Warning: Spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #4!Tommy Oliver and Jason David Frank are both synonymous with the Power Rangers franchise, and both receive the ultimate tribute in the comics. On behalf of the creative team of the new Return miniseries, Amy Jo Johnson promised that the original Power Rangers actors’ influence on the comic would also offer “closure” in paying homage to those the community has lost, like Frank.

Closure arrives in the unexpected resurrection of Tommy Oliver from the dead in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #4 by Amy Jo Johnson, Matt Hotson, Nico Leon, Dono Sanchez-Almara, and Ed Dukeshire. In this universe, Tommy Oliver sacrificed his life to save the world before the events of the series, which takes place in an alternate version of the canon.

Readers were initially willing to accept Tommy’s sacrifice as the perfect final goodbye he deserves, but this return makes for an even better tribute to both the character and the actor who portrayed him.

Tommy Oliver is Brought Back from the Dead

The Original Green Ranger Returns in His Younger Body

Decades ago, during the Power Rangers’ final stand against Rita Repulsa, the Empress of Evil narrowly escaped death by transferring her soul into the Morphin Grid. She did this using a bomb that the Rangers had set up to purify evil, but which instead destroyed the Moon Base. While Tommy was presumed dead in Bandora Palace’s destruction, he, too, was sucked into the Morphin Grid. Fast-forward to more than 20 years later, when Rita’s secret daughter, Selena Repulsa, tries to bring her mother back among the living out of a device that the returning villain Finster has created.

In an effort to stop Selena, Olivia – daughter of Tommy and Kimberly, and new Green Ranger – shoves Selena out of the way and, without realizing it, takes her spot in the machine. As Selena tries to summon her mother, Olivia taking her place is enough to summon her father instead. Since Tommy has been gone from the living world for several years, he returns in the same youthful body he had when he sacrificed himself, having not aged a day in the Morphin Grid.

How The Return #4 Honors Tommy Oliver AND Jason David Frank

The Ultimate Power Rangers Tribute

Both Tommy Oliver and Jason David Frank, respectively, hold immense significance to the Power Rangers franchise. From the very beginning of his run as the Green Ranger, back when he opposed the Power Rangers before joining them, Tommy Oliver instantly became a fan-favorite. The character’s fanbase would continue to grow with each new appearance across the decades. Tommy cemented himself as, for many, the most iconic Power Ranger. Jason David Frank cemented his legacy as a staple of the Power Rangers franchise, considering how often he’d agree to return to the community, even as a mentor.

JDF’s death was a devastating hit to the Power Rangers community, but this is the perfect way to pay homage to the character and the actor while offering closure for both. Tommy not only returns, but in the form that audiences were first introduced to him in his first episode. He’s even back in action for a bit as the Green Ranger. The pillar of the Power Rangers universe gets a happy ending in the form that he was introduced to the world.