Power Rangers Officially Retiring An Icon
Jason Lee Scott, the Red Ranger, loses his ability to become the Red Ranger in BOOM! Studios Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #100.
Jason Lee Scott, a.k.a. The Red Ranger from Power Rangers, is officially retiring. The Mighty Morphin Power Ranger debuted in the first episode of the live-action series. The character sacrificed his powers and title as The Red Ranger in BOOM! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #100.
In the comic, Jason is possessed by an evil entity known as the Dark Ranger. While the entity also captured Zack Taylor and Trini Kwan, Jason was the one Power Ranger who became the entity’s prime host. The Dark Ranger used Jason’s power to conjure up an army of the dead and use it to conquer the universe and destroy the legend of the Power Rangers.
The Power Rangers, whom the Dark Ranger didn’t infect, rose to stop the entity from accomplishing its mission. In the end, Jason made the ultimate sacrifice to defeat this great evil. Jason and his ally, Andros, broke the Dark Ranger’s connection with the Mighty Morphin grid. This led to Jason losing his ability to transform into the Red Ranger for good.
Of course, fans of the Power Rangers know that Jason has been an iconic member of the team since the ’90s. He’d seemed ready to hang up the Red Ranger suit for a while now, hinting that he wanted to spend more time with his family. Despite the sad circumstance surrounding it, Jason did save the universe from the Dark Ranger.
The question now becomes how this impacts the supposed Power Rangers cinematic universe that’s coming. In 2021, it was reported that Netflix had aggressively pursued a Power Rangers project with Jonathan Entwistle heading it. Entwistle previously worked on the fan-favorite Netflix series I am not okay with this and looked to be the one developing the ambitious project for the streamer.
Original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Amy Jo Johnson stated that she wants to see the OG cast get a bit of shine in the reboot. News of the Netflix project has been sparse, though it shouldn’t surprise anyone considering the streamer is known for canceling projects before they get going. Still, the ending of Jason as the Read Ranger has to be something worth depicting on screen.
One thing fans know for sure is that actor Austin St. John probably won’t be the one portraying the character. For those unaware, Austin played the Red Ranger in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show. The actor was recently arrested for conspiracy to commit wire fraud at his home in Texas.
Austin did make a cameo in 2020’s Power Rangers Beast Morphers. He was one of 18 individuals indicted by law enforcement after allegedly being part of a plan to fraudulently receive funds from the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program. Needless to say, he won’t be making a return as the Red Ranger.
Whatever happens with the Power Rangers going forward, we can be sure fans will think about Jason’s sacrifice in Mighty Morphin #100. His sacrifice may be one of the biggest in comic book history. While his ending may not be what fans expected, at least he went out as a hero.
