himitsusentaiblog:

So, apparently, crucifixion in Super Sentai is a trope going all the way back to the first series, Himitsu Sentai GoRanger. This did not get started with Sentai though as Crucifixion in Toku dates back to at least Ultraseven* in 1967:

Perhaps even more (in)famously is the scene from 1972′s Ultraman Ace where the Ultra Brothers are crucified on the Planet Gologotha as a trap for the new hero.

This scene is actually so famous in the series that it got a scene set release in the Ultra Act toyline from Bandai.

I think this got started because the creator of Ultraman and Ultraseven, Eiji Tsuburaya, was a Catholic who liked to infuse Christian religious imagery into his work.  The classic Ultraman specium beam pose is supposed to resemble a cross,  the ultimate ward against evil.

The actual meaning of crucifixion was apparently lost and seen as just a means of restraint before an execution.  Or maybe the meaning was stripped away and the original intent as an archaic, barbaric form of execution restored.

The Super Sentai series above are (in order of the pictures):

Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

Himitsu Sentai GoRanger

J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai

Choudenshi Bioman

Hikari Sentai Maskman

Choujin Sentai Jetman

and then two instances from:

Hyakujyuu Sentai GaoRanger

*The episode of Ultraseven featuring the hero’s crucifixion was accidentally aired (in dubbed form) by TNT in the United States on Easter Sunday, an act that upset several of their viewers considering TNT is based in the Conservative Southern city of Atlanta.