Power Rangers Lightning Collection Fighting Spirit Green Ranger & Putty 2-Pack Gallery

"I thought I might run into you."
"It's been a while, Tommy."

When Tommy Oliver became a high school teacher, he certainly never imagined he'd be a Power Ranger again. 12 years on from his first turn as a ranger though, the Power Rangers Dino Thunder needed more than just a mentor, they needed an ally. And so the Dino Thunder Black Ranger was born! But sent into a comatose state, Tommy is seeing green again. Dreaming his way through battles against his past self, Tommy faces off against Zeo Ranger V, the White Ranger, and the Green Ranger! Fighting to prove himself worthy of the power he wields once more, Dr. O will have to prove he still has the Fighting Spirit he had all those years ago, and reclaim his own power!

When 5 teenagers with attitude were chosen to defend the Earth by an inter-dimensional being, they weren't yet prepared for the challenges they would face. But pretty quickly they put their skills to the test against the Putty Patrollers! Created by Finster, these loyal foot soldiers of Rita Repulsa and later Lord Zedd, would menace the ranger for years to come, even going so far as to be part of the final battle with the Alliance of Evil in Power Rangers In Space. But these clay cretins were never more powerful or deadly than during the era of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. With lethal weapons at their disposal, and untold numbers backing them up the Putties were a force to be reckoned with.

Packaging
As we are all pretty familiar with the line by now, I'm sure I probably don't need to go through my usual list of reasons why it's awesome. Hasbro was keen to make sure these appealed to collectors and fans of the franchise from throughout it's various eras. And they also really pop thanks in no small part to some wonderful box art, lovingly crafted by artist Tom Whalen aka @strongstufftom on twitter. His artwork is breathtaking, and makes these figure's feel like just a bit more of a passion project from the folks at Hasbro. The two-packs like this one really do shine the brightest though. The extra spread for the artwork really drives home just how gorgeous it is.

Green Ranger
Fighting Spirit has always been such a controversial entry in the franchise. Admittedly, fans of any age could probably agree that the story Dino Thunder as a series and that this specific episode told, were really something. Seeing Tommy Oliver return after a number of years to mentor a young new team of Power Rangers was a pretty smart move on Disney's part. But then giving him a chance to become a ranger once again as the Dino Thunder Black Ranger was really brilliant. But the real icing on the cake was an arc that resulted in Tommy (while being comatose) facing his own past and (most) of the ranger identities he'd held years before, in a dream state. And while the Zeo Ranger V and White Ranger costumes look pretty spot on to their original appearances, it's the Green Ranger suit that raised some eyebrows.

Having had to recreate the suit entirely (as the Saban era one had been lost), it not only sports a completely new silver stripe along the crest of the helmet, the F.S. Green Ranger also rather oddly swaps the Dragon Dagger holster from the left hip to the right, and changes it from black to white. The Green Ranger's morpher was also inaccurately made silver like the core 5 original Power Rangers, rather than the gold it should have been. Small changes for sure, but very noticeable. While many fans over the years have tried to explain or "head-canon" away these changes, it's just one of those random undeniably weird situations that arose in production and no one really noticed until it was too late. The result has been that the Fighting Spirit Green Ranger has sort of taken on a life and form identity of it's own, with it receiving figures more than once. This Lightning Collection release however really is the first collector oriented one, and our first chance to see it given it's proper due.

Of note to me personally, is the particular shade of green used on this figure. When I think of the Disney era for Power Rangers, the suits used in American footage tend to be slightly off color from the original footage. These kinds of shifts existed in the old Saban days and became even more apparent in the 2nd Saban era of the franchise (looking at you Dino Charge). But for the Fighting Spirit episode of Dino Thunder from which this Green Ranger originates, it always came across to me as a brighter and closer to lime, green. Nore saturated. This figure really accurate captures that saturation level in a way that I hadn't realized, particularly on the limbs. Each lower leg and forearm is actually molded in white, and painted over in green, giving it a unique shade that really properly reminds me of the F.S. version of this suit.

Now functionally, Green Ranger is absolutely identical to both the Dragon Shield Red & Black Rangers. Nothing has changed here physically. Full rotating rocker ankles as well as a clicking swivel joint for them to go back and forth give us a solid start. Above this is a shin swivel as well at the boot cuff, allowing you to rotate that portion of the leg 360 degrees below the knee if you wish. Then we get a very playful double jointed knee which allows you to fully bend the leg back in on itself. This is already great but there's a (tight) 360 thigh swivel as well as full hips with back/forth and outward motion. Going backward you will impact that good old sculpted butt plate again. But it far from kills the articulation. All of these cuts are executed in the now standard Lightning Collection styling, doing their best to not be obtrusive to the character's design. Reflecting the physical differences of the Fighting Spirit suit, this figure features the same silver morpher and a new white Dragon Dagger holster on the right hip. As you can see in my gallery, I attempted to recreate the spirit so to speak of the Fighting Spirit episode in which Tommy fights his past self. Using the Legacy 6.5" Dino Thunder Black Ranger to stand in for him. That's why for a couple action shots (24-26) the Dragon Dagger is not in the holster, to try and recreate how Tommy possessed it for the start of the fight.

Like his mold mates, the Green Ranger has a pretty big but flexible piece of chest armor, the Dragon Shield. Thankfully the soft rubbery type of material used for the chest shields in this line is rigid enough to hold shape properly, but also flexible enough to allow mostly free movement of the upper body. I'd like to mention that I'm glad Hasbro didn't skimp on the white diamonds under the armor either. It's a superfluous detail, but one I appreciate. The lower torso has the same satisfying ratchet ab joint I've come to appreciate from the line as well, and the ball jointed upper body. The combination of the two gives you quite a bit to work with when posing. The arms hit the sweet spot with that classic butterfly style shoulder joint. As you angle the shoulder back, the armor slides out to fill the gap and vice versa. There's a full 360 rotating bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, and the same peg style hands as the rest of the line. Honestly if nothing else the arms have been generally phenomenal on all the Lightning figures. Making a great compromise of form and function.

The head nails the sculpt and design of the Dragon Ranger/Green Ranger design, though of course there's that pesky silver stripe that Fighting Spirit is so infamous for. I feel like Green Ranger's helmet sits down a bit lower on the neck that on his mold mates, giving him a slightly more squat appearance. But otherwise it's a really great fit for this body type. I threw in a few comparisons with the S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ranger from Tamashii Nations and as you can see these are very different shades of green representing to totally unique suits. Also now that I'm sort of retiring my Zyuranger Figuarts in favor of the much more affordable Lightning figures, I went ahead and gave Burai his Akibaranger "Powerful Rangers" parts and tossed in a pic for fun. I'll take any opportunity to sneak in Akibaranger where I can!

Mighty Morphin (Season 1) Putty
Making a two-pack with the Green Ranger and the grunt baddie most heavily associated with MMPR was a pretty great idea. It may seem a little odd that the original season 1 Putty comes packed with a version of the MMPR Green Ranger from the franchises 12th season, but really it's a smart marketing choice. The incentive of an MMPR Green Ranger, helps sell the troop builder that maybe wouldn't sell as well as an individual release necessarily to mass audiences rather than collectors. While the Putty being packed in with this specific variation of the Green Ranger, incentivizes collectors to pick up a minor alteration to the Green Ranger they may have otherwise been happy to pass up on in favor of some future "normal" version.

As is the Putty is a really brilliant figure. So far in the line we've been treated to two other truly iconic MMPR villains with Lord Zedd & Goldar. Both are stellar looking releases with real presence and personality, but enough physical faults to knock them down from being otherwise perfect. The Putty however is in my opinion the best of the trio. It's a very basic mold at it's core. It shares similar engineering with most of the line, though it feels most closely related to the Mighty Morphin White Ranger, a really great figure in it's own right.

The Putty features all the articulation hallmarks we can continue to expect from a majority of the line. Full rotating rocker ankles as well as a clicking swivel joint for them to go back and forth. Above is a shin swivel at the boot cuff, allowing you to rotate that portion of the leg 360 degrees below the knee if you wish. Then we get a very playful double jointed knee which allows you to fully bend the leg back in on itself. In addition is a 360 thigh swivel as well as full hips with back/forth and outward motion. All of these articulation cuts are executed in wonderfully, giving the lower body the ability to really express personality. While it's all in shades of gray, you can still pick up on a lot of wonderful sculpted detail as well.

Around the Putty's waist is the signature belt of these baddies. Oddly enough I'm not sure exactly what Hasbro was going for with this. The buckle features a black star, that's flipped the wrong way, sort of. In Zyuranger footage the Puttyies (Golems) have inverted stars/pentagrams on their belts. Often in american produced footage the much worse looking Putties had no belt at all, or if they did often the star was turned right side up. This figure clearly takes on the appearances of the original Zyuranger footage, noth the American made suits. So the star being set this way is a bit odd. It's kind of striking a balance between the two design, unnecessarily. The torso features the standard ratchet ab joint and the ball jointed upper body. The combination of the two gives you quite a bit to work with when posing, making the Putty capable of very menacing poses. The arms hit the sweet spot with that classic butterfly style shoulder joint like the rest of the line. There's a full 360 rotating bicep swivel, double jointed elbows, but things change with the hands. The Putty features a forearm swapping gimmick to let you use it's weapon arms. Because of this the forearm detaches just below the elbow. Also because of this design the wrist joint has been cut from the design. Honestly it's not missed much either, the cracked rocky hands of the Putty are quite expressive as is.

Finally the head is an absolutely delightful sculpt. Such a disturbing looking design translated so well to toy form. Again based on the proper Zyuranger based footage designs we saw most often in season one. The way the jaw lines overlap each other amid the pot marked bubbly surface of the face is just brilliant. Easily one of the best and most eerie sculpts in the entire line. Of course there are several other variations of the classic Putty design Hasbro could surprise us with in the future as well. Given the very basic nature of this mold it would be very very easy to create things like the seldom seen Super Putty Patroller. Or perhaps the equally as iconic season 2 "Z" Putties employed by Lord Zedd. Or even episode specific varieties such Bones or Pumpkin Rapper's minions. But this first, season 1 design, is the one we've probably all been craving and Hasbro has really really delivered.

Accessories
Like all of the two-packs in this line so far, Green Ranger & Putty come with *a lot*:

1 - Dragon Dagger. A repack of the weapon that came with the SDCC Dragon Shield Red Ranger. Nothing has changed paint deco or mold wise.

1 - Sword of Darkness. Weirdly enough this weapon is made of far more rigid plastic than any weapon I've seen in the line. Mine is a bit bent from it's position in the packaging. I find that maybe it's a tad bit too short as well? But that could just be the general bulk of this mold making it feel small. I added a photo of it next to the Figuarts Helfried Sword as well just for comparisons sake.

1 - Green Energy Effect. The best thing about Lightning Collection to me is the consistent inclusion of parts like this. While it's specific purpose is to be used on the Sword of Darkness, you could easily use it in any way you please.

2- additional hands. That's one "karate chop" style left hand and one Dragon Dagger right hand. This dagger hand has Tommy's fingers posed to play it like a flute and I really appreciate that kind of specific inclusion.

1 - Tommy Oliver head. This is as far as I can tell, a straight up repack of the one that came with the White Ranger. I wish they'd gone with a different hairstyle on this one, but a repack is a really cost effective thing to do.

2 - Putty Arms. The Putty Comes standard with a relaxed open right forearm attached as well as the bladed right forearm. As I mentioned above, the arms can be swapped just below the elbow. So for alternates we get a wrecking ball right hand and an open expressive left hand. I know people won't like the lack of wrist joints but I really appreciate how nicely sculpted the hand details are, like the fingers gripping the wrecking ball. The general rocky appearance of all the hands is so well executed and we get a really great variety so I'm hard pressed to complain.

1 - Putty Effect Part. This effect specific to the Putty is meant to use with his Sword Arm. Though it could conceivably on the tip of any bladed weapon in this entire line.

Like I said I really really appreciate the variety here, particularly with the Putty Arms. And Hasbro continues to go the extra mile included accessories that they don't even need to. At no point in the less than 5 minutes that the Fighting Spirit Green Ranger appeared on screen, did he ever use the Sword of Darkness. So including it here, in the same way that Dragon Shield Black came with the Power Axe, is a brilliant and generous addition. Once again I think we have a winner.

Final Thoughts
It's pretty wild that this relatively early on into the Lighting Collection line, that Hasbro has already managed to give us two very specific and very briefly appearing one-off ranger forms with the Fighting Spirit Green Ranger & the Dragon Shield Black Ranger. Doing a one-off version of the Green Ranger like this was really smart though, differentiating this release from the fairly recent Bandai Legacy 6.5" Green Ranger enough to make it a purchase people could want. And making it different enough from what we all know will eventually be a standard MMPR Green Ranger. The stroke of Genius though was packing it in with the classic troop builder, the Putty. While many collectors can definitely agree that it may be better to have Putty's coming in sets to troop build on their own, the simple fact is that this set up of Tommy & Putty being sold together, is the best of both worlds. It gives us both an obscure form for the most prolific ranger in the franchise, and ensures that the Putty sells at the same time. I absolutely appreciate it and would love more two-packs like it.

Part 2: Putty!

That Sword of Darkness is definitely too small. Judging solely by pictures(since I don't have this two-pack myself), I think the LC one is smaller than the Legacy one too.

Is it weird that I'm more tempted to pick this pack up for the Putty than for Tommy? Like, I would've legit bought a Putty+Z-Putty 2-pack, lol.

Y'know. MMPR Green is one of those designs that I've always been kind of meh on; something about the helmet never sat right with me and I always thought the Dragon Shield looked better on Red (or, honestly, anyone else -- love it on Black and recently Pink)

But this figure and gallery is actually really making me want this figure. It just came out so well, and the shade of green used is wonderful -- the debate and differences about his colour reminds me of Cyclonus and Galvatron over in Transformers. I think ultimately I would prefer to go by his later appearances in the likes of Gokaiger and Super Megaforce; and it actually looks a lot better to me. Very happy with the shade of green they chose here; it looks both accurate to those later appearances and extremely vibrant. I think it goes with the gold of his dragon shield a lot better than the darker, aquamarine-y green on the figuarts.

Talking of which, you've shown figuarts comparisons before, but something about this one really hit me on just how much better the proportions are compared to older figuarts. These figures actually look like there's a human body in there!

has Hasbro said whether they're releasing the Putty as its own single release?

They haven't. At this point I don't think there would be any plans to do so. Given that it's already out in this two-pack, and it's by far the most iconic version of the Putty, I don't think they'd go with any other variation of it for a single release. Maybe another two-pack.

thats . . . basically gonna be impossible to troop build then? wtf?

If they sold a FIVE pack of these, it'd sell

I need the standard Green Ranger, but part of me wants this to scratch that Green Ranger itch

Its Hasbro. Of course they will eventually reissue a variant of a character if it sells well. Maybe it will have darker colors or an alt pumpkin head. But it will likely be announced right after all of the 2 packs have sold out.

Of course that's only if the line gets strong. Right now i fear the line isn't nearly as strong as we would hope. Hasbro went all in and now they have pulled way back.

Is it weird I can't even tell the difference?