But another iconic element of the show was its villain. The events of the show kicked off due to the mischievous machinations of the space witch Rita Repulsa, but she was eventually replaced by the far more intimidating Lord Zedd.
Zedd's appearance and initial theft of the Rangers' Zords made him a far more merciless and less cartoony villain, but once he married Rita, everything went downhill. Becoming just as much of a comedic character as she was, Zedd would gain his worst defeat yet at the beginning of Power Rangers Zeo. With the Rangers themselves depowered and their Commander Centre destroyed, it fell upon new villain King Mondo to utterly embarrass and irreparably destroy the character of Lord Zedd.
ZEDD'S DEFEAT IN POWER RANGERS ZEO
Power Rangers Zeo begins with Rita and Zedd celebrating their greatest victory over the Power Rangers yet. Though the Rangers had all been restored to their young adult selves after the events of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Season 3 and Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers, Rito Revolto and Goldar were themselves successful in planting bombs in the Rangers' Command Centre. Along the way, the villainous duo had also (so they thought) snagged the mystical Zeo Crystal, leaving the Rangers utterly helpless to stop Rita and Zedd's growing ambitions.
However, just as Rita and Co. begin celebrating their tremendous victory, Finster informs her that something is on the way to their galaxy that could possibly wreck their plans. Obliging him to observe whatever is coming through her telescope, Rita immediately falls into despair upon realizing that none other than King Mondo and his Machine Empire were on their way to Earth's galaxy. Utterly destructive in their ways, the Machine Empire would destroy anyone who stood in their way, including rival villains Rita and Zedd.
KING MANDO'S MACHINE EMPIRE
Scared for their very lives, Rita, Zedd and their band of aliens quickly evacuate their stalwart castle lair, with Mondo's forces playfully shooting at them as they flee. Elsewhere, King Mondo himself, along with his wife, Queen Machina, express delight in seeing the once formidable foes of the Power Rangers reduced to scurrying ants desperate to run away. Rita and Zedd are both adamant in simply getting away from the Moon, never so much as suggesting to put up a fight against Mondo's forces. Given how powerful Serpentera, Zedd's personal Zord was, the fact that using the robot against the invading forces is never even an option is astounding. This speaks to how powerful Mondo is meant to be, as Rita and Zedd are now fully reduced to merely comic relief with only a fraction of their former terror and influence.
Not wanting to waste Serpentera's energy reserves, but equally as worried about simply getting away to survive, Zedd questions where the cadre of villainy will head. With no other options and much to Zedd's chagrin, Rita contacts her father Master Vile to ask if they can bum with him. The otherwise arrogant Master Vile is quick to mention how much worse Mondo and the Machine Empire are even compared to himself and relents in allowing Rita and her unwelcome husband to stay.
The defeat is even made more embarrassing through the imagery of Zedd and the others carrying off brown boxes like they've been kicked out of an apartment. Zedd isn't even concerned for the missing Rito and Goldar, now simply wallowing in his abject failure. Zedd's image would never really recover after this, and the downward spiral into being a joke that began when he married Rita was now complete. He would make good on finally getting revenge on the Machine Empire in Zeo's finale, but by the events of the succeeding Power Rangers: Turbo, Zedd and Rita have seemingly given up on taking over Earth. Though he began as a terrifying, almost demonic opponent for the Power Rangers, Lord Zedd's defeat at the hands of the Machine Empire broke his character, forever making him a sitcom dad among villains.