| “ | Takeshi Hongo, welcome... to Shocker! | „ |
| ~ The Great Leader of Shocker's first words spoken to Takeshi Hongo/Kamen Rider 1. |
The Great Leader of Shocker is the overarching antagonist of the entire Kamen Rider franchise, first appearing as the primary antagonist of the original 1971 Kamen Rider series, as well as the Showa continuity of Kamen Rider as a whole. He is a mysterious entity who is the force behind nearly every evil organization the Kamen Riders have faced. His ultimate goal is to conquer the world and convert the entire human race into kaijin, uniting the world as one being.
Following his original defeat, later incarnations of him would go on to serve as the main antagonists of several other Showa Kamen Rider series. He eventually returns as the main antagonist of the 40th anniversary crossover film, OOO, Den-O, Let's Go Kamen Riders and later as the main antagonist of the Super Hero Taisen film Super Hero Taisen GP: Kamen Rider 3.
He was originally voiced by the late Gorō Naya in all of his appearance and incarnations, and is currently voiced by Tomokazu Seki.
What Makes Him Pure Evil
Trivia
- The Great Leader bears some similarities to Demise from The Legend of Zelda as both have more than one incarnation and are known to be "hijacking the story" though the former has more incarnations than the later.
- The Great Leader's seemingly immortal presence has vaguely been explained and has multiple variations:
- The Kamen Rider co-creator Toru Hirayama stated in an interview in the Uchûsen Book Collection Special Edition that the Great Leader was once a monk named Chan Mao who discovered the secret of transcending death. This led him to be detached from humanity and eventually drove him to lose his own, as he became an evil demigod-like figure who wanted to rule the world.
- The series Kamen Rider Stronger contradicted this by showing that the Great Leader was in fact an alien cycloptic brain. This was again contradicted when it was revealed in Skyrider that the Great Leader was a giant dragon.
- In the Manga Kamen Rider Spirits, he is called JUDO and is an Eldricth Monster who seeks to inhabit a vessel in the form of a cyborg human body.
- The last explanation is a speculative one by fans based on a line from Kamen Rider Black RX spoken by Grand Lord Crisis, "As long as Humanity's evil exists, there will be a new Crisis Empire! And I will return to lead it!". This could mean that the Great Leader somehow uses the human race's own evil and hatred to sustain and regenerate himself.
- The Great Leader's voice actor Gorō Naya also voices one of the Wirepullers of Smart Brain in the movie Kamen Rider 555: Paradise Lost, hinting that he may be one of them and may be behind Smart Brain as well.
External Links
- Great Leader of Shocker on Villains Wiki
- Great Leader of Destron on Villains Wiki
- Great Boss of Black Satan on Villains Wiki
- Neo-Shocker's Great Leader on Villains Wiki
- Shocker Leader III on Villains Wiki
 Pure Evils
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