The Mystery of Power Rangers Always Wearing Their Colors

The Visual Identity of Power Rangers

One of the oldest and most confusing Power Rangers tropes is why the Rangers are always wearing their respective colors, even when in their civilian clothes. Although some Power Rangers characters are public heroes, such as the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers or the S.P.D. ones, most Rangers have a secret identity. Therefore, in theory, they should avoid associating themselves with their Ranger colors and not the other way around.

Evil Ranger Ollie and the Power Rangers Cosmic Fury cast

Between story beats inherited from the Super Sentai shows and narrative approaches the American franchise took, Power Rangers has countless gimmicks. From the monster of the week to the Zords only showing up at the end, some things are part of the franchise’s charm. This includes the way the Power Rangers dress.

A custom image featuring Jason in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Dino Charge Blue, the Mighty Morphin Red, and the Dino Charge Red Rangers

Power Rangers Wearing Their Colors Is Part Of The Show’s Visual Identity. Although the franchise’s lore welcomes fans of any age, Power Rangers has always been aimed at younger audiences. This applies to every season of the show, from Mighty Morphin to Cosmic Fury. As a result, Power Rangers features some of the most classic tropes viewers can find in series aimed at children, including having the main characters always wear the same outfits. This gimmick, which is even more common in animated shows due to budget constraints, sees the main characters always wearing the same colors and clothes, thus making them easily recognizable. It’s a simple trick that can establish a show’s visual identity. Some Power Rangers seasons take this approach to an extreme and have the characters always wearing the same outfits in every episode, with little to no exceptions. This includes, for example, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, during which Leo would always have his red T-shirt and blue shirt, or Damian would always be wearing his Terra Venture mechanic uniform. This also happened during Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue which, despite showing a lot of the Rangers’ civilian lives, always had them wearing the same pieces of clothes – such as Dana’s pink shirt or Carter’s red sweater. Other Rangers were often in uniform, such as the Ninja Storm or S.P.D. ones.

A custom Power Rangers image featuring Tommy Oliver, the In Sapce Rangers, and Zack Taylor

The In-Universe Mystery

For seasons like In Space, Ninja Storm, and S.P.D., the reason for the Rangers to always be wearing their colors is simple – it is their uniform. The “problem” comes when they continue to wear those colors in their civilian lives regardless of the occasion. There is no in-universe reason for the Power Rangers to always wear their signature colors, especially outside their Ranger work, neither in the TV shows nor in the comics. The BOOM! Power Rangers comics have solved a lot of lore mysteries, including major plot holes, yet the Ranger color trope has not been addressed – only joked about.

Conner McKnight in Power Rangers Dino Thunder

This gimmick becomes even more tricky to decipher when considering some Power Rangers were associated with their colors before they became Rangers. For example, Trip from Power Rangers Time Force had green hair and eventually became the Green Ranger. Even Power Rangers’ Tommy Oliver, the original Green Ranger, was already spotting green clothes even before he was kidnapped by Rita Repulsa and given a corrupted Power Coin. In other words, trying to make sense of Power Rangers’ costume gimmick from a story perspective will not lead to consistent answers. Not even the Morphin Grid, which is often the show’s Deus ex Machina, can solve this mystery.

TJ, Ashley, Andros, Cassie, and Carlos standing inside the Astro Megaship in Power Rangers in Space

Self-Awareness and Meta Jokes

Although Power Rangers never provided a canon answer for the heroes to be terrible at keeping their identities a secret, the show has made meta jokes about it a couple of times. For example, in Dino Thunder’s 'Back In Black,' Dr. Oliver becomes the Black Ranger and goes back to action for the first time in years. At the end of the episode, Tommy, who by then had been the Green, White, and Red Rangers in other seasons, says that he opened his closet and noticed he didn’t have enough black T-shirts. From the next episode onward, Tommy would always wear black.

Dino Thunder Black Ranger, Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver, and Mighty Morphin White Ranger

Cosmic Fury, the most recent Power Rangers season, found a clever to justify the Rangers wearing the same colors all the time – but under very specific circumstances. The Cosmic Fury characters were inside a base that was secretly a spaceship and were sent to another galaxy. Away from their homes and with only a few pieces of clothing on the ship, the Rangers spent most of the season wearing the same outfits. Unlike previous seasons, where the Rangers simply chose to repeat their fashion style every day, Cosmic Fury at least tried to integrate this gimmick into the story in a fun, almost meta way.

The Zeo Power Rangers and Tommy Oliver in Dino Thunder

Most Power Rangers seasons are streaming on Power Rangers' official YouTube channel.