There is a secret lore to Tommy Oliver’s White Ranger promotion that not everyPower Rangersfan is aware of. BOOM! Studios’Mighty Morphin Power Rangerscomic book series offers a slight tweak to some story elements in connection to the TV show’s canon. In other instances, though, the comics weave perfectly into the narrative of the show thatrecontextualizes the original loreand its characters.
The comics' most notable recontextualization comes betweenGo Go Power Rangers#25 and #27.These issues reinvent how Tommy Oliver gets his White Ranger powers, but in a way that theoretically fits within the narrative of the television series. Although much of the comics play out like a modern update of the original canon using modern technology, this is a rare instance where the panels work as a perfect in-between entry showing what took place for Tommy between the “White Light” two-parter.
Whatever details that the television episodes fail to offer audiences, theseGo Goissues provide them for readers.
How Does the Power Rangers Television Canon Connect to the Comics?
Power Rangers Comics Include Essential Lore
To first understand how the comics world weaves into that seen in the show, it’s important to first briefly remind readershow the originalMighty Morphin Power Rangershandles the power upgrade for Tommy Oliver. It all begins in season two’s “Green No More” two-parter. The episode showcases the Rangers' newest rival, Lord Zedd, making an early impact by formulating a plan to siphon away Tommy’s Green Ranger powers, actually succeeding in the process. Without a heroic purpose, Tommy goes away on a break, prompting a mini-hiatus from Jason David Frank for some episodes.
Tommy wouldn’t return until another two-parter for this season, “White Light.“The ultimate Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston, stumbles upon Alpha-5 and Zordon operating on a mysterious White Ranger. After he tells the Rangers, Zordon and Alpha explain that the exit of the Green Ranger demanded a new one in his place. The White Ranger soon reveals himself to be Tommy Oliver to the delight of his friends. However,Zordon and Alpha don’t divulge deeper into how they were able to “create” a new Ranger, or where the source of the White Ranger powers came from.
How the Power Rangers Comics Pick Up Where the Show Ends
Go Go Power Rangers#25-27 by Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace, Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo, and Ed Dukeshire
Go Go Power Rangers#25 plays out pretty much exactly how “White Light Pt. 1” plays out, except it fills in the blanks that were missing in the actual episode. Like in the episode, Tommy is residing and swimming at a remote location for school break, now identified as belonging to his Uncle Jack. The episode also shows Tommy mysteriously teleported away, seemingly kidnapped until the second part reveals Zordon’s plan. This issue plays out the conversation between Zordon and Tommy, explaining how he can make Tommy a Ranger again and where that power comes from.
Tommy can be a Ranger again if he, alone, travels to a distant planet and proves himself worthy of the power source.
Readers learn that Zordon gets this intel from the Blue Emissary of theMorphin Grid’s god-tier Emissaries Three. The Morphin Masters' Herald explains thatTommy can be a Ranger again if he, alone, travels to a distant planet and proves himself worthy of the power source - a White Light - by enduring a series of trials. Meanwhile, like in the episode, they’re hidden underneath the Command Center to ensure Lord Zedd doesn’t learn of their plans. For the same reason, they don’t tell the Rangers, who are left in the dark as neither Zordon nor Alpha respond to their communication attempts.
How White Ranger Tommy Succeeds in the Trials and Rejoins the Power Rangers
Saba’s Role, and How It Ties Into Another Universe
The two issues chronicle Tommy’s journey through these trials and his attempt to get back into the Power Rangers. A giant White Tiger guidesthe team’s greatest 90s memberto a giant white temple, where he finds the White Light. The power source is guarded by Saba, the Sword of Light. Readers will remember Saba as the White Ranger’s talking sword and companion on the show, but this Saba is fully aware of Tommy’s alternate universe counterpart,the franchise’s greatest threat, Lord Drakkon.
The World of the Coinlessdetails a world where Tommy stays evil, andre-dubs himself under the name Drakkon. When all else fails, this world’s Zordon, too, tries to create a new White Ranger, this time it’s Jason. However, Drakkon interrupts the process, taking the White Light for himself and combining it with his Green Ranger powers. Saba, meanwhile, is killed in cold-blood by Drakkon’s hands. Fully aware of the risk that could come with the White Light in Tommy’s hands, Saba challenges Tommy both physically and mentally for the right to have this power.
Giving Context to Tommy Becoming the Leader of the Power Rangers At the Red Ranger’s Expense
Not Something Tommy Wanted or Knew About
Tommy gains Saba’s trust through combat and simulations, allowing him to return to the Command Center with both the Sword of Light and its power. Alpha and Zordon get to work on their White Ranger construct immediately. It is then that Tommy learns that with this new power upgrade, Zordon will appoint him as the leader of the Power Rangers, something that Tommy isn’t comfortable with whatsoever. Not only does he not want to usurp Jason’s leadership role, but he worries if he’s even qualified to lead any team.
This small, but significant caveat is one of the better additions to the lore of the “White Light” episode that the comic offers. In the actual episode, replacing Tommy with Jason as the leader without explanation never sat right with most fans, almost giving a disservice to Jason’s time as leader. This small moment is enough to showcase the thought process behind Zordon’s decision, the remorse Tommy has for his friend, and creating foreshadowing for the tension between Tommy and Jason they’d have in future comic storylines, a starting point to that tension.
The Benefits to Remaking the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Episode
Elements That Couldn’t Be in the Show Enter the Comics
Finally, the comic ends with outright remake to Tommy’s unveiling as the White Ranger from “White Light.” As Tommy hails down from the heavens, the comic panels even zero in on Jason’s face, offering that aforementioned foreshadowing for the pairing’s dynamic to come. Ultimately, remaking the entire sequence really brings this entire restoration or redux recontextualization of Tommy’s crowning moment full circle. Most importantly,it showcases the benefits of connecting the comics to the TV show in such a blatant way, even more blatant than the comics usually do.
As much as thePower Rangersfranchise is a franchise worth adoring, the show’s primary demographic was always children, and as a result, the storytelling content was kept as simplified and straightforward as possible. The most diehard of fans would admit that today, but that’s where the comics come into play.The comics exist for something that older readers can enjoy, but also to add new layers that could not be there in the original show. Now directed at an audience that can understand the deeper dramas behind “White Light,” thePower Rangerscomics perfect an already celebrated TV episode.
