Kamen Rider ZX

After Kamen Rider Super-1 wrapped, there was no follow-up
Kamen Rider series...on TV that is. However, the next Kamen Rider
would find life in the pages of the monthly children’s magazines
Terebi Magazine, Terebi Land, and Terebi Anime Magazine
(Terebi being the Japanese pronunciation of "TV" or short for
“Television") as early as July 1982. His name was Kamen Rider ZX
(pronounced “Z-Cross”), and after 14 serialized “episodes” in the
magazines (using photos and text, as well as a more standard comic
story) he finally got his one TV Special in January of 1984.

Murasame Ryô was a Cessna pilot and otherwise average joe
traveling with his older sister Shizuka over the Amazon Rain Forest.
Their plane is shot down by UFOs, and they are captured by the
owners of said UFOs– the Badan Empire! The bad guys kill
Murasame's sister and turn him into the “Perfect Cyborg” to serve
their evil ways. And guess what? They finally get it right, and do the
evil brain surgery before Murasame rises, meaning he’s now bad to
the bone. Good for them! Unfortunately, things turn sour following a
freak explosion in the lab. I think we can all safely say that by now,
the most dangerous enemy of Kamen Rider villains– aside from the
Riders themselves– is freak explosions in the lab. Because those
always mess everything up! In any case, Murasame regains his
memories, and after being tortured by a very disappointed Badan,
escapes somehow and hooks up with Doctor Kaidô, a kindly
scientist, and his adopted daughter, Ichijô Rumi.

Name: Kamen Rider
ZX (Zekurossu)

Height: 188 cm

Weight: 78 kg

Human Identity:
Murasame Ryô

Rider Machine: Hell
Diver

Henshin Belt: n/a (It’s
just called “Henshin
Belt”)

Henshin Phrase:
"Henshin!"

Enemy: Badan Empire

Combat Techniques:

-ZX Kick
-ZX Punch
-ZX Chop
-ZX Nage (Throw), etc.

Combination attacks
with the previous 10
Riders:

-Rider Syndrome

Special
Equipment/Weapons
& Powers:

-ZX possesses a
number of deadly Ninja
weapons, including:

-Juuji Shuriken (Cross
Throwing Stars)
-Shôgeki Shuuchuu
Bakudan (Impulsive
Compact Bombs)
-Reedaa Kakuran
Enmaku (Radar
Distortion Smokescreen)
-Microchain

-Additional
weapons/powers
introduced in Kamen
Rider Spirits:

-ZX Bunshin (basically
Self-Replication)
-Denji
(Electromagnetic) Knife

X-rays reveal that Murasame’s body is now 99% cybernetic, which of course
doesn’t sit well with him. He vows to destroy Badan to avenge both his sister and the
loss of his own humanity. And even if he’s all alone, he’ll fight to the bitter end.

Except, of course, he’s far from alone. The previous 9 Riders are already on to the
enemy, and kickin’ butt left and right as Badan trucks attempt to make it to their
secret headquarters with shipments of the mysterious, super-powerful element
Badanium-84 (three guesses where the number came from.) The evil dudes need that
to power this giant laser thing that melts buildings via interesting optical effects.
Rockin'!

The Rider team manages to make short work of the Badan cronies, but V3, Riderman
& Super-1 run into a little trouble when ZX shows up. You see, while ZX has no clue
who any of them are, he’s not exactly in the mood to ask questions, and immediately
assumes they’re with Badan. Fortunately, V3 keeps him from turning Riderman &
Supes into human pin-cushions, and explains that they’re all on the same side. ZX
admits to his mistake, and agrees to join with the Kamen Riders and put Badan out of
business for good. He also now takes on his Rider name.

ZX's motorcycle is called Hell Diver, and it’s pretty standard fare as far as Rider Machines go (in other words, cool.) ZX himself
is a walking arsenal, armed with enough explosives to probably destroy half of Tokyo. Endowed with the subtitle of “Ninja
Rider”, ZX has many Ninja-type tricks and weapons, which come in handy when he goes one-on-one with Tigeroid, an evil bio-
mechanical monstrosity who was his training partner in crime back when ZX was still under Badan control.

After a thorough stock footage montage, which is supposed to be a video about the previous 9 Riders that Kazami & the boys
show to Murasame (how they got any of that film of themselves fighting is beyond me), and the aforementioned duel to the death
with Tigeroid, ZX joins his fellow Riders in defeating a revived Kaijin army, partially made up of old faces, as well as all-new suits
that were created for the magazine "episodes". The whole gang joins together in defeating Badan's apparent leader, Ambassador
Darkness, an update on Ambassador Hell from the original series (actually, he’s his brother!) But the real head honcho turns out
to be the Great Leader. Yes, the same guy who led all other previous evil groups is back yet again, and he escapes at the end
(well, more like he sort of just vanishes after yammering on for a while. He'll sorta be back, after a fashion.)

Number Ten's Birth! Kamen Riders Back Together Again!! essentially
marked the end of an era for Kamen Rider– ZX’s TV Special is the last Rider
production helmed by Hirayama Tôru, creative produced at Toei and
arguably as important as Ishinomori in making the Kamen Rider series we
know and love. Hirayama has written an entire book on the story behind ZX
(including why it never materialized as a full-fledged TV series) and some fans
today refer to Riders 1~ZX as being the “Hirayama Riders”. Of course we all
know that Kamen Rider would go on even without Hirayama, but his
influence is no doubt still felt today.

The still-ongoing Kamen Rider Spirits comic is in fact a retelling of the ZX
story, greatly expanded and even improved upon to flesh out ZX and the
other Riders even more. The stakes are also higher, as ZX’s turn to the good
side is much more drawn-out, and involves several fights with other Riders,
and even getting killed a few times! It’s a great read, and highly recommended.

Movies/Specials & Guest Appearances/Cameos

~TV Series~

Kamen Rider BLACK RX (1988~1989)

Episode 41: Rider 1 calls the whole Rider family, including ZX, to Arizona for some training.
Episode 42: The Riders are still chillin' in Arizona, and training for the big battles to come.
Episode 43: Yet more training in the desert. During the breaks, I bet ZX watched more stock footage.
Episode 44: The gang heads back to Japan to save RX from getting hammered into the ground by Granzairus.
Episode 45: ZX is there in full force, fighting' Crisis. Aside from his own special and Spirits, this is it for real ZX action.
Episode 46: The Rider team, ZX included, help RX as the end draws near.
Episode 47: ZX & his 9 fellow Riders leave the last battle for RX, but they're around for the ending.

~Movies/Specials/Other~

Number Ten's Birth! Kamen Riders Back Together Again!! (1984): Still don’t know what this is about? You haven’t been
reading carefully enough! *Sugata Shun appears!

Kamen Rider: SD Riders (1993): In a stark contrast to his moody-broody live action persona, animated ZX is one crazy dude,
trying to help BLACK RX get the girl of his dreams. This is also the one and only place you’ll ever see ZX in drag.