COSTUMES AND PROPS FROM THE BELOVED FRANCHISE’S 30-PLUS-YEAR LEGACY — INCLUDING THE GREATEST MEGAZORD EVER ASSEMBLED — FILL THIS MIGHTY, MORPHIN, ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME AUCTION
By Robert Wilonsky
For more than 30 years, Hasbro’s Power Rangers franchise has been an unstoppable, ubiquitous force of nostalgia – a unique blend of Spandex, pyrotechnics and rubber-suited monsters that evolved from a Japanese live-action television series into a global phenomenon. In the early 1990s, along came this unlikely juggernaut about a group of ordinary teenagers in brightly colored costumes, doing karate and piloting colossal robots. A team that showed us: We can all be Power Rangers.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers debuted in 1993, adapted from the Japanese tokusatsu franchise Super Sentai, and it quickly became the most watched children’s television program in the U.S. The formula was simple: Aliens invade, teenagers morph, monsters grow to the size of skyscrapers and amazing Megazords. It was predictable and gloriously so, which is what made it work for generations raised on the Power Rangers TV series. Echoing the nostalgia of a generation gathered around the TV each week, the Power Rangers inspired everyday heroes from all walks of life to team up and morph into something mightier – and more fun – than anyone ever expected.
Transformable Astro Megaship/Astro Megazord hero filming miniature from ‘Power Rangers in Space’ (Saban Entertainment, 1998)
The franchise has endured and even evolved by doing what it has always done best: embracing humor and heart with over-the-top superhero action. Whether it’s ninjas, space warriors or dinosaurs (sometimes all at once), Power Rangers has the chameleon-like ability to reinvent itself (or, ahem, morph) without ever straying too far from its core. At its heart, it’s still the story of teamwork, friendship and how a group of misfit teens can come together and save the world every single week from the likes of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. That’s the key to its longevity.
Hunter Deno ‘Amelia Jones’ Red Ranger hero costume and action accessory from ‘Power Rangers Cosmic Fury’ (Hasbro, 2023)
Since July, fans have been buzzing about the nostalgic pieces highlighted at Heritage’s preview of the November 18-19 Power Rangers Hasbro Hollywood & Entertainment Signature® Auction at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland. Even the venerable Sports Collectors Digest took note of Heritage’s Technicolor display, noting that the Power Rangers’ “colorful suits and pods … supercharged” an event once built solely around sports collectibles.
Now, at last, that auction is here: the largest and most comprehensive collection of Power Rangers memorabilia ever assembled. This auction spans every season and every iteration of the long-running series, with every character and creation represented among the nearly 700 lots that include the most iconic props, costumes and hero items from across the franchise’s 30-year legacy, from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to the most recent season, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury.
Blue Ranger hero quasar saber from ‘Power Rangers Lost Galaxy’ (Saban Entertainment, 1999)
“This auction has something for every Power Rangers fan, whether you’ve followed them from the beginning or discovered them more recently during their Power Rangers Cosmic Fury era,” says Joe Maddalena, Executive Vice President at Heritage. “That multigenerational fan base, the kids who loved the show and their parents who grew up with it, is what makes this event so special, and we’re proud to celebrate it with this one-of-a-kind auction.”
Here, fans will find the original costumes and weapons from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, including those costumes worn by the legendary Pink Ranger Kimberly, Blue Ranger Billy, Yellow Ranger Trini and Green Ranger Tommy, as well as costumes from the original Japanese cast. In fact, the first 100 lots in the auction hail from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which premiered in the summer of 1993 during the Fox Kids programming block, using stock footage from the Japanese TV series Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.
Jason David Frank ‘Tommy Oliver’ White Ranger hero costume from ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie’ (TCF, 1995)
There are also costumes and accessories from 1995’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, as well as helmets spanning every era and variation of the franchise, among them Mystic Force and Operation Overdrive.
Among the auction’s numerous centerpieces is the Transformable Astro Megaship/Astro Megazord hero filming miniature from 1998’s Power Rangers in Space, one of the only complete Zords in this auction used on screen as the Rangers’ spacecraft and battle Zord. It’s fully articulated, an armed warrior and battle carrier that still moves like a well-oiled machine. And, says Maddalena, “It’s so complete it still has the fishing line they used to open the chest.”
Action Morphers from ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ (Saban Entertainment, 1993-1995)
Here, too, are the Thunder Megazord hero helmet, which looks like a cross between a Japanese samurai warrior and a Roman Legionnaire, and a single lot consisting of three Action Megazord helmets with an action shield. Alpha, the Rangers’ mentor-assistant-sidekick, also appears here – twice, with the costume worn in Power Rangers in Space and the updated version from last year’s 30th anniversary TV movie Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always.
For decades, kids begged their parents for Power Rangers merchandise – not just action figures and pajamas, but replica Power Morphers and Dragon Daggers. For the first time, fans who have passionately supported the brand’s legacy for more than 30 years can own a piece of its history. What better way to power up and become a Ranger?
ROBERT WILONSKY is a staff writer at Intelligent Collector.