Jason David Frank’s Tommy Oliver was the face of the Power Rangers franchise. After making his debut in 1993 with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Frank continued playing the character all the way into 2019. In-universe, Tommy Oliver was considered the greatest Power Ranger of all time. And in real-life, Frank was regarded as both a martial arts expert and pop culture legend.
Although Frank has been most recognized as the Green Ranger, he actually played multiple different Power Rangers throughout the franchise. They were all still Tommy Oliver, allowing Frank to continue developing his character over the years. Fans never grew tired of him, and now one important question remains: which version of Tommy Oliver was the best? Without further ado, here is every Power Ranger that the late Jason David Frank played, ranked.
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6 Red Turbo Ranger — Power Rangers Turbo
Hasbro
Power Rangers Turbo was the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise, featuring a 45-episode run in 1997. Tommy Oliver was the first Red Turbo Ranger as well as the leader of the Turbo Rangers. Fans will remember this version of Tommy’s iconic trademarks; the Turbo Lightning Sword and race car-themed “Red Lightning” Turbozord. In September 1997, Tommy passed the torch of the Red Turbo Ranger to baseball player T.J. Johnson. During his time as the Red Ranger, Tommy learned that it was kindness and exemplary courage that best qualified someone for the role.
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5 Zeo Ranger V Red — Power Rangers Zeo
Saban International
Tommy Oliver became a Zeo Ranger with three other members of the Mighty Morphin team. Like Adam Park and Rocky DeSantos, Tommy adopted a new Ranger color, leaving the days of the Green and White Rangers behind. Zeo Ranger V Red was well-known for his giant star-shaped visor and trademark Power Sword. In Power Rangers Zeo, Tommy was made the leader of the Zeo Rangers from the very beginning. This provided a stark contrast to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, where he was not a Red Ranger but somewhat kicked the Red Ranger out of their leadership role.
4 Lord Drakkon — Power Rangers Hyperforce
Lord Drakkon was a tyrannical Tommy Oliver from an alternate universe. This universe was one where Tommy never joined the Rangers and later killed both Jason and Rita. When Zordon attempted to create a new and more powerful Ranger, the alternate Tommy disrupted the process and claimed the power for himself. Taking the name of “Lord Drakkon,” the evil Tommy Oliver ruled over Angel Grove while sporting a green and white color scheme. Lord Drakkon appeared in the “Shatter Grid” episodes of the webseries, Power Rangers Hyperforce, as well as the fighting game, Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid.
3 Black Dino Ranger — Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Buena Vista Television
The Zords in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were modeled after dinosaurs. That dinosaur theme was taken even further in 2004’s Power Rangers Dino Thunder. As the Black Dino Ranger, Tommy Oliver piloted a new Dino Zord that took inspiration from a Brachiosaurus. Fans got to see a new side of Tommy, who was no longer the teenager with attitude they knew from the 90s. He had become older and wiser, and even worked a normal job as a teacher at Reefside High.
It was great seeing Tommy not lead a Ranger team and instead take on a more mentor role. However, that did not mean Tommy was sitting on a chair away from all the action. He was still on the field, demonstrating his physical prowess and love for adventure. With Tommy’s help, the Dino Rangers were able to become one of the best teams in Power Rangers history.
2 White Ranger — Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers used footage from the Japanese franchise, Super Sentai. When the Japanese Green Ranger was killed off, Mighty Morphin was left with no more footage to use for Tommy. Due to the popularity of the character, Saban did not want for that to be the end of Tommy’s story. It was ultimately decided that Tommy would become the White Ranger, freed from the curse of Rita’s spell.
When Zordon gave Tommy his new powers, Tommy was made the new leader of the Rangers. In this role, he was a straight-forward hero who was immune to the corrupting forces of darkness. Rita and the Wizard of Deception gave up on trying to turn Tommy, and created an evil clone of the Green Ranger. Audiences love redemption stories, and the White Ranger marked a new beginning in Tommy Oliver’s path of heroism.
1 Green Ranger — Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
The first Ranger that Frank played, the Green Ranger, has remained one of the most iconic Power Rangers. He was stronger than each of the other Rangers, but could also fight all of them on his own. Tommy Oliver was introduced in the five-part “Green with Evil,” a time when he was under the control of Rita Repulsa. Equipped with the Dragon Dagger and the Dragon Shield, Tommy was near unstoppable. He could also call in the powerful Dragonzord, which has always been a favorite among Power Rangers fans.
Lionsgate included a reference to the original Green Ranger in the 2017 movie reboot, having Frank appear in a cameo wearing the color green. While there have been many Green Rangers in the Power Rangers franchise, the color of green has been most synonymous with Tommy Oliver. Super Ninja Steel and Battle for the Grid were Frank’s final Power Rangers appearances, concluding a legendary run of more than 25 years.
