Fans watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once And Always may have noticed the mention of J.J., Kat Hillard-Oliver’s (Catherin Sutherland) son as she’s teleported to the Command Center. It’s a quick mention, but the last time J.J. was mentioned on air was five years ago during the 25th-anniversary episode “Dimensions in Danger” during the Super Ninja Steel season.
During that scene, it was Tommy Oliver (played by Power Rangers icon, the late Jason David Frank) telling his son to put away his bike. There was a voice off-screen that simply replied “Sorry, Dad.” While we don’t hear J.J. in Once And Always, Kat mentions that they don’t have to tell her son what happened to her and his dad during the recent events to worry him. It’s unknown at this point if J.J. knows his parents are Power Rangers, but one can assume it’s hard to avoid coming to that conclusion.
The relationship between Kat and Tommy was hinted all the way back in Power Rangers Zeo with the two having to be “married” for a class project. Kat even borrowed a baby named Joey to give the project more realism. At this point, Kim (Original Pink Ranger Amy Jo Johnson) had already sent Tommy the infamous Dear John letter from Florida, where she met someone, ending their on-again-off-again relationship.
The timeline of J.J.’s exact birth is unknown, but it’s definitely after Dino Thunder and obviously before Super Ninja Steel, so there’s this 14-year gap that could be somewhere he was born. We never really see J.J.’s youth, but the rest of his story as a young man is told through BOOM!’s Soul of the Dragon graphic novel.
Written by Power Ranger comic series writer Kyle Higgins, art by Giuseppe Cafaro and Marcelo Costa, and story consultation by Jason David Frank, Soul of the Dragon told J.J.’s story of growing up and becoming a Ranger through the SPD Academy, but trying to escape his father’s shadow. However, J.J. comes to embrace his lineage while starting his own legacy as the SPD Green Dragon Ranger, a one-of-a-kind combination of powers he’s able to create.
J.J. has yet to make his live-action debut and while we’ve had several siblings on the same Ranger team, we’ve never had a second-generation Ranger member as part of any team across the franchise. Maybe something to consider for the 35th anniversary special?
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