Power Rangers Zeointroduced what was supposed to be the strongest Power Rangers team, yet this version of the heroes eventually vanished from the show. After the success ofMighty Morphin Power Rangers,Zeowould have the difficult mission of taking the show in a different direction with new costumes and zords. Based onOhrangerinstead ofZyuranger,Zeomarked itself as a“stronger than before”version of the Power Rangers.
The end ofMighty Morphin Power Rangersled right into the events ofZeo, with Tommy and his team searching for the Zeo crystals after having lost their powers. These Zeo crystals were described as some of the most powerful artifacts in the universe. In other words, the Zeo Rangers were technically much stronger than the originalPower Rangers team. However,these powers vanished without any explanation within a year after being introduced.
The Zeo Powers Simply Vanished During The Power Rangers Turbo Movie
Zordon Gave The Rangers New Powers In Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
Midway throughTurbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Zordon and Alpha gave the Rangers a new set of powers in the form of the Turbo morphers. The Rangers also got new zords, which, of course, took the form of vehicles. The problem is that no explanation was given as to why the Rangers needed new powers. The Zeo morphers were working perfectly fine – Kat had almost morphed earlier in the film – and there was no indication that they were going to stop working.Neither the Rangers nor the audience are told why Zordon was replacing their powerswith new ones.
Trey of Triforia/Jason
Zeo Gold Ranger
UnlikeMighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie,Turbo: A Power Rangers Moviewas canon to the TV show. In fact,the 1997 film served as sort of a feature-length pilot forPower Rangers Turbo, the new series that was going to replacePower Rangers Zeoand would see most of the cast returning. Apart from Rocky, who was replaced by Justin during the film, all Zeo Rangers returned for theTurboshow – this time with new powers and costumes. The obvious reason was thatPower Rangerswas shifting into a newSuper Sentaiadaptation, but the in-universe justification remains a mystery.
The Zeo Powers Appeared A Few Other Times After Power Rangers Turbo
The Zeo Powers Were Not Gonne Forever
WhilePower Rangers Zeoended in 1996, we eventually got to see a few Zeo Rangers again on the show. In 2002, Jason David Frank reprised his role as Tommy Oliver forWild Forcein the“Forever Red” crossover episode. There,Tommy used his Zeo morpher and joined nine other Red Rangers.There was no explanation as to why or how Tommy was using his Zeo powers again, although T.J. was the one using the Red Turbo Ranger powers in the crossover. In 2014, the entire Zeo team was featured in “The Legendary Battle” alongside dozens of other background Rangers.
Tommy Oliver’s Red Ranger Promotion Proved 1 Harsh Truth About The Original Green Ranger
Power Rangers’ Tommy was eventually promoted to Red Ranger, but this new phase of the character proved a harsh truth about the original Green Ranger.
Three years later,Tommy debuted his Master Morpher inPower Rangers Super Ninja Steel. This morpher allowed the iconic Ranger to use all of his previous powers, including Zeo Red, regardless of what happened to his previous morphers. More recently, inPower Rangers: Once & Always, the Zeo Yellow Ranger (presumably Tanya) was one of the heroes kidnapped by Robot Rita. Apart from Tommy using the Master Morpher in “Dimensions in Danger,” we can only speculate how the Zeo powers made their way back into the show on those other occasions.
So, What Exactly Happened To The Zeo Crystals In Power Rangers?
It’s One Of Power Rangers’ Greatest Mysteries
There is no TV-canon, in-universe explanation for what happened to the Zeo crystals and why Zordon suddenly decided to replace them with the Turbo morphers.One popular headcanon theory is that the Zeo powers were too dangerousin the long run. Given that the crystals carried such an immense amount of power, it would be unsafe for the Rangers to use them for too long. This is why Zordon and Alpha might have had to create a more stable, efficient set of powers. That said, this is only a fan theory.
InPower Rangers Zeo, Trey of Triforia had to transfer his Zeo Gold powers to another person because he couldn’t keep the unity between his three forms.
ThePower Rangerscomics by BOOM! Studios have recently explored the lore of the Zeo crystals, but while we could eventually learn from the comics what happened to the Zeo powers, they are not canon to the TV show. When it comes to the TV canon ofPower Rangers, we might never learn exactly what happened to the Zeo powers in-universe and why the Turbo morphers had to be introduced. This is particularly disappointing considering how great of a seasonPower Rangers Zeowas, as well as how much the show focused on these new powers being“stronger than before.”
