Legacy of Power

"Legacy of Power" is the 4th episode of the 12th incarnation of the "Power Rangers" series, "". The episode is also the 500th episode of the "Power Rangers" series, commemorating the milestone episode with a clip show, showing scenes from the entire Power Rangers history.

Episode Synopsis

The episode begins with a message:

"Commemorating 500 episodes, may the power live on forever"

The events of the episode begin with the villain of the series, Mesogog, bringing the recently captured Dr. Thomas Oliver into his lair, and strapping him to a 'Life Extractor', a device which it seems he will use to either torture or kill prisoners. When Tommy asks what he wants with him, Mesogog shows him a large crystal object, and explains that it contains a power source, which will be most useful to him, alas, all his efforts to extract it have been unsuccessful. Tommy answers by saying he cannot help him, for he is merely a high school science teacher, but Mesogog tells Tommy he is aware that he has taught three of his students to become Power Rangers, and begins to threaten Tommy with the Life Extractor, unless he helps him unlock the power within the crystal.

Meanwhile, in Tommy's secret lab, Conner, Ethan and Kira are worried because of Tommy's absence, and so Ethan decides to check on his computer to see what he's been up to. They are able to get access into Tommy's private video diary, a confidential record of his life. Conner shrugs and says that it is merely more of his 'dinosaur bone stories'. That is until Tommy comments that it is a diary of his life, as a Power Ranger. The three, who had no idea of Tommy's former life as a Ranger, are amazed. Tommy then tells that his story begins in Angel Grove where five 'teenagers with attitude' were recruited to become the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers". Under the guidance of intergalactic being Zordon, they defended the Earth against the evil space sorceress Rita Repulsa.

No sooner had the three began to wonder where Tommy comes into all this, the video diary tells the Rangers about how Rita Repulsa combated the Rangers' power with her own Ranger, Tommy the evil Green Ranger, who almost succeeded. It then shows how Tommy joined the Rangers after he broke free from Rita's spell and that his powers were eventually depleted. Zordon then decided to create the even more powerful White Ranger, which is revealed to be Tommy.

At this point, Ethan stops the video, amazed by what he is seeing. Conner expresses his disbelief that their teacher is the oldest living Power Ranger, before being corrected by Hayley, who had just walked in on the three, who states that he's not the oldest, just the best. The three are stunned to see Hayley in the Dino Lab, but she reveals to the three Rangers that she's helped Tommy build the Dino Morphers since grad school, and believes that Tommy is in trouble. When she is asked about his whereabouts, she shows them a security tape of Tommy being kidnapped. When Conner asks why he didn't just morph, Hayley tells them he's no longer a Power Ranger, realizing they had not gotten that far in the tape, and they continue to watch.

The video shows how Lord Zedd was attacking Earth just as Trini, Zack and Jason were about to leave and how they passed on their powers to Rocky, Adam and Aisha. When Rita and Zedd teamed up and their new ally Rito destroyed the Rangers' Thunderzords, the Rangers were given new powers by Ninjor. Then the Rangers met Katherine, who was eventually chosen to succeed Kimberly when she decided to leave. But Zedd and Rita managed to destroy the Command Center and the Rangers' powers. They found the Zeo Crystal and became the Zeo Power Rangers, who were later joined by Jason the Gold Ranger. After high school graduation, they went on one last adventure, to stop the space pirate Divatox who had launched an attack on Earth. They were given the powers of Turbo and took her head on, with a little help from the new Blue Ranger, Justin. When the time came to pass on their powers. T.J., Cassie, Ashley and Carlos were selected. Tommy chose T.J. to be the new Red Turbo Ranger. Hayley then stops the video and tells the others that after that, Tommy went to college where he met her. Conner then asks if they can get onto the subject of finding Tommy. Kira then wonders if they can use invisiportals to find Mesogog's lair, and Hayley replies that she has been working on the very possibility, but until she can find one, she asks the Rangers to watch more of their 'heritage'.

They watch how Divatox took out the Turbo Rangers Command Center and left for space. The now-powerless Rangers follow her and get new powers from Andros as well as a new enemy: Astronema. With the help of Zhane, the Silver Ranger who they freed from his deep freeze, they defeated Astronema and saved Earth. But on the distant planet Mirinoi, the battle continued as Leo, Kai, Damon, Maya and Kendrix retrieved the Quasar Sabers and uses them to battle their mortal enemy Trakeena, who threatened to destroy the space colony Terra Venture. Trakeena took on a horrifying new form, but was defeated by the Red Ranger and his Battilzer. Meanwhile on Earth, Lightspeed put together an elite team to fight against an invasion of demons. After watching up to the addition of Ryan Mitchell to the , Hayley stops the tape, as she locates an invisiportal. In order to gain access to it, she will need to hack into the firewall Mesogog has blocking it. However, she still has no idea where the portal will take them.

Meanwhile in Mesogog's lair, Mesogog tells Tommy that once he releases the power within the crystal stone, he will be able to revert the world back into its prehistoric state, Tommy responds by mocking Mesogog, asking why he can't just want to 'rule the world like all the other sickos'. Mesogog asks him one more time on how to open the stone, but Tommy refuses. Mesogog gives up and decides to use the Life Extractor on Tommy.

Back in the lab, Hayley is unable to break through Mesogog's firewall, and the four continue to watch more video clips from the Power Rangers history. They stop when Jen of the Time Force Rangers explains to Wes that they are from the year 3000. Amazed that there are Rangers from the future, Kira wonders if they could go to the point before Tommy was captured (at which Conner thinks this idea is stupid as they would just watch Tommy get captured, before realizing they could stop it from happening and corrects himself). The Rangers decide to watch more footage so that they may learn how to reach them.

The video shows how Eric joined the team as the Quantum Ranger and helped them finish the job. Having found no way to contact Time Force, Conner wonders if they could find one of the old teams of Power Rangers and team up. But Hayley tells them that most Rangers don't have their powers anymore (either because they were destroyed or that the Rangers retired from duty), and they continue to watch.

They see how Cole joined the Wild Force Rangers and how they used the spirits of the ancient Animals to battle the evil Orgs. The member to complete their team was Merrick. Ethan tells the others that they need to find Tommy, so Hayley tells the Rangers that she knows there was at least one more team, with a Ranger named Cam that was even better with computers than she was. Conner then tells them to type 'Ninja Storm' into the computer, as his twin brother went to the Wind Ninja academy, where he learned that three students got to become Power Rangers. Ethan asks if Conner's brother was a Power Ranger, but Conner says his brother was an airhead who couldn't even finish ninja school. The four then watch the origin of , who were joined by the Thunder Rangers and later the Samurai Ranger. In their final battle against Lothor, the Rangers used their powers to seal him into the Abyss of Evil.

After they finish watching, Conner 'displays' some moves shown to him by his twin brother, but accidentally damages the computer hard drive. Fortunately, Hayley was able to fix it, and Conner's kick also seemed to have allowed the Rangers' access to the invisiportal. The video diary finishes, with Tommy saying that should anything happen to him, Earth's fate is in the hands of the Dino Rangers. The three Rangers, knowing that Tommy trusts them, decide to head out and save him, before it's too late...

Events listed in the episode

Legacy of Power gives viewers an overview of the entire Power Rangers series, all the way from the first series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to its previous series Ninja Storm. The events were listed in this order:

*Zordon summons five 'Teenagers with Attitude' (Zack Taylor, Kimberly Hart, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan & Jason Lee Scott) to become the world's very first Power Rangers, who fight Rita Repulsa and her evil forces ("Day of the Dumpster").

*Rita summons Tommy and puts a spell on him to make him under her control. She then gives him the power of the Green Ranger, which he uses to nearly destroy the Rangers ("Green With Evil")

*Jason frees Tommy from Rita's spell, who then joins the team to fight against her.

*The Rangers learn that Tommy's Green Ranger powers are temporary, so Zordon and Alpha 5 create the new White Ranger powers, and Tommy permanently joins the team. ("White Light").

*A new enemy, Lord Zedd arrives, just as three of the original Rangers, Jason, Zack and Trini choose to leave. The Rangers seek out the Sword of Light, and use it to transfer the leaving Rangers' powers to three new teenagers, Rocky DeSantos, Adam Park and Aisha Campbell. ("The Mutiny")

*Lord Zedd and Rita team up, bringing with them Rita's brother, Rito Revolto, who succeeds in destroying the Rangers Zords and ultimately their powers. ("The Wedding").

*The Rangers seek the legendary warrior Ninjor, who restores the Rangers' powers and provides them with new Ninjazords. ("Ninja Quest"

*The Rangers meet Katherine Hillard, whom Kimberly chose to be her successor as she leaves the team. ("A Different Shade of Pink").

*The Rangers are evacuated from the Command Center as it is destroyed, but from the rubble, the Rangers find the Zeo Crystal, from which the Command Center is rebuilt as the Power Chamber, and the team become the . ("A Zeo Beginning").

*When the Rangers need reinforcements, they ask Jason Lee Scott to rejoin the team as the Gold Ranger ("The Power of Gold").

*The Rangers graduate high school, as their powers are upgraded to new Turbo powers, with Justin Stewart replacing Rocky as the new Blue Ranger, as they battle an evil space pirate named Divatox. ("Shift Into Turbo").

*Tommy, Adam, Tanya and Katherine pass on their powers to T.J., Carlos, Ashley and Cassie before retiring from their Ranger duties. ("Passing the Torch").

*Divatox launches a fearsome attack on the Power Chamber, ending with its destruction, as well as the Rangers' Turbo powers. The now powerless Rangers decide to follow Divatox into space, leaving Justin, and Earth, behind. ("Chase Into Space").

*In space, the Rangers meet Andros, the Red Space Ranger, who at first mistakes them as enemies. After the Rangers are attacked by a new enemy, Astronema, Andros hands the Rangers new Astro Morphers, forming a new team, the Space Power Rangers. ("From Out of Nowhere").

*The Space Rangers free Zhane from his deep freeze, who then joins the team, and aids them in defeating Astronema (there is a much more in-depth story, in which they were more or less "saving" Astronema and defeating more evil forces).

*Elsewhere in space, on the planet of Mironoi, five new heroes, led by Leo Corbett, become the Lost Galaxy Power Rangers, fighting Trakeena ("Quasar Quest").

*When Trakeena attacks the Space Colony Terra Ventura, she takes on a new form, and is only finally defeated by the power of Leo and his Battalizer ("Journey's End").

*Meanwhile on Earth, a new team is being put together. With Lightspeed technology, the new Lightspeed Rescue Rangers, led by Carter Grayson, protect Earth from an invasion of demons ("Operation Lightspeed").

*Ryan Mitchell joins the team as the Titanium Ranger ("Ryan's Destiny').

*Four Time Police officers, led by Jen Scotts, travel back in time, chasing a dangerous mutant named Ransik. After finding Wesley "Wes" Collins, the son of a wealthy industry overlord of the town of Silver Hills, they find out he is the only one capable of unlocking their Chrono Morphers. Wes joins the team, and the five become the Time Force Power Rangers ("Force From the Future").

*Another modern day hero, Eric Myers, finds the lost Quantum powers, and becomes the Quantum Ranger; however, he does not join the rest of the Rangers ("The Quantum Quest").

*Elsewhere, another team of Rangers, the Wild Force Power Rangers, are fighting a group of evil creatures known as Orgs. However, when they require a Red Ranger, Cole Evans joins the team as the Red Lion Ranger ("Lionheart"). They are later joined by Merrick Baliton, the Lunar Wolf Ranger ("The Lone Wolf").

*At the secret Wind Ninja Academy, three unlikely students are chosen to become Wind Rangers, to fight a group of evil space ninja mutants, led by Lothor ("Prelude to a Storm").

*The Wind Rangers struggle to defeat the new Thunder Rangers, who have been tricked into thinking that the three are their enemies ("Thunder Strangers"). Eventually they regain their memories, and join the team to make five ("The Return of Thunder").

*The team's technical advisor, Cameron "Cam" Watanabe, travels back in time and retrieves the lost Samurai powers, and becomes the Green Samurai Ranger, and helps the five fight Lothor ("The Samurai's Journey").

*In their final battle against Lothor, the three Wind Rangers make the ultimate sacrifice by sending their enemy, along with their powers, into the Abyss of Evil, sealing it forever ("Storm Before the Calm").

Errors and Other Notes

*The original Dinozords and the Dragonzord are never shown.

*Certain Green Ranger scenes are clearly using Zyuranger audio.

*Tommy's upgrade into the White Ranger is shown before Lord Zedd's arrival.

*No mention of the Alien Rangers.

*No mention is made of the Machine Empire.

*Master Vile' reversal of time, the Zeo Crystal Quest, and Aisha being replaced by Tanya is omitted.

*No mention is made of Trey of Triforia (the original Gold Ranger), Billy's departure or the return of the Gold Ranger powers from Jason to Trey.

*No mention of Dark Specter, or how Zhane was injured in the attack.

*Despite Justin's appearance, he is not referred to by Tommy, but by Carlos before the shuttle launches. For that matter, Rocky's injury, which causes him to be replaced by Justin in the first place, is omitted.

*Astronema is not referred to as Andros's sister, Karone, nor is her eventual conversion which is instead referred to be defeated. Furthermore, Countdown to Destruction's events are completely omitted.

*Kendrix's death is omitted and thus is her replacement by Karone.

*The Magna Defender, Leo's brother Mike (who becomes the successor to the Magna Defender's powers), and the true Lost Galaxy (the universe in which the Lost Galaxy series is implied to have happened instead entirely in the Lost Galaxy) and eventually, Mike's sacrifice of the Magna Defender powers is also omitted.

*Ryan's initial allegiance to the demons is not mentioned

*Alex is not mentioned, nor is Ransik's surrender and eventual redemption

*Merrick is never mentioned to be Zen-Aku.

*Forever Red's events are omitted.

*Joel and Cole do not appear unmorphed

*Throughout the episode very few Zords are shown. The only Zords to gain more than a second on screen are the Wildzords.