7 Power Rangers EU Novels We Totally Need
As of this writing, there is no such thing as a Power Rangers expanded universe. If you're reading this from the future, I hope that has changed. It's something that could easily exist, it doesn't cost that much to hire a freelancer to bust out 200 pages of a generic storyline using familiar characters. And fans would eat that up. Glorified fan fiction = money for Saban. It can even be graphic novels if that's easier, a lot of shows like Buffy and Smallville continue their stories after the series ends, but those are more like a "here's the next season" thing and novels have a more "expanded universe" feel to them. So here are seven of the coolest ideas for Power Rangers expanded universe novels that we totally need.
#7 - The First Days of Corinth
In the RPM premiere and in the following backstory episodes, we saw a war-torn pilot, a Scottish mechanic with a bus, and a rich sociolite gone from riches to rags. How did these people get chosen to be Power Rangers? What were their early days like? RPM is awesome because it started in media res, to some degree, but that doesn't mean this origin story wouldn't be cool. I can't imagine these three getting along very well, or their mysterious mentor for that matter. How did they become Rangers and where did the whole operation come from in the first place?
#6 - Rangers of Aquitar
We know a bit more about these guys than the A-Squad, at least they all have names. And some of them even had 2 lines. I'm not a big fan of MMPR or the Zordon Era in general, but the cross-adaptation between multiple and completely unrelated Sentai? That was handled pretty well, I love space fantasy with wizards in giant robots. The Aquitian Rangers are water sucking alien ninjas. The potential for awesomeness is there. How did this team come to be? Where they assembled because of their skills? Chosen at birth? Or did they all stumble upon a strange power when they were just little alien teenagers. Why does Yellow have a skirt? Obviously because it's in HD. But also because... uhm.... Tideus wasn't the first, Yellow. Sure. That could be a cool story.And hey, why the hell are they ninjas anyway?
#5 - Once A Ranger
Instead of the Adam's veteran team of Rangers actually "teaming up" with the Overdrive Rangers, they are off on their own being totally awesome. All I was thinking about during that terrible episode was how much cooler a show about that team could've been. Imagine them off battling ancient evil, remnants from the Disney era's villains. And while Adam is awesome, he was sort of out of place in that group. Replace him with Dillon and throw in Dom to represent the whole Era. Now, Overdrive isn't represented, and neither is a Pink ranger. So... Rose can suck it. But the Veteran Rangers will need a base of operations and someone to keep it in order. One word. Spencer.
#4 - The First Beast War
Often talked about but never really seen during Jungle Fury, the Beast War was a conflict between the Order of the Claw and... all those bad guys. Dai Shi and the Phantom Beasts and the Overlord. Imagine a team of Pai Zhuq masters in training getting caught up on a massive war between Animal Spirits? Maybe we could follow Masters Rilla, Guin, and Lope as youngins. I mean... Were they involved in the original Beast War? Ten thousand years ago? They never really explained that. So it's perfect material for more expansion.
#3 - The A-Squad Story
The leader is a female, Blue is an alien, hell, Yellow and Green look like they just grabbed a couple people off the bus and gave them morphers. These are the only Rangers in the franchise to turn evil not through manipulation or an evil spell, but through true corruption. Charlie has about four lines, the others have one a piece , and the blue alien doesn't even have grunts. Who are the A-Squad? What was their rise through the ranks like? What caused them to turn against their commander? Their planet What is it that caused them to turn on S.P.D.? THis could be Power Rangers's version of The Winter Soldier. Show me the inside of the Delta Base, what goes on behind closed doors, and what was it that caused an entire team of Rangers to willingly join the side of evil?
#2 - The Phantom Ranger
There is not much we know about the most enigmatic character in the Power Rangers universe. He is from Eltar, home world of Zordon. He can turn invisible. He lives with a couple of Dr. Ks and has every episode of the show transmitted to his brain. The Phantom Ranger must have a story, right? Is he Zordon's son? Is he Jason's father? Or is he just Billy? Perhaps something less pandery? We may never know the answer, not unless someone writes this damn book.
#1 - Shadows of the Machine Empire
In the Power Rangers fandom, no greater stone needs to be turned over than the single greatest mystery that has boggled our minds for almost twenty years. The gap between Zeo and Turbo. Why did Zedd and Rita go from declaring their return to sleeping in during the middle of the day? Did she get pregnant with Thrax? What happened to Bulk and Skull's secret mission to France and how come they're back on the force with Lt. Stone? What is Jason doing scuba-diving with Kimberly? And why in the HELL did they have to use Turbo powers in favor of the Zeo powers? What was so hard about explaining some reason why the Zeo powers were forgotten? Divatox is cool but if there was a villain who justified the use of Turbo powers that might have made sense. Like seriously. They had to go Turbo because the car keys powered a pirate ship through keyholes in a treasure chest? Why couln't it be like... a giant car! There is so much unexplained stuff in here that it is ripe for novelizing. What if the Zeo Crystal was slowly being weakened some started to shatter and it came down to Kat being the only one with the ability to morph but it was unstable. That would be a cool way to end the book. There is no Power Rangers expanded universe, but there should be. It would cost little money to throw together but it would yield a lot of money in return. I only scratched the surface, the most obvious ideas, but the possibilities are endless. Who was Sky's father? What were Udonna and Daggeron like as kids? What was Lauren doing for the first 20-wahtever years of her life? There is countless fan fiction out there, but sometimes that is just not enough. Dear Saban, please take our money. We know you want it.
This is an updated version of an article that was originally published on 10/13/2014.
