The Impossibility Of Inserting The Not-So-Great Leader Villain Into New School Kamen Rider

Maybe, one of the biggest reasons why I'm not so fond of the old-school Showa Rider era (and ironically, I tend to embrace the Showa era Sentai like it's so good because of Hirohisa Soda) is the presence of the Great Leader. Right now, I just want to call him the Great LOSER because every guest appearance he makes in the Heisei Rider crossover films just has him getting humiliated one after the other. He was a coward at best who ended up abandoning ship or remaining hidden whenever the finale approached. The first Kamen Rider series had Ichigo and Nigo discovering that there was just a decoy with a bomb. Kamen Rider V3 had a skeleton with a tape recorder. He seemed to have sent a lot of decoys. He also claimed responsibility for the existence of Geddon, Garanda Empire, and was last seen in Neo-Shocker. Badan Empire from the movie-only Kamen Rider ZX had that skull imagery taunting the Riders. Kame Rider BLACK RX apparently ended him. Yup, I think BLACK RX's lack of popularity (though it was vindicated years later thanks to Saban's Mashed Rider and maybe even its "successor" Kamen Rider Decade) may have actually done one good thing - Grand Lord Crisis' promise to return NEVER happened. Apparently, the Grand Lord Crisis was the Great Leader. The ending of BLACK RX until today is still left with "Another Crisis may appear..." but the show's lack of popularity, fortunately, gave us better villains after the great Rider hiatus.

Now, enter the Heisei era which for me presented more complex stories. If there's another reason why I tend to prefer the Heisei Riders is the daring direction. Kamen Rider Ryuki may have been victimized by executive meddling but it was an ambitious concept. Kamen Rider Gaim would eventually fix a lot of mistakes that Ryuki made during its run. I may still be no fan of the ToQGer vs. Gaim crossover BUT Gaim has to be given credit for Gen Urobuchi. Gaim's fruit theme felt weird at first but it's actually near-perfect in execution. I'd even say that Kamen Rider Fourze is something that only Kamen Rider Super-1 could dream of. The Heisei era gave us villains that were more unique. After doing some Kamen Rider Kuuga rewatches did I really realize that linking Geddon and the Garanda Empire from Kamen Rider Amazon to Shocker isn't really good. The villains of the Heisei era are far more unique and complex than the idiotic villain organizations. Take the Lords in Kamen Rider Agito for example - they were more anti-villain since they were only trying to keep the balance of human evolution in check. The Lords in Agito were only getting rid of humans with Agito seed fearing that humanity may destroy itself one day.

I once thought that maybe Daguva is the Great Leader that once established the Showa era. However, watching Kuuga even once would reveal the sheer impossibility. It's not just because Grongi lacks idiotic footsoldiers that go "eeee" but the motives behind Grongi. I think Grongi is actually trying to do Geddon and Garanda Empire done right. It would be idiotic if Daguva were written into saying, "Well Kuuga, I was the guy who founded all the organizations from Shocker up to Crisis!" The Grongi were playing their game for the Final Gegeru or ruthless game when they will subjugate humanity. The monsters were more focused on their Yaujta-type games which were probably inspired by the Aliens vs. Predator franchise. Yes, I'm glad that Daguva is NOT the Great Leader nor is he the fulfillment of Grand Lord Crisis' promise to return to haunt the Riders. Making Daguva independent of the previous organizations was really a good move. Besides, after Daguva dies, he never escapes and Kuuga defeats the threat for good giving way for more threats to emerge. Daguva doesn't cowardly escape like the Great Leader does. Though, I'm still one of those fans who believe Kuuga and Agito should be connected to each other.

Besides, every other organization that appears after Grongi is all pretty much their own. No common denominator or a common leader who menaces the Riders. Rather, it's always a new menace appearing to cause trouble after that. You may also consider how Smart Brain and Yggdrasil don't even look like they're founded by the Great Leader. They all end up having different founders which is a GOOD THING. The Showa era had the potential to do so with Amazon and Super-1 but ended up bringing back the Great Leader whenever possible. That's why I even think that Grand Lord Crisis is actually the Great Leader. Though BLACK RX might as well be credited for actually ending the Great Leader - a villain that should be considered not so great after all. The Great Leader was just overused until he practically ended up with a low note.