The Dragon and the Falcon

~~And you Tommy are the falcon, wing lord of the skies - Dulcea (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (1995)).

Without a doubt, I would tell anyone that this moment from the 1995 Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers movie is one of my favorite moments from the Power Rangers franchise. I love how it establishes the role of leadership for my all time favorite Power Ranger, Tommy Oliver, portrayed by the legendary Jason David Frank. This past Sunday the world loss Jason David Frank and like countless other fans, I was overwhelmed with sadness at the passing of such an amazing person. His passing inspired me to write an article celebrating his life, work, and impact that made him so beloved to the world.

Jason David Frank was born on September 4th, 1973 in Covina, California. He first garnered the world's attention when he was casted as the Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver on the Haim Saban hit tv series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers in 1993. Originally Tommy Oliver was only supposed to be featured in the series for 14 episodes, but due to how popular the character had grown over the course of those 14 episodes the show's creators decided that Tommy needed to stay for good and they even made him the new leader of the team.

From the time it was first born in 1993, the Power Rangers brand, created by Haim Saban has been a cultural phenomenon that is still alive and running at this very moment. It has been a staple on television fan culture for going on 30 years and it will never fade away. Though the die hard fans such as myself enjoyed everything and everyone in the show growing up, if you had to ask most fans who was their favorite ranger was, most of us from the original days would say Tommy Oliver, portrayed by Jason David Frank.

Tommy Oliver originally debuted on the show in 1993 as a brainwashed classmate of the five core Power Ranger characters, who was being used as a weapon in the form of the Green Dragon Ranger to destroy the Power Rangers. After pushing them to the limits, eventually the Power Rangers were able to undo the powerful manipulation over Tommy and he would eventually become an ally who helps the group. Of course his popularity would lead to him not only becoming a member of the team, but also the new leader of the Power Rangers and fans could not have been happier.

Over the course of the next two years the popularity of the Power Rangers would continue to grow with Tommy eventually making his transition from the Green Dragon Ranger to the White Falcon Ranger by season two of the series and the soaring popularity of the series would become even more visible with the 1995 big screen adaptation of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie.

I was only 2 years old when this movie came out and yet I still remember its impact like it was just yesterday. My dad took me to the movies to see it and I actually remember being afraid of the film's villain, Ivan Ooze in the theater. This movie was probably one of the most unexpected cult classics ever. Even watching it years later the film still holds up great. As the Power Rangers series eventually made its transition into its spinoff series Zeo Rangers, more than half of the original line up of the Power Rangers cast had departed from the show for various reasons, but one of the remaining few who was still with us fans was Jason David Frank. It would be Jason Frank's continued future with the brand that became a defining trait of what kind of man he truly was.

Over the course of the next 2 decades the Power Rangers brand took on many different shapes, sizes and colors in the generations that followed, nevertheless its style stayed true to its roots. Part of never forgetting where the brand came from was always having Jason David Frank periodically reprise his role as Tommy Oliver through many future incarnations of the Power Rangers franchise. Tommy Oliver represented the spirit of what the Power Rangers were all about like no other. I cannot express how many fights were started between friends on playgrounds when kids would imitate the Power Rangers and everyone would bicker over who was going to be Tommy. Of course the spirit of Tommy Oliver was nothing without Jason David Frank.

Jason David Frank captivated fans not just because of how well he played Tommy, but because of his authentic self that he brought to the character. In real life, Jason David Frank really was quite the mixed martial artist. He was a well known expert of karate, taekwondo, judo and jiu jitsu, among other fighting styles. His love and dedication to mixed martial arts built a strong connection between himself and countless others who admired him.

An uncomfortable truth about a lot of stars who are attached to a certain brand or franchise is that they do not share the same fondness for the brand for which they are known for as much as their fans, but this was not the case for Jason David Frank. In his social media interactions and post he always expressed his love and support for the Power Rangers brand and his role as Tommy Oliver. For us fans it was him telling us thank you and expressing his gratitude for the brand and support that propelled him to a successful path in life.

Not many stars that we admire are as down to earth as we imagine them to be, but most fans who met Jason David Frank would tell you the opposite about him. You would always find Jason David Frank at a convention like Comic Con or just out in public always taking photos and conversing with fans no different than the average person. In 2019 I had the pleasure of going to GalaxyCon in Raleigh for the first time ever. Many famous celebrities were there as they always are and one of the main stars that everyone was most anxious to see was Jason David Frank, who was there in attendance. Given that he is one of my heroes of the 90’s I wanted to meet him if I could, but his line for fans coming to meet him was so long that I could not have met him without not being able to enjoy the rest of the convention, but I did atleast get to see him and I was thankful for that much.

During my time at GalaxyCon I talked to a few fellow fans who had the pleasure of meeting Jason David Frank in person and they all had positive remarks about him. After talking with a couple of them I thought to myself “wow, he really is a great person in real life, it’s not an act and it’s not a facade, it’s really who he is”. Something that gave me a sense of personal connection with Jason David Frank was learning that he was Christian by faith and that he started a church life after the death of his brother. I too am Christian by faith and have been my whole life and learning about the pain of loss that brought him to that path was a story I could relate to all too well.

When a famous name passes away most people can remember where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. I honestly cannot remember where I was or what exactly I was doing when I saw the news that Jason David Frank had passed away. I just remember the overwhelming feelings of shock and disbelief engulfing me. I could not even allow myself to web surf and pull up verification to see if it was true, I didn't want it to be true and I knew that once the news was confirmed that there was no going back.

As the seconds turned into minutes and the minutes turned into hours after I first heard the news I felt like I lost a part of my childhood. I saw my 3 year old self, my friends who were Power Rangers fans and countless others who love Jason David Frank in a silence of grief. How he died is probably the soft spot that hurts the most because it was very telling of who he was a person. He was someone who so many people love and admire because he brought so much joy and positivity to countless lives and gave us so many great memories while doing so, yet he was suffering in silence and enduring so much emotional pain of which we were unaware. As heartbreaking and unfortunate as the circumstances of his passing were, the silent battle he was fighting was a testament to the strength for which he was known.

Jason David Frank was not just a great entertainer and a skilled fighter, he was good person and a great soul. His passing is a knife in the heart of everyone who loved him and it pains me to think that we could not do more to help someone who represents so much strength to us. At the end of the day strong hearts need help and support as well, sometimes even more than the rest of us and that is something of which Jason David Frank is an example. Something we should take from his passing is working to save as many others from the same fate by being supportive of even the strong and mighty, because at the end of the day, we all need help and we all need a friend. Jason David Frank was a helpful friend to many.

Do you know what a dragon represents? that's a multi-layered question, but in the orient a dragon represents a mind of wisdom and unprecedented knowledge and a will of strength. If someone were to ask you what a falcon represents you can be sure to tell them that a falcon represents: ambition, aspiration, freedom and victory. It makes perfect sense that on the Power Rangers, Tommy Oliver's signature Icons for his character was a dragon and a falcon because he represents so much strong will and victory, just like the man who gave him life. Whether in life or the afterlife, Jason David Frank will always be a hero and icon to everyone to which he gave so many loving memories. I will always appreciate this great man who I used to run around imitating as a small boy, like so many other children. Whether he was a fighter or an entertainer, Jason David Frank was and will always be a symbol of positivity and a gift to the world. He will also always be the ranger of power whom we will always treasure: The Dragon and the Falcon.

~~Dedicated to the memory of Jason David Frank, the Falcon and the Dragon. Go-go Power Ranger... up and forever...