Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: On This Day 31 Years Ago, One of the Greatest Franchises Came to Life
We celebrate the Power Rangers' 31st anniversary with a rundown of movies, TV, comics, games, toys, and more!
Few franchises have shown as much staying power and timelessness as Power Rangers, and it's a bit hard to fathom that the franchise got its start on this very day 31 years ago. On this day in 1993, the first episode of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers hit the airwaves and ushered in a Kids TV powerhouse that would then expand beyond TV into the realms of Toys, movies, games, collectibles, and comics. All these years later the franchise is waiting for its next chapter to begin, but there's still plenty to celebrate in the meantime, and we've got everything you need to know and be on the lookout for right here.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Where It All Started
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first aired on August 28th, 1993, and would introduce fans to the original five Rangers. Jason (Red Ranger), Trini (Yellow Ranger), Billy (Blue Ranger), Zack (Black Ranger), and Kimberly (Pink Ranger) would make up the original team, and they would soon be joined by the Green Ranger Tommy, who would go on to become one of the icons of the franchise. The team would experience some changes along the way, both in cast and in terms of Rangers and Zords, and would conclude its run on May 23rd, 1994.
Power Rangers was adapted from the Super Sentai series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, and subsequent seasons of the show beyond Mighty Morphin would adapt other Sentai entries. The most recent entry in the franchise was 2023's Cosmic Fury, which gave the Dino Fury cast their third season to close out a 30 year run.
Movies and TV
At the moment you can find quite a few Power Rangers projects on Netflix, which currently holds the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, both seasons of Power Rangers Dino Fury, and the one season of Power Rangers Cosmic Fury. You can also find the 2023 reunion of the original cast on Netflix in Power Rangers: Once & Always, which brought back David Yost, Walter Emanuel Jones, Steve Cardenas, and Catherine Sutherland as Rangers. You're going to have to move around a bit for the other film projects, as the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers film from 1995 can be found on Disney+ at the moment, while the 2017 Power Rangers reboot film can be found on Prime Video.
Gaming
Power Rangers fans have a bevy of options to choose from in the realm of gaming, and one of the most exciting games is right around the corner. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind will hit later this year, and brings the classic beat-em up style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to the Power Rangers franchise in a game for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. Those who want a good deal can also find the previously released fighting game Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, which is available for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.
You can also find the free to play fighting game Power Rangers Legacy Wars on iOS and Android, which has added a massive amount of Rangers and villains as playable characters to the roster over the years and is still updating with new content. On the tabletop side there is the miniature skirmish game Power Rangers: Heroes of the Grid, which has released a host of expansions and additional teams for the game. There's also the Power Rangers Deck-Building Game, which just released the It's Morphin' Time expansion that includes the new Green Ranger from the comics. If you happen to love roleplaying games, you can also check out Renegade's Power Rangers Roleplaying Game and its expansions to start your own campaign.
Comics
Speaking of the comics, now is a perfect time to catch up on everything you've missed and get ready for a new era. BOOM! Studios recently released a first preview of its Power Rangers Prime series, which will launch a new starting point and a group of fan favorite Rangers to follow along with, including Lauren from Power Rangers Samurai. You can find trades of Go Go Power Rangers, Power Rangers, and Power Rangers: The Return as well, and the latter featured Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson bringing back the original team of Rangers for an all new adventure with some big surprises.
While you wait for Prime, there is also the fantastic Power Rangers Infinity, a one-shot that introduces fans to a delightful new team of oddball Rangers, as well as the excellent Ranger Academy, which follows an academy that trains students to become Rangers set in the same world of the Rangers we know and love. Oh, and if you want crossovers, you can't go wrong with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles either!
Toys and Collectibles
That brings us to toys and collectibles, which continues to showcase the franchise in various ways. On the action figures front, fans can find good deals on the Lightning Collection, as the franchise will introduce a new line of toys from Playmates next year. In the same action figure realm, Super 7 also has their brand new Lord Drakkon Ultimates figure, which is based on the evil version of Tommy Oliver from an alternate universe. The Drakkon figure comes with some amazing accessories, including a broken Saba, alternate head sculpt, and a broken Red Ranger helmet, and he can be pre-ordered here. There are also Ultimate versions of the Dragonzord, Lord Zedd, and core Rangers available as well.
If you want bigger scale figures, you can also get the Power Rangers One:12 Collective Deluxe Boxed Set, which features the original five Rangers with a host of accessories that includes the Power Blaster! If you're into smaller collectibles, Funko has a variety of Pops to add to the collection, including the Green Ranger 30th Anniversary, Ranger Slayer, and more.
In the even higher scale side of things, Diamond Select has a new Power Rangers Red Ranger Gallery Statue up for pre-order, as well as a 3D 1:2 Scale Bust of the White Ranger, which is stunning. Then there's the Ranger's mentor Zordon in a 1:10 scale statue from Iron Studios, who also have new Ranger statues coming as well.
Happy 31st Anniversary Power Rangers, and can't wait to see what the next 31 years hold for one of my favorite franchises!
What do you love most about Power Rangers? You can talk all things Power Rangers with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
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