Tommy Oliver is viewed by many fans as, hands-down, the best member in Power Rangers history, and BOOM! Studios’ comics have truly emphasized why. As an extension of the TV show, the BOOM! Studios comics have come to serve as a means to further expand the lore of the franchise, along with redefining how fans have come to know classic characters. Tommy Oliver might be a rare exception in this regard, though.
Rather than redefine who Tommy Oliver is, the BOOM! Studios comics depict Tommy exactly how fans have come to expect him to be across several seasons of the show. What the comics do, however, is give the character moments that further validate exactly why Tommy is so highly regarded as the greatest Power Ranger in the history of the franchise. Across multiple series in the comic book franchise, right up until one climactic canonical swan song graphic novel, BOOM! reminds readers why Tommy is the very best.
10 Holding His Own Against Scorpina
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 by Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya
Upon being introduced into the franchise, Scorpina is quickly established as one of the most dangerous assets in Rita Repulsa’s ranks. In this issue, Rita sends Scorpina to retrieve Tommy’s Dragon Coin shortly after he joins the Mighty Morphin team. This is a Tommy who is still new to being a Ranger and hardly trained, but in one of the comic series’ very best fight scenes, Tommy holds his own. The two become so evenly matched that Scorpina has to call in a horde of Putties to help her out against “a child,” as she calls him.
9 Tommy’s First Time Leading the Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #7 by Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya
In the prior issue, due to the nature of the Black Dragon’s powers, all the Rangers lose their powers, except for Tommy. Because his Dragon Coin is more connected to Rita Repulsa’s chaos magic than the Morphin Grid, Tommy is exempt. While there is some initial distress from the situation, Tommy soon pulls himself together to lead the team as the only Ranger with powers. Canonically, it’s the first instance where he actually gets to lead the team, and he passes the test with flying colors by taking the fight to the Black Dragon basically alone.
8 Sharing His Power with the Team
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #8 by Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya
The series clearly establishes how most of Tommy’s new teammates are still wary of his entry onto the team early into his hero run, seeing as he was fighting them as Rita’s apprentice not long beforehand. The Rangers losing their powers doesn’t help ease that tension, but rather than take it personally, Tommy takes an opportunity to be selfless, understanding the Black Dragon can’t be defeated by just one man. He uses a reverse-engineered Black Dragon gauntlet to give all his teammates his powers. Led by Jason with the Dragon Shield, the Rangers all temporarily sport green colors.
7 Destroying the Black Dragon
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #9 by Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya
Although his powers are gone, Tommy doesn’t slow down one bit in the fight against evil. While the Black Dragon battles the newly Green team in their Zords, Tommy manages to venture inside the Black Dragon itself. With nothing on his person beyond the Dragon Dagger, Tommy uses it to jam at the walls of the Black Dragon, destroying it from the inside. A good Ranger knows how to be resourceful with or without their powers, and Tommy proves that in a big way.
6 Finding Saba in the Coinless World
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11 by Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya
The blast from the Black Dragon’s destruction is great enough to send Billy and Tommy to the post-apocalyptic World of the Coinless, overtaken by the Black Dragon’s creator, Lord Drakkon. Tommy stumbles upon the ruins of the Command Center and finds a talking sword named Saba, which would have belonged to White Ranger Jason had Zordon’s Power Transfer not been interrupted. With Billy and Tommy still defenseless, Saba immediately recognizes Tommy as someone worthy enough to wield him, which proves instrumental in the duo’s survival.
5 Gaining Saba’s Trust in His Own World
Go Go Power Rangers #26 by Ryan Parrot, Sina Grace, and Francesco Montarino
After Tommy loses his Green Ranger powers, Zordon is ready to rebrand him with the powers of the new White Ranger. However, before the Power Transfer can take place, a source of power is necessary to complete the process. Tommy is sent to a distant planet to find that energy source. There, he must retrieve the White Light, which is guarded by this universe’s Saba. Heavy emphasis on the phrase “this universe’s,” as despite Tommy vividly remembering his fondness for the Saba he met from the Coinless World, this universe’s Saba is far different.
Even worse, fully aware of the evil that Tommy is capable of in the Coinless World as Lord Drakkon, this Saba is less than eager to share his services with the former Green Ranger. Things are further complicated by the arrival of Lord Zedd, eager to steal Saba’s power for himself. After taking Saba, Zedd offers the White Light to Tommy, but Tommy refuses and is ready to fight Zedd with no powers to ensure he doesn’t leave with limitless power. That’s when Zedd disappears and Saba reveals this was all a test that Tommy passed to earn White Rangerhood.
4 Defeating Lord Drakkon
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Shattered Grid #1 by Kyle Higgins, Daniele Di Nicuolo, Diego Galindo, and Simona Di Gianfelice
During their first encounter, Lord Drakkon tells Tommy in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #16 that Tommy will never have any worth “when you can’t even beat me.” Tommy would prove his worth by beating him in time, but first, Drakkon kills him to kick off the “Shattered Grid” arc. However, the Coinless World’s resistance leader and former Ranger Slayer, Kimberly Hart, initiates a unique failsafe plan in which she goes back in time to before Tommy was ever recruited by Rita Repulsa. She shoots a non-fatal arrow into his heart, but readers won’t understand what happens there until Shattered Grid #1.
After Tommy dies at the hands of Drakkon, Tommy realizes that Future Kim’s arrow contained a shard of the Chaos Crystal that gave him his Green Ranger powers. Since this is the same Chaos Crystal that Drakkon uses to kill Tommy, the Crystal reacts by fluctuating Tommy’s soul through space and time. It’s not until the god-tier Emissaries Three send Tommy’s soul into the Morphin Grid itself that he’s ready for a final fight with Drakkon in a world created by the latter. Not only does Tommy prove his worth by conquering the alternate evil version of himself, but he finally conquers his demons and saves the day in the process.
3 Dark Specter Fails to Corrupt Tommy
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114 by Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice
Tommy Oliver’s introduction into the Power Rangers universe saw him mentally corrupted by Rita Repulsa. So when it comes time for Dark Specter to build his Ranger army of zombie minions during the Darkest Hour, it’s safe to assume Tommy is on his list of potential recruits. However, the White Ranger is the only person mysteriously immune to Dark Specter and Rita Repulsa’s mind-control spells, much to both Specter and the rebranded Mistress Vile’s chagrin. Only someone with the willpower of the franchise’s ultimate hero is capable of defying and likely defeating the Thanos of the franchise.
2 Using the Master Morpher Before His Wedding to Kat
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special story “Wedding Vows” by Melissa Flores and Hendry Prasetya
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special gives readers the full overview of Tommy’s relationship with Kat, which had always been missing from the actual show. However, in a prelude to their actual wedding, the comic shows Tommy make a pit stop into a monster fight where he uses his Master Morpher, showcasing every single one of his Ranger forms during one battle. It is almost admirable to see Tommy still make time for superhero duties moments before he’s set to become a husband. It’s another reason why he’s the ultimate hero.
1 Tommy’s Last Mission with the Master Morpher
Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon by Kyle Higgins and Giuseppe Cafaro
Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon is a graphic novel that canonically serves as Tommy Oliver’s final mission. An old and battered Tommy pulls himself out of retirement when his son goes missing. In the endless search for J.J., Tommy retrieves his Master Morpher one last time. He manages to be a competent fighter against younger foes, showing how, even past his prime and injured, he’s still got some pep in his step. Before his Power Rangers chapter closes, Tommy Oliver passes the torch and Master Morpher to his son in one of his greatest character moments ever.
