Suit & Helmet Revolution Legacy

RangerLegacy

(Take this article from more of a Power Ranger standpoint than anything, many of these changes had been done in previous Sentai seasons)

The point of this article is to point out the differences and revolutionary changes in suits and helmets that have come to pass from Mighty Morphin to Cosmic Fury!


Differentials In Visors
Season: Power Rangers Zeo
Mighty Morphin and the Alien Rangers did not offer many aesthetic changes to the Ranger ideal of suit designs. The Alien Rangers had a new motif for their helmets and moved away from animals but they still kept the general idea of the helmet and suit design.
The most intrinsic change came from Zeo when the Rangers changed their helmets in an interesting way! For the first time the helmet visors were changed to shapes. A Circle, Two Horizontal Lines, A Triangle, A Rectangle and A Star adorn their new powered up helmets which was a vast change from MMPR to Zeo! We will see more intrinsic changes like this to the helmets in later generations.


Light Source In Helmets
Season: Power Rangers Turbo
Although this was slightly present in the Mighty Morphin’ Movie, which is not canon to the show, I can discuss this here as a Turbo innovation.
The Turbo helmets allowed the Rangers to light a dark area surrounding them which had never been done previously in Power Rangers.
Their helmets, based off of the grills of cars and trucks did not offer much an in innovation after Zeo. Both are essentially shapes as well.


Imaging In Helmets
Season: Power Rangers In Space
Power Rangers in Space had an interesting addition to new aesthetic changes! This change actually added electronic images into the Rangers’ helmets themselves! From A cellphone, a satellite, a PC and Wide Screen TV these light ups were never mentioned in Power Rangers but seemed to be somehow important in Megaranger. Either way, this change was the first electronic addition to Ranger helmets.


Retractable Visor
Season: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Lost Galaxy followed the same formula as MMPR and had animal motifs as their design for helmets and suits. That changed with Lightspeed Rescue when not only did the suits change but their helmets added a new function to the Ranger helmets. Before, a Ranger had to take off his or her helmet  to show expression but for the first time ever in Lightspeed  Rescue we got a retracting visor in the Rangers’ helmets! This would be carried over later into Ninja Storm but this was first seen here in the original 5, and later Titanium, Lightspeed Rangers! This gave the ability to the  Rangers to keep their helmets on and carry an even more emotional interaction with the camera.


First Original US Made Ranger Suit & Helmet
Season: Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue
Lightspeed Rescue also brought us our first original US Exclusive Power Ranger with the Titanium Ranger!
The helmet followed the same basic style of the original GoGoV Helmet design but the suit was vastly different from the other 5 Rangers.
To me, I feel the designers took lessons from MMPR Green/White, Zeo Gold and In Space Silver and used the idea that the suit should be similar but have some sort of flash that makes the 6th Ranger stand apart. This design is greatly loved by me and many others.


Colorful Motion Light
Season: Power Rangers Time Force
During Time Force we got another small update to the electronic helmet revolution! When the Rangers would morph, utilize weapons and etc their helmets would light up and emit moving bolts of color!
This, again, was an intrinsic change to the helmet design based on its predecessor, In Space which was just a motionless image inside the helmet.
Another notable change to the helmets was the visor, which was a solid color instead of the normal dark color we had seen before.


Colored Visor
Season: Power Rangers Time Force
In Power Rangers Time Force the helmets marked the first time the visors were  solid color!
How did they see through those things?


Ranger Glove Claws
Season: Power Rangers Wild Force
Wild Force added another interesting addition to a suit design with their Wild Claws!
We had never seen anything like this before and it was an interesting addition to the tier suits. While the suits and general helmets stay true to their animal theme we do get some kind of revolution to the suits!
I felt it stayed true to their theme of the season and gave Wild Force an interesting change to the previous tech themes.


Ranger Wings
Season: Power Rangers Wild Force
The first suit to have wings, the Yellow Wild Force Ranger used these to soar through the sky like her Eagle Wildzord.
(It should be noted that the Sentai “Jetman” did included winged suits)


Super Dino Spikes
Season: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Although it is a Super Mode addition the spikes that were added during Super Dino Mode are another of the intrinsic changes to the Ranger suits I have been talking about! The spikes seemed to serve no real purpose but were mostly for show and drama!


Random Silver Stripe Additions
Season: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
I figured you knew I would talk about this, so let me just say this.
Dino Thunder, and essentially Disney, introduced us to a new style of Green MMPR Ranger helmet we had never seen before.
Not only did we get a real shield for the Green Ranger but we got a change that would ignite a discussion that would spark a thousand debates.
Which version do you like better? Silver stripe or no Original Helmet? Either way, this was an important change to the helmet and suit design!


Female Rangers With No Skirt (Even In Sentai)
Season: Power Rangers SPD
Now, you must be saying “Hey! Trini, Aisha, Maya, Kelsey, Katie & Taylor didn’t have skirts!”
Well, that’s because they were Men in the Sentai version! However, in this version of Sentai, Dekaranger; the females did not have skirts at all!
Even Pink! Pink has ALWAYS had a skirt and for the first time she does not! (In Power Rangers anyways)
Mind Blown!
This series proved that you don’t need a skirt to be a Female Ranger, yet I have always loved the skirt addition to the Ranger suits this revolution to the suits definitely stands out!


Police Light Helmets
Season: Power Rangers SPD
Not only did the SPD Rangers become too tough for skirts, but they also gained shining police lights within their helmets.
You may say that this is not original because Turbo did it years ago, but the police light is slightly different and important to these intrinsic changes to the Ranger suits! Let’s not forget the giant numbers on the suits which had also never been done before!


Capes, Capes & Mystical Shapes!
Season: Power Rangers Mystic Force
Mystic Force delivered a huge amount of change to the Ranger Universe and say what you want to about the show itself, it was always innovative!
For the first time ever, the Power Rangers had capes!
Then, Innovating on the shape and animal design we get our first Mystical Animal shape visor we had ever seen!
*Note: the Magna Defender counts as an “Extra Hero” therefore his cape does not count towards a Ranger suit innovation.


Non-Belted Suits
Season: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Jungle Fury was the first Power Rangers ever that had no belts and changed the aesthetic of the suit design!
Many fans did not like this design at first because it has gone against everything that Power Ranger suits had been about.
But to me, it looks great and new to the suit design! The boot design is just as different but when you see it enough times, it grows on you!


Suit Jets
Season: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
Continuing with Jungle Fury, for the first time ever we got to see rockets and power-ups inside of the actual Jungle Fury Ranger suits that would help the Jungle Fury Rangers fly and charge their attacks!


Spirit Rangers
Season: Power Rangers Jungle Fury
These revolutionized the ideals of Power Rangers! Original Helmets and Original Suits!
These three changed the history of Power Rangers by existing alone!


Rotating Wheel Helmets & Boots
Season: Power Rangers RPM
While the front motif of the RPM helmets goes along the lines of the previously used animal design, the sides of the helmets went along with the revved-up theme of both the Ranger season and the Sentai. Inside the helmets are wheels, or in the Gold and Silver helmets, they are turbines, which rev up and spin when the Rangers morph!
With the suits, we also are shown tires which spin atop their boots & gloves!


Word Symbols On Visors
Seasons: Power Rangers Samurai & Power Rangers Super Samurai
Zeo used shapes and it was carried on from there, but in the 18th season with the adaptation of Shinkenger there was a representation of Japanese Kanji on Power Rangers helmets!
Red was Fire, Pink was Heaven, Blue was Water, Yellow was Earth and Green was Wood.
Of course, these were changed for Samurai but those are the true meanings!


High Collars & Jacket Motif
Season: Power Rangers Super Megaforce
The Super Megaforce Rangers introduced a stylish new suit design with high collars and a pirate jacket motif featured on the top half of the suit.


Skirt Additions
Season: Power Rangers Super Megaforce
Super Megaforce for the first time added skirts to not only the Sentai counterparts but to other colors of  Ranger that did not have skirts to begin with! Red Rangers, Black Rangers & Green Rangers are suddenly given skirts when a Female Ranger is morphed in Legendary Ranger Mode!


Unitard
Season: Power Rangers Super Megaforce
Pink Flash
of Flashman was featured in an unnamed Legendary Ranger Mode which also has something the other Power  Rangers suits do not have.
A Unitdard looking structure was added to the suits here instead of the standard Pink Ranger skirt!


Sadly we never got to see the Dairanger suits in action outside of the Sentai, until we got Super Megaforce!
What could have been said that they were the first helmets, in Power Rangers anyways, not to have a mouth piece.
Instead the Alien Rangers take the cake on that one. These suits finally made their US Debut during Super Megaforce and became named the Legendary Squadron!


Thigh High Boots & Sash
Seasons: Power Rangers Ninja Steel & Power Rangers Super Ninja Steel
The Ninja Steel Rangers showcase thigh high white boots for the Female Rangers and among them all, separate and not ingrained, sashes were included!


Leather Spandex
Season: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
These suits have a great innovation to the show’s tradition of suit design! The suits are made of leather and not of spandex as they are normally made of! The helmets, when morphing, are added first and then the metallic visor is added last!


Original Ranger Team
Season: Power Rangers Cosmic Fury
Before Hasbro goes completely original with their reboot universe, they decided to test the water with the Cosmic Fury Rangers. These suit use the Dino Fury Ranger suits as a basis, adding some new flair to the design like a silver shield. They also give some new colors to some Power Rangers, with Amelia going from Pink to Red. This team also gives use our first official Orange Ranger, Fern.