Super Megaforceintroduced the concept of Legendary Ranger Keys and created a major plot hole that ended up rewritingPower Rangershistory. Despite its poor reception,Super Megaforceis one of the most importantPower Rangersseasons. Not only did it celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary, but it also revisited a lot of previous teams and costumes through the Legendary Rangey Key concept. Based onGokaiger,Super Megaforceserved as the second season ofPower RangersMegaforceand brought back all of the main characters, this time with new powers and weapons.
Super Megaforcehad a lot of problems that were carried over fromMegaforce, including but not limited to the tone of the show, the lack of character development, and the lack of stakes despite the premise of the series.MegaforceandSuper Megaforcewere not based on the sameSuper Sentaishow, which itself created a lot of continuity problems.There were plenty of plot holes and lore inconsistencies inSuper Megaforce, one of which ended up changingPower Rangerscanon forever.
Super Megaforce Featured Sentai Teams Never Before Seen In Power Rangers
Power RangersSuper Megaforce’s biggest selling point was the chance of seeing old Ranger teams – or at least their costumes and powers – appearing in a modern-day setting. This had been somewhat the premise ofKaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, an anniversary series that celebrated the legacy of theSuper Sentaifranchise. InGokaiger, the heroes were able to transform into previousSentaiRangers, meaningPower Rangerscould now do the same inSuper Megaforce. There was only one problem –not everySuper Sentaiteam featured inGokaigerhad been used inPower Rangersbefore.
Megaforcewas based onTensou Sentai Goseiger, which caused inconsistencies when the second season,Super Megaforce, moved toGokaiger.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the first series in the American franchise, was based onKyoryu Sentai Zyuranger, the 16th entry in theSuper Sentaiuniverse. In other words,everySuper Sentaishow from beforeZyurangerhad never been used inPower Rangers, be it for costumes or footage.Power Rangersalso skipped a fewSentaiseasons that were released afterZyuranger, including but not limited toGosei Sentai Dairanger. Naturally, a lot of those seasons were featured inGokaiger, which created a problem forSuper Megaforce. The show would have to explain those new costumes.
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The very premise ofSuper Megaforcewas that the current Rangers could access powers from previous Ranger teams, yet a few of the keys they had available had no corresponding show in the franchise. Perhaps the most lore-accurate way of handling this problem would have been not to use any Japanese scenes featuring a non-Power Rangerscostume. However, given thatPower Rangerswould rarely make big enough changes toSentaifootagewhen localizing series, it wasn’t realistic to expectSuper Megaforcenot to use certain scenes just because of the lore issues they would cause.
How Power Rangers Super Megaforce Justified Its Super Sentai Cameos
Super Megaforce Introduced The Concept Of “New Powers”
With teams like Dairanger appearing inSuper Megaforceone way or the other, the show would have to find a good enough explanation for those costumes. Fortunately, while it would have been better ifPower Rangerssimply avoided this problem altogether,Super Megaforceat least provided some explanation – those teams were “New Powers.”According to Gosei, the mentor of the Mega Rangers, some Legendary Keys would allow them to access“new powers never before seen on this planet.”Although not very detailed, this line did solve the issue and acknowledged that some powers were not from establishedPower Rangersteams.
WhilePower Rangersnever properly adapted Dairanger, it did use elements from the show, namely for the White Ranger costume and battle scenes inMighty Morphin.
The choice of words in Gosei’s explanation did leave room for interpretation, though.“Never before seen on this planet”suggested that some of those powers may have come from a different world, or even a different universe entirely. We learned in seasons likeIn SpaceandLost Galaxythat there other sources of “Ranger power” outside Earth after all.Power Rangersalso takes place in a multiverse, with seasons such asR.P.M.andDino Chargeexisting outside of the main continuity. Still, there was not nearly enough context about those “new powers.”
Megaforce’s New Powers Set The Stage For Power Rangers To Canonize Sentai Teams
Power Rangers Comics Have Since Reimagined Unused Sentai Teams
The appearance of non-Power RangersSentaiteams inSuper Megaforcecan be described as a mess, especially during the“Legendary Battle” crossover. While the Mega Rangers turning intoSentaicharacters could be explained by the Legendary Keys and the New Powers, the same would not explain whya couple of non-Power Rangerscharacters were featured in the Legendary Battle alongside established heroes.This plot hole was one of many problems with “Legendary Battle,” which should have been a love letter to the franchise andPower Rangers’ ultimate crossover but failed to meet expectations.
Power Rangershad always been very careful with acknowledgingSuper Sentaiwithin the show.
Fortunately,some good things came out ofSuper Megaforce’sSentaiproblem, particularly in the comics.The first few issues of BOOM! Comics’Power Rangersseries established the existence of a multiverse, after which a lot of interesting possibilities were created. The comics also explored events and points in the timeline that were never addressed on the show, meaning they had a lot of freedom to create new characters and play with things thatPower Rangersnever used. This includesSentaiteams that didn’t make it into the American show, such asFlashmenandDairanger.
Dairanger
Squadron Rangers
For example,theDairangercostumes were used for the Squadron Rangers in the comics. An ancient team of heroes, the Squadron Rangers would end up sacrificing themselves before becoming part of the Morphin Grid and returning as Emissaries. Their story was told inPower Rangers Universe, a book dedicated to expanding the lore of the franchise. Likewise, Flashmen was turned into the Prisma Rangers, ancient heroes who knew Zordon and were killed by Astronema.
It Took A While For Power Rangers To Acknowledge Super Sentai
Power Rangers Has Avoided Being Too Meta About Sentai
Power Rangershad always been very careful with acknowledgingSuper Sentaiwithin the show. Whileevery kid watchingPower Rangerseventually learned that the show was a localized version of a Japanese series,the show mostly avoided referencing the existence of this other series apart from a few Easter eggs here and there. The first timePower Rangersfully acknowledgedSuper Sentai, albeit in a meta way, was in 2004 withDino Thunder’s “Lost And Found In Translation” episode. In the story, the Rangers find a Japanese show inspired by the Power Rangers.
Power Rangers’ Greatest Mystery Has Remained Unsolved For 26 Years And Might Never Be Answered
The most important Power Rangers battle happened 26 years ago, yet the show never explained the Mighty Morphin team mystery that came with it.
The show they were watching was actuallyAbaranger, theSuper Sentaiin whichDino Thunderwas based. While the dialogue of the Japanese characters was dubbed over with new lines, all footage shown from this “Power Rangers-inspired program” came from Abaranger. An old headcanon from fans is thatSuper Sentaitakes place in one of the many realities of thePower Rangersmultiverse, which doesn’t quite work with the approaches the comics have taken. Regardless,Power RangersandSuper Sentaiwill always be connected, and it’s nice to see one referencing the other.
Power Rangers Megaforce
Cast
Power Rangers Megaforce is a television series that celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise. The show follows a new generation of superheroes as they battle evil forces and save the world from destruction. The series features a team of five teenagers who become the Megaforce Rangers, tasked with protecting the Earth from alien invaders and villains.
