Tommy Oliver made his Power Rangers debut in 1993, but the best version of the original Green Ranger would only show up more than a decade later. The Power Rangers series has featured countless actors since its inception over 30 years ago, all of whom contributed to creating the franchise as we know it. The idea of legacy is very important in Power Rangers, especially when it comes to the original Mighty Morphin actors. That said, it’s difficult to argue against Tommy being the show’s most iconic character.

As an evil Ranger with the coolest toys and his own theme song, the original Green Ranger effortlessly became Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ most popular character and changed the trajectory of the show. Even when the Green Ranger was written out of the story to match Power Rangers’ Super Sentai counterpart, Tommy remained on the show and became even more important to the series as the White Ranger. From then on, Tommy became the face of Power Rangers and led three different teams in a row. However, the most interesting version of Tommy only came in 2004.

Dino Thunder Had The Best Version Of Tommy Oliver In Power Rangers

The Original Green Ranger Was Older And Wiser During Duno Thunder

Tommy’s “takeover” of Power Rangers had positives and negatives. On the one hand, Jason David Frank’s character was charismatic, fun to watch, and a reminder of how much the show had changed since the days Tommy was the evil Green Ranger. Tommy was the superhero for an entire generation, and it only made sense for him to lead the team as the White Ranger and later become a Red Ranger himself. On the other hand, too much of anything can become repetitive and lose its magic, which happened to Tommy.

Tommy’s Green Ranger days were referenced a couple of times in Dino Thunder , including when the Rangers watched a tape with the history of all previous Power Rangers teams in “Legacy of Power,” and when Tommy faced his past in “Fighting Spirit.”

While seeing Tommy as a Red Ranger in Zeo was cool, the original Green Ranger always worked better as an additional member of the team rather than its foundation. By Turbo, not only Tommy but the rest of the MMPR/Zeo characters had become quite repetitive and uninteresting. Tommy was still the “punch first, ask questions later” Ranger, and not much had changed since his MMPR days. This is why seeing an older, wiser Tommy Oliver – now a professor with a PHD in Paleontology – in 2004’s Dino Thunder was so fascinating.

“Dr. Oliver” Was A Surprising But Fitting Next Step For The Original Green Ranger

Tommy Was Experienced And Had Learned From The Best By That Point

Given how reckless Tommy could be in the original show, even during his run as team leader, I was very surprised when he showed up in Dino Thunder as a wise teacher who knew exactly what to say to his pupils. However, on a closer look, Tommy becoming a mentor to a younger team of Power Rangers made a lot of sense. No active Ranger was as experienced as Tommy during that time, and he had learned from the best mentors since the events of Mighty Morphin. Tommy had a lot of stories to tell and tips to share.

Power Rangers Movies/Shows Tommy Oliver Appeared In

Movie/Show

Release Date

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
1993

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie
1995

Power Rangers Zeo
1996

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
1997

Power Rangers Turbo
1997

Power Rangers Wild Force (cameo)
2002

Power Rangers Dino Thunder
2004

Power Rangers S.P.D. (cameo)
2005

Power Rangers Super Megaforce (cameo)
2014

Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel (cameo)
2017

“Dr. Oliver” was the perfect next step for Tommy after he quit being a full-time Power Ranger during the first half of Turbo. Tommy’s appearance in “Forever Red” actually set the stage for Jason David Frank’s character to return as a mentor given how calm and wise he sounded during that crossover. Tommy even said to his Red Ranger peers “May the power protect you,” just like his mentor Zordon would do before a mission. Of course, Tommy without a morpher wouldn’t be as interesting. Fortunately, Dr. Oliver became the Dino Thunder Black Ranger.

Dino Thunder Black Remains Tommy’s Most Underrated Power Rangers Form

Dino Thunder Black Wasn’t As Big As MMPR Green

It’s impossible to discuss Power Rangers without considering nostalgia. Even though there have been many great Power Rangers seasons since the 2000s, the franchise will always be associated with the 1990s on some level, especially with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Therefore, whenever Tommy Oliver comes up, it’s natural for people to think of the Green Ranger or even the White Ranger from the original series. This is why Dino Thunder Black is such an underrated part of Tommy’s history in Power Rangers.

Jason David Frank’s final Power Rangers episode included a lot of legacy actors but was also a tribute to Tommy. I was glad to see that it featured Dino Thunder Black as one of the forms used by Tommy through his Master Morpher – there was even an evil version of Dino Thunder Black in the episode. Tommy’s days as the Black Ranger in Dino Thunder may not have been as iconic as his original Power Rangers run, but it was still a very important chapter in the character’s history and gave us a more mature version of the character.