Tommy Oliver
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| First Appearance: | Green with Evil, Part 1 (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) |
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| Last Appearance: | Wormhole (Power Rangers: S.P.D.) |
| Number of episode appearances: | 257 |
| Status: |
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| Affiliation: | Anton Mercer Industries |
| Homeworld: | Earth |
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Dr. Thomas "Tommy" Oliver is a fictional character from the universe of the American children's television franchise Power Rangers. He is a main character in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, as well as four of its successive incarnations Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, Power Rangers: Zeo, Power Rangers: Turbo, and Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. He also appeared in the Power Rangers: Wild Force episode, Forever Red and the Power Rangers: S.P.D. episode, Wormhole. He has been portrayed by actor Jason David Frank in virtually all of his appearances, but in the episode Wormhole, he appeared only in Ranger form and was voiced by actor Jeffrey Parazzo.
Tommy is the longest-serving Power Ranger, as well as the Power Ranger with the largest arsenal available to him. In that sense, his character is very similar to Fonzie of Happy Days and Urkel of Family Matters in that both started out as supporting characters but soon evolved into their respective shows' breakout characters.
Tommy is strong, loyal, and a highly skilled martial artist, having acted as both student and teacher throughout the series. He was somewhat absent-minded in his teen years, often forgetting things like his Power Morpher, homework, or karate belt (this was sometimes used as a plot device to keep him out of the way and provide a reason for the Green Ranger to come in later, in order to accommodate the Zyu2 footage).
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[edit] Character history
[edit] In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Tommy was first introduced in the Mighty Morphin incarnation as the Green Power Ranger in the mini-saga Green with Evil. As a new student at Angel Grove High School, Tommy faced Jason in a Martial Arts Tournament, catching both Kimberly and Rita's attention. Tommy's fight talent equated that of Jason, prompting Rita to grant him with the Green Ranger powers. Rita Repulsa cast an evil spell to make Tommy loyal to her, granting him limited magic-based powers on top of the Dragon Power Coin. The reason for this is because his Ranger powers were fueled by Rita's dark magic rather than the Morphing Grid, like the other Rangers. Following a battle with the Putties to test his skills, Tommy's given mission was to destroy Zordon, the Command Center, and the Power Rangers, leaving the world defenseless against Rita's conquest.
Tommy would succeed with the majority of his mission, discarding Zordon, demolishing the Command Center, and infecting Alpha with a virus while ejecting the Power Rangers from their own Megazord. His Green Ranger powers gave him an added tool not possessed by the other Rangers, the Dragon Shield. Controlled by the Dragon Dagger, the Dragon Shield promotes advanced healing and can deflect energy attacks. Add to this the ability to generate powerful energy projections, and the Green Ranger was able to contend with all the other Power Rangers at once, only to be warded off by the Megazord.
After the nefarious Scorpina was released from her isolated internment, she and her newly reunited mate Goldar began wreaking havoc together. In a then never-before-seen act of malice, Rita made the Green Ranger grow alongside her henchmen. Together, the trio would decimate the Megazord and send its powerless body plummeting into the Earth's lava-filled core.
Tommy's Dragon Dagger was capable of summoning and controlling his own Zord, the Dragonzord. Once the Rangers' Zords were gone, he summoned his to raze the defenseless city of Angel Grove. Eventually, a newly resurrected Zordon would return the Rangers to their Dinozords after explaining that the Earth's lava naturally healed them. As the Megazord overcame the Dragonzord, Jason would fight Tommy alone in a final battle that saw Jason destroying Tommy's Sword of Darkness, a weapon given to Tommy by Rita that would maintain the spell over Tommy. In order to make reparations for his evil deeds, Tommy agreed to Zordon's rules as for Rangerdom, accepted a communicator from Billy, and dedicated himself and his powers to battling down the wicked Rita Repulsa.
Tommy's fierce fighting abilities were contrasted by his nervousness around Kimberly Hart, the Pink Power Ranger, who he had alienated when he was evil. Kimberly would forgive him for his transgressions, but it wasn't until he lost his Powers to Rita after she used a Green Candle, made of special wax once touched by Tommy, to sever his link to the Morphing Grid, did the Pink Ranger return his affections.
In this encounter involving the Green Candle, Goldar kept the lit item in the Dark Dimension and held Tommy captive there, knowing that his proximity would cause the candle's melting process to accelerate. Jason would make the attempt to get through Goldar to retrieve the candle, but Rita's succession of attacks perpetrated by a monster capable of mimicking every Zord and Zord combination, would prevent him from getting to it in time. As Tommy's powers faded, he was left with one last opportunity to keep the Powers from returning to Rita: he would have to give the Powers over to another individual who possessed a stable link to the Morphing Grid for the Green Ranger powers to function off of. He chose Jason.
Distraught by the loss of the Powers he did not originally seek out, Tommy retreats into isolation at a distant lake, residing for some time in a cabin his Uncle owns. When Rita kidnaps the parents of all the students at Angel Grove High School, the Rangers are forced to acquiesce to Goldar's ransom of their parents for their five Power Coins. After making the personal decision to make the trade, Goldar's deception is revealed when he refuses to return the parents, or the Dragon Dagger Rita had brainwashed Billy into stealing for her. As Goldar commanded the Dragonzord to demolish the defenseless Angel Grove, Jason revealed his own deception: his gambit of defecting his Power Coin to Goldar lead to the oversight that he still possessed the Dragon Coin.
The Rangers recruited Tommy to reclaim his powers and he was assisted by an energy boost from Zordon that would temporarily energize him in replacement of his missing direct link to the Morphin Grid. However, his powers were very unstable now and had to be recharged several times by Zordon. In using the depleting powers to retrieve the missing items, Tommy reached into a lethal force-field and appeared to have been lethally affected. Eventually, it would be learned that the electrocution he underwent by the force-field, while wearing the Green Ranger powers, revitalized its power source substantially. Tommy could once again reclaim his Powers, provided that he periodically seek regeneration by a donation of Zordon's own energies.
In Season two, his powers were completely destroyed when Lord Zedd trapped Tommy in another dimension, called the Otherworld, as his monster, the Turbanshell attacked the city (the other Rangers were trapped in a force-field without access to the Morphing Grid as the Command Center was also trapped in a force-field, which was shrinking and threatening to crush it). Zedd used a special crystal to drain the Green Ranger powers and use them to fuel another band of evil Rangers. As a last ditch effort, it was by Tommy's hands that the powers were destroyed when he shattered the crystal, rather than let the Powers it held, his powers, be used for evil like they had been before. In doing this, he spent the last of those powers fulfilling the promise he made to about how to use them once he was free of Rita's influence.
For quite some time, Tommy was absent from helping the other Rangers defeat Zedd's henchmen. However, when Lord Zedd unleashed his maniacal Nimrod monster, which in turn spawned AC and DC, Alpha 5 and Zordon decided it was time to take matters into their own hands.
Luckily for the Rangers, Zordon and Alpha 5 were able to create new powers for Tommy, making him the White Ranger- a Ranger with Powers that cannot be made evil. Upon becoming the White Ranger, Tommy also became the new leader of the Power Rangers. He uses his enchanted talking saber, Saba, to summon the White Tigerzord.
After Jason, Trini, and Zack were chosen to attend a peace conference in Switzerland, replacement Rangers had to be found. These Rangers were Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, and Adam Park. The Sword of Light was the power source used to transfer the powers. Tommy was the one who activated the power transfer using the sword.
A clone of Tommy was created by the Wizard of Deception, using a lock of Tommy's hair. The clone was then given the power of the Green Ranger, which had previously been believed to be destroyed forever. In truth, Zedd managed to regain the powers and use them to recharge the Dragonzord power coin to its full and complete power. How he did this however was never explained. This was an interesting story because it made Tommy face the evil that he once was and deal with it. Tommy helped his clone realize that even though he was a clone, he was still human and had the power to choose between right and wrong. The clone Tommy (referred to as "Tom") remain in the colonial times of Angel Grove after the two of them traveled back there to save the other Rangers. He kept the Dragonzord coin with him, as well as the powers it held. What happened to him and the coin however was never explained, though it is assumed that the Green Power Coin might have survived and could be active as it was not directly connected to the main morphin grid like the others.
After their Thunderzords were destroyed by Rito Revolto, Tommy and the other Rangers went on a quest to find the legendary Ninjor and receive their Ninja Coins. He gained new powers as the White Ninja Ranger with the power of the Falcon and the Falcon Ninjazord. Tommy met Katherine Hillard (whom he would wind up marrying in a possible future) at a time when she was also under Rita's spell. Kat used Kimberly Hart's Pink Ninja Power Coin, to steal the Falconzord and did not retrieve it until the Rangers gained the power of Metallic Armor.
After Kat stole the Falconzord and Ninjor, she kidnapped Kimberly. Zedd revived the Shogunzords and ordered the Power Rangers to either use them to destroy Earth or have Kimberly's life force drained away. Billy managed to reprogram the zords to the Rangers' control again. Oliver himself went to retrieve Kimberly from Zedd's Dark Dimension. He fought with Zedd, but Zedd proved to be too powerful for him. Oliver managed to destroy Zedd's Z-Staff, forcing him to retreat, and Oliver escaped with Kimberly. Oliver gained control of the White Shogunzord. Afterwards, Kimberly retired from active Ranger service so that she could compete in gymnastics, passing her powers onto Kat. Kimberly and Oliver maintained a long-distance relationship.
Tommy had to retrieve the Zeo Crystal, which was hidden under Rita and Zedd's Palace. Zordon had told him that only a being who was pure of heart could enter the force field around the crystal and survive. Tommy had to go through the caves of deception to get to the crystal, and when he got to it he wasn't sure if he would survive. He thought that there might still be some evil in him from when he was the Evil Green Ranger. He bravely passed through the force field and retrieved the crystal. Soon after though, Master Vile stole it from him. The Rangers managed to get it back, but wanted to make sure that Master Vile couldn't get it again, so the Rangers split it into five sub-crystals and sent them to different points in history.
[edit] In Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers
Vile turned back time using the Orb of Doom, turning the Rangers back into children. A young Tommy journeyed to reclaim the Red Zeo Sub-Crystal in a Native American land. For his test, he was given three crystals (two were fakes) and he had to decide which one was real. He retrieved the true Red Sub-Crystal from Sam Trueheart.
[edit] In Power Rangers: Zeo
Oliver gained the powers of the Red Zeo Crystal, becoming Zeo Ranger V – Red in Power Rangers: Zeo. It was during this time that he & Kimberly separated after she broke up with him in a Dear John Letter. Kat Hillard tried to set him up with another girl, but it failed due to Tommy's intervening Ranger duties. Kat and Tommy would eventually begin courting.
After the Zeo Zords were severely damaged, Tommy alone was left the Red Battlezord, a Zord that was telepathically controlled. He had difficulty learning to operate the mind link and would lose control when becoming emotional. A spirit quest would eventually provide Tommy with the peace of mind needed to control the lone Zord, however, during this journey, Tommy would meet his brother David Trueheart (portrayed by Jason David Frank's real life brother, the late Eric Frank.) King Mondo captured David in order to trap Tommy. After freeing him, Tommy would reveal his identity as a Ranger to David who refused to let a helpless Tommy remain behind. To convince David to flee to safety, Tommy revealed his identity to him. It would then be learned that David had the other half of the arrowhead. Should the two arrowheads be joined, the holder of the arrowhead would control both the spirits trapped within them and a darkness powerful enough to destroy the world.
Tommy was later captured by Prince Gasket of the evil Machine Empire and brainwashed fighting his friends, believing them to be the threat to the world. The other Rangers, and especially Kat, were able to save him though, by de-morphing and surrendering to prove they weren't against him.
[edit] In Power Rangers: Turbo
With a new villain Divatox at the onset of Power Rangers: Turbo, Tommy and his fellow Rangers abandoned their Zeo powers for the newly created Turbo powers (modeled after Lerigot's key), and becomes the Red Turbo Ranger. Tommy became interested in motor racing following graduation, a hobby he sometimes shares with Justin. His tenure as the Red Turbo Ranger was a short one, with Zordon declaring his duties as a defender of Earth fulfilled. In the episode "Passing the Torch," Divatox captured Tommy after her mother convinced her that removing the leader would be the key to the Power Ranger's defeat. However, T.J. Johnson and Cassie Chan managed to find and rescue him after Kat failed to fend off a group of Pirahnatrons. Before Tommy left, he asked T.J. to become the new Red Ranger, stating, "I wouldn't be standing here today, T.J., if it weren't for your courage and strength. I choose you to lead the team, as the new Red Ranger."
[edit] College
For some time, the preceding years of Tommy's life remained undefined, although his reappearance in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder fills in some of the gaps. Oliver went on to college and graduate school, earning a doctorate in paleontology. During this time, he met Hayley, (who would help him in the creation of the Dino Ranger powers based on parts of older Rangers' powers). He was also partners with Terrence "Smitty" Smith and Dr. Anton Mercer on a dinosaur-related project that would lead to the creation of the Tyrannodrones, Raptor Riders and the new Dinozords. A horrible lab accident leads to the transformation of Dr. Mercer into the evil Mesogog. It would also have Tommy finding the Dino Gems and hiding them in the lab under his basement while learning the location of the Shield of Triumph.
[edit] In Power Rangers: Wild Force
Oliver made his next appearance in the Power Rangers: Wild Force episode "Forever Red". Andros, the Red Space Ranger, recruited Oliver after learning of the resurgent Machine Empire and their plan to unearth Lord Zedd's defunct Zord Serpenterra and use it to invade Earth. Oliver recruited eight previous Red Rangers and the Quantum Time Force Ranger to intervene. To achieve victory, Tommy morphed into Zeo Ranger-V in this episode and fought Gerrok (Green Hunter Beetleborg) alongside Wes Collins, the Red Time Force Ranger. Tommy destroyed Gerrok with the "Zeo Flying Power Kick."
[edit] In Power Rangers: Dino Thunder
After the events of "Forever Red," Tommy became a science teacher at a school in the fictional city of Reefside, California at the onset of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. A trio of detention students — Conner McKnight, Ethan James, and Kira Ford — unravel Oliver's past as a Power Ranger after uncovering three artifacts from his lab that turn them into Power Rangers. Oliver recruits these students to become the Dino Rangers. When he discovers that Mesogog is still active, he joins the other Dino Rangers and becomes the Black Dino Ranger, aided by the power of invisibility from the Black Dino Gem. His Dinozord was the Brachiozord carrier, he wielded the Brachio Staff, and he drove the Black Thunder ATV.
When the White Dino Ranger appeared, Tommy's dedication to saving the lives of innocents seemed to give Tommy cause to show no mercy to him, even after he found out his identity was Trent Mercer. For a while, he was encased in amber by the White Dino Ranger, and once freed, was unable to de-morph, due to his Dino Gem and his morpher remolecularizing. He remained in his morphed form for a while.
After seeing the power of the White Ranger Clone and the Terrorsaurus, Tommy decided that the Rangers needed an upgrade. He took Trent to the location of the Shield of Triumph, as the shield could only be freed from its resting place by the power of Trent's Dino Gem. He also had a hunch that Conner was the one destined to control the shield. He was right, as Conner showed up just in time to save the shield from being lost forever. Tommy informed the other Rangers they had to contribute their energies to the shield, and Conner became the Triassic Ranger.
He was later de-morphed by a special substance, but was rendered invisible as a result. An experiment sees the return of Tommy to his natural state, but the process shatters his Dino Gem and renders Tommy comatose. During this time, Tommy would endure several internal battles, facing off against several of his past Ranger egos: the Green and White Power Rangers and Zeo Ranger V – Red. (During each of his fights with those Rangers, the screen was tinted the color that matched the Ranger.) After proving that he would not give up the fight for his life, his opponents each offered him a shattered piece of his Dino Gem. Tommy would awake holding the newly repaired Gem in his hand. As a result, he also gained Super Dino Mode.
When he learned that Trent was hiding his Father's secret identity, Tommy considered asking Trent to surrender his Morpher. Though Tommy came to understand Trent's loyalty, he left the decision of letting Trent stay with the team, to the other Ranger's. They decided to let Trent stay after he saved Conner's life. In a final battle against Zeltrax, Tommy advises the Ranger's that the only means to succeed would be to sacrifice their Zord's. (This may have been a reference to his own Zord sacrifice in Season 3's Ninja Quest, Part 1.) At the end of the series, Tommy destroyed Zeltrax, alongside Kira. The Dino Rangers sacrificed their Dino Gems in order to destroy Mesogog's ultimate form(s). By that point, Mesogog had already managed to separate himself from Dr. Anton Mercer. In the end, Tommy would answer Anton's question of what he would do now by insisting he would pursue the simple life of a high school science teacher.
[edit] Other notes
- He is called "Tommy" by his friends and "Dr. O" by his students, and is considered a legend among his fellow Rangers and allies due to his tenure as a super-hero.
- As of the early series (specifically the episode "Island of Illusions: Part I"), Tommy is a third dan black belt in karate, as seen by the three stripes on his black belt.
- During the time that Tommy was trapped in morph, in the episode Bully For Ethan, he asked Kira to help him clean out some files. These files had many Ranger insignias in them, including the Lightspeed Rescue symbol, leading to the possible conclusion that Tommy helped create these powers, or was involved with them. In this episode, he also shows an old picture from his early Mighty Morphin Power Ranger days. The picture includes Tommy as the original Green Ranger, and the other original Rangers Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Trini and Billy.
- In his incarnations as the Green, White, and Black Rangers, Tommy's costume has some sort of shield. The Green Ranger's Dragon Shield covered his upper chest, the White Ranger's shield protected his entire torso, and the Black Dino Ranger costume had armored shoulder plates. The Red Zeo and Red Turbo Ranger costumes he wore were the only ones not to feature a shield, because it is often the Sixth Ranger that only gets such an armor.
- Tommy was the first Ranger to have his own theme song ("Go Green Ranger Go") and the only Ranger to have two ("White Ranger Tiger Power" later in the series). The only other Rangers to have a song was Power Rangers Zeo's Gold Ranger ("Go Gold Ranger") and Power Rangers in Space's Silver Ranger ("Silver Ranger").
- According to Season 2, Episode 35 ("A Reel Fish Story"), Tommy's favorite food is sushi.
- Tommy Oliver is the only character to have worn four different colors as a Ranger. His colors were Green and later White in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Red in Power Rangers: Zeo and Power Rangers: Turbo, and Black in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder. In addition, at eight, Tommy has been in more seasons than any other character, including Zordon. These were MMPR Seasons 1-3, Zeo, the first half of Turbo, the episode "Forever Red" of Wild Force, and Dino Thunder. Although Jason David Frank was not in the episode, the morphed Black Dino Ranger was also present in the S.P.D. episode "Wormhole". Only the comic duo of Bulk and Skull tie with him in this instance, being present from Mighty Morphin to Lost Galaxy. Skull made a cameo in the first episode of LG, in a scene where he's asleep and misses his chance to board Terra Venture with Bulk and Professor Phenomenous. Later in the series, following the return of Leo's brother Mike, the Professor and Bulk are present on Terra Venture and assume the job of bartenders for a single episode where they consolidate Mike during a rough day. Both Bulk and Skull also return for Forever Red, an episode of Wild Force.
- In the Power Rangers: Dino Thunder episode "Fighting Spirit", when Tommy is laying in the hospital bed, careful choice of colors were used for his attire: his blanket was green, his gown was white, and the collar of the gown was red. Also, the White Ranger made a reference to Tommy's old hairstyle by saying, "So, finally cut that hair, huh?"
- In the Christmas episode of Power Rangers: Zeo, which takes place in the future, he and Katherine are married. Not surprisingly, many fans of the Tommy/Kimberly pairing have chosen to disregard this episode.
[edit] Quotes
- Conner: "Our teacher is the oldest living Power Ranger."
Hayley: "Not the oldest. Just the best."
- Elsa: "Aren't you a little old for this, Tommy?"
Tommy: "I may be old, but I can still pull it off"
- Tommy: "Well, I've got to go and do some shopping."
Hayley: "Why?"
Tommy: "I looked in my closet this morning, and there was a serious shortage of Black in there!"
(Note: This references the fact that every Ranger's normal clothing has colors matching their Ranger designation, the first time this was mentioned on the show.)
- Tommy: "Passion doesn't just happen. You make it grow."
- Tommy (after seeing Megalador): "Aw, man. I hate shark monsters."
- Green Ranger: "Why don't you just give up the fight?"
Tommy: "That's the one thing I would never do."
- Tommy: "Aw, man." (Repeated line throughout all his Ranger incarnations)
| Preceded by none |
Green Ranger 1993 - 1994 |
Succeeded by Adam Park |
| Preceded by none |
White Ranger 1994 - 1996 |
Succeeded by Delphine |
| Preceded by Jason Lee Scott |
Power Rangers leader 1994-1996 |
Succeeded by Delphine |
| Preceded by Aurico |
Red Ranger 1996 - 1997 |
Succeeded by Theodore Jay Jarvis Johnson |
| Preceded by Delphine |
Power Rangers leader 1996-1997 |
Succeeded by T.J. Johnson |
| Preceded by Danny Delgado |
Black Ranger 2004 - 2005 |
Succeeded by Will Aton |
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Power Rangers Characters by Era and Generation
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| General: | List of characters | Minor characters | |
| Ranger colors: | Red • Yellow • Blue • Black • Green • Pink • White • Other | |
| Zordon | I | Jason Lee Scott • Trini Kwan • Zack Taylor • Kimberly Hart • Billy Cranston • Tommy Oliver |
| II | Rocky DeSantos • Adam Park • Aisha Campbell | |
| III-IV | Katherine Hillard • Ninjor • Aquitian Rangers • Tanya Sloan • Trey of Triforia | |
| V-VI | Justin Stewart • Blue Senturion • Carlos Vallertes • Ashley Hammond • Cassie Chan • T.J. Johnson • Phantom Ranger • Andros • Zhane | |
| Post-Zordon/ Independent |
VII-X | Lost Galaxy Power Rangers & Magna Defender • Lightspeed Rescue Power Rangers • Time Force Power Rangers & Quantum Ranger • Wild Force Power Rangers |
| XI- | Ninja Storm Power Rangers • Dino Thunder Power Rangers • S.P.D. Power Rangers • Mystic Force Power Rangers & Clare • Operation Overdrive Power Rangers | |
