Power Rangers is always seemed to be compared to its Japanese origin series, that being Super Sentai. However, we’ve seen this American adaptation create elements that would be exclusive to the show, whether it’s a new cockpit, a new bike, or a new power-up for the Red Ranger, what we know as the Battilizer. The ultimate creation a Power Rangers season could have though, would be its own exclusive Power Ranger not seen in Super Sentai.
The first one in existence can be seen in season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers with the Dark Rangers or in Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue with the Titanium Ranger. But, there could have been a creation before the Titanium Ranger, one that would’ve had the helm of the first exclusive Sixth Ranger in Power Rangers history, and it could’ve been held by one of the most iconic villains in the series.
How Karone Was Almost the Purple Ranger in Power Rangers
The world knows Astronema as being one of the main villains in Power Rangers In Space. From the planet KO-35, she was the sister of the Red Ranger, Andros. She would fight her brother and the rest of his team throughout the duration of the season and have many different fun hair colors along the way.
In the final episode “Countdown to Destruction“, we see her character ultimately get defeated, and return to her human form as Karone. She would eventually rock a purple-colored uniform, like the rest of the Rangers. Now, even though we wouldn’t see her suit up as a Purple In Space Ranger, she would have the chance in the next season to suit up herself.
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We would see Melody Perkins, the actress of Astronema and Karone, return during Power Rangers Lost Galaxy as the second Galaxy Pink Ranger. But, it didn’t have to be this way. In an interview with The Illuminerdi’s Joe Deckelmeier, the actor who played Andros, Christopher Khayman Lee, mentioned plans the production team had of introducing Karone as the new Galaxy Purple Ranger.
Considering there was a team-up episode between both In Space and Lost Galaxy teams, it’s possible this could be true. However, it’s not what happened, as there were a lot of problems during the production of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy that could’ve stopped this.
The most notable issue is the departure of the actress Valerie Vernon who played Kendrix Morgan, the first Galaxy Pink. She had to depart the show due to her being diagnosed with leukemia and having to leave for treatment. Now, without a Pink Ranger, their first choice was to reintroduce the Pink In Space Ranger, Cassie, as the next Galaxy Pink.
The episode where Kendrix died was originally supposed to lead onto the episode where Cassie would take the role. That didn’t come to fruition as the actress Patricia Ja Lee was not happy with the pay of the show. They even had episodes already written for her where she would be the next Pink Ranger having issues with the rest of the Lost Galaxy team. This led the production team to use Melody Perkins as the second Galaxy Pink for the rest of the season.
Would we have seen both Cassie and Karone team up as Pink and Purple together? That would’ve been interesting, considering how they were enemies in the last season. Purple was Astronema’s color, at least the one most people remember her by, so it makes so much sense to see Karone become a Purple Ranger. Considering if that were to happen, the writers would have to explain what happened to the purple Quasar Saber and how Karone found it.
After being more than thirty episodes into the show, the production team probably didn’t find it valuable to introduce a brand new Ranger into the mix, especially after losing a core member of the cast. And with the season-ending on episode 45, a near fifteen episodes wouldn’t be enough to flesh out and grow a whole new Ranger.
For comparison, the Titanium Ranger was introduced only after ten episodes of the show had already aired, probably introducing the team and its powers and zords, giving the rest of the season to fit in a Sixth Ranger.
This is probably where all the attention of the team went, giving more love to the next season and its new hero, and leaving Lost Galaxy to quickly fix its shortcomings and reintroduce a villain as a replacement rather than going full circle and having a brand new Purple Ranger.
How would you reintroduce the villain Astronema as the new Purple Ranger? Would the comics ever have this happen? Let us know your thoughts on social media, or in the comments below, and check out my video for more info on this unsolved mystery, and keep following The Illuminerdi for more Power Rangers content.
KEEP READING: POWER RANGERS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE SIXTH PSYCHO RANGER
