Conner McKnight

Infobox Power Rangers
Color = red
Color text = white
Series =
Series2 =
Name = Conner McKnight


First appearance = Day of the Dino ()
Last appearance = Wormhole ()
Status = Student at Reefside High
Affiliation = Conner McKnight Soccer Camps
Homeworld = Earth
Weapons = Red Dino Morpher Thundermax Saber Tyranno Staff Super Dino Mode Shield of Triumph Triassic Battlizer Armor
Vehicles = Red Raptor Rider Red Raptor Cycle
Zords = Tyrannozord Mezodon Rover Cephalazord Dimetrozord Parasaurzord Ankylozord
Title = Red Dino Ranger Triassic Ranger
Portrayed by = James Napier

Conner McKnight (or Connor McKnight) is the main character in the "Power Rangers" universe, appearing in the television series "". He was played by James Napier.

Conner's main interest is playing soccer and he aspires to be a famous soccer star. He also revealed himself to Ethan that he is a womanizer. He is constantly labeled a 'dumb jock' by his fellow Ranger, Ethan James, with whom he shared a mild rivalry earlier on in the season. At first, he seems to fit the stereotype as he comes off as arrogant and self-centered. However, he is actually a very well meaning and honest person who always does the right thing in the end, despite his faults. Around the time his relationship with Ethan became more friendly, Trent Fernandez gained the White Ranger powers. Conner quickly developed a very intense rivalry with Trent. At first, the two were on opposing sides and engaged in raging fights with each other. Even after Trent joined the team, Conner was still very distrusting and uncomfortable around him, until Trent saved his life in battle with a monster.

Conner occasionally doubted himself as a Ranger and thought about quitting on two occasions. Tommy Oliver was the only one who appeared to see Conner's potential and seemingly tried to groom him into a leader role throughout the series. Conner shared the leadership role with the Black Dino Ranger (Tommy Oliver). Tommy, being the mentor and most skilled, took on a leadership role sometimes but also held back on some occasions to allow Conner to shine. When Tommy was not in battle, Conner naturally assumed the leadership role.

In the "Power Rangers" continuity, Conner has an identical twin brother called Eric (also played by Napier) who was once a student at the Wind Ninja Academy (as seen in the finale of ""), but later flunked out. His relationship to General McKnight (a character featured in the "Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue" episode "Cyborg Rangers"), if any, is unknown.

Character History

In ""

Conner was a soccer player at Reefside High School. He also played on a local club team. He found the Red Dino Gem when Kira Ford, Ethan James, and himself were in detention. Dr. O told them that if they found anything prehistoric that he would cancel detention for the rest of the week. He picked up the Red Dino Gem, while Kira and Ethan picked up the yellow and blue ones. The Red Dino Gem bonded with his DNA, giving him the ability of super-speed. After that, Kira was kidnapped by Mesogog, which forced Conner and Ethan to tell Tommy that they had taken the Dino Gems. Kira escaped from Mesogog's lab and met up with Conner, Ethan, and Tommy. Later, the Dinozords were wreaking havoc on the city. Tommy then gave the Red Dino Morpher to Conner, while he gave the yellow and blue morphers to Kira and Ethan. He became the Red Dino Ranger and tamed the Tyrannozord. As the Red Ranger, he controlled the Tyrannozord, as well as wielding the Tyrannostaff and Thundermax Saber in combat.

Conner once thought of quitting because his duties as a Ranger conflicted with his tryouts for a professional soccer team. Conner decided to do one last mission as a Ranger. In this mission, Conner saved a little girl from a Tyrannodrone. After the battle, she gave him a hug and told him "thank you." This inspired Conner to continue his duties as a Ranger.

Conner was arguably the most powerful Red Ranger of the past or present; receiving a high number of personal upgrades throughout the series. Conner was the first Dino Ranger to activate the Super Dino Mode enhancements on his suit during a fierce battle with the then-evil White Dino Ranger. It was Conner's sheer determination to win against the White Ranger, that made him able to unlock the Super Dino Mode. When he first unlocked the Super Dino Mode, he could only use it for a short amount of time, but as he grew stronger as a Ranger, his abilities with that enhancement increased and limitations decreased.

In "Leader Of The Whack", a strange meteor crashed on Earth. The meteor had the power to unleash a side of yourself you usually didn't show. For Conner, it was a side of intelligence, giving the viewers a clue that Conner isn't as boneheaded as he appears.

In "Lost and Found in Translation", Conner and Kira find Ethan watching TV late at night in the Cyberspace Cafe, and come across a Japanese show about their exploits. While Kira and Ethan are excited by Japan's portrayal of the Power Rangers, Conner is disgusted. Later though, he warms up to it, learning not to be so stereotypical. He also used the theme for his class paper, as he said he compared the way they see us to the way we see ourselves.

Due to a brutal defeat from the and the , Tommy and Trent began to unleash the Shield of Triumph, which was hidden in a waterfall. Conner kept feeling a calling from the shield. Conner showed up just in time to claim the Shield of Triumph. For the Shield to assume full power, each Dino Ranger had to contribute a part of themselves. After Trent made his contribution to the shield, Tommy then made his, followed by Kira and Ethan (who would sometimes have to keep contributing their power to Conner). Conner then used it to become the Triassic Ranger. After morphing, this shield acts as the Triassic Ranger's weapon and gives him the ability to travel into another dimension known as the "The Triassic Dimension". After Conner gained his Triassic powers, Hayley discovered the Mezodon Dinozord and then created the Triassic Megarover. The Mezodon pulls the Triassic Megarover as its chariot. Together, they are called Mezodon Rover. The two can also combine to create the Mezodon Megazord.

After meeting his love interest Krista, Conner was able to unlock the final stage of his Dino Powers. Conner begins to doubt his dedication when Krista is willing to do whatever it takes to fight for her cause. Krista was kidnapped by Zeltrax and her life was in danger. Conner remembered a speech from Tommy Oliver, about passion, and then, after unleashing Super Dino Mode and morphing into the Triassic Ranger on his own, he unlocked the Battlizer and became the Battlized Triassic Ranger through sheer force of will. The Battlized Mode gives Conner super-stretch arms and legs, a small Mezodon-faced shield, another shield-like armor piece for his opposite arm which looks like a tail, lightning fast agility, a dragon yo-yo attack, and shoulder cannons which can fire massive amounts of energy at his enemies, often destroying them. He defeated Zeltrax, sending the villain into hiding.

In the episode "Thunder Struck, Part 2", Conner, like his fellow Rangers, sacrificed his Dino Gem powers to save the Earth from the Mesomonster. After this, he lost all of his powers except his superspeed abilities, which were bonded with his DNA.

At the end of "Dino Thunder", Conner finally hooks up with Krista and takes her to the High School prom. He later goes on to start his own soccer camp. In 20 years, he will have become famous for his soccer camps all over the country.

In ""

In the year 2025, a criminal named Broodwing purchased the Red, Yellow, and Blue Dino Gems on the planet Onyx. At his one year High School reunion, in the year 2005, Conner, Ethan, and Kira were brought to the future by Broodwing, in the hopes that Broodwing and the Dino Rangers would form an alliance against Space Patrol Delta and Emperor Gruumm. Ethan, Kira, and himself met up with the S.P.D. Rangers. Though their battles are legendary, they had to prove to Anubis Cruger and the other S.P.D. Rangers their true courage. Conner and the other Dino Rangers helped the B-Squad Rangers defeat Emperor Gruumm's largest Krybot army. Conner and the other Dino Thunder Rangers used the Z-Rex Blaster on Gruumm, which forced him to retreat. Conner took a liking to Syd, but she wasn't very receptive. The Dino Rangers offer to stay but can't due to them having to continue their lives in the past. They are told that Conner established a large chain of soccer camps across the country, Kira became a huge singing sensation, and Ethan ended up developing some software that they still use at S.P.D. After this, they were returned to the year 2005, having forgotten the whole incident, because Doggie Cruger erased their memories of it. Later, right after Conner gained his Triassic powers and before Zeltrax disappeared again (during the course of the Dino Thunder series) S.P.D. came back in time to 2004, following Grumm who decided to destroy Earth there. The Dino Rangers (with their memory erased) teamed up with S.P.D. to defeat Zeltrax and Mora's monsters. Conner again teamed up with Jack. Their memories were erased (even S.P.D.'s memories were erased).