Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (2000) assembled a very different team from the one featured in Mighty Morphin and confirmed how absurd Zordon’s plan was in hindsight. Although many Power Rangers plot holes and headscratchers do not have in-universe explanations, the 31-year-old franchise has given fans more than enough material to come up with theories to justify the show’s decisions. For example, in the comics, we learn that the five teenagers from Angel Grove were not Zordon’s first team of Power Rangers.
In the show’s canon, there is little to no context behind Zordon’s decision to assemble a team of high school kids to fight monsters. As soon as Rita Repulsa escaped her space dumpster, Zordon asked Alpha to find “five teenagers with attitude.” Enter Jason, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Kimberly, all of whom proved to be worthy to morph into Power Rangers. However, compared to a team of high-performer athletes and first responders assembled in Lightspeed Rescue, it is interesting how the fate of the Earth was once at the hands of five teenagers who still had to do homework.
Lightspeed Rescue’s Team Consisted Of Trained Adults (Not School Kids)
Carter Grayson Led A Team Of “Professional Superheroes”
By assembling a team of highly trained adults who were constantly working in dangerous conditions, Lightspeed Rescue highlighted how odd it was for Zordon to enlist high school kids as soldiers. Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue is one of the show’s most grounded seasons, which may seem like a strange definition for a story about demons trying to conquer the world. Still, compared to teenagers facing a space witch and her minions every week, Lightspeed Rescue had a surprisingly realistic approach to the Power Rangers universe. The Rangers were now employees of a governmental agency.
Rather than an interdimensional being or a wizard, the Lightspeed Rescue Rangers were assembled by a military man. As the leader of the Lightspeed operation, Captain Mitchell was ahead of their Power Rangers program and picked up five people from different fields of expertise who would have what it takes to be a Ranger. In Lightspeed Rescue, the Rangers are not primarily superheroes whose main mission is to fight monsters but rather an elite team of force responders that can deal with the most extreme situations. It’s a very different approach from what Mighty Morphin did.
Adult Power Rangers Teams Were Some Of The Franchise’s Best
Seasons Like Time Force, S.P.D, And R.P.M. Were Standouts
Lightspeed Rescue was not the first Power Rangers team consisting of adults. In Lost Galaxy, the first post-Zordon season, we only spend a few minutes in Angel Grove before Leo boards Terra Venture and travels to outer space. There, he becomes a Ranger alongside three technicians who were working at the space colony and a warrior from another planet. Lost Galaxy does not focus too much on the background of its characters, though, whereas Lightspeed Rescue often references the Rangers’ jobs and fields of expertise. Time Force, Lightspeed Rescue’s successor, also followed a team of trained adults.
|
Lightspeed Rescue’s Team |
Color |
Profession/Field Of Expertise |
|---|---|---|
|
Carter Grayson |
Red Ranger |
Firefighter |
|
Dana Mitchell |
Pink Ranger |
Paramedic |
|
Joel Rawlings |
Green Ranger |
Pilot |
|
Chad Lee |
Blue Ranger |
Professional Diver |
|
Kelsey Winslow |
Yellow Ranger |
Professional Mountain Climber |
|
Ryan Mitchell |
Titanium Ranger |
N/A |
Similar to Lightspeed, the Time Force was a human-made organization that developed Ranger technology and created its own team of heroes. A similar approach was used in S.P.D. – although Space Patrol Delta was not founded on Earth – and R.P.M., the latter of which took place in a post-apocalyptic world. Coincidence or not, the Power Rangers seasons that followed adult, slightly more serious characters were among the show’s best. Although it’s difficult for there to be a mature Power Rangers season, series like Lightspeed Rescue and R.P.M. found clever ways to tell more grounded, high-stakes stories.
Power Rangers Would Still Have Many Other Teams Formed By Teenagers
Some Seasons Went Back To The Mighty Morphin Formula
Teenagers becoming superheroes and transforming into stronger versions of themselves with the help of a morpher and a cool battle cry was part of the reason why Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was so catchy. Given how well the show worked, it made sense to keep this formula for future seasons. Apart from a few cast changes, such as the exits of three original Rangers and the arrival of new ones in MMPR season 2, Power Rangers tried to keep the same set of characters in the same environment for a while.
In
Dino Thunder
, Tommy Oliver, now a high school teacher, mentors a new team of Power Rangers.
It was only in Power Rangers in Space, now with the new Turbo Rangers joining newcomer Andros, that the franchise first tried something truly new. Even though Power Rangers became very different in the early 2000s, the show would still have dozens of other seasons that followed Mighty Morphin’s formula. Dino Thunder, Samurai, and Megaforce are examples of Power Rangers seasons featuring teenagers who are recruited by a powerful mentor to become superheroes. There is a certain charm to MMPR‘s original formula, even though the riskier seasons like Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue were usually the best ones.