Tommy Oliver is thePower Rangerscharacter with the most forms in the TV show, having used four different colors and five different sets of powers. Introduced as the evil Green Ranger inMighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tommy was freed from Rita Repulsa’s mind control spell and joined the heroes. Despite the massivepopularity of the Green Ranger, “Green With Evil” was only the beginning of an impressive story that would continue for decades. As a result, Tommy was always getting upgrades and new costumes.
One of the reasons why Tommy was part of so many differentPower Rangersteamsis that, for most of the 1990s, the show tried to keep as many original cast members as possible. Tommy, Kat, and Adam were all inMighty Morphin,Zeo, andTurbo, meaning they all got multiple forms in a short period. That said,Tommy was special in a lot of ways, from the fact he was the first Power Ranger to get a new color to his many returns in the 2000s and 2010s.
Tommy Needed A New Color After The Green Ranger’s Time On The Show Ended
There Was Only So Much Green Ranger Footage Available
The Green Ranger’sSuper Sentaicounterpart, Knight Burai, had a limited amount of screen time inZyuranger. The Dragon Ranger from the Japanese series was living on borrowed time, so he could only join his friends in battle so many times before he would eventually perish. This is whythe Green Ranger’s role inMighty Morphin Power Rangerswas very limited, with the show having to come up with excuses for Tommy not being around during certain battles. WhileMMPRincluded some original action scenes, they were running out of Green Ranger footage.
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MMPR Green
Considering that the Dragon Ranger dies inZyuranger,Power Rangerswas bound to write the Green Ranger out of the show eventually.WithMMPRincorporating footage fromDairangerin season 2, the American show decided to include a new sixth Ranger, the White Ranger. The original plan was for a brand-new character to be the White Ranger, but given how popularJason David Frank’s Tommy Oliverhad become,Power Rangersbrought the former Green Ranger back. With Austin St. John set to leave the show, the White Ranger became the teams' new leader.
Tommy Was Already The Face Of Power Rangers By The Time They Switched To Zeo
Tommy Became The Red Ranger In Power Rangers Zeo
After “The White Light,”Tommy would remain as the White Ranger until the end ofMighty Morphinseason 3.The White Ranger was also front and center in the 1995Power Rangersmovie, which came out between seasons 2 and 3 but is not considered canon.Mighty Morphin Power Rangershad 145 episodes, whereas theSuper Sentaiseason it was basedon only had 50. In other words, even with all the original extra footage,Power Rangerswould have to move to anotherSentaiat some point. Enter 1996’sPower Rangers Zeo, which had a slightly different color scheme.
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Denji Sentai Megaranger
With David Yost’s Billy stepping down from his role as a Power Ranger,Zeoinitially had five colors for five characters. Given how Tommy had been leading the team sinceMMPRseason 2, it only made sense for him to become the Zeo Red Ranger. Later in that season, Jason rejoined the Power Rangers, this time as the Zeo Gold Ranger. Interestingly, Jason and Tommy’s roles were now reversed –Tommy was the Red Rangerand the leader, whereas Jason was the extra Ranger with an arguably cooler costume.
Jason David Frank, Catherine Sutherland, Nakia Burrise, and Johnny Yong Bosch left the cast ofPower Rangers Turboin 1997, with their final episode being “Passing the Torch.”
By this point, Tommy had already used three different Ranger colors– green, white, and red. In 1997, the Power Rangers shifted intoTurbo, which had the same color scheme asPower Rangers Zeo. This transition happened inTurbo: A Power Rangers Movie, a canon film that served as “episode 1” for the new season. Tommy continued to be the Red Ranger in Turbo, marking his fourth Ranger form despite technically being the same color as inZeo. Midway throughTurbo, after Jason David Frank left the show, Selwyn Ward’s T.J. became the second Turbo Red Ranger.
Power Rangers Dino Thunder Game Tommy His 4th Ranger Form After 7 Years
Dino Thunder Black Was Tommy’s Fifth Power Rangers Form
Tommy Oliver showed up again inPower RangersWild Force’s “Forever Red,” his first appearance since Turbo’s “Passing The Torch.” A fan-favorite episode,“Forever Red” assembled all Red Rangerswe had met up until that point except for Rocky. Although a crossover of Red Rangers would not be complete without Tommy, it’s interesting how he was using his Zeo powers without any sort of explanation as to how or why.The fate of the Zeo crystals was never revealed on the show, with the Rangers simply switching to the Turbo powers in 1997.
T.J., despite having become the Blue Ranger inPower Rangers in Space, used his Turbo powers in “Forever Red.” Regardless of the lore questions raised by the episode, the fact is that “Forever Red” was an incredibly nostalgic reunion and is still regarded as one of the best episodes of the whole show over 20 years later.“Forever Red” was also the first time Tommy used one of his old powers, a trend that would continue in other team-up episodes.
Power Rangers In Order: How To Watch Every Series Chronologically & By Release Date
From Mighty Morphin to Cosmic Fury, here is how to watch every Power Rangers TV show in order, both chronologically and by release date.
However,it was only in 2004’sPower Rangers Dino Thunderthat Tommy got another brand-new form.Although it seemed like “Dr. Oliver” was going to be more of a Zordon character inDino Thunder, Tommy took only four episodes to suit up and get back in action.Dino Thunder’s Black Ranger was Tommy’s fourth Ranger color and his fifth form overall. Despite being an iconic character from the original show, Tommy was not the protagonist inDino Thunder. Instead, he acted as a mentor and role model to his students.
Most Of Tommy’s Power Rangers Colors Made A Comeback At Some Point
Tommy Continued To Use His Old Powers In Crossovers
The fact that Tommy appeared in so many seasons and had so many different powers allowed the show to keep bringing him back and playing with his legacy. For example,inDino Thunder’s “Fighting Spirit” episode, Tommy faced his fears and fought three of his previous forms– Mighty Morphin Green, Mighty Morphin White, and Zeo Red. InSuper Megaforce’s “Legendary Battle,” Tommy accessed his Green Ranger powers again and joined other legendary Rangers. InSuper Ninja Steel’s “Dimensions in Danger,” we were introduced to Tommy’s Master Morpher, which allowed him to use all of his previous powers.
It’s unclear when and how Tommy got the Master Morpher.
Tommy is the only known character in thePower Rangersuniverse with a Master Morphin, which makes sense considering that no one else has that many colors and powers. Bridge fromPower RangersS.P.D.comes in second with three colors – Green, Blue, and Red – yet these were from the same team. Likewise, Adam and Kat had three forms each but only two different colors.Power Rangersswitching colors became one of the show’s signature tropes, but Tommy’s record will most likely never be broken.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
