Earlier this week, the Power Rangers fandom honored one of the true franchise icons in Jason David Frank, who we tragically lost to suicide in 2022. Few stars have meant as much to a franchise as Frank meant to Power Rangers, becoming an ambassador for the franchise but, more importantly, becoming an ambassador for fans of the franchise over the course of his career. He would have been 52 years old this year (this week, on September 4, in fact), and I simply wanted to take a minute to celebrate the legacy he left behind regarding one of fandom’s most beloved franchises, because it will likely never be topped.
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A Franchise Icon
If you’re unfamiliar with the history of Power Rangers, you might not know that Jason David Frank wasn’t actually supposed to be around for more than 10 episodes. The Green Ranger’s role in the series was always going to be for a short run, but fans took to the character of Tommy and the Green Ranger so much that they essentially started a campaign of fan letters and phone calls to get him back on the show after his run ended.
While the show was limited in that regard due to the Super Sentai footage Power Rangers is based on, they did bring him back for a host of episodes, but that wasn’t going to be enough. That’s when they decided to make Tommy the White Ranger, and he would continue to be a fundamental part of the show throughout the rest of its run.
It didn’t stop there though, as Frank would continue to be a vital part of the franchise, taking on the role of a Ranger in the Power Rangers movie, Power Rangers ZEO, Power Rangers Turbo, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, and Power Rangers Dino Thunder. On top of that, Frank would return for key moments like the Legendary Battle anniversary episode as well as the 25th anniversary episode Dimensions in Danger, and would even appear in a cameo in the 2017 Power Rangers reboot.
Frank didn’t limit things to just mainline projects either, as he would also stay in touch with external projects like the now iconic Power Rangers: Shattered Grid trailer with Kyle Higgins, Power Rangers HypeForce, Power Rangers Legacy Wars: Street Fighter Showdown, voicing Drakkon in the Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid video game, or appearing as the Green and White Rangers in Bat in the Sun’s Super Power Beat Down series. To say he left his stamp on the franchise would be a considerable understatement, and it’s part of why fans will forever associate him with it.
An Unwavering Enthusiasm
It was always unquestionable that Frank loved the franchise, and though the franchise has experienced all sorts of highs and lows over the years since its debut, Frank’s enthusiasm and loyalty to it never wavered. There were plenty of moments over the years where Power Rangers wasn’t exactly the hottest property, but Frank’s level of enthusiasm and dedication remained regardless of era, and that’s part of why fans responded so much to him when the franchise was at its highest peaks. Though he was loyal to the franchise, he was especially loyal to the fans who made the franchise soar in the first place, as he often spoke in interviews about making those moments feel as special as possible.
While it’s pretty commonplace for actors and actresses to appear at Comic Cons all around the world, that actually wasn’t always the case, with that really becoming common just over the past 10 years or so. That wasn’t the case for Frank, who was one of the early adopters of Comic Cons way before it was the standard, and you’ll find countless stories of memorable interactions with him at Cons over the years.
There are a number of fan stories where Frank took more time than was necessary to interact with them or take an extra photo, and the same goes for signings, with multiple recollections where Frank kept the signing going past closing to make sure he got to every single fan. No one is perfect, and Frank wasn’t either, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many who walked away from an interaction with him and didn’t feel like he was fully present and cared that they took the time to meet him. Frank genuinely loved this franchise, but he seemed to love sharing these moments with other fans of the franchise that much more.
An Appreciation of Fandom
Even later in his career, when he wasn’t as involved with Power Rangers, it never really left his mind, and you could still see the passion he had for it and those who also loved it. He was working on his film Legend of the White Dragon in his final years, and even during interviews regarding the project (a project he was incredibly passionate about), he never batted an eye when Power Rangers came up, and he always welcomed discussing the possibilities.
While Frank made fans a priority, he found other ways to help where he could over the years. That included a program he started during the pandemic, which sought to help comic shops by setting up signings at their shops free of charge, doing a signing with masks and social distancing, and then providing the comic store signed merchandise so they could sell after the fact, and especially at that time, any sort of boost to the bottom line for comic shops made an impact (via WPRI).
I was blessed to speak to Jason David Frank several times over the course of my time with ComicBook, including an interview in 2018 that I’ll never forget. The fact that I’ll never have the chance to do that again is something that still has a profound effect on me, which is why I just wanted to shine a little light on how much Jason meant to not just me, but a franchise of fans all around the world. We still miss you Jason, and may the power protect you.
Let us know your favorite Jason David Frank moments and memories in the comments or on the ComicBook forum.
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