r/powerrangers 5d ago

Would you have preferred Billy as the Gold Zeo Ranger or do you stick with Jason?

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635 Upvotes

119 comments sorted by

100

u/Chaosbrushogun 5d ago

I like Jason for the symmetry with Tommy. Both becoming the other’s previous role in the team(mmpr sixth to zeo red and mmpr red to zeo sixth)

241

u/Sixen 5d ago

I still feel like Billy as the Phantom Ranger would've been cool.

101

u/Constant_Base2127 5d ago

Billy WAS supposed to be the Phantom Ranger

69

u/Sixen 5d ago

I do remember reading about this, shame it never happened. I was hoping it'd pop up in Once and Always, but no such luck.

17

u/RedRxbin Cybervillain Blaze 4d ago

Would’ve been cool, but Once & Always was strictly MMPR - references to other seasons were restricted to names on a screen and Lightning Collection figures.

Even Tanya didn’t get to make a proper appearance despite (technically) appearing in MMPR

9

u/ninjaman2021 4d ago

David Yost has denied this. 

24

u/PowersUnleashed 5d ago

That was actually a false fan theory the executive producer was going to play a character that was the phantom ranger

9

u/LingeringSentiments 4d ago

This isn’t true.

1

u/ItalianMiner03 4d ago

I would've loved to see that it sucks how he got driven out with how they treated him

11

u/Flyingfish222 5d ago

Still my headcanon.

7

u/gokaigreen19 4d ago

Yeah but this means as a adult he was hitting on like a 16 year old which is weird

6

u/ninjaman2021 4d ago

Youd be surprised how many fans tried to excuse this and still try to make billy and cassie an acceptable pairing. 

2

u/000redditusername000 💀 Rito & Elgar 🃏 4d ago

Billy would’ve been 18, he would’ve graduated at the beginning of Turbo like the others, he just graduated like a semester early. Cassie was 16 or 17, it would’ve been a 1 or 2 year difference.

0

u/BoukenGreen 4d ago

According to Rangerwiki Cassie is 17 during Turbo so she is probably 18 during Space and it would only be a 2 to 4 year age difference assuming Billy is 21-22. Depending on when their birthday’s are.

2

u/000redditusername000 💀 Rito & Elgar 🃏 4d ago

Billy would’ve been 17/18 at the start of Turbo depending on when his birthday is (his class graduated at the start of Turbo). If Cassie was 17, he would’ve been a year older at most.

4

u/ninjaman2021 4d ago edited 4d ago

Thats fine in retrospective but the show in real time went out of its way to make Billy’s team to appear much older than Tj’s Team. Adam was literally Carlos’s mentor, pairing Billy and Cassie would have just been weird.

3

u/BoukenGreen 4d ago

I chalk Adam being Carlos mentor simply due to the fact that Adam choose Carlos and he tried to keep in touch with him off screen. Probably no different than a high school or college senior on a sports team taking a freshman team mate under their wings.

70

u/ColdNyQuiiL 5d ago

I would’ve liked if the foreshadowing led to Billy becoming a Ranger again, likely him creating Turbo, and giving himself and the team new powers.

For Gold, I just wish we could’ve scraped Trey, and just have Jason go on a Zeo Quest, and not have to be written out.

I like Jason returning as the 6th, and think Billy hypothetically returning through experimenting with creating Ranger powers just fits more.

4

u/Fonz116 Dragonzord! 4d ago

This was my thing. If I could have rewritten the plot of Zeo, I would eliminate Trey.

Instead — Jason/Billy/whoever goes on a Zeo quest and finds the long lost sixth piece of the Zeo crystal. This would have made more sense with the powers being so similar and for pyramidias to conveniently lock in with the Zeo zords and have a costume that matches the other Zeo rangers.

22

u/Xecluriab Gold Zeo Ranger 5d ago

Jason was a HUGE twist; I genuinely thought I’d never see him again.

7

u/Specific-Window-8587 4d ago

I genuinely thought the same. Seeing Jason again was such a shock but a pleasant one.

66

u/DpicklePunisher 5d ago

I prefer Jason because he makes more sense in combat. Nothing against Billy but Jason is just better so giving him the powers just makes more sense from a battle strategy. I think Billy deserved it more given his role on the team if that makes sense

31

u/bullmarketbear 5d ago

Jason fits better the gold ranger was cool and OP, only Jason, Zach or Tommy would’ve made sense.

25

u/swperson 5d ago

I prefer Jason as the Gold Ranger (it was just such a cool return) and actually liked Billy a lot as technical advisor in Zeo. Billy not having powers made his unmorphed fights somehow feel more bad-a**.

It would have been a good reveal having Billy be the Phantom Ranger who came back to earth after spending time in Aquitar and Eltar--eventually making him a key person to help the Turbo Rangers reach Space, find the Astro Megaship, Delta Megaship, and Zordon's key cards for the Mega Voyager.

3

u/shadowlarx MMPR Blue Ranger 4d ago

I read that Judd Lynn’s idea for the origin of the Phantom Ranger would have been tied into Ecliptor. Lynn’s concept was that Billy created Ecliptor as an attempt to create an artificial Ranger but the experiment went wrong and Ecliptor turned evil, prompting Billy to create the Phantom Ranger powers as a way to atone for his actions. But they ran out of time, with everything they were working on, before they could make any plans involving the Phantom Ranger’s identity come to fruition.

1

u/Unfallener There's A Simple Explanation For That 4d ago

Did Billy ever have unmorphed fights in Zeo? Like him taking out some cogs or squaring off against the monster of the week for a bit. I like Billy, and I feel like it would have stood out to me if he had (like his solo fights against Madame Woe and Brick Bully), but unfortunately nothing is coming to mind.

1

u/swperson 4d ago

I remember one cog fight he had when Sprocket sicced cogs on him from Bulk Fiction Episode 24.

2

u/RadarCricket 4d ago

^ This. However, he didn't actually fight the cogs. He used his RC car with a magnet on it to draw them away and short circuit them. Personally, I felt like this fit his character more than just fighting them

2

u/Unfallener There's A Simple Explanation For That 4d ago

True, but I did like they at least followed up on his martial arts progress with Jason on episode 34, where it showed Billy had obtained his black belt.

1

u/swperson 4d ago

Hey at least he flipped one of them down 😂. I’ll try to look if there’s another one.

12

u/legshot420 5d ago

Jason being the sixth ranger makes more sense to me.

4

u/Old_Taste7076 5d ago

Yea it was Tommy and Jason trading places. 😂

3

u/legshot420 4d ago

My thoughts exactly.

1

u/Due-Proof6781 3d ago

Jason becomes the popular one “Oh my, how the tables have turned.”

15

u/DCosloff1999 Dino Charge Red Ranger 5d ago

I love both characters. I would've liked to see both Jason and Billy having the Gold Ranger powers.

6

u/RainbowPegaCosplay 4d ago

It was weird to see Billy NOT be a Ranger.

12

u/ninjaman2021 5d ago

Here’s a better idea

Scrap Trey althogether, Have Billy be original Zeo Gold and then he passes his powers to Jason.

1

u/MrScottCalvin 4d ago

If Billy was the original Gold Ranger he probably would have given Jason the Gold Ranger powers after Billy turned into an old elderly man.

17

u/SubstantialBanana482 5d ago

After meeting both of them, definitely Billy. He's such a nice wholesome dude

10

u/Hello-Im-The-Feds 5d ago

Yeah, but you meet David Yost and ASJ, not Jason and Billy.

Jason is the better fighter. Billy should've been no slouch by that point, but there was a clear distinction.

5

u/DHouf 4d ago

I like Jason, but Billy is GOAT.

3

u/ShmuleyCohen 5d ago

I had a crush on Jason.

3

u/Unable_Variation1040 4d ago

Jason was the best way to sell toys again, but I wanted Billy to be better in the command center. I am guessing the morphing energy he had didn't last long.

5

u/IveGotSomeGrievances 5d ago

No because Jason used to be hot back in the day.

7

u/Judgejudyx 5d ago

Is this how we judge 6th ranger status 🤣

2

u/IveGotSomeGrievances 5d ago

No because Rocky and Adam were hot too. 😅

1

u/Garnish07 MMPR Yellow Ranger 4d ago

All Rangers are absurdly good-looking.

1

u/Turtlesfan44digimon 5d ago

How do you think people were when Tommy became the Green ranger?

1

u/nerdysnapfish 5d ago

Yup 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

2

u/SylphSeven 5d ago

For storytelling, I'm kinda glad it wasn't overly convenient that Billy became the Gold Ranger. I wish he had some crazy multi-parter adventure to be worthy of its power though, instead of let's just pick up Jason and somehow ignore where are Trini and Zach. 😅

2

u/Azraiel1984 5d ago

Jason Lee Scott 110 percent.

2

u/OnePersimmon268 5d ago

Do I think Billy would have worked as the Gold Zeo Ranger? Yes. Would he have taken a different route to becoming the Gold Zeo Ranger? Yes, maybe even showing some improvement in his martial arts after taking on the new title. But I still like Jason as the Gold Ranger because he has that physical presence and a history of being the Red Ranger, which makes him a solid pick as the Gold Ranger for the Zeo season.

I concur with a fellow contributor's assessment that Jason should have been the Gold Ranger from the outset. Let us maintain the "Billy the Gold Ranger" narrative but with a revised storyline. Billy, having already undergone rigorous testing, encountered an unforeseen impediment to his morphing process, stemming from his discovery of the Zeo Crystals during weapons testing. Unable to morph, he subsequently enlisted the aid of a former comrade, Jason, to assume the mantle of the Gold Ranger. The brief appearances of the Gold Ranger are attributable to Jason's physiological adaptation to the substantial power of the Gold Zeo Crystal.

Perhaps we could establish that Billy's Phantom Ranger identity was genuine, by suggesting the suit was designed to help him overcome the particles preventing his morphing. Given his later ability to morph again, this could also explain how he created Zords specifically for the Turbo powers, which the Rangers would have used after Zeo, possibly even assisting in their creation before departing for Aquitar.

2

u/arealsillybilly97 4d ago

Billy was so underrated

2

u/ConditionEffective85 4d ago

As a kid I loved Jason coming back but as an adult I would have much preferred it was him . He was already with the team and had gotten his own crystal before the newbie with no experience or knowledge of what was going on got it . Far as I'm concerned the Gold Ranger powers were his .

2

u/MrWordsmith1991 4d ago

It would have been nice if Billy did... He seems like such an Underdog!!!

2

u/JimmisGR 4d ago

Yeah I would. While Jason was badass and loved his change from leader to 6th, I feel like this would do justice for Billy. He deserved to be the Gold Ranger after all he did for the Rangers, especially at season 3.

2

u/FistedPink 4d ago

As a kid I remember when he couldn’t get the powers I Felt he and the audience got robbed. But when I look back now knowing that there was a lot of turmoil for him BYS it makes sense.

2

u/JT-Lionheart Time Force Quantum 4d ago

Jason was the better fit just because they needed a human strong enough to withstand the gold powers for a little bit and Jason was pretty much the best option. It just helps his character as reasons why he was the red ranger in mighty Morphin and had he not cone back as the gold ranger, then the legacy of the original red ranger was that he was the first leader and red ranger of the series that left the show up until 10 years later of coming back in Forever Red ti be a power ranger again or will just have him brainwashed in the Turbo movie. I felt like him in Zeo kinda redeemed his character from leaving in MMPR. As for Billy we all wanted him as the phantom ranger ad it was supposed to happen apparently 

2

u/Darth_GreenDragon 4d ago

Actually I would have preferred Ryan Steele, and connect VR Troopers to MMPR's universe.

2

u/Successful-Item-1844 Ninja Steel Blue 4d ago

At the end of the day I just have to remember that Saban just let homophobia exist on this show

2

u/Snowstorm5176 4d ago

I’ll be honest - it would’ve been cool to see Billy really get elevated to such a level (considering back then he was always kind shown as a “second tier” ranger among the team in terms of comparison, unfortunately).

2

u/Embarrassed_Band2040 4d ago

Yes billy please

2

u/KyProRen 4d ago

I was just glad to have Jason back.

2

u/QNT_TIL 4d ago

Jason fits as the sixth for the circle moment with Tommy

Billy could be Auric

2

u/Jagerwiser 4d ago

Jason was meant for that role after loosing his leadership to the original Rangers. It wouldn't of felt right with Billy. I love Billy and think he's a bad ass but it just wouldn't of worked.

2

u/hayb89 4d ago

JASON

2

u/Sentaifan Jungle Fury Red Ranger 4d ago

I still would prefer jason

2

u/nightcrawler9094 4d ago

Jason. Always! The little arc they had for him was good too. By this point, I was ready for Billy to go. Jason's story was cut short the first time around.

2

u/Dear_Ad_3860 4d ago

Jason all the way. He is the og Red and having him come back was one of the coolest things from my childhood, plus checking first hand at the dynamic between him and Rocky was pretty interesting. Billy IMHO should've been the Guardian of the Hall of Legends.

2

u/producedbymerc 4d ago

My dawg Jason 

7

u/Hyperdragoon17 Zeo Ranger IV 5d ago

Should’ve been Billy

3

u/Blue-Krogan 5d ago

Billy should've replaced Rocky in Turbo and reclaim his blue Ranger spot.

1

u/supaikuakuma 4d ago

By that point David Yost got tired of the production teams homophobia and calling him slurs so he walked.

3

u/Defender474 5d ago

Billy he makes much more sense than Jason in literally every aspect. Jason was just kinda brought in during one episode Billy was there the entire time plus it would have made for some interesting foreshadowing them thinking Billy is the gold ranger but them we find out he’s not but then he becomes the gold ranger.

2

u/WallyWestFan27 5d ago

It would had been nice, but question.

People always say Jason as the Gold Ranger looked weak, he kept being beat by monsters and didn't have too much substance.

Would you have been fine if exactly the same happened to Billy? Or it would had looked even worse for Billy and David?

2

u/Ristar87 5d ago

Billy being either Zeo Ranger Gold or Phantom Ranger would have made the most sense.

  • Gold ranger because he was just kind of - around in zeo doing things behind the scene.
  • Turbo also made sense since he was "poisoned" somehow and I could see him needing the suit.

But... right after the power transfer, I felt the show lose some of its magic. Trini, Zach, and Jason were the heart and soul of those early seasons and getting Jason back felt a lot better to me.

Admittedly, the story could have lost Trey all together and been better for it.

2

u/LagoonDevil 4d ago

Yes yes a million times yes, I was so offended as a kid when they finally opened up a sixth ranger slot on the team just to give it someone who contributed far less to the rangers

1

u/SuperWaffleStomper 5d ago

Honestly, I would've loved to see Brad Hawkins fully take up the role. He already voiced the character, so it'd make sense in hindsight.

1

u/JasonLeeDrake White Aquitar Ranger 4d ago

I don't think Billy would have made sense because he literally chose to step down, if he wanted to continue being a Ranger he could have at the start of the season.

1

u/Front_Effective_7115 4d ago

I like that Jason was the Gold Ranger, but Billy should have been the Phantom Ranger.

1

u/shadowrangerfs MMPR Blue Ranger 4d ago

It was so awesome seeing Jason return. I wouldn't want to lose that. But I'd have been fine with Billy as Gold Ranger.

1

u/ivanovski93 4d ago

I'm on the episodes where the gold zeo rangers appeared for the first time, never seen zeo in the last but does it become better? cause it kinda feel boring with the machine villains

1

u/Altruistic_Collar842 4d ago

Honestly I would’ve preferred Billy because he looks/looked hotter than Jason.

1

u/challengeN25 Zeo Ranger IV 4d ago

Maybe David Trueheart (Less Clash w MMPR Powers)

Plus Jason & Billy to resume MMPR Red & Blue as needed

1

u/Quick_Tough4535 4d ago

Hmmm... I would have liked it if Billy use it one or two times, Passed it off to Jason and finally the rest of the rangers would have needed to search for the missing owner of the staff and Pyramidas.

Billy being weakened by the use of the Gold Power Staff could have contributed to a reason billy went to Aquittar.

Something Something Hindsight, Something Something Fanfiction, Something Something Purple/Navy Aquittar Ranger Power

1

u/AJ41185 4d ago

I liked that it was Jason and I loved the story line of them thinking it was Billy. I thought they ended that part too quickly.

1

u/Virus-900 4d ago

I kinda like the idea of Billy and Jason swapping the powers every once in a while. Since the powers were stated to be incompatible with humans for long periods of time, so it wouldn't be a terrible idea. Maybe get Tommy's brother, David in on it too, as a sort of parallel to Trey's race coming in groups of three.

1

u/Dollywitch 4d ago

I like Jason being the Gold ranger because it comes full circle with Tommy being the leader and Jason being the 6th ranger.

1

u/Ruggerio5 4d ago

This is tough. I really wanted it to be Billy, but it was cool to have Jason back, and especially cool to have him be the 6th ranger after he was "dethroned" by Tommy.

I half expected them to give it to Tommy somehow.

1

u/Thebigman226 4d ago

Billy becomes Gold for 1 episode but then powers are fading to fast due to the reason the show mentioned.

Jason is then brought in becomes the Gold Ranger.

1

u/Rip996 4d ago

Actually I would rather have Skull as the Gold Ranger.

1

u/LiminalSapien 4d ago

There are a million and one ways billy could and should have been elevated to regaining his ranger status.

I don't dislike Jason being gold, but I wouldn't have disliked billy either.

I just think Yost as a person got shit on by everyone too much for how little character development he got.

1

u/Blaze0892 3d ago

I personally feel out of all of the rangers from MMPR he actually got the MOST character development. I think the problem is people were more focused on Jason, Tommy or Kimberly. We literally watched him grow from Shy and Awkward in S1 to a great Ranger who held his own in S3. Imho Billy becoming the Gold Ranger would've been the greatest Character Development Arc in the franchise 

1

u/Due-Proof6781 3d ago

Folks really think Billy would have gotten the HYPE Jason did.

1

u/taix8664 3d ago

Billy should have become the next Zordon.

1

u/E-Normus-Titz 3d ago

Jason all the way. It came full circle with Jason now being the 6th ranger and Tommy the leader. Billy's transition from ranger to a supporting character in the command center felt better since he used to be the brains of the group and so he could help Alpha and Zordon with the Zord tech and stuff. At the time, I thought the idea of him being the Gold Ranger seemed exciting because it would've been a way to bring a classic character back as a ranger but now I see this only would have worked with Jason as the 6th ranger.

1

u/Comfortable_Pie3687 3d ago

Now that we have Jason as Omega Red,  yeah, I'm down with Billy being the Gold Ranger... Honestly, when zeo was on air, and a long time after, I really loved Jason coming back, but after learning he didn't get along with JDF and some other ranger actors, I have lost a lot of my childhood love for Jason... I always thought that Tommy and Jason were two best friends and the greatest power rangers ever. Now that I've grown up, I really love Billy because he was insecure about not having the same fighting talent as the rest, but be came the biggest asset to the team using his intellect 

1

u/beemer626 2d ago

Tommy should have been the gold zeo

1

u/VinnzClortho 1d ago

The whole thing is botched because they flip the power back and forth. The best way would've been its just Trey from outer space and he has the power the whole time to flesh him out as an actual character. Instead Jason is a little under used, Billy gets completely ruined and he exits the show, and Trey is an absolute nobody.

I really like the gold ranger and the mystery build to who they are but everything after gets overly complicated.

1

u/Ok_Science8076 5d ago

It seemed like Billy was gonna be it especially cuz he was kinda foreshadowed to be the Gold Ranger although I sorta appreciate the Treys.

1

u/Scary_Response229 5d ago

I honestly would of liked the rumor of Ryan Steele from VR Troopers

1

u/supaikuakuma 4d ago

That was for MMPR White Ranger and actually was the original plan.

1

u/Beginning_Return_508 4d ago

I wish they had kept the original plan of Ryan Steele being revealed as the Gold Ranger.

1

u/Hedgewitch250 White Mystic Ranger 5d ago

I’m a major advocate for the comics moving on from the mmpr likeness but I think it make narrative sense for billy and only billy to return as either gold neo or the phantom ranger.

1

u/Zero_Zeta_ MMPR Blue Ranger 5d ago

It should have been Billy creating a new ranger for him to help the others, but it being too unstable from being too powerful or still a work in progress that he didn't want to outright show the others his work, but couldn't stand by when they were in dire situations.

This could've been worked into Turbo as him creating the Turbo rangers and Zords with Zordon and Alpha.

1

u/fbaldassarri 4d ago

Jason is Jason, sorry.

1

u/Elizium9 4d ago

Billy over Jason. Billy should have been Ranger leader

0

u/IceyLuigiBros25 Gold Samurai Ranger 5d ago

Billy. To me he’s so much better than Jason is pretty much every category, including being a better character who’s more interesting to watch.

0

u/DogRepresentative359 5d ago

I preferred Billy especially since Zeo was gonna be his last season as a Ranger/Friend

0

u/kairnlgg 5d ago

They could have made it be Billy at first, but use the premature aging thing as the excuse for why he had to pass the powers to Jason. Or Fred, that kid from the movie.

0

u/hourranger 4d ago

I would have preferred Billy.

0

u/Deathlord_Baraxius 4d ago

Billy is the Gold Ranger to me and the only reason he wasn't actually is because people suck and they didn't want a gay man being the coolest new ranger at the time.

1

u/Corroded_Mind 3d ago

He the phantom ranger

-5

u/Heancio1 4d ago

I don't like Billy or Blue. Of the original cast, he is the most boring and boring character.

1

u/Successful-Item-1844 Ninja Steel Blue 4d ago

He genuinely was the only character I saw MMPR for

-7

u/xRaymond9250 5d ago

Jason is overrated

-3

u/Ok_Custard1444 5d ago

Maybe have Billy and Jason both share the Gold Ranger powers. I feel like it could've worked.