Power Rangers Morphers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is an American live action children's television series, based on the 16th installment of the Japanese Super Sentai franchise, Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger. Both the show and its related merchandise saw unbridled overnight success, catapulting into pop culture in mere months. Under the original name Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the series ran from 1993 to 1995 and spawned a feature film, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.
The second and third seasons of the show drew on footage and elements from the Super Sentai series Gosei Sentai Dairanger and Ninja Sentai Kakuranger respectively, though the Zyuranger costumes were still used for the five main Rangers and several regular villains. Only the mecha and the Kiba Ranger costume were retained from Dairanger for the second season, while only the mecha from Kakuranger were featured in the third season; however the five Kakuranger costumes were later used for the title characters of the mini-series, Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. The series was produced by MMPR Productions, distributed by Saban Entertainment, and aired on Fox Kids. The show's merchandise was produced and distributed by Bandai Entertainment.
In 1996, the series was rebranded as the Power Rangers franchise; renaming the series every year after and using costumes, props, and footage from subsequent Super Sentai series, as well as changing the cast and storyline. While an overarching storyline would continue until Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy, subsequent series after MMPR are not sequels or spin-offs in the traditional sense.
In 2010, a re version of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with a new logo, comic book referenced graphics, and extra alternative special effects, began airing on ABC Kids, and Bandai produced brand new toys to coincide with the series.
The series takes place in the fictional town of Angel Grove, California. On an exploratory mission, two unwitting astronauts discover an extraterrestrial container and breach the unit, inadvertently releasing the evil alien sorceress Rita Repulsa from 10,000 years of confinement. Upon her release, she and her army of evil space aliens set their sights on conquering the nearest planet: Earth. When the wise sage Zordon becomes aware of the release of the evil witch he was responsible for capturing so long ago, he orders his robotic assistant Alpha 5 to select five teenagers with attitude to defend the Earth from Rita’s attacks. The five teens chosen are Jason Lee Scott, Kimberly Hart, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan, and Billy Cranston. Zordon gives them the ability to morph into a formidable fighting force known as the Power Rangers, providing them with an arsenal of weapons at their disposal, as well as colossal assault machines called Zords, which can combine into the mighty Megazord.
As time goes on, discontent with regularly being defeated with the aide of the Green Ranger powers she believes are hers, Rita focuses her plans on eliminating Tommy and regaining the powers. Utilizing a special wax touched by Tommy when he was evil, Rita uses a magic Green Candle to sever Tommy's link to the Morphing Grid and slowly remove his powers, returning them to her. Because Tommy's proximity to the candle accelerates its melting process, Jason enters the Dark Dimension where the candle is guarded by Goldar to retrieve it.
Lord Zedd, emperor of all that he sees, arrives at Rita's Moon Palace, where he takes her place and throws her into a space dumpster again. He then begins his own campaign on conquering Earth. In order for the Power Rangers to compete with Zedd's monsters, which are superior to Rita's, Zordon and Alpha upgrade the Dinozords into the more powerful Thunderzords. However, Tommy is forced to retain use of the Dragonzord, due to his powers being too weak to support a new Zord..
Rito Revolto, Rita’s skeletal brother, later comes to Earth and, with the help from a group of monsters, manages to destroy the Rangers' Thunderzords and the Tigerzord, which as a result damages the Power Coins beyond repair. Undaunted, they seek the aid of Ninjor, alleged creator of the Power Coins, who gives them new Ninja Coins, providing them with the even more powerful Ninjazords and the Falconzord.
Later, an Australian girl named Katherine Hillard moves to Angel Grove. She befriends Kimberly, and displays an intense affection for Tommy. Later it is found that Rita had captured Katherine and put her under a powerful spell. As a result, she steals Kimberly's Crane Coin, vastly weakening the Pink Ranger whose life force, like that of the other Ninja Rangers, is connected to her Ninja Coin. It is during this time that the Rangers acquire their most powerful Zords ever; the Shogunzords. Eventually, Katherine overcomes Rita's evil spell and returns Kimberly's Crane Coin to her. Having already been disconnected from the coin and with Zordon's declaration that her time as a Ranger has been fulfilled, Kimberly now has a chance to pursue her personal athletic dreams. She leaves to train for the Pan Globals, choosing Katherine to replace her as the Pink Ranger. Though her initial fear and hesitation keeps her from contributing fully to the fight against evil, Katherine eventually becomes both more comfortable and capable of fulfilling her duty as a Ranger.
After several more battles, Zedd and Rita are joined by Rita’s father, Master Vile. Following his failed attempts to defeat the Rangers, he reverses time, turning the Rangers into powerless children. These events culminate in the mini series Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, which leads to the next incarnation of the Power Rangers franchise, entitled Power Rangers: Zeo.