Unveiling the Shocking Secrets of Power Rangers You Never Saw Coming

Rewatching the original season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as an adult can lead to some unexpected revelations. This season introduced a unique approach by combining scenes from the Japanese Super Sentai franchise with an original storyline filmed in the United States. Despite its low budget and unconventional strategy, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers would ultimately pave the way for a hugely successful franchise.

From its inception, Power Rangers has always been targeted towards a younger audience. Consequently, certain narrative choices are not meant to be scrutinized too closely. However, revisiting earlier seasons, particularly Mighty Morphin, can unveil some of the series' underlying truths and strip away its enchantment.

10 Zordon Recruited Kids To Fight Deadly Battles

Zordon's decisions as the Power Rangers mentor have sparked controversy. He chose to recruit five high school teenagers to fight against a powerful intergalactic witch, despite her previous defeat of Zordon himself. This decision stood in contrast to later Power Rangers series, which featured characters who had trained from a young age. Zordon's leadership style can be compared to Marvel's Professor X, as he serves as both a father figure and a commanding officer to his team.

In the Power Rangers comics, Zordon's choice to recruit "five teenagers with attitude" to combat Rita Repulsa's return is even more surprising. The comics reveal that Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Kimberly were not the first Power Rangers on Earth. Zordon had previously assembled a team of Power Rangers during the Cold War and sent them on a mission to the moon. Unfortunately, only one of the original five Rangers survived this mission. Interestingly, it wasn't until Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, the first Power Rangers season after Zordon's era, that the series introduced a team of adult Rangers within its universe.

9 Rita Repulsa Could Have Super-sized Her Monsters From The Start

Zordon and Rita, who had a long history together, had an unspoken agreement to avoid escalating the conflict. Both leaders understood that rapidly increasing the intensity of the battle would not be beneficial for either side. Zordon had the ability to send the Power Rangers into battle with all their Zords and attack Rita's Bandora Palace, but this would risk provoking a full-scale war with enemies like Lord Zedd and Dark Specter. Similarly, Rita likely feared that constantly unleashing giant monsters and destroying Angel Grove would push Zordon to take drastic measures.

8 The Original Power Rangers Team Hasn't Aged Well

Power Rangers faced controversy regarding the casting of the Yellow and Black Rangers, as they were played by a Vietnamese-American actor and a Black actor respectively. It is worth mentioning that Thuy Trang was not the original actress for the character Trini in the pilot of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but rather Audri Dubois. Furthermore, Walter Emanuel Jones, who portrayed Zack, the Black Ranger, has expressed that he did not perceive his casting as racist and takes pride in his role. However, Power Rangers had to undergo significant changes to improve representation and cultural sensitivity.

For instance, there were instances in Power Rangers episodes where Trini's background inaccurately referenced elements from multiple Asian countries without explicitly defining her family's origins. Additionally, it was not until Power Rangers Turbo in 1997 that a Black actor, Selwyn Ward as T.J., assumed the role of team leader as the Red Ranger. This change occurred during the latter half of Power Rangers Turbo when the original Mighty Morphin-era actors left the show.

7 The Power Rangers Were Bullies Too

Bulk and Skull, the notorious bullies and comic relief characters, were a constant presence throughout the Zordon Era, primarily within the confines of Angel Grove High School. Surprisingly, the Power Rangers themselves could dish out their fair share of mistreatment towards Bulk and Skull. In fact, many of the original episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers concluded with the Rangers playing pranks on the duo, ranging from smearing their faces with cake to pilfering a valuable videotape that could have potentially brought them great wealth.

6 The American Power Rangers Costumes Looked Too Cheap

Most of the action sequences in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were adapted from Kyouryu Sentai Zyuranger, giving the show a unique style that still endures today. This means that whenever the Power Rangers appeared in their morphed forms on-screen, viewers were actually watching footage from the Japanese series Zyuranger. However, since Zyuranger only had 50 episodes, Mighty Morphin eventually had to find new ways to keep the show going. One of those strategies involved filming original action scenes in Los Angeles using Power Rangers costumes.

Most of the Ranger action in seasons 2 and 3 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers primarily featured American footage rather than Sentai footage. However, the Zord battles continued to be sourced from Super Sentai shows. One issue that arose was the notable disparity in quality between the American Power Rangers costumes and their Japanese counterparts. This discrepancy was particularly evident in the Green Ranger's Dragon Shield, which consistently appeared subpar in the original Mighty Morphin footage.

5 Every Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episode Was The Same

The episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, particularly those in season 1, followed a predictable pattern. The Rangers would gather at Ernie's Juice Bar, engage in a battle with the Putty Patrollers, confront the monster, and then transform into their superhero forms. The ultimate showdown with the Megazord would be followed by the Rangers returning to the Juice Bar, where they would share laughter over the antics of Bulk and Skull. However, as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers entered its third season, the show started to evolve due to an increased amount of original footage. It was in Power Rangers in Space that the series truly broke free from this established formula.

4 Power Rangers’ Transition Into Sentai Footage Was Easy To Notice

Every Power Rangers fan probably remembers the moment they discovered that most of the scenes from their beloved TV shows were actually taken from a different show. However, upon rewatching Power Rangers as an adult, it becomes evident that it was quite easy to distinguish when the transition occurred from Mighty Morphin and its sequels to Sentai footage. In the early seasons of Power Rangers, there was minimal effort to align the background of the Rangers with the action sequences from Sentai. Additionally, the Rangers would occasionally behave in ways that were out of character. Fortunately, recent Power Rangers seasons have improved in seamlessly incorporating Sentai footage into the episodes.

The timeline between Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Turbo is unclear, but it is evident that several years have passed. Despite this, the Power Rangers continue to attend high school in the Turbo season, giving the illusion that no time has gone by. It is worth noting that the original cast members, who were already adults during Mighty Morphin, appear too old to be portraying high school students in Turbo. This issue was resolved by introducing a new cast for Turbo and shifting the setting to space in Power Rangers in Space.

2 The Power Rangers Wasted A Lot Of Time Morphing

What happens during the Power Rangers' morphing process is a complex question within Power Rangers lore. The depiction of morphing sequences varies across different Power Rangers stories, leading to multiple interpretations. The movie Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie implied that the morphing sequence occurs in real-time, while Power Rangers: Once & Always suggested that it is actually much faster in "real life" than what is visually portrayed in the show. Regardless, the Power Rangers do spend a significant amount of time morphing. In more recent events, Tommy and Billy faced an attack while in the process of morphing in the BOOM! Power Rangers comics.

1 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Reused A Lot Of Footage

Not only was Mighty Morphin Power Rangers highly formulaic and predictable, but it also heavily relied on recycled footage. The moments where the Rangers summoned their zords or when the Megazord was formed were repeatedly shown in almost every episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, using the exact same footage. Despite the episodes having a runtime of 22 minutes, the actual new content in a new Power Rangers episode amounted to less than 20 minutes, excluding the intro and the reused footage. In more recent seasons of Power Rangers, the reuse of footage is done in a more subtle manner.