The new Blue Ranger for the Omega Rangers in the Power Rangers series of comics for Boom! Studios has been revealed and it may be the franchise’s wackiest Ranger yet.
The character is a giant alien cat known as Yale of Saard. Yale was first introduced in Go Go Power Rangers Issue #31. Yale is an alien from the world of Saard who was empowered by the Morphin Grid after the events of Shattered Grid.
The Omega Rangers were initially sent to Saard to apprehend Yale because of this connection. He proved too strong and the original Omega Blue Ranger, Kiya was sent to weaken him.
Yale was later released from the Omega Rangers as he was no longer empowered by the Morphin Grid and eventually became an ally to the Omega Rangers.
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Yale isn’t removed from the grid for long as in Power Rangers #12, just when all hope seems lost for the Omega Rangers, Yale emerges from a portal revealing himself to be the new Blue Omega Ranger. Yale replaces Kiya, the Blue Omega Ranger before them, who betrayed the team in a previous story arc.
Yale becoming the new Blue Ranger is a very interesting twist. It will be quite interesting to see how they will be interacting with the team going forward into the upcoming Eltarian War storyline.
Other Cat Themed Rangers In Power Rangers History
Yale of Saard, believe it or not, is actually not the first cat-themed Ranger or even the first cat-like species to become a Ranger in the history of Power Rangers.
Probably the most similar to Yale would be Kat Manx from Power Rangers SPD who morphed into the SPD Kat Ranger in Episode 29: Katastrophe. Another fun fact is that she can be considered the first Orange Ranger in the franchise as Lord Drakkon refers to her as an Orange Ranger in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid despite her costume mostly consisting of the color white.
Another example of this comes from Kat Hillard (yes both cat Rangers have been named Kat) from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. In the show, Kat is used as a part of one of Rita Repulsa’s evil schemes where she brainwashed Kat and turned her into an actual cat to trick the Rangers who take her in as their pet.
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Kat was even given a monster form named Katastrophe. Okay, seriously what is up with all of the similarities between MMPR Kat and SPD Kat? Anyway, the Rangers are eventually able to save Kat from Rita’s clutches and she becomes the new Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger.
While the characters aren’t cats themselves, Power Rangers Jungle Fury also had quite a few cat-themed rangers with the main three rangers being based on a tiger, a jaguar, cheetah. Also, a villain and later ally in the season, Jarrod / Dai-Shi / The Wolf Warrior, was based on a lion.
So, it seems like Yale is actually joining quite a long line of cat-themed Rangers in the franchise. Maybe we could see all of the cat-themed Rangers come together for an epic ‘Forever Cat’ crossover event! No, just me? Okay…
What are your thoughts on Yale of Saard joining the Omega Rangers as the new Blue Ranger? Let us know in the comments below! Also, be sure to follow The Illuminerdi on social media to be notified of more Power Rangers news and updates like this in the future!
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