Jason Lee Scott
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| Jason Lee Scott | |
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| From Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers and Power Rangers: Zeo |
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| Title(s) | Red Power Ranger Gold Ranger |
| First appearance | Day of the Dumpster (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) |
| Last appearance | Forever Red (Power Rangers: Wild Force) |
| Status | Presumably active |
| Affiliations/Relatives | None |
| Homeworld | Earth |
| Weapons/Gear | Power Morpher
Wrist Communicator
Golden Power Staff |
| Zords | Tyrannosaurus Dinozord Dragonzord Red Dragon Thunderzord Pyramidas Warrior Wheel |
| 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, and later becoming the second Gold Ranger in Power Rangers: Zeo. The character name Jason Lee Scott is a variation on the name Jason Scott Lee, an Asian American Actor.
At first glance, Jason appeared to be the stereotypical jock type, primarily interested in sports--particularly martial arts. Beneath the surface, however, he was big-hearted, outgoing, friendly, and always willing to help someone out when it was needed--such as when he took Billy Cranston under his wing and taught him martial arts to boost his confidence and teach him self-defense. Jason coined the phrase "Back to action!" for the (usually helmetless) Rangers to return to battle in the episode "The Mutiny: Part I." He is also the third cousin of SSG Daniel Vanegas, US Army.
According to a contest held by ABC Family in 2004, Jason was voted the best Red Ranger of all time. Jason was one of the Rangers considered to be the mentor/Black Ranger in the pre-production of Power Rangers: Dino Thunder, but that role was given to Tommy Oliver. Jason also appeared in the video game Power Rangers: Super Legends.
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[edit] Character history
[edit] In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Jason is a martial artist from the fictional town of Angel Grove, California. Aside from martial arts, Jason is an accomplished athlete, weight trainer and certified scuba diving instructor. He was selected by Zordon and Alpha 5, along with his best friends Zack Taylor, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Kimberly Hart, as the five "teenagers with attitude" to become the original Power Rangers and defend Earth from Rita Repulsa. When Zordon first confronted the teens to give them their powers, only Jason initially believed him. Jason became the Red Power Ranger, was given the Power Coin of the Tyrannosaurus, obtained the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord and was made the team leader. He led the team into many battles often encountering Goldar, establishing a rivalry with Rita's number one henchman.
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 killed by the Green Ranger who arrived on the scene with orders to destroy Jason. Later, Jason would square off with Tommy and the Dragonzord in the Tyrannosaurus and eventually, face 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 too 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, Tommy entrusted Jason with his powers to prevent them falling into Rita's hands again, allowing him access to the Green Ranger's powers. This included the Dragon Shield and Dragon Dagger, which also allowed him to call the Dragonzord to aid the Rangers, even while Jason controlled the Megazord.
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 could turn into a humanoid form. Like the Tyrannosaurus, the Red Dragon was capable of destroying a monster separate from the Thunder 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 Kimberly that will remove their links to the Morphing 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 be chosen by Zordon to switch in for Jason as leader of the team.
Shortly after, Jason, Trini and Zack (after the actors playing the characters left the show over contract disputes) are chosen to act as ambassadors at a Peace Conference in Switzerland and Jason's role as Red Ranger is passed on to Rocky DeSantos.
[edit] In Power Rangers: Zeo
Jason returned in Power Rangers: Zeo, temporarily taking over the powers of the Gold Power 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 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 Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie
In Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, Jason and Kimberly were first seen scuba diving, but they were then kidnapped 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 the injured Rocky for the tournament.
Like Kimberly, he was captured by Divatox and was held in her submarine 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.
[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 overwhelms 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] Character Background
- 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.
[edit] Friendship With Tommy
- 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 Tommy Oliver have both traded duties as the Red Leader and Sixth Ranger during their times as Power Rangers on the same team. Jason was the Red leader of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers during Tommy's tenure as the Green Ranger whereas Tommy was the Red leader in Power Rangers Zeo during Jason's time temporarily wielding the Gold Ranger power.
- Both Jason and Tommy's counterpart as Sixth Rangers in Super Sentai, the KingRanger (Gold Ranger) and KibaRanger (White Power Ranger) respectively, were actually children (in KingRanger's case, he is a 600 million year old warrior in a form of a teenager) and both were played by then child actor Hisashi Sakai. In addition, Sakai also played the young version of Burai the DragonRanger (Green Ranger) in Zyuranger, the series which Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was based on.
- Jason and Tommy's Red Ranger successors both became Blue Rangers in the following series. Jason's successor, Rocky, became Zeo Ranger III-Blue in Power Rangers: Zeo, while Tommy's successor in Power Rangers: Turbo, T.J., became the Blue Space Ranger during Power Rangers in Space. Interestingly, both were able to fight alongside their respective successors. Jason was the Sixth Ranger during Zeo wherein Rocky was a Core member of the team at the start of the series, while Tommy and T.J. fought side-by-side, along with Jason, during the events of "Forever Red."
- Jason and Tommy are the only former Red Rangers to become a Black Ranger, although this is unofficial for Jason's part because he is only considered a Black Ranger due to his Gold Ranger suit color being black. Ironically, Jason was one of the top choices to play the Black Dino Ranger, with Tommy ultimately playing the role, in Power Rangers: Dino Thunder.
- Jason's role as team leader with Tommy as the White Ranger, is indirectly addressed in the Power Rangers Zeo episode "A Golden Homecoming" which depicted his return to the team as the Gold Ranger. He notes that although leaving the team was a difficult decision, he knew that he made the right decision by choosing Tommy as their leader. Tommy listens and seems to agree to the statements as he does not object to or deny what Jason says. This is a retcon of sorts, considering in "White Light," Zordon outright announces Tommy's place as leader before Jason, Zack, and Trini find out about their acceptance into the World Peace Conference. Jason's aforementioned feelings suggest that he still led the team, even with Tommy as the White Ranger, but only gave up his leadership status upon his departure. Furthermore, it would seem unlikely that Zordon would declare Tommy as the new leader of the Rangers when just three episodes back ("Missing Green") he stated that Jason had proved himself as the Rangers' rightful leader, after Jason had defeated one of Lord Zedd's monsters by himself and also saved the other four from losing their own powers in the same way Tommy lost his. The final episode of MMPR to feature Austin St. John ("Opposites Attract") also show hints of the original intentions of the show as Jason still leads and commands the team in morphing, including Tommy as the White Ranger.
[edit] Powers and Whereabouts
- Notably, in "Forever Red" he was able to morph without an explanation as to why he still retains his Red Ranger powers as his Red Ranger powers (in Rocky's hands) were destroyed in Season 3 of the MMPR series. However, Jason is not the only Red Ranger in "Forever Red" to re-use his powers after they were destroyed; T.J.'s Red Turbo Ranger powers were also destroyed at the end of Turbo.
- 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 Dinozord was used as the base component for the Red Dragon but since Adam could enter the Flash Point Megazord, so can Jason to other Rangers' Zord.
- 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 stands as the first and only original Power Ranger to return although only once with his original Powers.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Jason holds the Angel Grove bench press repetition record of 1010 repititions.
- To date, Jason is the only known ranger to beat/outmatch Tommy Oliver in a fight. No other villian or ranger has been able to ultimately do this leaving speculation that Jason actually surpasses Tommy in combat skills.
- In a 2004 poll taken by ABC Family, Jason was voted the #1 red ranger of all time.
- As of 2007 Jason still holds the title of #1 red ranger of all time. This was stated at Power Morphicon.
[edit] Monsters Defeated by Jason
Green Ranger - Jason charges his power sword with red energy and throws it at Green Ranger, causing him to release his dagger and sword. Jason then uses his blade blaster to destroy the sword of darkness, thus releasing Tommy from Rita's evil spell.
Cardiatron - Jason cuts Cardiatron with his Power Sword and Dragon Dagger
Pipebrain - Jason calls upon the Red Dragon Thunderzord. Once the Red Dragon goes into battle mode, it does a series of multiple roundhouse kicks, balancing on his staff. He then repeatedly spins the staff, emitting a spin-cycle of red blasts which destroys Pipebrain.
Lipsyncher - Jason calls on the Red Dragon Thunderzord, which ends up using a a spin-cycle in the air with its staff, slicing Lypsyncher.
Terror Blossom - Jason pilots the Thunder Megazord with Zack and uses the Thunder Saber to destroy the Terror Blossom in a cloud of flower petals.
Altor - Jason as the Gold Ranger destroys Altor using Altor's own staff.
[edit] Quotes
- "It's Morphin' Time!"
- "Back to Action!"
- "Tyrannosaurus!"
- "Power Sword!"
- "We Need Dinozord Power Now!" (later "Thunderzord Power")
- "Tyrannosaurus, Red Dragon, Thunderzord Power!"
- "I call on the power of Titanus and the Ultrazord!"
- "Lock on and fire all weapons!"
- "Gold Ranger Power!"
| Preceded by Rocko DeSantos |
Red Ranger 1993 - 1994 |
Succeeded by Rocky DeSantos |
| Preceded by N/A |
Power Rangers leader 1993 - 1994 |
Succeeded by Tommy Oliver |
| Preceded by Trey of Triforia |
Gold Ranger 1996 |
Succeeded by Trey of Triforia |
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