Power Rangers
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Power Rangers |
| Abbreviation(s): | PR (MMPR, MMAR, PRZ, PRT, PRiS, PRLG, PRLR, PRTF, PRWF, PRNS, PRDT, SPD, PRMF, PROO, PRJF, RPM, PRS) |
| Creator: | Haim Saban, Shuki Levy |
| Date(s): | 1993-1995 (Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers) 1996 (Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo) |
| Medium: | Television Series, Movies, Comics, Video Games |
| Country of Origin: | United States |
| External Links: | Power Rangers: The Official Site, Wikipedia, TV.com |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Series Synopsis
Power Rangers is an umbrella term for a series of children's shows that first aired in 1993 under the title Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers ran for three years and was followed by a miniseries (Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers) which connected the original team to the first followup team (Power Rangers Zeo) in 1996. Every year thereafter has seen a new team use the name Power Rangers, typically with all-new characters and a unique storyline. This trend was followed until 2011 with Samurai, which was cut in half and became the 2012 season, Super Samurai, and was repeated the next year with Megaforce and Super Megaforce.
Fandom
Power Rangers fandom spans a wide range of ages and interests: many fans only watched certain seasons, and may therefore have extensive knowledge of certain teams while possessing only a limited awareness of others (team members, their mission, etc.). Because the years following the end of Mighty Morphin' have become increasingly disassociated, the series lends itself to this sort of selective viewing. There is frequent fandom discussion about which team is the best and, thanks to several canon crossovers between seasons, some chatter about the "ideal team" (usually a grouping made up of a fan's favorite individual Rangers, taken from multiple seasons).
The fandom is also prone to shipper wars that date back to the series' first canon couple, Kimberly Hart and Tommy Oliver. When Kimberly left the team she was replaced by Katherine Hillard, who also took her place as Tommy's girlfriend after Kimberly broke up with Tommy via letter (known among fans as "The Letter"). Tommy/Kim versus Tommy/Kat marked one of the first major schisms among Power Rangers fans. Another early kerfluffle involved the Yosties vs. the Oliverettes in a good-natured and largely fic-based war concerning the relative merits of the series' two longest-running Rangers, Billy Cranston and Tommy Oliver.
Fanfiction
Power Rangers fanfiction is diverse and, considering the multitude of unrelated characters and premises on which the series is built, often difficult to follow. Most authors tend to write about one team at a time, basing their stories within that team's world and stated objectives. The members of some teams overlap and may be logically combined (Power Rangers Turbo and Power Rangers in Space) while others crossed over and were seen to be particularly friendly on the show (Power Rangers Time Force and Power Rangers Wild Force). The return of Tommy Oliver in Power Rangers Dino Thunder has led to some overlap in fic between Mighty Morphin' and Dino Thunder as well.
The series' constant changes have prompted fans who wish to combine other teams to do one of the following: attempt to explain the inconsistent and contradictory timeline provided by the show, ignore the inconsistent and contradictory timeline provided by the show, or make liberal use of alternate universes. Other fans simply work within a single season, or invent an entirely new team composed of original characters (often children of canon Rangers).
Fanfiction during the first ten years of the show (from 1993-2003) was largely het and gen, but recently slash has become very popular among Power Rangers fans. Power Rangers Ninja Storm aired in 2003, and was the first Earth-based Ranger team to have only one female member: Tori Hanson. She began dating a male teammate, Blake Bradley, almost immediately, thus limiting canon het couples to one. Fans frequently paired off the four remaining male Rangers with each other, a trend that continued in later seasons.
Fanfic archives include:
- FanFiction.Net
- Power Rangers Fanfiction
- Paladar's World of FanFic
- Jenga's Library (no longer updated)
- The Fanfic Shoppe (no longer updated, was maintained by Kittie J. Verdena)
- The Angel Grove Youth Center (maintained by Cynthia Harrell)
- Archive of Our Own
Fanzines:
Fanart
The Power Rangers series is characterized by repeating visual themes, including team-specific logos, equipment, vehicles, and of course uniforms. These themes help make fan drawings, dolls, digital art, and graphics work very recognizable. Often times, fans will design their own ideas for new characters or zords, and even draw ideas based off of rumored material.
Fanvids
Power Rangers fan videos range in scope and quality from still images set to music through AU stories told with dialogue, special effects, and multi-source video clips. From a single team two-person relationship vid to sweeping arcs that draw parallels between a dozen or more teams and their common struggles, fanvids are a great perspective on what fans see in the show compared to the casual viewer.
Examples
Cosplay
Not many people look like television stars in the distinctive spandex uniforms worn by almost every Power Ranger team. The fans that do take advantage of it, and everyone else uses that extra bit of creativity and know-how to engineer evocative but non-form-fitting costumes.
Roleplay
Roleplaying among Power Rangers fans was once largely limited to chat rooms that had mock-battles going on in the middle of other people's conversations. Now easy and anonymous social networking sites allow fans to register an account in their character's name and join multi-fandom games like Edensphere.
Conventions
Power Morphicon, the first Power Rangers convention, took place in Pasadena, California [1] in 2007. A second convention, Power Morphicon II, took place in the same location in 2010, followed by a third in 2012, and a fourth planned for 2014.[1].
Resources
- Power Rangers Central - guide to seasons, episodes, characters, toys
- Power Rangers Online - season summaries and episode guides
- Power Rangers Unlimited - downloads and transcripts from all seasons
- Writer's Guide to the PR Universe - encyclopedia of MMPR through SPD
- Power Rangers Universe - open wiki for the Power Rangers universe
- Rangerwiki - closed wiki for the Power Rangers universe
