Summary

• Tommy Oliver's debut as the evil Green Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers made him one of the franchise's best characters.
• The Green Ranger color itself is not what made Tommy iconic, but rather his introduction as an evil Ranger and his transformation into a hero. Other Green Rangers in the franchise were usually founding of their teams.
• Only one Green Ranger after Tommy, Ninja Storm's Cam Watanabe, was also a sixth Ranger.

Power Rangers’ Tommy Oliver was the franchise’s first evil Ranger, and every Green Ranger that came after him proves what makes the Mighty Morphin character still so iconic to this day. Played by the late Jason David Frank, Tommy debuted in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 1, episode 17, “Green With Evil.” The Green Ranger’s introduction would forever change the show, and Tommy would continue to be a Power Ranger for years.

Power Rangers’ best characters, and the series' other Green Rangers show why.

None Of Power Rangers’ Green Rangers After Tommy Were Evil Rangers

Adding a new Ranger color to the already established roster of Mighty Morphin heroes certainly played a role in the popularity of the Green Ranger, especially considering there were likely fewer toys available of this new character than the original ones. However, what truly made Tommy Oliver stand out is that he was introduced as an evil Ranger – the first of the franchise. Evil Rangers have continued to appear throughout the Super Sentai shows, but none of Power Rangers’ Green Rangers since Tommy were ever evil Rangers. Instead, most of them were already founding of their respective teams.

The Green Ranger color itself does not make it iconic, even more so considering the vast majority of the Green Rangers in the franchise were neither evil nor sixth Rangers. New additions to the team or villains who turned into heroes usually stand out from the rest of the characters, and Mighty Morphin's Tommy was both. There have been plenty of evil Rangers since Tommy, some of which were fantastical characters, but never in the color Green. Although Power Rangers often references the legacy of the original Green Ranger, it never tried to write one of its new Green Rangers as a villain, excluding mind-controlling storylines like Izzy in Dino Fury.

Only One Green Ranger After Tommy Oliver Was Also A Sixth Ranger

Not only did Power Rangers never try to make a Green Ranger into an antagonist like Tommy, but only one Green Ranger since Mighty Morphin has also been an extra member of the team. Also referred to as “extra Ranger” depending on how many characters are part of the core team, the sixth Ranger is the one who s the heroes later in the story and becomes a recurrent or official part of the crew. They are usually the most OP Power Rangers characters, although they also tend to be nerfed after their introduction. This is exactly what happened to Tommy Oliver.

Ten years after the Green Ranger ed the Power Rangers, Ninja Storm’s Cam Watanabe also became a Green and sixth Ranger, making him the only character other than Tommy to do so. Cam was never evil, and unlike the Thunder Rangers, he was on the side of the heroes from the start. Therefore, even though having a Green Ranger who was also an extra member of the team 10 years after Tommy Oliver’s debut was cool, Ninja Storm’s Green Ranger did not have the same impact as Mighty Morphin’s. To this day, Tommy remains the only example of a character who was a Green, evil, and sixth Ranger.

Why No Power Rangers Character Ever Matched The Green Ranger’s Popularity

Every Power Rangers season since Mighty Morphin has used the sixth or extra Ranger trope. Additionally, many of them also featured evil Ranger storylines. While the Super Sentai and Power Rangers tropes are part of the franchises’ identities, the same story can only be told so many times before it becomes repetitive. For those who grew up on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, nothing in the franchise may top the shock of seeing an evil Power Ranger show up inside the Megazord and beat the show’s heroes out of their most powerful weapon. Therefore, all other evil or sixth Rangers feel like an extension of Tommy’s story.

There have been, of course, great evil or sixth Rangers since Tommy. Lost Galaxy’s Magna Defender, who was one of the first extra Rangers in the franchise, was very different from the rest of the characters. Lightspeed Rescue’s Titanium Ranger proved Power Rangers could grow beyond the Sentai shows it was adapting, and Time Force’s Quantum Ranger had a level of character development that arguably exceeded that of Tommy’s. The Dino Thunder White Ranger, who was mentored by Tommy and fought by his side, is also a great example. Still, as important as they were for their respective Power Rangers shows, none of them impacted the franchise the same way Mighty Morphin’s Green Ranger did.

Most Power Rangers seasons are streaming on Power Rangers' official YouTube channel.