The original Power Rangers have a new leader ahead of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always, and it delivers on a 30-year-old character arc. The first Mighty Morphin Power Rangers project since the show ended in 1995, the Netflix Once & Always reunion will celebrate the saga’s 30th anniversary. Though not much has been revealed about Netflix’s upcoming Power Rangers special, some lore details can already be inferred from first looks and posters.
Instead of the usual Power Rangers anniversary episodes, which would typically be placed within the ongoing Power Rangers TV show, Once & Always will be a standalone entry. Multiple Mighty Morphin Power Rangers characters return for the special, including first generation Rangers such as Walter Emanuel Jones’ Zack and David Yost’s Billy. In addition to featuring a unique Power Rangers roster, Once & Always is also establishing the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ new leader.
Power Rangers All But Confirms Billy Will Lead The Team In Once & Always
The first Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always poster reveals four returning Mighty Morphin Rangers – Black Ranger Zack, Blue Ranger Billy, Pink Ranger Kat, and Red Ranger Rocky. The Blue Ranger is front and center in the Once & Always poster, suggesting that Billy will lead the Power Rangers in the Mighty Morphin reunion. Though Power Rangers’ Red Rangers are usually the leaders, Rocky never led the team during his Red Ranger era – Tommy did. With neither Jason nor Tommy part of the story and Zordon gone, the Rangers will need a new leader.
The Zordon Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team has not existed since Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3. Both the original dino powers shared with the Rangers by Zordon and the Ninjetti powers created by Ninjor were no longer available by the end of Mighty Morphin, leading to the transition to Zeo. By the end of Power Rangers Turbo season 1, the team of Rangers put together by Zordon during Mighty Morphin had disbanded completely. What exactly happened to characters like Zack, Billy, and Kat shortly after the Zordon Era is a Power Rangers lore puzzle, but one that the upcoming Power Rangers: Once & Always will help solve.
Why Billy Is The Perfect Power Rangers Leader For Once & Always
Billy as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ new leader is a perfect conclusion for a character arc that began 30 years ago in the original Power Rangers TV show. Granted, Zack would often be second-in-command for Jason’s Power Rangers team, so Zack leading the Rangers now that Walter Emanuel Jones has returned to the franchise could also have worked. Still, Zack exited Zordon’s Power Rangers team to become an Omega Ranger along with Trini and Jason, meaning that he did not get to work with the Stone Canyon Rangers or Kat aside from a few crossovers in the comics. Billy, however, remained part of Zordon’s team until Power Rangers Zeo.
By the beginning of Power Rangers Zeo, Billy had very much become Zordon’s replacement as a wise leader the Rangers could absolutely trust. Billy guided the Power Rangers’ transition into the Zeo powers, and the original Blue Ranger only left the team to help the Aquitar Power Rangers in space. Zordon’s greatest apprentice and a brilliant scientist, Billy can lead the Power Rangers both from the Commander Center and on the battlefield. As the only original Mighty Morphin Ranger to be in all three seasons of the classic Power Rangers show, Billy is the perfect leader for this never-before-seen Rangers roster featured in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always.