Jason Lee Scott

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Jason Lee Scott
First Appearance:	Day of the Dumpster (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers)
Last Appearance:	Forever Red (Power Rangers: Wild Force)
Number of episode appearances:	105
Status:	Unknown
Affiliation:	None
Homeworld:	Earth
Relatives:	Unknown
Weapon(s)/Gear:	Power Morpher Tyrannosaurus Power Coin Wrist Communicator Blade Blaster Power Sword Dragon Power Coin Dragon Dagger Dragon Shield Golden Power Staff
Zord(s):	Tyrannosaurus Dinozord Dragonzord Red Dragon Thunderzord Pyramidas Warrior Wheel
Powers:	Red Power Ranger Gold Ranger
Portrayed by:	Austin St. John

Jason Lee Scott is a fictional character in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series, played by Austin St. John. Jason is best remembered as the original Red Ranger, and the first leader of the Power Rangers.

At first glance, Jason appeared to be the stereotypical jock type, interested in sports and girls only. But the similarity ended there, as he was big-hearted, outgoing, friendly, and always willing to help someone out when it was needed; such as when he took Billy under his wing and taught him martial arts to boost his confidence and teach him self-defense.

[edit] Character history

[edit] In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Jason morphing into the Red Power Ranger

Jason is a martial artist from the fictional town of Angel Grove, California. He was selected by Zordon and Alpha 5, along with Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Kimberly Hart, as the five "teenagers with attitude" to become the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. When Zordon first confronted the teens to give them their powers, only Jason initially believed him. He was given the Power Coin of the Tyrannosaurus, obtained the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord, and was made the team leader. Jason became the Red Power Ranger. Jason led the team into many battles often encountering Goldar establishing a rivalry with the Rita's and later Zedd's number one henchman.

Aside from martial arts, Jason is an accomplished athlete, weight trainer and certified scuba diving instructor. He is dedicated and undaunted leader.

When Tommy Oliver was introduced, he became competitive rivals with Jason, matching him in fight talent. After Rita manipulates Tommy and turns him into the evil Green Ranger, he captures Jason, steals his Power Morpher and imprisons him in Rita's Dark Dimension where he would have to fight Goldar to retrieve his Morpher. Billy, Trini and Alpha manage to repair the damage Tommy did to the Command Center, in time to find Jason and retrieve him seconds before he is fatally wounded by the green ranger who arrived on the scene with order to destroy Jason. Later, Jason would square off with Tommy and the Dragonzord in the Tyrannosaurus and eventually, face the deranged Tommy in person and destroy the Sword of Darkness Rita had given to Tommy due to the Sword's ability to maintain her evil spell on him.

Later, Rita would craft a Green Candle out of special wax that had been enchanted with Tommy's touch when he was evil. Once lit, the candle would continue to burn until it was gone, and when it was, so to would Tommy's powers. Because Tommy's proximity to the candle accelerated the candle's melting process, Tommy is captured and placed in its proximity by Goldar. However he eventually escapes and Jason is left to retrieve the candle. Jason has the upper hand in his fight with Goldar, but is recalled into the battle with Rita's Cyclops monster in order to save Tommy's life. Following the failure, Jason is entrusted with the Green Ranger powers to prevent them falling into Rita's hands again, allowing him access to the Green Rangers powers.

Jason never quite got over the guilt of letting Tommy down, going so far as to reference it when Tommy is kidnapped by Prince Gasket in Power Rangers Zeo.

Jason using Tommy's powers.

One of Jason's most cunning moments is the gambit he plays against Goldar, who kidnaps the parents of Angel Grove High's students, then ransoms them for the Ranger's five Power Coins. Jason would later reveal that though he gave up his Tyrannosaurus Power Coin to Goldar, he kept the Dragonzord Coin. With it, Tommy eventually regains the Green Ranger Powers and helps the team to save the captive parents.

When Lord Zedd arrives and overruns Rita Repulsa, he sends his new brand of Putty Patrollers to Earth. The Putties possess superior strength to Rita's Putties, but it is Jason who discovers their weak spot. The Rangers would receive an upgrade, being equipped with the Power of Thunder, leading to an upgrade for their Zords as well: they Morph from Dinozords into mythical Thunderzords, his being the Red Dragon Thunderzord, which possesses its own Warrior Mode. Like the Tyrannosaurus, the Red Dragon Thunderzord is capable of destroying a monster separate from the Megazord formation.

Eventually, Tommy loses his Green Ranger powers for good, and Jason suffered from immense guilt because of it. Choosing to capitalize on Jason's vulnerability, Lord Zedd creates candles for Zack, Billy, Trini and Kim that will remove their links to the Morphin Grid, just as Rita did to Tommy. Jason, with the help of Zordon's confidence in him, manages to save his friends and prevent them from losing their Powers. Following the victory, Jason wins a Martial Arts trophy and dedicates it to Tommy, who has long since been indisposed. Tommy would later gain the White Ranger powers and unseat Jason as leader of the team. While Jason never appeared bothered by this, there is a slight indication in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie that he may have resented Tommy a little. When fighting Tommy under Divatox's spell, he says, "Now I'm the one with the muscles and the power!"

When Jason, Trini and Zack (after the actors playing the characters quit the show) are chosen to act as ambassadors at a Peace Conference in Switzerland, Jason's role as Red Ranger goes to Rocky DeSantos.

[edit] In Power Rangers: Zeo

"Gold Ranger Power!" - Jason morphing into the Gold Ranger

Jason returned in Power Rangers: Zeo, temporarily taking over the powers of the Gold Ranger from Trey of Triforia when Trey was injured in a fight with Varox bounty hunters. His return was greatly welcomed by his old friends Tommy and Billy, and quickly made some new ones of Adam, Kat and Tanya. However, Rocky DeSantos would become disturbed by his teammates' love for Jason, as he feels he is being replaced by the Ranger he had replaced. After risking his life to prove himself to be worthy despite Jason's popularity, Rocky would eventually accept Jason as a friend and adopt the same jovial relationship with Jason that Rocky has with everyone else. When Tommy was kidnapped by Prince Gasket, Jason would step up as leader of the team until they were able to save Tommy and bring him back. Jason was also chosen by new Yellow Ranger Tanya to become the guardian of Auric the Conqueror for a time.

Jason returned the Gold Ranger powers to Trey in the season finale of Power Rangers: Zeo when it was discovered that he could not handle the powers much longer, as they were draining away - along with his own life force, due to the Gold Ranger powers not being intended for human physiology. However, there were no apparent long-term effects, and Jason appeared perfectly healthy after the powers were transferred back to Trey, although he regretted no longer being an active Ranger.

[edit] In Power Rangers: Turbo

In Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Jason was kidnapped along with Kimberly Hart by the villainess Divatox and was briefly brainwashed to fight against the Power Rangers. It would appear that the evil influence enhanced his own negative aspects, as at one point he taunted Tommy with "Now I'm the one with the muscles and the power!", After being restored to normal by Lerigot, he once again faded into the background, with Jason's last appearance in the film being replacing Rocky for the tournament. Like Kimberly, he was nowhere to be seen when Power Rangers: Turbo began. Because of his appearances and interactions with Kimberly throughout the movie, some people have speculated that the two may have shared romantic feelings or even dated some time after Zeo. However, in the episode Forever Red, Jason mentions Kimberly, but does not give any details of her current whereabouts or his relationship with her.

[edit] In Power Rangers: Wild Force

Jason's final appearance was in Power Rangers: Wild Force, in the special episode Forever Red. In this episode, he utilizes his original Red Ranger powers and joins nine other Red Rangers to defeat the remnants of the Machine Empire, a force of villains that Jason had previously battled as the Gold Ranger. Jason and Cole were the two Red Rangers to fight against the leader of the Machine Empire, General Venjix. The veteran would refer to Cole, the newest Red Ranger, as "Rookie," initially seeming to display an air of arrogance, however, Jason's good nature remains appreciable as he weakens General Venjix, but then allows Cole to be the one to defeat him. Jason's activities, both as a Ranger and in his personal life, remain unknown.

[edit] Notes

• According to the MMPR Interactive CD-ROM, Jason's birthday was October 20th, making him a Libra.
• Jason was a certified scuba diving instructor, according to the episode Something Fishy. He even goes scuba diving with Kimberly in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie.
• Jason coined the phrase "Back to action!" for the (usually helmetless) Rangers to return to battle in the episode The Mutiny: Part I.
• According to a contest held by ABC Family, Jason was voted the best Red Ranger of all time.
• In The Green Candle: Part II, Jason had a chance to fight Goldar in Rita's Dark Dimension and stop the Green Candle from burning out. He failed, and instead returned to Earth to save Tommy from a monster. This failure seemed to haunt him, as he made reference to it in Missing Green in Season 2, when Tommy lost the Green Ranger powers for good, and again in King for a Day: Part I in Zeo, when Tommy was kidnapped.
• Jason and his high school friend Tommy Oliver have both traded duties as leader and Sixth Ranger during their times as Power Rangers on the same team. Jason was the leader of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers during Tommy's tenure as the Green Ranger whereas Tommy was the leader in Power Rangers Zeo during Jason's time temporarily wielding the Gold Ranger power.
• The character name Jason Lee Scott is a variation on the name Jason Scott Lee, an Asian American Actor.
• Jason's whereabouts during the five years between Turbo and Forever Red are not explained in any iteration of the series. His future after Forever Red also remains unexplained. However, based on clues in his final episode, Jason, like all Red Rangers after him, keeps in touch with each team of Power Rangers.
• Jason was one of the Rangers considered to be the mentor/Black Ranger in the pre-production of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.
• Many speculate that originally, Jason was supposed to remain the leader even after Tommy's reintroduction as the white ranger. Evidence of this is in the season 2 episode Opposites Attract where Jason signals and leads the team(including Tommy as the white ranger) in the morphing sequence. Plans were scrapped most likely due to the pay dispute involving Austin St. John that would lead to Jason being written off.
• Though Jason's red ranger powers are fully functional as seen in "Forever Red", it remains unknown whether or not he is able to access a zord, since the Red Dragon Thunderzord was destroyed and the Tyrannosaurus was used as the base compenent for the Red Dragon Thunderzord.

[edit] Controversy

• Notably, he was the only Red Ranger in Forever Red without an explanation as to why he still retains his Red Ranger powers. He should not have powers because he retired from his Red Ranger post and the Red Ranger powers were subsequently destroyed on various occasions in the Mighty Morphin series, but the most popular theory is that the so-called "Z-Wave" that occurred when Andros, the Red Space Ranger shattered Zordon's energy tube, which in turn destroyed nearly all the villains in the galaxy at the time in the finale of Power Rangers In Space had restored them. Other theories as to him retaining his powers include them being reconstructed by Tommy with the aid of his friend from graduate school, Hayley, or his powers having merely been copied when he passed them on to Rocky, with Jason retaining the original Power Coin while Rocky was given the new one (or it might have been the other way around). Others also believe that as Rocky refused to return, having retired from acting, Jason was the only person who could return as the Red Power Ranger. Another theory is that during the power transfer, the morphers belonging to Jason, Trini and Zack were disconnected from the morphing grid. When the grid overloaded, Jason's coin remained undamaged, and was somehow reconnected to the morphing grid either automatically when the new one was established or by Zordon's energy wave.