Goose Musings

The Power Rangers. Today is their day. In 2018, Hasbro announced that August 28th is henceforth and forever Power Rangers Day.

Yes, Power Rangers Day, but not Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Day.

The morphin is significant. Not only did the show expand my vocabulary with a term usually reserved for the science room, it also caused some perplexity for the young version of myself.

But first: what I'm asking only applies to the first few seasons or so, those seasons with Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini, Billy, and Tommy. If things changed by the later years, then so be it—my question will have become obsolete.

With that ground covered then, let’s go. Here’s my question: in what sense did the Power Rangers morph? What changed about them when they donned the spandex?

Are we to assume, I guess, that the Rangers were stronger, more agile than their typical Angel Grove selves? Were they somehow more courageous, more ready to kick some putty butt? Were they just better, in some primitive, unanalyzable way?

I’ve let the show run in the background of my day-to-day life. Jason fiercely punched as I did my taxes. Trini stalwartly chopped as I mindlessly doom scrolled. But throughout it all, I never noticed anything extraordinary about the early Rangers.

The Rangers jumped high of course, kicked with dexterity, and overall appeared to be in great shape. But they never lifted cars, took to the air without aid of machinery, or read people's mind. From my point of view, they were just gifted humans—not super ones.

As with all questions of importance, I went to Reddit to find an answer. However, the thread I found was minimally decisive. Yes, the sub agreed, eventually the Rangers were superhuman (although there was no consensus on how super). But that’s where the tragedy lie—only one person referenced the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as evidence, but their point just seemed to amount to the fact that they’re better fighters in Ranger form. But this doesn’t mean that the Rangers are superhuman, does it?

So, what do you think? Were the early Rangers Morphin, or were they just Clothes-a-Changin? Let me know in the comments.

Happy Power Rangers Day!