As of 2009 Power Rangers had been on the air for 16 years and 17 seasons since the premiere of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers back in 1993. At that time Disney had owned the franchise and Power Rangers RPM was the season on air. Disney had decided that they were done with the Power Rangers franchise after RPM and ended the show on its 700th episode.
Disney and Bandai still had one year left on their contract, however, so instead of making one last season with ABC and Bandai, Disney decided to make a reversion of the first season of the show, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993).
The season was nothing more than a re-edit of the same season that aired back in 1993. The “new” season included 32 episodes from the first season and ended on ‘A Star is Born’ that aired on the 17th anniversary of the show. The season also included new effects and Batman (1966)-esque graphics which were not well received by fans.
As stated previously Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (2010) was solely made for Disney to fulfill their contract with Bandai for the toys. So, when people say Power Rangers is a show just made for toys, in 2010, they would have been 100% correct.
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The toyline was probably the best part of this season. The line saw many characters who hadn’t had figures previously be represented such as Rita Repulsa and the Dragon Armor Black Ranger. The line also featured some exclusive figures/toys that weren’t even in the show such as the Dragon Armor Blue Ranger and some really weird vehicles that Bandai always loved to put out.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (2010) was also the season to introduce the Zord Builder line which allowed fans/collectors to combine their zords with any other compatible Megazord formation. The Zord Builder line was continued until the show’s 25th season, Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel.
The Mighty Morphin Samurai Rangers
Bandai even had plans to continue this line. When it looked like Power Rangers was longer going to be adapted in the states, the company had plans to use the suits from Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. That season was eventually adapted into Power Rangers Samurai when Saban bought back the franchise midway through 2010, so these toys were never used.
Looking at these potential toys it is really surreal to see the Mighty Morphin Rangers in the Samurai costumes. It also probably doesn’t help that each of them looks like they’ve just seen a ghost and are oddly happy about it.
It would have been interesting to see if Bandai would have tried to jerry-rig a new Power Rangers season with the footage they already had from MMPR and the footage from Shinkenger. It would have been near impossible but it would have been really interesting nonetheless.
When Saban bought back the franchise and started promoting Power Rangers Samurai near the end of 2010, they even considered Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (2010) as the 18th season of the show. This was changed when Power Rangers Megaforce was being promoted dubbing itself as the 20th season, retroactively making MMPR (2010) an extra season with no number.
MMPR (2010)’s Impact on the Franchise
Mighty Morphin Power Ranger’s (2010)‘s impact is an interesting one. No one really talks about it season, however, its impact can still be seen today if you look hard enough.
As stated previously, the Zord Builder line lasted from 2010 until 2018 and a similar toyline, the Zord Ascension Project, has recently been announced by the franchise’s current owner, Hasbro.
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This season also started the trend of trying the replicate the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Starting with Samurai and all the way up to this day the show has been replicating themes from the original season such as the comic relief, the rangers being teenagers, and the use of “Go Go Power Rangers”.
MMPR (2010) will probably forever be one of the weirdest parts of the Power Rangers franchise. However, it introduced fans like myself to the season that started it all. For that MMPR (2010) will always have a special place in my heart.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (2010) stars Austin St. John as Jason / the Red Ranger, Thuy Trang as Trini / the Yellow Ranger, Walter Emanuel Jones as Zack / the Black Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly / the Pink Ranger, David Yost as Billy / the Blue Ranger, Jason David Frank as Tommy / the Green Ranger, Paul Schrier as Bulk, Jason Narvy as Skull, David Fielding as Zordon, Machiko Soga as Rita Repulsa, and Richard Genelle as Ernie.
What are your thoughts on the 2010 reversion of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Let us know in the comments below! Also, be sure to follow The Illuminerdi on social media to be notified of more Power Rangers content like this in the near future!
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