Billy Cranston is a fictional character in the
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
universe. He is the Blue Ranger in the series ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...
,'' and was portrayed by actor
David Yost
David Harold Yost (; born January 7, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', ''Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'' an ...
. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire ''MMPR'' series, and is the second longest-serving Ranger overall behind
Tommy Oliver
Dr. Tommy Oliver is a fictional character and the overarching main protagonist of the American live-action television franchise ''Power Rangers''. He is best known as being the original Green Ranger and the first evil Ranger who fought and near ...
. Until his departure, he was considered the brains of the Power Rangers team, creating many gadgets with which to solve problems that not even
Zordon
Zordon is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise who serves as the Rangers' mentor. Zordon first appeared on the first season of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and appeared in subsequent seasons until the conclusion of ''Po ...
foresaw, and he even invented the first team's wrist-worn communication devices.
Character history
Television
''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''
Billy was one of the five "teenagers with attitude" selected by
Zordon
Zordon is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise who serves as the Rangers' mentor. Zordon first appeared on the first season of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' and appeared in subsequent seasons until the conclusion of ''Po ...
to become the original Power Rangers, along with
Jason Lee Scott
Jason Lee Scott is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, played by actor Austin St. John. Jason is known as the original Red Ranger from the first entry of the franchise, ''Mighty Morphin Power Ranger ...
,
Zack Taylor
Zachary Taylor is a fictional character in the Power Rangers universe, appearing in the television series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. He is the original Black Ranger of the first generation of Power Rangers. He was played by actor Walter E ...
,
Trini Kwan
Trini Kwan is a fictional character from the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, first appearing in the original series as the Yellow Ranger. She was portrayed by Vietnamese-American actress Thuy Trang.
Trini was originally portrayed by actress Audri D ...
and
Kimberly Hart
Kimberly Ann Hart is a fictional character in the ''Power Rangers'' universe. Played by American actress Amy Jo Johnson during the first three seasons of the show, plus on the two feature films of the franchise, Kimberly has the longest tenure of ...
. Billy became the Blue Power Ranger and was given both the
Triceratops
''Triceratops'' ( ; ) is a genus of herbivore, herbivorous Chasmosaurinae, chasmosaurine Ceratopsidae, ceratopsid dinosaur that first appeared during the late Maastrichtian stage of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period, about 68 m ...
Power Coin and the Triceratops Dinozord.
Billy began the series as the stereotypical "nerd." The other Rangers, especially Trini, defended him loyally, but Billy later evolved to become a stronger individual. He was one of the top members of Angel Grove High's science club and often helped its younger members with their experiments. One such example was with Willy, a young boy he helped to create a virtual reality simulator for a Science Fair. In the episode "High Five," Billy created not only the wrist communicators the Power Rangers used, but also the interface that allowed the devices a remote access to the Command Center's teleportation unit.
It was revealed that, due to an experience in his youth when he was bitten by a fish during an experiment involving whirlpools, Billy developed
icthyophobia
Fear of fish or ichthyophobia ranges from cultural phenomena such as fear of eating fish, fear of touching raw fish, or fear of dead fish, up to Phobia, irrational fear (specific phobia). Selachophobia, or galeophobia, is the specific Galeophobia, ...
: fear of fish. This fear would affect him well into his teens, and Rita would use a spell to exacerbate this fear. When he is the last Ranger left able to contend with the Goo Fish monster, Billy overcomes the spell and then, after helping to free his friends and defeat the monster, completely overcomes the fear itself on a fishing trip with Ernie, the owner of the Youth Center.
Each of Billy's teammates have a unique skill to offer the team and, in Billy's case, it was his vast intelligence. He sought out to improve himself physically, and the audience would see him transition over time from the suspenders-wearing "brain" to a confident, hyper-intelligent athlete with appreciable fighting skills, thanks in great part to Trini's Uncle Howard. Jason and later Tommy helped graduate Billy to the red belt level in karate.
Billy's intelligence would help the Rangers save the world on many occasions. When the Command Center was damaged, Zordon lost and Alpha incapacitated, it was his invention, a car called the RADBUG, that allowed the Rangers to travel to the Command Center. He performed a wide array of tasks, ranging from creating the method for which the Rangers would use initially to infiltrate Rita's Dark Dimension, to disarming the lock-out mechanism for Alpha's activated self-destruct, and many other achievements. Though Billy did manage to attract girls earlier in his "nerd-like" persona, it was after he began his journey toward self-improvement that he would garner more attention from romantic interests, even more so than the other members of the team.
Billy is accepted into the Young Scientists of America program. In Season 2, he befriends Zack's cousin Curtis when he becomes the newest student at Angel Grove High. Curtis' musical interests, particularly in playing the trumpet, sparks Billy's interest into the rhythmic patterns of jazz music.
Later in Season 2, a time-traveling Kimberly would recruit Billy's ancestor, also named ''William Cranston,'' in the 1880s to become the first Blue Ranger when she assembled and took command of the Wild West Ranger team in a battle against
Goldar
Goldar (known as Flydar in the pilot episode) is a fictional character from the television series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers''. A powerful yet overconfident warrior that serves under the command of Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd, he is one of the ...
and several other time traveling foes. Also in Season 2, Billy commands the
Unicorn
The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...
Thunderzord.
In season 3, Billy gained new powers from
Ninjor, who gave him the Wolf Power Coin, and became the Blue Ninja Ranger.
''Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers''
The Rangers are de-aged by a time reversal spell performed by
Rita Repulsa
Rita Repulsa is a fictional character from the television series ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', and the principal nemesis and archenemy of the main superhero protagonists in the show's first season. She is portrayed in the first season by Mac ...
's father, Master Vile. Billy devised a plan to restore the Rangers' ages using a machine that ran off the power coins. Billy restored himself, but Rita and Goldar stole the machine, and Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa destroyed all six Ninja Power Coins. With his Wolf Ninja Coin destroyed and his Triceratops Power Coin damaged beyond use, Billy's role changed. He no longer fought as a Power Ranger, but rather acted solely in an advisory and supporting role. Indeed, Billy was the only Ranger in this period still to be acted out by his regular actor – the others had been replaced temporarily by child actors after
Master Vile had used the Orb of Doom to revert time by approximately ten years. Billy acted in this period as a liaison between the
Aquitian Rangers and
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. It was the cure for Billy's reverse-aging that eventually served as the plot device by which he was removed from the show. When ''
Power Rangers Zeo
''Power Rangers Zeo'' is a television series and the fourth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series ''Chouriki Sentai Ohranger''. It is the continuation of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', which aired in ...
'' began, Billy officially retired from active Ranger service as the six-man team now only had the five segments of the Zeo Crystal as a power source for each member of the team, allowing Tanya to take his place while he continued his supporting role by creating and maintaining most of the weaponry, gadgets and Zords the Zeo Rangers would use.
''Power Rangers Zeo''
The writers left the choice open as to whether or not Billy would become a Zeo Ranger, with him musing at the start of ''Zeo'' that he could always assume the Zeo power in an emergency. He graduated earlier than the rest of the team in "Graduation Blues," and then left Earth for a brief period to address problems on the planet Aquitar. In "Mr. Billy's Wild Ride," he returns to Earth, although he is attacked by the machine empire along the way.
Before the Gold Ranger's identity was revealed as
Trey of Triforia, the writers left several red herrings to mislead the viewers into believing that the Gold Ranger was Billy since he was never around when the Gold Ranger was around. When Trey of Triforia returned to Triforia on sabbatical to try to unify his three selves, Billy was selected to assume the Gold Ranger's powers. However, the negative proton energy that his body had absorbed in the Command Center's explosion prevented him from taking the powers. Instead
Jason Lee Scott
Jason Lee Scott is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, played by actor Austin St. John. Jason is known as the original Red Ranger from the first entry of the franchise, ''Mighty Morphin Power Ranger ...
, the former Red Ranger, received the powers.
By the time of Jason's return it's shown that Billy has worked his way up to a black belt in karate.
Billy was last seen in two of the final ''Zeo'' episodes suffering from accelerated aging, a side effect from the regenerator he used to restore his proper age. To counter this, he traveled to Aquitar for a cure from their Eternal Falls (analogous to the
Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth is a mythical spring which allegedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted around the world for thousands of years, appearing in the writings of Herod ...
), which would restore his real age; after that he opted to remain there with
Cestria, a female Aquitian with whom he had fallen in love.
''Power Rangers Super Megaforce''
During the final episode of ''
Power Rangers Super Megaforce
''Power Rangers Megaforce'' is the twentieth season of the long-running television series ''Power Rangers''. The show is produced by SCG Power Rangers and began airing on Nickelodeon on February 2, 2013. The show was part of the ''Power Rangers ...
'' - ''Legendary Battle'' - Billy participates in the eponymous battle as the Blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger alongside other past and present Power Rangers. Yost does not reprise the role for this morphed appearance.
''Power Rangers Beast Morphers''
Billy makes another morphed appearance as the Blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger for a second season episode of ''
Power Rangers Beast Morphers
''Power Rangers Beast Morphers'' are the twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh seasons of the American television program ''Power Rangers''. The first season premiered on Nickelodeon on March 2, 2019, while the second season premiered on February 22, 20 ...
'' - ''Grid Connection''. The episode saw
Austin St. John
Jason Lawrence Geiger (born September 17, 1974), professionally known as Austin St. John, is an American actor, martial artist, and paramedic best known for his portrayal of Jason Lee Scott in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise.
Early life
Austin S ...
reprise the role of
Jason Lee Scott
Jason Lee Scott is a fictional character and the main protagonist in the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, played by actor Austin St. John. Jason is known as the original Red Ranger from the first entry of the franchise, ''Mighty Morphin Power Ranger ...
, the Red Mighty Morphin Power Ranger. Jason summons the other four core Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the
Dino Thunder
''Power Rangers Dino Thunder'' is the twelfth season of the television series, ''Power Rangers''.
This in ...
rangers to join him and the
Dino Charge
''Power Rangers Dino Charge'' is the twenty-second season of the long-running television program ''Power Rangers''. Using footage, costumes and props from Japanese 37th Super Sentai Series ''Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger'', it is the first season to ...
rangers in battling a resurrected
Goldar Maximus. Again, Yost did not return; Billy has no dialogue and remains morphed throughout the appearance.
30th Anniversary
For Hasbro PulseCon 2022,
David Yost
David Harold Yost (; born January 7, 1969) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for portraying Billy Cranston in ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', '' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', ''Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers'' an ...
announced he would reprise the role of Billy to mark the 30th anniversary of the ''
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'' franchise. It is not yet known if this will be an episode of upcoming third season of
Power Rangers Dino Fury
''Power Rangers Dino Fury'' are the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth seasons of the American children's television program '' Power Rangers''. The first season premiered on Nickelodeon on February 20, 2021, and concluded on December 18, 2021. It ...
(retitled ''Power Rangers Cosmic Fury'') or a different ''Power Rangers'' production.
Film
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995)
Yost reprises the role of Billy for ''
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie'', released in 1995, which sees the Power Rangers losing their powers after an encounter with the new villain
Ivan Ooze (
Paul Freeman). The Rangers go on a quest to restore their powers and save Zordon's life in the process. The events of the movie are non-canon to the television series, where a similar scenario plays out (minus Ivan Ooze) in the ''Ninja Quest'' saga near the start of the third season.
Power Rangers (2017)
William "Billy" Cranston appears in
the 2017 reboot, played by actor
RJ Cyler
Ronald "RJ" Cyler II (born March 21, 1995) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (film), Me and Earl and the Dying Girl'' (2015), ''Power Rangers (film), Power Rangers'' (2017), ''The ...
. In this version, he is
autistic
The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...
unlike in the TV series.
At the start of the film, he is the archetypal nerd who is targeted by bullies. When Jason defends Billy from a bully during detention, Billy thanks Jason by deactivating his ankle monitor. The two then sneak off to an abandoned mine where Billy used to go with his deceased father. Eventually, along with Kimberly, Trini, and Zack, they come across the Power Coins and discover their destinies as the new Power Rangers. Initially, Billy expresses the most enthusiasm over being a Ranger, being the first to morph when he breaks up a fight between Jason and Zack, albeit accidentally. He is killed by Rita after she forces him to reveal the location of the Zeo Crystal, but Zordon sacrifices a chance to restore his own body to bring Billy back to life. When they morph for the first time and take the zords into battle, Billy initially accidentally 'drives' his zord backwards before turning it around in time for the final confrontation with Goldar.
Comics
''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink''
Kimberly is the main character in this comic book mini series published by Boom! Studios. The series is a modern remake but also serves as a continuation from Kimberly's exit in the third season of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Kimberly needs to rescue a French town under siege from Goldar and she seeks help from Zordon. She asks for the other rangers to aid her but is told they are off on another planet fighting Lord Zedd which explains Billy's absence. Zordon temporarily makes Kimberly the pink Power Ranger again by using the Sword of Light to activate the latent pink energy within her. Kimberly later shares this power with a civilian called Serge, making him the blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger in place of Billy.
Other Appearances
''Power/Rangers'' (2015 short film)
In ''
Power/Rangers
''Power/Rangers'', or ''Power Rangers: Unauthorized'', is an American superhero fan short film directed and co-written by Joseph Kahn, produced by Adi Shankar and Jil Hardin, and co-written by James Van Der Beek and Dutch Southern. It was r ...
'' Billy Cranston (played by Yves Bright), in this much darker reimagining, in this timeline the
Machine Empire
''Power Rangers Zeo'' is a television series and the fourth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 19th Super Sentai series ''Chouriki Sentai Ohranger''. It is the continuation of ''Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'', which aired in ...
defeats the
Power Rangers
''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
and destroys the Megazord in battle, Earth's governments negotiate a truce with the Machine Empire and the Power Rangers are disbanded. Billy became an
openly-gay trillionaire who ended up buying
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...
and was found dead of an apparent suicide.
The Phantom Ranger Fan Theory
In ''
Power Rangers Turbo
''Power Rangers Turbo'' is a television series and the fifth season of the Power Rangers franchise. The show was prefaced with the franchise's second film, '' Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie''. As with its predecessors, ''Power Rangers Turbo'' is ...
'', the fifth season of the series (and later in a few episodes of ''
Power Rangers in Space
''Power Rangers in Space'' is a television series and the sixth season of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, based on the 21st Super Sentai series ''Denji Sentai Megaranger''.
''In Space'' was a turning point for the Power Rangers franchise, as the ...
''), a mysterious Power Ranger with the ability to become invisible showed up and became an ally for the Turbo Rangers, who nicknamed him
Phantom Ranger. His identity was never revealed, but
Judd Lynn
Judd "Chip" Lynn is an American television writer, producer, and director.
He is known for his work on the children's action/adventure series ''Power Rangers''. He spent the first few years as Production Manager and directed second unit scenes ...
, executive producer of ''Turbo'' and ''Space'', revealed that if he had to give the character an origin now, he would have made him a past Ranger and fixed on Billy as a potential, but stressed that this was only a brainstorm after the fact.
Behind the Scenes
![David Yost 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/David_Yost_2014.jpg)
David Yost has stated he had walked off the show a few episodes prior to his character's departure, due to repeated and ongoing
homophobic slurs
LGBT slang, LGBT speak, or gay slang is a set of English slang lexicon used predominantly among LGBT people. It has been used in various languages since the early 20th century as a means by which members of the LGBT community identify themselves ...
by the creators, producers, directors, and writers of the series,
which is why he does not appear in them. However, producer
Scott Page-Pagter
Scott Page-Pagter (June 13, 1957 – December 5, 2021) was an American voice actor and television producer, known for his work in producing over 300 episodes of the ''Power Rangers'' series, starting with the fourth season, '' Zeo''.
Biography
Pa ...
has denied these statements, claiming Yost left over a salary dispute and had conflicts with members of the crew. As a result, stock footage of Yost was used for his departure and the character was voiced by someone else (In broadcasting Billy's departing message to his friends, it was mentioned they were having trouble with the signal). He was also the last of the original Power Ranger team to leave the show, although his former teammate Jason had returned as the Gold Ranger at that time.
It was widely believed that Billy's surname came from
Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor and director who is best known for portraying Walter White in the AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–2013) and Hal in the Fox sitcom ''Malcolm in the Middle'' (2000–2 ...
, who did voice work for ''Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers'', and would later portray Zordon in the 2017 film. Bryan Cranston was told this and it was later confirmed to him from an unknown source. However, in recent years, promotional material for an attempted Bioman adaptation by Haim Saban, from 1984, revealed that the surname was decided on long before Cranston became involved with the series.
References
External links
Official Power Rangers Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cranston, Billy
African-American superheroes
American superheroes
Fictional characters on the autism spectrum
Fictional hackers
Fictional inventors
Fictional karateka
Fictional Ninjutsu practitioners
Fictional polearm and spearfighters
Fictional scientists
Male superheroes
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Power Rangers characters
Power Rangers Zeo
Teenage characters in television
Television characters introduced in 1993