There’s a secret origin inPower Rangerslore to how the Phantom Ranger got his black suit. The Phantom Ranger was first introduced inPower Rangers Turboas one ofthe brand’s strongest sixth Rangers, and thereafter featured prominently as a mysterious Ranger. At no point in the franchise did audiences ever see him under the helmet or learn his birth name, while his origin story remained a mystery until now.
The six-partPower Rangers Universeby Nicole Andelfinger and Simone Ragazzoni offers the origin story for the Phantom Ranger. The miniseries reveals thatthe Phantom Ranger was not always the Phantom Ranger, but instead, The Morphinaut, and instead of black, his suit used to be white.
Chronologically, the familiar black aspects of his suit were coated in white, while The Phantom Ranger’s complementary silver design was originally gold-plated. Through a series of tragedies that befall The Morphinaut, both himself and his suit becomes a corrupted black stain.
The Mysterious Phantom Ranger Was Originally ‘The Morphinaut’
Power Rangers Universe by Nicole Andelfinger, Simone Ragazzoni, Mattia Iacono, and Ed Dukeshire
Before he officially joined thePower Rangersfranchise withTurbo,The Phantom Ranger was The Morphinaut, as he was quite literally a Morphin' astronaut studying the yet-to-be-discovered Morphin Grid. At the time, the Morphin Grid was merely the stuff of legends, and so everyone around The Morphinaut for years would tell him to stop researching it so meticulously. Ever a scientific explorer and discoverer, he didn’t listen, and with the help of his friend Chenil, the Morphinaut was the first to seethe Morphin Grid from the inside.
In canon, the way that thePower Rangersfranchise and its characters understand the Morphin Grid is largely thanks to The Morphinaut opening the door for its discovery.
Within the first few pages of the series, The Phantom Ranger’s legacy becomes deeper than just beingPower Rangers Turbo’ssixth Ranger. Centuries ago, he was the first person to ever discover the Morphin Grid. This story contextualizes exactly why The Phantom Ranger is so important to the franchise, beyond his contributions as a Ranger. In canon, the way that thePower Rangersfranchise and its characters understand the Morphin Grid is largely thanks to The Morphinaut opening the door for its discovery.
The Morphinaut Was Possessed & Tortured By Dark Specter For Over 500 Years
He’d Be Rescued by the Squadron Rangers, Power Rangers Exclusive to the Comics
From the frontier lab of Planet 0117, The Morphinaut enters a portal through the A47 Galaxy to make his discovery, but before he can truly relish what he’s found, he realizes he’s not alone. With him is none other than the evil, shadowy entity known as Dark Specter.Dark Specter would become the franchise’s Thanosin due time, buthis reign of terror truly begins by capturing The Morphinaut within the Morphin Grid. For 584 years, The Morphinaut is imprisoned by Dark Specter and tortured underneath a pain-inducing grid energy.
The agony that he’s endured at the hands of Dark Specter recontextualizes his efforts duringPower Rangers in Spaceto stop Dark Specter, making their battle far more personal.
It isn’t until The Morphinaut is suddenly dispersed from the portal from which he came that he achieves his freedom. A group of teenagers with attitude approach him, seeing the grid energy that’s hurting him. These teenagers find themselves in the Masterforge portal rescuring this mysterious figure from the Morphin Grid, while their parents (who happen to be the Morphin Masters) enter the Grid hoping to protect it from Dark Specter. The agony that he’s endured at the hands of Dark Specter recontextualizes his efforts duringPower Rangers in Spaceto stop Dark Specter, making their battle far more personal.
The Morphinaut Absorbed Dark Specter’s Evil To Escape His Prison
The Morphinaut’s Sacrifice Turns Him into The Phantom Ranger
Dark Specter proceeds to use the entrance created for him by The Morphinaut’s portal to invade Planet 0117. As Dark Specter’s monsters continue to overtake the planet, The Morphinaut returns the favor by saving one of the teens who saved him. Together, they work to stop Dark Specter’s attempts to destroy the Morphin Grid. Eventually, the teens become the Squadron Rangers, while, to save the Rangers, The Morphinaut sacrifices himself by absorbing Dark Specter’s negative energy, preventing it from spreading to the Rangers.
The first episode that The Phantom Ranger appears in on television is “The Phantom Phenomenon,” the 23rd episode ofPower Rangers Turbo. BetweenTurboandIn Space,The Phantom Ranger appeared in 10 episodes ofPower Rangersonscreen content. He also makes a cameo in the Netflix special,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always.
In a sacrifice of their own, the Rangers destroy their Morphers to rid Dark Specter from the Morphin Grid. This does two things: one, rids the Rangers of their physical forms, turning them intothe god-tier cosmic Emissaries, and two, saves the Morphinaut.Dark Specter’s influence permanently stains his costume, turning his gold/white suit into the iconic all-black Phantom Ranger suit he’s known for. The Emissaries send the Phantom Ranger billions of years into the future for his purpose to help Zordon and the Turbo Rangers, bringing everything full circle to the show.
The Phantom Ranger’s Name & Black Suit Are A Reminder of His Torment
He is an Actual Phantom of Who He Once Was
When the Morphinaut’s costume is changed, it’s acknowledged that both himself and the power that the Emissaries gift him is"a mere phantom of the power you once had.“With this quote, the Morphinaut officially adopts the name The Phantom Ranger. This interaction adds a new bittersweet meaning to the character’s name. Whereas in the show, The Phantom Ranger seemed like an alias to highlight just how ominous and mysterious his presence is, readers learn that it’s a reflection of his lack of identity, and the identity he’s lost from his ordeal with Dark Specter.
While trapped in the Morphin Grid, the Phantom Ranger was deprived of hundreds of years of his life. In addition, with Dark Specter controlling his body and mind, both are forever permanently stained in a way that’s reflected forever in his now black costume. His suit is a physical representation of the corruption that he was forced to endure. He’s long removed from the man (or Morphinaut) that he once was.The Phantom Ranger is a ghost of his former self.
Where Can Power Rangers Fans Find The Phantom Ranger Next?
There’s Another Power Rangers Story on the Horizon
Power Rangers Universeends with the Emisarries sending the newly crowned Phantom Ranger to Eltar to meet Zordon for the first time, starting the beginning of their relationship. From there, readers can dive straight into another series:Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness#1 by Frank Gogol and Simone Ragazzoni (who previously illustratedUniverse). The one-shot takes place one thousand years ago on the planet Da’Quar, where Zordon tasks The Phantom Ranger with a mission to protect Lady Fienna and her daughter (the little girl who will grow up to become Rita Repulsa) from her ex, Master Vile.
Despite being published before Universe (albeit in the same year), boasting the same artist and being framed as one of The Phantom Ranger and Zordon’s first missions together serves as a perfect bridge between the two stories, intentional or not. The beauty of BOOM! Studios stories like this is how they help expand the wider lore of the Power Rangers franchise, while also answering burning questions that fans have wondered about for years. It took nearly 25 years since his TV debut, butPower Rangersfans now have a better understanding of The Phantom Ranger and his wicked-cool black suit.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
