Power Rangers: Once & Always, the Netflix special that reunited some of the original Power Rangers, brought justice to the franchise’s most underrated Red Ranger. Set 30 years after the events of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Once & Always was a slightly more mature take on the original series and celebrated the saga’s original heroes. Once & Always’ story was dedicated to Thuy Trang, with the special also including a homage to Jason David Frank. Despite the bittersweetness of the reunion, Once & Always was a nostalgic and emotional Power Rangers special.
David Yost’s Billy Cranston and Walter Emanuel Jones’ Zack Taylor were the only characters from the first generation of Mighty Morphin Rangers to return in Once & Always. Both Yost and Jones had been away from the franchise for decades, which made Billy and Zack’s returns even more meaningful. In addition to two of the original Rangers, Power Rangers Once & Always’ cast also included characters from the show’s second generation of heroes. Rocky, Aisha, Adam, and Kat, all of whom joined the team during MMPR’s seasons 2 and 3, were part of the Netflix special.
Rocky DeSantos, played by Steve Cardenas, returned as the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger in Power Rangers: Once & Always, which brought justice to the character three decades after the original series did him wrong. Rocky replaced Jason as the Red Ranger in Mighty Morphin season 2 following Austin St. John’s exit from the show. Thuy Trang and Walter Emanuel Jones also left the series in 1994, leading to the introduction of Aisha Campbell and Adam Park as the new Yellow and Black Rangers, respectively. The problem is that Rocky never got to shine as the Red Ranger in MMPR.
When looking at Mighty Morphin’s history, it is easy to forget that there were two Red Rangers on the show. Jason might have been the most iconic, but Rocky was also part of the show’s history. While Rocky continued to be part of the franchise after MMPR, his Red Ranger never felt as important as it should have been. This is why it was great to have Rocky back as a Red Ranger in Once & Always, even if he was once again Jason’s replacement. Rita Repulsa kidnapped several Power Rangers, including the original Red Ranger.
With the original team down several members, Alpha decided to call reinforcements – Rocky and Kat. Considering Jason and Kimberly had to be written out of the story due to their respective actors not returning for the special, it made a lot of sense to have Rocky and Kat as the Red and Pink Rangers in Once & Always. This unusual team formed by Billy, Zack, Kat, and Rocky went on a quest to defeat Robot Rita Repulsa and was later joined by Minh, the new Yellow Ranger. Rocky had some cool fights and even gave the final blow against Snizzard.
Rocky, Adam, and Aisha had the very difficult mission of replacing Jason, Zack, and Trini, who by them had already become fan-favorite characters amidst the Power Rangers phenomenon. Rather than recasting the three Rangers, Power Rangers decided to introduce brand-new characters. Rocky, Adam, and Aisha became known as the “Stone Canyon trio,” appearing as civilians for a couple of episodes before becoming Power Rangers in “The Power Transfer.” On one hand, seeing three characters exit the show at the same time was disappointing. On the other hand, the new Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers brought new life to the show.
That said, there was an obvious hierarchy in Power Rangers. Tommy, Kimberly, and Billy were now the experienced members of the team, whereas the Stone Canyon trio were the recruits. Rocky’s rookie status went against what the Red Ranger should be, which created a problem. The Red Ranger was expected to be the fearless leader based on Jason’s run, yet Rocky was the recruit who still had a lot to learn. To make things more complicated, Zordon made Tommy the team’s new lewader just before Jason’s exit. Therefore, Rocky never got to lead his Power Rangers team.
Rocky spent all of Mighty Morphin in Tommy’s shadow, with the Red Ranger iconography becoming way less important compared to the White Ranger one. To put things in perspective, the White Ranger was the one front and center in all the posters for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which made sense given Tommy was now the most recognizable character on the show. Still, Rocky’s character deserved more from the series as a Red Ranger, a problem that only got worse in Wild Force’s “Forever Red” crossover episode.
Rocky was reportedly not part of the crossover because the production could not find and reach out to Steve Cardenas, who had just changed address, in time for filming. Even if Rocky had been part of “Forever Red,” he would likely not have been part of the fight since Jason was already back as the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger. As great of a Power Rangers team-up episode “Forever Red” was, not having Rocky as part of the lineup was disappointing. Every other Red Ranger up until that point showed up, whereas Rocky was not even mentioned.
Rocky’s Power Rangers history goes beyond his time as the Red Ranger. At the start of Zeo, which picked up right from where MMPR season 3 had left off, Tommy became the new Red Ranger. With Billy out of the team, Rocky went from Red to Blue. As the Zeo Blue Ranger, Rocky got to be a character of his own rather than Jason’s replacement. Rocky and Jason would later fight side by side when the latter returned to become the Zeo Gold Ranger. Unfortunately, Jason and Rocky never had any scenes in which they discussed their shared Red Ranger history.
Cardenas would reprise his role as Rocky in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, during which the character was replaced with Justin as the new Blue Ranger. Rocky would only return to Power Rangers several years later in Super Ninja Steel’s “Dimensions in Danger,” during which he used his Red Ranger powers. Power Rangers: Once & Always reveals that Rocky became a firefighter at some point after he graduated, offering a satisfying conclusion to one of the most underrated characters of the Zordon Era.
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