Power Rangers Zeo introduced what was supposed to be the strongest Power Rangers team, yet this version of the heroes eventually vanished from the show. After the success of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Zeo would have the difficult mission of taking the show in a different direction with new costumes and zords. Based on Ohranger instead of Zyuranger, Zeo marked itself as a “stronger than before” version of the Power Rangers.
The end of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers led right into the events of Zeo, 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 original Power Rangers team. However, these powers vanished without any explanation within a year after being introduced.
Midway through Turbo: 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 powers with new ones.
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Power Rangers Zeo Team |
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Character |
Designation |
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Tommy |
Zeo Ranger 5 Red |
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Adam |
Zeo Ranger 4 Green |
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Rocky |
Zeo Ranger 3 Blue |
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Tanya |
Zeo Ranger 2 Yellow |
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Katherine |
Zeo Ranger 1 Pink |
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Trey of Triforia/Jason |
Zeo Gold Ranger |
Unlike Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie was canon to the TV show. In fact, the 1997 film served as sort of a feature-length pilot for Power Rangers Turbo, the new series that was going to replace Power Rangers Zeo and would see most of the cast returning. Apart from Rocky, who was replaced by Justin during the film, all Zeo Rangers returned for the Turbo show – this time with new powers and costumes. The obvious reason was that Power Rangers was shifting into a new Super Sentai adaptation, but the in-universe justification remains a mystery.
While Power Rangers Zeo ended 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 for Wild Force in 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.
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Three years later, Tommy debuted his Master Morpher in Power 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, in Power 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.
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 dangerous in 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.
In Power 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.
The Power Rangers comics 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 of Power 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 season Power Rangers Zeo was, as well as how much the show focused on these new powers being “stronger than before.”
April 20, 1996
Robert Radler, Vickie Bronaugh
Jackie Marchand, Judd Lynn
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