Power Rangers has proven that anyone can be a hero, but there are some who stand out above the rest.
Throughout the years we were introduced to several Power Rangers who made lasting impressions on us, some who intrigued us, some who had heartbreaking backstories, some with flawed personality traits, and some who just exuded the wow factor.
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With Hasbro’s ambitious plans to relaunch the Power Rangers franchise beginning with Jonathan Entwhistle’s reboot, there’ll be so many opportunities for spin-offs that can go in any direction. Hopefully, we can soon see one of our favorite Power Rangers lead their own movie or series.
Power Rangers With Solo Potential
Let’s look at prospective fan-favorite rangers with the potential to drive their own standalone adventures. Before we go any further, I must let you know that I won’t be including Tommy on this list, as iconic as he may be, due to how integrated his history is with the Power Rangers. We love him, but he’s already had plenty of side stories.
Now without further ado, let’s begin. The following list is in no particular order.
1) Billy Cranston
The original Blue Ranger has been so much more than a valuable member of the team. He went above and beyond helping the Rangers with his scientific and technological expertise. He has proven himself capable of being a leader or even mentor within his own right on multiple occasions, especially in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3 and Power Rangers Zeo.
Unfortunately, Billy lost his ability to morph at the beginning of Zeo, while his days as a Power Ranger might be over, his story may not be. Close to the end of Power Rangers Zeo, Billy left Earth for Aquitar to cure a condition that was causing him to age at an alarmingly rapid rate, and be with an Aquitian named Cestria, the love of his life who he’s possibly married to by now.
It’ll be interesting to see what he’s been up to since then. I’m sure not everything has been nice and smooth in Aquitar, and there must have been one or two intergalactic conflicts Billy had to resolve.
2) Kimberly Hart
Kimberly had her own spin-off in the comics not too long ago thanks to Boom Studios, where we saw her thrust into another adventure as she regained her Pink Ranger Powers. Also, there’s an alternate reality where Kimberly was brainwashed by Lord Drakkon into becoming The Ranger Slayer. But don’t worry, she broke free from that brainwashing.
Believe me, there’s no shortage of material for Kimberly either way.
3) Trey of Triforia/Gold Zeo Ranger I
There are so many Gold Rangers, it’s almost ridiculous, but who can ever forget the original. Before the legendary Jason Lee Scott carried the mantle, there was Trey of Triforia. Many of us wondered about the true identity of the first Gold Zeo Ranger for a while.
Zeo writers had their fair share of fun as they threw in all sorts of misdirection. First, we thought he was Billy, then we thought he was Tommy’s brother, David Truehart, at one point we even thought Skull was the Gold Ranger.
As it turned out, it was none of them, it was the then-newcomer, Trey of Triforia, but we’re still not sure about how exactly he got his powers, We know he got them back from Jason, however, we’re unsure about his current status. It’s quite possible that the original Gold Zeo Ranger remains very active fighting against evil forces.
4) The Phantom Ranger
Who is The Phantom Ranger? None of us know. Up to this day, no one knows who he is or how he came to be. Power Rangers writer Shuki Levy wanted him to be the embodiment of fallen rangers, while another writer, Judd Lynn wanted him to be none other than Billy Cranston. None of those plans came to fruition due to creative constraints.
There were also plans to reveal his identity in the finale of Power Rangers In Space, but that too did not happen. Boom Studios has been putting their own spin on the character’s backstory in the comics, revealing him to be someone called the Morphinaut in a past life.
Overall, there’s not much of anything concrete about the Phantom Ranger’s background, so Hasbro has free rein to do what they want with him should they desire to reintroduce the character.
5) Astronema/Karone
The once princess of darkness is one of the roundest characters in the entire series to date. She’s the only character to transition from being a primary villain to being a full-fledged Power Ranger in a memorable tale of redemption.
Karone was kidnapped at a young age and raised to become the villainous Astronema. After numerous series of unfortunate events including brainwashing and sacrifice, she eventually turned good after reuniting with her brother, Andros in Power Rangers In Space. Karone later returned to become the second Pink Lost Galaxy Ranger following Kendrix’s tragic death and heroic sacrifice in the following season, Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.
A limited series chronicling Karone’s life between the events of In Space and Lost Galaxy, or even just a prequel about her as young Astronema growing up, could be a masterpiece.
6) The Magna Defender( No Not You Mike)
The Magna Defender was the first anti-hero in Power Rangers history. He’s a traumatized warrior with powers not unlike the Power Rangers who lost his son to the alien warlord, Scorpius.
With the right script, that story has the potential to be adapted into a huge hit like The Mandalorian and could invite new fans into the Power Rangers fandom. A story about a mysterious flawed hero burdened with trauma trying to quench his thirst for vengeance will always have the potential to be compelling.
7) Eric Myers/Quantum Ranger
Take a moment and imagine what would happen if Clint Eastwood decided to make his own Power Ranger. That would basically be Eric Myers, The Quantum Ranger.
Eric is also an Anti-hero just like the Magna Defender. He isn’t motivated by vengeance or a righteous cause, but by selfishness, petty jealousy, and blind ambition. He grew up poor and is envious of his former schoolmate, Wes Collins, The Red Time Force Ranger. Eric became the Quantum Ranger after stealing the Quantum Morpher in his one-sided rivalry with Wes.
Eric was the “lone gunman” type, and his mannerisms alone felt very neo-western. Fortunately, he grows into a true hero but still remains very stubborn. Who doesn’t enjoy an antihero every once in awhile?
8) Jen Scotts/Pink Time Force Ranger
Jen is a legend in Power Rangers, and rightfully so. She’s the first and only pink ranger thus far to be a team leader, and second female leader overall following Delphine of The Aquitian Rangers.
Jen was a Time Force cadet from the year 3000. She became the leader of the Time Force Rangers after her fiancée, Alex, was seemingly murdered by Ransik. She and other Rangers prioritized hunting down Ransik, who escaped to the year 2001 – where she met Wes, an ancestor of Alex. She chose Wes to become the new Red ranger because his DNA was needed to unlock their chrono-morphers.
Later down the line, she fell in love with Wes in a timeless tale of a woman being entangled in a love triangle with a man and one of his great grandfathers. As much as we’d love to see that love triangle play out again, I think it’d be interesting to see Jen’s origin story, how she was recruited to Time Force, and how she met Alex.
9) The Thunder Rangers
Here we have a two-for-one special. The Bradley Brothers, otherwise known as The Thunder Rangers. These guys are a package deal: you can’t have one, it’s all or none.
The Bradley Brothers were students of The Thunder Ninja Academy. These two made the Wind Ninja Rangers’ lives difficult after Lothor framed the Wind Sensei for the murder of the Thunder Rangers’ Parents. After they learned the truth, they left on a journey of self-discovery before returning to join forces with the Wind Rangers.
There’s still a lot of we don’t know about the Thunder Rangers that should be explored.
10) RJ/ Wolf Ranger
RJ is the closest thing that Power Rangers has to IP Man. He’s an unstoppable Kung Fu Beast who exerts little to no effort. He’s young and wise with nearly unbreakable composure. He’s a valued ranger and master to the Jungle Fury team.
RJ commands the Wolf Spirit much to the chagrin of his father, Master Finn, who commands the Shark spirit. In addition to RJ’s wisdom and natural talent, he’s quite relatable. He’s a free spirit who unapologetically paves his own path. There are so many aspects of RJ’s persona that people can resonate with today.
Of course, all of this is wishful thinking on my part but how awesome would it be to see any of those things come to fruition? Whatever Power Rangers has in store for us, I look forward to it. It’ll be great if Power Rangers becomes as successful as Marvel or Star Wars.
Which Ranger would you like to see get their own spin-off? Let us know and tell us why in the comments below. if you like what you read, be sure to follow us on Twitter or Facebook so you don’t miss more Power Rangers content like this in the future!
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