Power Rangers and the Nature of Good & Evil

        

             In 1993, a new television show called Mighty Morphin Power Rangers premiered on Fox Kids. The storyline includes a cosmic wizard named Zordon, along with his robot assignment Alpha 5, recruits five teenagers with attitude, Jason, Billy, Trini, Zack, and Kimberly, to become Power Rangers. These color-coded, martial arts fighting superheros protect the world from the evil space witch, Rita Repulsa. Based on the long-running Japanese series Super Sentai, media mogul Haim Saban took the footage of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, the sixteenth season of Super Sentai, and reedited it with new American footage and voice dubbing. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers became a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s, spawning an endless amount of amount of merchandise and toys. These highly popular toys later became the inspiration of the 1996 Arnold Schwarzenegger Christmas film Jingle All the Way. The series also led to three live action films, 30 seasons and a fan convention called Morphincon. 

            With the Power Rangers series running for 30 years and with multiple incarnations in the TV series, one would think that with its silly concept, it doesn't seem that the series would discuss the nature of good and evil in terms of a philosophical sense. However, Power Rangers does have something to say about it with it's depiction of good and evil, and the nature of the two sides. Tommy Oliver, one of the series' most beloved characters, first appeared in the Green with Evil storyline as the new kid at Angel Grove High School. Seeing him as a potential adversary for the Power Rangers, Rita cast a spell on Tommy, turning him into the evil Green Ranger. As the green ranger, Tommy destroys Zordon's connection to Earth and defeats the Rangers in a crushing blow. 

            Through a series of grueling events, the Rangers discover Tommy is the green ranger and break the spell. Upon understanding the situation, Tommy feels guilt, shame, and regret. However, the Rangers forgive him, and he joins the Rangers in their fight against Rita. Tommy's story is popular among fans as they felt he was a loner who had his own autonomy stripped away to be a bad guy, leading many to wonder what if the green ranger fought along with the Rangers. Following the spell's removal, the Rangers, as well as Zordon, saw his good nature as their friend. Throughout the series, he overcame the influence of Rita's spell and not only became a great friend to the Rangers, but a powerful ranger himself, using the green ranger mantle against Rita's forces.

            In a way, Tommy's use of the green ranger, a symbol of evil now a symbol of good, could be seen as the opposite of the Swastika. Once a symbol of divinity and spirituality in Indian religions was unfortunately corrupted by Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Regime. Today, the general population including those in the western world now see the Swastika as a symbol of hate and evil use by white supremacist groups and neo Nazis. Tommy's true nature displays heroism and altruism in the interactions with his friends. In the episode The Spit Flower, Rita destorys Kimberly's parade float. Tommy rebuilds it, and Kimberly is grateful. During the two-part episode, The Green Candle, Rita uses a magical candle that drain the green ranger's powers. Despite this, Tommy risks losing the green ranger to fight back against Rita's forces. With the green candle successful in depleting the power, Tommy transfers the green ranger shield and dragon dagger to Jason, knowing that they're in capacitate trusting hands. The Song Of Guitardo has Tommy not caring that he has limited power as the green ranger, but is willing to fight to save the Rangers when they are in danger. 

            This altruistic nature has hindered whatever darkness that was present believed in himself that he can redeem the actions of the green ranger. Being with the Rangers left a positive influence on Tommy, as he later became the white ranger, a more powerful ranger, and the new leader of the group. Tommy's story of the forces of evil corrupting the innocent, only to break free and fight aside with the Rangers is a story the series will use from time to time. In the season three episode titled A Ranger Catastrophe, a new character named Katherine is introduced as another foil plant by Rita. Kat steals Kimberly's power coin, (the power source in which the Rangers use to morph), making her weak and leading to her abduction by Rita & Lord Zedd. Seeing that Kimberly was suffering, Kat begins to question her own actions. It is later revealed that Rita kidnapped her to be her servant. 

            Kat confesses to the Rangers and like Tommy before, they forgive them. Kat breaks her bond from Rita and Kimberly, who is retiring from being a Power Ranger to attend a career in gymnastics gives Kat her blessing and power coin to become the new Pink ranger. Once again, Rita's plans to corrupt an innocent has failed, as Kat's true nature as a good person began to take over. Because of this, she earns the trust of the Rangers and became a formidable ranger herself. With the Rangers dealing with former adversities turn good, this is seen as an example of whether victims of evil forgive their perpetrators. As stated previously, Tommy & Kat are forgiven by the Rangers as the two were both victims of evil themselves since they were forced to become obedient slaves. Tommy & Kat are two examples of Rangers forced to become evil, but what about a ranger who was raised as evil? 

            In the sixth Power Rangers season, Power Rangers In Space, the villain Astronema turns out to be the lost sister of Andros, the red space ranger. Astronema, whose real name is Karone, was kidnapped as a child and groomed to become a villain by her guardian Ecliptor. Similar to real life child predators, Ecliptor uses manipulative tactics to earn Karone's trust and love, lying to her that is was the Power Rangers who killed her family, and form her into Astronema. Once she discovers the truth, she begins to question everything, especially when Ecliptor admits the truth. Astronema at first dismisses the truth, proclaiming it doesn't matter as she believes she's still evil and loyal to Ecliptor and the main villain, Dark Specter. But is it that certain? Does Astronema really believe she's evil or was she raised to believe that? Another character that is raised by evil but becomes disillusioned by the truth is Ryan Mitchell, the Titanium Ranger from the eighth season Lightspeed Rescue. Just like Astronema, Ryan was kidnapped as a child and raised to believe his father, Captain William Mitchel, rejected him. 

            Ryan and Karone both have experienced bad upbringings. There are two debates on why perpetrators shouldn't be held morally responsible for behavior that has resulted from bad upbringings. The first is that because we can not select our upbringings, we should not be held accountable for crimes that occur from them. People who have had awful upbringings are unable to make accurate normative assessments because they have been taught the wrong values. The second argument for not holding people morally responsible for crimes committed due to, poor upbringing begins with the assumption that we are morally responsible for our actions only if we are proper targets of reactive sentiments such as resentment. In the case of Karone & Ryan, they have wrong values because they were raised by the forces of evil, leading them to become one sided adults that are loyal to the only people they know and hostile to any entity that are against them. 

            Regardless of their bad upbringing, they experience events that make them question everything, leading them to exonerate their wicked ways and join the Power Rangers. Karone herself received a redemption arc in the 7th season called Lost Galaxy, and becomes the Lost Galaxy pink ranger. On the topic of redemption of redemption, the villain, Ransik, from the 9th season, Time Force, sees the horrors of his actions that was spouted by hate. As a mutant from the year 3000, he was stunned by a society that feared and hated his kind, leading him to create a factor of other stunned mutants to take over the world. One day, when he was succumbing to an illness, a human doctor, Dr. Ferricks provided a treatment serum. Ransik became curious on why a human like Ferricks would help a mutant. Ferricks replied "Humans, Mutants, makes no difference to me." Ferricks, in a moment of true humanity chose to save someone outside his species. 

            Unfortunately, this moment was not return by Ransik. Cosumed by his hate towards humans and seeing the doctor as a fool, he steals the serum and destorys Ferricks' lab, leaving him for death. Ferricks, in a desperate attempt to save his life, chances himself into the robot Frax. Frax soon joins Ransik's forces in a revenge plot. During the final episodes of the season, Ransik's daughter, Nadira, begins to question her own hate towards humans and confronts Frax after he was captured following his betrayal and reveal of who he really is to Ransik. Frak explains the cycle of hate. Humans taught Ransik to hate, Ransik taught Ferricks to hate, causing Ferricks to lose his humanity both figuratively and literally. Nadira, sympathetic to Frak's and understanding the toxic damage that hate brings upon people, apologizes to Frak using his human name. This inspires Frak to tell Nadira to break the cycle of hate. In the final episode, while helping a baby, Nadira is attacked by Ransik in a blind rage. Ransik, realizing the cost of his hate nearly killed his daughter, surrenders to the Time Force Rangers. 

            Rod Serling, the creator of The Twilight Zone, wrote in the episode I am the night, color me black, the ending narration, "A sickness known as hate; not a virus, not a microbe, not a germ - but a sickness nonetheless, highly contagious, deadly in its effects. Don't look for it in the Twilight Zone - look for it in a mirror. Look for it before the light goes out altogether." The hate that the humans in the year 3000 gave to Ransik was the same hate he gave to Ferricks which made him into Frak, who was fueled by hate. The 1998 film, American History X, echoes this belief. The main character Derek becomes a neo nazi skinhead following the death of his father who was murdered by a black narcotics dealer. Not helping matters in what lead Derek to this fate, was that the father displayed a racist attitude before his death, implanting the seed of hate in which Derek took up. However, upon his sentence in prison, Derek begins to question even since he subscribed to the white supremacist ideology, has his life been better? The answer is no, as he has alienated his mother and sister, and his younger brother Danny is following in his footsteps. 

            Only by opening his eyes to the painful truth, Derek renounces the ideology and Danny follows suit. Ransik, despite what he has done is given a change to redeem himself in the 10th season, Wild Force. In the crossover episode of the Wild Force Rangers & the Time Force episode, Reinforcements from the Future, Ransik aides both ranger teams in fighting ancient monsters that he encountered once. He even fights them head on by himself, which almost cost him his life. After which, he is healed of the mutated parts of his body. This was Ransik's moment of redemption, and he is thankful for the Rangers in trusting in him. 

            As Power Rangers celebrate their 30th anniversary in the year 2023, now's a good time to go back to this pop culture lighting in a bottle and appreciate the things that made it resonate with the children of the 1990s. GO GO POWER Rangers!!