Warning: Spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2!The latest love letter to the Power Rangers franchise offers a heartfelt tribute to both origianl Green Ranger Tommy Oliver and the actor who played him. Months before the 30th anniversary of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, actor Jason David Frank passed away. In writing The Return, Amy Jo Johnson promised that the series would take time to pay tribute to Frank in a way that helps the fans heal from these recent tragedies.
The healing begins in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2, where Tommy Oliver receives the ultimate swan song as a character. In an alternate universe where Zordon and Alpha-5 perish at the hands of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, the Power Rangers who never separated take one last stand against evil.
Their response is a Z-Wave equivalent device, but one that requires Tommy to sacrifice himself in order to activate the emergency failsafe switch. Much like how Jason David Frank left an impact on audiences before his death, Tommy Oliver dies, leaving an imprint on this world.
Tommy Oliver Sacrifices Himself for the Power Rangers to Eradicate Evil
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2 by Amy Jo Johnson, Matt Hotson, Nico Leon, Dono Sanchez-Almara, and Ed Dukeshire
A world where the original Power Rangers line-up stays together creates a dark future for the team. While there are some bright spots, like Kimberly and Tommy staying together and even marrying during their Ranger lives, it’s also where evil strikes the Command Center. The Rangers strike back, determined to destroy evil for good with a bomb that works much like Zordon’s canonical Z-Wave, which purified evil from the universe in a sacrifice of his own during the television series.
Once planted on Rita’s moon palace, there’s not enough time for all the Rangers to teleport after it detonates. Tommy allows himself to stay behind to purify evil, knowing it’ll result in his impending doom. Kimberly doesn’t want to abandon her husband, but with the implication that the Pink Ranger is pregnant, the Green Ranger urges her to leave him behind. And with one last remaining Ranger on the moon with a flurry of villains, evil is decimated for good, thanks to Tommy Oliver.
This is as much a JDF Tribute as it is a Tommy Oliver Tribute
In the official canon, Tommy Oliver has saved the world several times over. That’s his impact on the franchise, while Jason David Frank’s passion for the material and deep connection with fans endeared him to the community. It’s hard to imagine the Power Rangers franchise without either the character or the actor. That sentiment is expressed in the writing for this issue. Tommy’s final imprint on this universe is eradicating evil in one last sacrifice. With no more evil in sight, the surviving Power Rangers can ride off into retirement. There are literally no Power Rangers without Tommy Oliver.
Save for weaving such a metaphor into the narrative, this is a poetic, heartbreaking goodbye to both the character and the actor. Jason David Frank’s final onscreen appearance as Tommy turned out to accidentally make for the perfect Tommy Oliver tribute. This, though, feels different. This issue manages to be the perfect Jason David Frank tribute. This singular moment manages to provide closure both for the Power Rangers whom Tommy bonded with and closure for the readers who grew up falling in love with Jason David Frank’s performance as Tommy Oliver.
