You don’t have to be a diehard Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fan to feel a pang of sadness about a recent auction that saw Hasbro sell off a trove of costumes, props, and other memorabilia from the franchise’s three decades of history. As io9 covered when the auction was announced, it was seen as controversial by fans and past cast members alike, who viewed it as just the latest sign that the franchise and its legacy aren’t being properly respected.
As detractors pointed out, instead of preserving Power Rangers history, gifting certain cherished items to people who were involved in making the series, or even making the sale a charitable endeavor, this was a regular old for-profit auction. Billed by Heritage Auctions and Hasbro as “the largest and most comprehensive collection of Power Rangers memorabilia ever offered for sale,” with items culled from “classic Power Rangers Mighty Morphin to the most recent season, Power Rangers Cosmic Fury, which premiered last year,” the event garnered over $3 million. According to a press release that mentioned multiple bidding wars, deep-pocketed participants went to the mat to claim the rarest items.
The top-dollar lot was the hero Cosmic Blaster used in 2023 Netflix release Power Rangers Cosmic Fury, “the team’s signature weapon that combines all five of the Cosmic Fury Rangers’ individual dino-themed powers into an 80-inch-long laser blaster,” according to a Heritage Auctions press release. It went for $87,500.
Another big-bucks item is pictured above (center image), the Transformable Astro Megaship/Astro Megazord hero filming miniature used in the creation of 1998’s Power Rangers in Space. It went for $47,500.
Among the costumes on offer, the Green Ranger hero costume worn by the late Jason David Frank (as Tommy Oliver) on the 1993-1995 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series commanded $30,000; the Pink Ranger costume from the same show went for $22,500, slightly less than the Yellow Ranger ($23,750). You can see the full auction results here.
The future of Power Rangers is, at this moment, uncertain; it’s unclear if the franchise will continue in its current form, or if Hasbro will pursue a reboot or revival separate from the Japanese Super Sentai franchise that first facilitated its existence. Whatever happens next, it will require creating an entirely new array of costumes and props to replace what’s now been sold off.
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