 This article is about a monster in Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.
|
- "If a horse faces right, what direction is his tail? (...) Well, what's the answer?"
- ―Dora Sphinx's first words
DoraSphinx's transformation
Dora Sphinx (ドーラスフィンクス Dōra Sufinkusu, 5,6 & 40 (Flashback)) was a Dora Monster created by Bandora and Pleprechaun and based on the Great Sphinx of Giza and the mythological sphinx of Thebes. Obsessed with riddles, Dora Sphinx preyed on children before coming into conflict with the Zyurangers.
History[]
Created by Pleprechaun, Dora Sphinx posed as a game show host in a tuxedo and pharaoh's head-dress offering children a chance to win a trip around the world if they could answer all five riddles in his "Ultra Riddle Contest". However the cost of failure was high. Those who could not answer his riddles in time were blown away by a gust from the monster's wings and imprisoned within trees that were scheduled to be cut down to make way for a golf course.
Mistaking Boi for a child, Dora Sphinx encounterd Dime Tribe Knight Boi and Etoffe Tribe Knight Dan. Bandora ordered her creature to capture the Zyurangers and Dora Sphinx successfully imprisoned Boi. Later a repentant Dan allowed himself to be captured in order to find and free Boi.
The remaining Zyurangers gathered in the forest to face Dora Sphinx but the monster subjects them to his game one by one. After capturing Risha Tribe Princess Mei and Sharma Tribe Knight Goushi, Dora Sphinx found a worthy opponent in Yamato Tribe Prince Geki. But following an argument over the answer to his hardest question ("Is there anything that is eternal in life?" Geki believed the answer was justice, and Dora Sphinx believed the answer was evil), Dora Sphinx battled the Tyranno Ranger until Bandora enlarged him and Guardian Beast Tyrannosaurus sends Geki away in order to gather his team so they can form Daizyuzin.
TV STORY-Ep. 5: Scary Riddles
When Geki returned to face him, Dora Sphinx resumed his attack, with Grifforzar assisting him even before Bandora enlarged the two monsters to crush Geki. However Tyranno Ranger managed to find the five Dino Crystals and he used them to free his comrades, who summoned their Guardian Beasts and combined them into Dino-Tanker and then Daizyujin.
Seeing that the logging crews were arriving, Dora Sphinx reverted to his human guise and challenged the Sentai and Daizyujin to an Ultra Riddle Contest, to keep them from saving the children. Dora Sphinx didn't set a number of riddles forr the contest, however, and used this to play for time. However, Geki convinced Dora Sphinx to ask a question that no one knew the answer to: "what is Dora Sphinx's weak spot?" When Dora Sphinx revealed the answer to correct Geki and resumed his monstrous form, Daizyuzin used that knowledge to deliver the fatal blow with the Godhorn. Following Dora Sphinx's destruction, his victims were freed from the trees in which they were imprisoned. TV STORY-Ep. 6: Arise! Daizyuzin
Personality[]
Dora Sphinx is obsessed with riddles. He takes a perverse joy in punishing those who don't answer his riddles correctly. Moreover, he has little patience who doesn't take his riddles seriously or those who try to cheat or argue over the correct answer. Occasionally, however, he can get so caught up in arguing over an answer that he fails to take advantage of a situation.
In human form he was two-faced, acting harmless in order to lull his victims into participating in his riddle contests, suddenly revealing his disgust the moment someone answered a question incorrectly.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Shapeshifter: Dora Sphinx could assume human form taking on the appearance of a harmless looking adult male.
Abilities[]
- Wings: Dora Sphinx's wings not only allowed him to fly, but he could also flap them with such force that he could blow an opponent away.
- Tree Prison: Apparently a component to his wing flapping ability, Dora Sphinx typically sent his victims to a nearby forest where they would be trapped inside one of the trees. Dora Sphinx claimed that if the trees were cut down while someone was trapped within, they would die. Those trapped within trees were freed upon Dora Sphinx's destruction.
.png "Childrens inside the Dora Sphinx's Tree Prison (1).png (322 KB)")
.png "Childrens inside the Dora Sphinx's Tree Prison (2).png (301 KB)")
.png "Childrens inside the Dora Sphinx's Tree Prison (3).png (366 KB)")
Weaknesses[]
- Sphinx Headdress: Dora Sphinx's headdress was the source of his power and his weakness.
Arsenal[]
- Hand-Held Signs: While in human form, Dora Sphinx could produce hand-held signs that displayed the answers to his riddles.
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 1 (Horse's Tail facing down while his head facing to the right).png (389 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 2 (Jet Airplane).png (339 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 3 (Steering Wheel Handle).png (471 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 4 (Man's Walking Phase Evolution).png (406 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 5 (A Tug of War).png (352 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 6 (Five plus One means Six).png (444 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 7 (Owl).png (373 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 8 (A Head).png (351 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 9 (Carbon Paper).png (428 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 10 (Appendix).png (359 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 11 (Car Wreck Junker).png (365 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 12 (Front Door).png (364 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 13 (Absolute Evil).png (354 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 14 (Baseball Glove).png (432 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 15 (Western Bee).png (424 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Riddle Answer 16 (Auto Immune).png (377 KB)")
- Clock Throne: In addition to the signs, Dora Sphinx could summon a throne with a clock built into it. The clock would countdown how much time an intended victim had to answer his riddles.
.png "Sphinx's Clock Throne (1).png (413 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Clock Throne (2).png (367 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Clock Throne (3).png (403 KB)")
.png "Sphinx's Clock Throne (4).png (375 KB)")
- Egyptian Staff: When in monster form, Dora Sphinx used this staff as an offensive weapon. He could also fire bolts of energy from it.
Behind the Scenes[]
Portrayal[]
- Dora Sphinx is voiced by Isamu Ichikawa, who also played Dora Sphinx's human form.
Design[]
Dora Sphinx is based on the Egyptian depiction of a sphinx, particularly the Great Sphinx of Giza. Like his mythological counterpart, Dora Sphinx is based on a lion, though he is highly anthropomorphized, and has wings like a falcon. On his head he wears a blue and yellow Nemes headdress adorned with a cobra as well as a traditional ceremonial false beard. All of these features are likely inspired by the funerary mask of Tutankhamen, the archetypal image of a pharaoh in popular culture. More than visually communicating the chimeric appearance or particular attributes of the mythological sphinx, Dora Sphinx's design embraces this Egyptian pharaoh motif, holding a crook and bedecked in Kemetic hieroglyphs, a shendyt, and eye imagery once again likely based on Tutankhamen's mask and the kohl worn by Egyptian peoples. His riddles are a motif of the Sphinx of Greek mythology who killed itself after Oediphus solved her riddle of "What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three in the evening" which happens to be "man".
Concept Art[]
Etymology[]
Dora Sphinx follows the naming convention of all his Dora Monster brethren, named after his master, Bandora, and adding the final syllable of her name to a monster of classical mythology, in his case a sphinx. Sphinxes are a chimeric beast of Kemetic mythology. The name is Greek and is believed to possibly derive from the Greek word σφίγγω (sphíngō), meaning to squeeze, or perhaps from a greek corruption of the Egyptian shesepankh or 'living image', referring to the statues of the creatures.
Notes[]
Dora Sphinx and Lamp Fairy Gin's Dora Gin form as seen in Witch Bandora's Dora Monster Guide Book in "Ep. 15: Destroy! The Dark Super Sword".
- Dora Sphinx is the first Dora Monster to be destroyed by Daizyuzin.
- Dora Sphinx, alongside the Dora Ladon, Dora Skelton, Dora Cockatrice, Dora Knight, and Lamp Fairy Gin's Dora Gin form were seen on Witch Bandora's Dora Monster Guide Book pages in "Ep. 15: Destroy! The Dark Super Sword".
Appearances[]
Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger
- Ep. 5: Scary Riddles
- Ep. 6: Stand!! Daizyujin
- Ep. 15: Destroy! The Dark Super Sword (picture in monster book only)
- Ep. 20: Daizyuzin's Last Day (flashback; archive footage only)
- Ep. 40: Burai's Departure of Death (flashback; archive footage only)
See Also[]
- King Sphinx - Power Rangers counterpart in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. See comparison page.
References[]
Footnotes[]