 This article is about a recurring villain who has taken various forms in the Kamen Rider Series.
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Template:Villaininfo The Great Leader (大首領, Daishuryō) is the mysterious high ruler of the criminal organization Shocker, and also mostly served as the main antagonist of the Kamen Rider Series in the Showa era.
Appearance
The Great Leader's appearance remained hidden for nearly the entire series, however he made his first physical appearance in episode 34 briefly in a video footage. In his physical appearance, the Great Leader wore a red hood that resembles the hood worn by the Ku Klux Klan and a black cloak. Over the course of the Kamen Rider series in the Showa Era, the Great Leader took on several forms and personas.
History
Origins
According to the producer of the Kamen Rider Series Toru Hirayama and his book Uchûsen Book Collection Special Edition; the Great Leader was once a Tibetan monk named "Chan Mao" who was said to be able to bring the dead back to life with mysterious, mystical techniques. However, he grew detached from human emotions and he found a way to transcend his earthly body into a completely different being unable to truly be destroyed. It is believed what's left of his humanity is long dead. Which leads to what becomes of him now.[1]
Later, Kamen Rider Stronger, would contradict that origin, presenting him as an alien which seems to carry on over to Skyrider's series.. Birth of the 10th! Kamen Riders All Together!! describes him as an evil spirit, which lines up better with the evolved mystic idea presented by producer Hirayama. If Emperor Crisis is indeed the Great Leader though, that would back up his origin story in Stronger`s series.
In Kamen Rider Eve -Masked Rider Gaia-, the Great Leader's origins are an elaborated version of the alien concept. Here, the Great Leader is a parasitic organism that arrived in a meteor and seeks to remake the world for its own kind.
Great Leader of Shocker (Kamen Rider)
- Main article: Great Leader of Shocker
The Great Leader giving orders to his subordinates.
His ultimate goal is to turn the entire human race into monsters under his rule in order to unite the world as one being. He orders his subordinates via speakers on Shocker's emblem to destroy Kamen Riders Hongo and Ichimonji who are the obstacles of his conquest. The two riders were able to severely weaken the Shocker organization by eliminating most of their key figures (Colonel Zol, Doctor Shinigami and Ambassador Hell), this forced the Great Leader to reform Shocker by allying himself with General Black of the Geldam organization, thus creating Gel-Shocker.
The Great Leader unmasked.
Seeing that old members of Shocker were considered unfit for the new organization, the Great Leader had them all killed one by one. All Shocker secret bases were self destructed and the remaining Shocker soldiers were killed. The Riders were able to defeat Gel-Shocker forces and its monsters, including General Black. The riders were able to locate Gel-Shocker's headquarters and finally confronted the Great Leader himself, the two riders uncloaked the Great Leader only to reveal that he is actually a Cyclopean medusa. He sets off the headquarters' self-destruct system in a final attempt to kill the riders, but only resulted in him being killed instead and the two riders escaping, therefore ending Shocker's reign of terror. Or so they thought...
Great Leader of Destron (Kamen Rider V3)
The Great Leader of Destron.
The true form of the Great Leader of Destron.
- Main article: Great Leader of Destron
The leader of Destron and Great Leader's second incarnation. In the earliest episodes he led directly; later on he let one of his generals lead for him. His cyborgs are patterned after a combination of a manmade objects and an animal (such as Camera Mosquito or Bazooka Turtle). In the last few episodes, he appeared in person for brief periods of time, but he wore a robe with a hood which hid all of his features. In the final episode, he is revealed as a living skeleton with a living heart, and called himself The God of Death. He was destroyed by V3, but the Rider found a voice recorder inside it, making it clear that he is still at large.
G.O.D. and Geddon
It is revealed in Kamen Rider Stronger that he was responsible for creating the Government of Darkness (led by King Dark aka Dr. Noroi) and Geddon (led by Ten-Faced Demon Gorgos) behind the scenes, although his exact involvement with the organizations isn't elaborated upon. Emperor Zero from the Garanda Empire also had claimed to be the one behind Geddon's creation, and the relationship between both is never elaborated upon.
Great Boss of Black Satan and the Delza Army
The Great Leader of Black Satan.
The Great Leader of Delza Army Rock Form.
The Great Leader of Delza Army True Form.
- Main page: Great Boss of Black Satan and Great Boss of Delza Army
He returned as the Great Boss of Black Satan (ブラックサタン大首領, Burakku Satan Dai Shuryō, 26): The leader of Black Satan who is the boss of Satan Bug (サタン虫, Satan Mushi). Destroyed by Stronger's Stronger Electro Kick.
He later reappeared as the Great Boss of Delza Army (デルザー軍団大首領, Deruzā Gundan Dai Shuryō, 37-39): The true leader of the Delza Army. He reveals that he had been behind the other previous evil organizations opposed by the Riders (Shocker, Gel-Shocker, Destron, Government of Darkness, Geddon and Black Satan). He takes on the form of a rock giant, impervious to the attacks of the Riders. However, the Seven Legendary Riders combine their powers and go into his body. There, they find a giant alien brain who self-destructs in an attempt to kill all seven Riders, however, they all escape successfully and leave, reminiscing everything they've gone through so far.
Great Boss of Neo-Shocker (Skyrider)
The Great Leader of Neo-Shocker.
- Main article: Great Boss of Neo-Shocker
He reappears as the Great Boss of Neo-Shocker (ネオショッカー大首領, Neo Shokkā Dai Shuryō): A giant dragon who is the leader of the Neo-Shocker organization. He was destroyed by the Eight Riders 1 through Skyrider, who appeared to sacrifice themselves to destroy the Great Leader. It's later revealed that they survived as they assisted Super-1 in the Kamen Rider Super-1 film. In this incarnation the Great Leader is revealed to be an alien from the B26 Dark Nebula and tried to conquer Earth. After many futile attempts he attempts to destroy all life using an oxygen bomb that would have destroyed all of the planet's oxygen, costing countless lives. However, the bomb was destroyed with the Great Leader by the eight Kamen Riders.
Generalissimo of Badan (ZX)
The Generalissimo of Badan.
- Main article: The Generalissimo of Badan
The Generalissimo of Badan (バダン総統, Badan Sōtō): The giant skull which appeared after Ambassador Darkness's death. It disappeared sneering at the ten Riders. Dr. Kaidō said that it was the energy of an evil spirit. In the manga, the leader is identified as Great Leader JUDO (大首領 JUDO, Dai Shūryō JUDO), JUDO has a Kamen Rider form called Susanoo (スサノオ), a golden version of ZX with the ability to transform into nine Shōwa Kamen Riders. He has his own language, which he can telepathically compel others to understand.
Alternate timelines
OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders
The Rock Great Leader
The Great Leader makes a return in the movie OOO, Den-O, All Riders: Let's Go Kamen Riders, serving as the film's main antagonist. During a small conflict between the characters of Kamen Riders OOO and Den-O during their time travel in Japan during the 1970s while hunting the Imagins, General Black discovered a Cell Medal that was accidentally dropped by Ankh during the conflict. General Black gave the medal to the Great Leader which he combines with the Shocker medal in order to create Shocker's most powerful monster, Shocker Greeed. The monster was able to defeat both Hongo and Ichimonji, thus causing a time paradox that created a world where Shocker reigned supreme. Various evil organizations that would have manifested in the normal timeline after Shocker's destruction later affiliated with Shocker and the Great Leader such as, the Delza Army, the Crisis Empire and the Government of Darkness. Shocker also gained control of both Hongo and Ichimonji via brainwashing.
OOO and Den-O returned to 1970s Japan in hopes of stopping Shocker Greeed from being created and returning the timeline back to normal. The Great Leader was confronted by the Riders, but was able to create Shocker Greeed and the monster managed to take down the Riders. Having failed to restore the timeline and the DenLiner destroyed, the Riders retreated back to the Shocker-ruled future and decided to confront Shocker, but were overwhelmed by the various monster forces. As the Riders were about to be publicly executed, Hongo and Ichimonji (having faked their brainwashing in order to wait for the right time to fight Shocker) summoned all the other Riders and were able to defeat the monster army.
The Double Riders have a rematch with Shocker Greeed while the other Riders rushed toward Great Leader. Shocker Greeed is destroyed by the Rider Double Kick before Ankh takes the Shocker Medal. When the Riders are overpowered by Great Leader's attacks, Ankh convinces OOO to use the Shocker Medal and an Imagin Medal from Momotaros in combination with the Taka Medal. With the three Medals, OOO changes into Tamashii Combo and destroys Great Leader with the Tamashii Bomber. The attack, however, unleashes Great Leader Colossus - the true form of Great Leader, who throws fireballs at the Riders and consumes the other Shocker leaders in an earthquake. The Riders are joined by Kamen Rider Birth and all of the extra Riders to battle the new menace. All of the Riders jump into their motorcycles to execute the All Rider Break, destroying the Rock Great Leader once and for all.
Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3
Prior to the movie's event, the Great Leader somehow survived and regressed into a Shocker belt. He once again took the lead in Shocker by using the late Doctor D's research on history manipulation via Roidmude 089 to bring the Ninningers to their world and joining forces with the Kibaoni Army Corps
. He seemingly died after 089 was killed but revived when he sent Kamen Rider 3 to alter the timeline.
The Great Leader in alternate continuities
Great Leader of Shocker (Kamen Rider The Next)
- Main article: Great Leader of Shocker (reboot)
The Great Leader makes a cameo appearance in the film Kamen Rider The Next via speaker from the Shocker symbol. He commands the Shocker group led by Scissors Jaguar to run the Nanobot Operations in Japan. By the end of the film, the Great Leader remains at large.
Great Leader JUDO (Kamen Rider Spirits)
JUDO
- Main article: Great Leader JUDO
In Kamen Rider Spirits, which is an alternate telling of the story of Kamen Rider ZX, the Great Leader appears with the name JUDO with forms resembling a Giant Skull and a golden version of Kamen Rider ZX called Susanoo that is able to change into forms of the other Showa Era riders.
Great Leader of GranShocker (Kamen Rider SD)
- Main article: Great Leader of GranShocker
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The Great Leader of GranShocker.
The Great Leader of GranShocker: The apparent controlling force of every Kamen Rider villain since the original series. He appears in SD as an overly large body sitting atop a throne with a booming voice.
Great Leader of Dai-Shocker (Kamen Rider Decade)
In the Heisei period film Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker, Tsukasa Kadoya (Kamen Rider Decade) was the Great Leader of Dai-Shocker, before he was overthrown by Shadow Moon. Tsukasa later became Great Leader again during the events of Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Super Hero Taisen, before revealing that he was actually working to sabotage Dai-Shocker's Big Machine operation, as well as having awareness of his subordinates' betrayal against him.
Great Leader of Shocker (D-Video Special: Kamen Rider 4)
Takumi as the Great Leader of Shocker.
Followed by Shocker's failure in altering the timeline in Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3, remaining members salvaged the History Modifying Machine and altered the timeline again into a timeline loop. The alteration as well had made Takumi Inui/Kamen Rider Faiz die of genetic breakdown and be revived as the Great Leader.
Emperor Crisis (Kamen Rider Black RX)
Emperor Crisis.
- Main article: Emperor Crisis
In Kamen Rider Black RX, Emperor Crisis of the Crisis Empire is the ruler of the Demon World via the use of General Dasmader as one of his host bodies. The Crisis Emperor sent his minions led by General Jak, Staff Officer Maribaron, Naval Commander Bosgan, Captain Gedorian, and Officer Gatezone to help him conquer the Earth. His troops claimed that since humans are evil and don't care about Earth, they'll take Earth to themselves to save the population of their doomed planet.
In the last episode, he offered Kotaro Minami the chance to help him rule the universe and become his successor. When Kotaro refused, Dasmader called on Chaps to destroy Kotaro, the original ten Riders, and all of Kotaro's friends. When Dasmader was seemingly destroyed (by RX stabbing him with the Revolcane), Crisis revealed his true form as a monstrous head. RX destroyed him in the end, and soon the entire Crisis world was destroyed alongside its emperor.
It's speculated that he's another form of the original Great Leader due to him being voiced by Gorō Naya, having the form of a monstrous head, while the Great Leader's last known form was a giant skull in ZX's TV special and also because the 10 original Riders had been fighting against his troops around the world, which seems to follow from their last appearance in ZX, if the Crisis Emperor and the Great Leader are one and the same. The Emperor Crisis himself had also stated that he personally fought the 10 original Riders at one point or another, which further hints him as the Great Leader.
However, there's no official word on this matter confirming or denying the idea.
Appearances in other media
Video Games
Kamen Rider video game
The Great Leader of Shocker appears in the PlayStation Kamen Rider video game. He is the boss the player fights in the "Kamen Rider Story" after defeating all the Shocker and Gel-Shocker kaijin.
Net Movies
Super Hero Taisen Otsu
to be added [Kamen Rider × Super Sentai × Space Sheriff: Super Hero Taisen Otsu: Heroo! Answers]
Behind the scenes
Portrayal
In Kamen Rider, the original series, the Great Leader of Shocker was voiced by Gorō Naya (納谷 悟朗, Naya Gorō). He would go on to voice the Great Leader's various incarnations in the Showa Kamen Rider Series: the Great Leader of Destron, the Great Boss of Black Satan, the Great Boss of Delza Army, the Great Boss of Neo-Shocker, and The Generalissimo of Badan.
The fact that he voiced Grand Lord Crisis in Kamen Rider Black RX is one reason why that villain is considered to be yet another form taken by the Great Leader. Gorō Naya also voiced the Kamen Rider The First reboot version of the Great Leader in the movie Kamen Rider The Next.
Following Naya's death in 2013, Tomokazu Seki (関 智一, Seki Tomokazu) voiced the Generalissimo of Badan in Heisei Rider vs. Showa Rider: Kamen Rider Taisen feat. Super Sentai (2014) and the Great Leader of Shocker in Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3 (2015).
Notes
- Since the Great Leader is technically the adoptive parent of Riderman, that would make Riderman his adoptive son.
- Perhaps the reason why he wore a red hood that resembles the one worn by KKK members in Kamen Rider was to show his desire for genocide towards all human beings.
- Although in Kamen Rider Spirits the Great Leader acts rather uncaring towards the Kamen Riders (possibly aside from ZX) and seems to see them as pests rather than threats, in each of the Kamen Rider's series where the Great Leader appears, he seemed to see them as a great threat that should be eliminated at all costs.
- This can easily be explained by the fact that Kamen Rider Spirits is non canon to the Rider series as it contradicts the Rider series in a number of ways.