In continuing the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of Power Rangers, we had our users nominate their Top 10 Power Rangers of All Time, and from that, we created a Top 20 Power Rangers of All Time list. These updates are the results of what TokuNation users submitted. To start this entry off right – yes, we’re aware that it has been reported that Austin St. John’s real name is actually Jason Geiger. And we’ll touch on that later. But for now – TokuNation users have voted that Austin St. John/Jason Geiger is the 4th Best Power Ranger of All Time!
Jason Lee Scott was your ordinary teenager – great in school, totally ripped, martial artist, probably the head-everything in every sport – and to top off his normal teenage life, he was selected by intergalactic being Zordon to be the Red Ranger for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers once it was discovered that the evil Rita Repulsa has escaped her prison. He controlled the mighty Tyrannosaurus Dino Zord and led his friends and teammates, the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, in to battle anytime the forces of evil attacked.
Jason’s greatest challenge came when Rita Repulsa revealed that she had the Green Dragon Coin, and used it to create her own evil Power Ranger … the Green Ranger. She selected a new kid in town named Tommy Oliver, and he was nearly a match physically and martial arts ability against Jason. Jason and his friends would prevail and save Tommy from Rita’s evil spell allowing him to join the team. His greatest failure in his own eyes was when Rita used the Green Candle to drain the powers away from the Green Ranger. Jason was within grasp of the candle but his friends were on the brink of being destroyed, so he left. To save the Green Ranger powers from being lost back to Rita, Tommy gave his coin to Jason, and Jason gained the ability to summon the armor and weapon of the Green Ranger.
Time passed – Jason received the new Red Dragon Thunderzord – but at the cost of having to fight new villains under the evil of Lord Zedd. When push came to shove, the Power Rangers agreed they needed another Ranger to help. It was then that the White Ranger was revealed – created by Zordon and Alpha 5 – and Jason was stripped of his leadership of the team as it was given to the White Ranger. Soon after, Jason – along with Zack and Trini – would be selected to be part of a peace conference, and would leave the team.
It would be a couple of years until we saw Jason again. During Power Rangers Zeo, the Gold Ranger was in a dire straight – he had lost his focus, and thus, was unable to use the powers and needed to pass them to a pure of heart individual. When the power transfer failed with Billy, Tommy knew just who to call – and Jason became the Gold Ranger, helping the team fight King Mondo and the Machine Empire, even leading the team when Tommy went missing. In time, Jason’s body was unable to continue to hold the powers of the Gold Ranger, and it became a life and death situation – Jason’s life force was now connected to the powers, and if the powers left, so would his life force. With the help of the other Power Rangers Zeo, Jason was able to pass the powers back to Trey of Triforia.
Jason would have a guest role in the Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie film, and would not return again to the show until Power Rangers Wild Force, taking part in the Forever Red anniversary episode. It was never explained on or off screen just how exactly he got back the original Mighty Morphin Red Ranger powers.
Austin St. John is the screen-name for Jason Geiger. The reason for this is not officially known, although co-star Jason David Frank has stated that Jason Geiger was unhappy that so many “Jason”s were working on the show (Jason David Frank, Jason Narvy) … so wanting to stand out from his co-stars, he had his name switched to Austin St. John. Geiger states he left the show to take care of his mother, while other reports have stated it was over money. Geiger also states he returned to the show during Power Rangers Zeo because he received a phone call that ratings were down and they needed a boost. His appearance in the Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie was part of the contract he signed. His acting career never took off after Power Rangers, and it is now reported that he works as an EMT somewhere in the Baltimore/Washington DC area. There is apparently a feud between Jason Geiger and Jason David Frank, and while Geiger has been relatively quiet and a non-participant in anything Power Rangers related, Frank talks about it anytime someone asks a question about their work relationship.
We are now down to the final three results! What do you think of this result? Are you surprised the original Red Ranger ranked 4th and not 1st or 2nd, or even 3rd? Chime in! And stay tuned for tomorrow when we reveal your choice for third best Power Ranger of all time!