It's Time For The Power Rangers to Morph Into a More Mature Adaptation

When I was younger, I was obsessed with Power Rangers. I had multiple toys and collectibles from the series and even copied Kimberly’s hair and clothing styles. I wore t-shirts and shoes that featured the rangers, and I even had several toys and video games based on the franchise. I was even the pink ranger for Halloween.

At some point, I outgrew the show, but I still felt nostalgic about it. I remember feeling both scared and excited when I heard about the 2017 movie that promised to be a more mature take on the story of the original Power Rangers. I even held onto the hope that it might be decent after seeing the new costumes. While it wasn’t a terrible movie, it wasn’t what I wanted as a fan of the original.

In fact, when I was finished watching the movie, I couldn’t help wondering who the target audience was. It couldn’t have been the fans of the 90s tv show, because it changed so much that the franchise was barely recognizable. It couldn’t have been entirely for new fans either, because they threw in enough references to tie to it the old tv show, such as a cameo by Jason David Frank and Amy Jo Johnson and an after-credits scene featuring Tommy Oliver’s name being called in detention.

The newest movie made me realize that the Power Rangers franchise is one of many that could benefit from a more ‘grown-up’ adaptation. While the original show was intended to sell action figures, there were a few rich storylines sprinkled among its monster of the week format. The green ranger arc alone would be ripe for a more mature retelling.

Upon rewatching the show, I find it odd that none of the rangers objected to being a ranger beyond the first episode. It seems like being a ranger would disrupt their normal life so much that at least one of them would protest. They’d have to cancel dates or leave while they were in the middle of something they had planned. If they tried to date a normal person, that person probably wouldn’t have been as understanding.

None of the power rangers seem to have ‘real’ conflicts. No one gets angry when they’re repeatedly canceled on. The Power Rangers also seem to be universally loved, because no one has a harsh word to say about them. What if one of their friends or family members thought negatively about the power rangers? What if Ernie or Bulk and Skull believed the rangers were up to no good? What if a news channel reported that the power rangers were to blame for all the monsters attacking Angel Grove?

Containing the monsters to Angel Grove also creates another problem, it would make the Power Rangers’ identities easier to figure out. There were many times upon rewatching that I noticed the rangers talking on their wristwatches or morphing in public. They even dressed in the color of their corresponding ranger, and no one so much as made a comment about how much they liked the color they constantly wore.

I also found it odd that no one aside from Bulk and Skull cared about who the Power Rangers were. If the Power Rangers were real, there would be cash rewards offered for anyone who could expose who the rangers were. In the original show, Zordon tells them no one must find out who they are, but the viewers are never given the chance to explore a storyline where they are exposed. Would they be forced to give up the protection offered by the power coins, or would they figure out a better way to hide from the public?

The rangers never complain about the constant danger they’re in or complain that they’re too young to have the responsibility of saving the world. None of the rangers question why they were selected, beyond the first episode. They also blindly follow Zordon’s command without questioning him. No one even objects to Jason being chosen as their leader, but what if Zack or even Kimberly wanted that role? It would add an interesting new conflict to have the rangers question Zordon and his motives, especially if that meant that Zordon wasn’t completely innocent, and Rita had a reason for her actions.

Then there’s the most well-known storyline in the entire series, the green power ranger saga. What if the green ranger hurt or killed one of the power rangers while fighting for Rita? Would Kimberly and the rest of the power rangers be so quick to forgive him? What if Rita separated his evil side from his good side when Tommy was losing his powers?

What about introducing the new pink ranger, Catherine? She stole Kimberly’s power coin while under Rita’s spell. What if stealing the power coin had resulted in something more serious, like the death of the original pink ranger? Would the rangers be willing to welcome her into their group, knowing she caused them to lose one of their own?

The original Power Rangers series had many episodes where the rangers were attacked, such as Kimberly’s purse being turned into a monster. Despite Rita constantly plotting to get rid of the Power Rangers, I never felt that any of them were in danger. Killing one of the original rangers, and leaving them dead, would hold more weight than any of the storylines we’ve seen before.

A more mature retelling would also make room for weak plotlines to be strengthened. One of the weakest storylines was the introduction of the first new rangers, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. The original show introduced the trio quickly and featured very little footage of Jason, Zack, and Trini.

I realize that this poor storyline is because of behind-the-scenes drama, but I believe those characters deserved better. After coming to terms with being a power ranger, why would they be so eager to give it up? None of them felt conflicted about stepping down, not even Jason, who was once the leader of the Power Rangers. Instead, the trio was noticeably missing, sometimes even being replaced with stock footage.

Rocky, Adam, and Aisha never question whether they want to be rangers. In fact, they have little personality when they’re first introduced. If they were introduced over time, it would have had a greater impact on the story. I realized upon rewatching the show that I never cared about the three newer Power Rangers, only that the old ones were leaving. In fact, I stopped watching the show shortly after they were introduced. Maybe I would have kept watching if I felt a connection to those characters.

I do want to address the elephant in the room, the short Power Rangers fan film that was released on YouTube in 2015. It caused quite a stir upon its release and even had a few of the original Power Rangers actors speaking out.

While the fan film is technically more ‘adult’ because of its constant violence, I don’t believe it does the fans justice. It’s short, so I knew there wasn’t a lot of time to develop the story, but I wasn’t expecting the story to be an afterthought. We don’t even see much of the characters in costume either, as most of the ‘story’ revolved around former ranger Rocky interrogating the first pink ranger, Kimberly.

The film showed promise, but instead of giving the adult fans a fleshed-out story, it did little more than show flashes of how each ranger died. Why did each ranger have to die? It doesn’t make sense that all the power rangers except for Tommy would die when they’ve been fighting to protect the earth since they were teenagers. I understand that this was probably done to show how much stronger Tommy was than the other rangers, but it made little sense. It also didn’t sit well with me as a fan to watch characters I cared about being killed one by one. It was as if they’d taken every promising idea they had and thrown it out in favor of violence. Watching the short made me feel the same way I did after watching Mortal Kombat Rebirth: disappointed.

While I will not hold my breath for a more adult reboot, I think we deserve one. After all, we’re the ones buying the action figures now. There aren’t any shows for adults that come close to being what the Power Rangers were to us as kids, so the show would be unique. The plotline wouldn’t have to be rushed if they did a tv show instead of a movie, and they’d get to introduce more mature themes for their adult audience.

Some of the old cast has even expressed a desire to come back, and it would be nice to see them in cameos or reprising their roles while fighting one of Rita’s monsters. Anything is possible within the Power Rangers’ universe. Also, wouldn’t it be cool to see a new Zordon, portrayed by Jason David Frank?