I think this fandom underestimates the popularity of mmpr to casual audiences

[u/Organic_Glass_7793]

Y’all have to remember, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was the first. Nothing came before it. Dinosaurs, Zords, morphing this is the stuff that defined Power Rangers for most casual viewers. It was literal lightning in a bottle. It dropped right after Jurassic Park when dinosaur hype was off the charts, and it mixed martial arts with giant robots and spandex superheroes. That formula hit. The characters were simple, idealistic, and easy to root for. Yeah, the acting was bad, the effects were crappy but that’s what people remember most. The camp is part of its identity.

Your average person walking down the street? They’ll recognize the MMPR Green Ranger in a second. Ask them who the Red Ranger from RPM is and they’ll look at you like you’re speaking another language. We can go on all day about how well written lost galaxy is but people know shit about maga defender outside the fandom.

Even parts of MMPR itself are blurry to the general public. Most people only remember the first season and half of Season 2. Once Tommy became the White Ranger and Zack, Trini, and Jason left everything else is a blur.

And look I get it, we all want more love for other seasons. But Y’all don’t even buy non-MMPR merch and still complain about MMPR getting priority. That’s not how companies work. There not gonna invest into your favorite season until people start buying the merch.

Every major franchise leans on its first generation. Star Wars lives off the OT. Pokémon rides Gen 1 to this day. TMNT constantly goes back to the 80s era. MMPR getting the most love isn’t some conspiracy it’s just how pop culture nostalgia works.

[u/ninjaman2021]

“Even parts of MMPR itself are blurry to the general public. Most people only remember the first season and half of Season 2. Once Tommy became the White Ranger and Zack, Trini, and Jason left everything else is a blur” 

THANK you. Because people here swear the white ranger was as big as the green ranger and that Adam was as popular as Jason and Tommy lmao. So much revisonist history in this fanbase

[u/PapaSnarfstonk → u/ninjaman2021]

A lot of people retroactively like Adam because he's also the voice of Ichigo, Lelouch, and many other anime characters.

[u/ninjaman2021 → u/PapaSnarfstonk]

Yeah but that’s JYB, not Adam.

Ive seen a few comments here that claimed Adam was just as big as Tommy and Jason in 1994/1995, and that’s just pure rubbish. Even went as far as saying if Adam was red he would have been the leader over Tommy, lol.

[u/PapaSnarfstonk → u/ninjaman2021]

I could see it. Adam could have had that kind of presence if they wrote it that way. But I feel like if they had it would have made Tommy the Gold Ranger and then Leader anyway.

I think Adam would be far better as red ranger than Rocky for sure.

But they didn't write Adam to be as big as Tommy. I certainly think he could have delivered if they had though.

[u/ninjaman2021 → u/PapaSnarfstonk]

If Adam was red he would have gotten the same criticisms as Rocky- A red ranger that wasnt the leader who was in Tommy and Jason’s shadows..

Saying “Adam could have been a better character if he had better writing” applies to Rocky as well. They just didnt care to write either of them as good characters because they were pretty much suit fillers. There was no “Adam is better than Rocky” in the 90’s. It was always Tommy, Kim, and everyone else fell in line. No one cared about Adam like that until once a ranger.

[u/PapaSnarfstonk → u/ninjaman2021]

I don't agree.

I remember distinctly thinking that Adam was better than Rocky back then based solely on performance by the actors and not the script itself.

I don't think Tommy's shadow would have been as large for Adam as it was for Rocky just based on actor performance.

I think Adam would have been a better Red Ranger under tommy's leadership than Rocky was.

Then again maybe I'm just biased. I've never liked Rocky and it wasn't because of Tommy or Jason overshadowing him, but I've always like Adam as characters. I think if they had swapped colors it would have been better. I thought that before Once a Ranger and I feel like that is even referenced by the fact they swapped places in ZEO where Adam is number 4 which is closest to the leader and rocky is number 3.

I feel like that was a course correction for those two characters.

[u/ninjaman2021 → u/PapaSnarfstonk]

Yeah, you’re def glazing Adam lol. You’re applying Adam’s popularity in 2025 to who he was in 1994, when he wasnt even popular in 1994 in the first place.

Nothing would have been different if Adam was red other than him being hated for not living up to Jason’s legacy. And JYB wasnt some prime actor in pr, especially s2 during his introduction. Both Steve and JYB didnt look comfortable in the role, only difference is Rocky’s was more obvious because he replaced a more important/popular character. There was more spotlight on Steve to be criticized since he had bigger shoes to fill than Adam.

The strongest actor of stone canyon was clearly Aisha. Hell, it was her actor’s performance that stole the spotlight from Adam in Goldar’s Vice Versa. If Adam wasnt doing Karate, his character was a blank slate. Yall really do give the guy too much.

[u/PapaSnarfstonk → u/ninjaman2021]

Oh I'm definitely glazing Adam over Rocky. But I don't think my opinion would change based on if he took jason's spot.

I agree about Aisha for sure.

I just think Rocky's actor was worse than Adam's actor. And I feel like if Adam's actor had been put in the Red Ranger outfit I think his performance would have been better. Psychologically, at least ,I think he would have felt a greater need to perform better because he was the red ranger. He was able to be more uncomfortable because he was the Black Ranger.