I believe it was TJ Johnson of Power Rangers Turbo who said something to the effect of, “What kid wouldn’t wanna grow up to be a Power Ranger?” There’s probably some universal truth to this. Every kid thinks they want to be a Power Ranger. It seems like the coolest job in the world, right? But if you were to actually do it, you’d probably get your ass kicked in ways it’s never been kicked before, because they go up against some very mean monsters.

But when it’s the apocalypse and you have to protect a Morpher from falling into the wrong hands, you gotta do what you gotta do. And that very person is Ziggy Grover.

NAME: Ziggy Grover
RANGER DESIGNATION: Ranger Operator Series Green, Power Rangers RPM
BASE OF OPERATION: Corinth
FIRST APPEARANCE: “The Road to Corinth” – Power Rangers RPM
LAST APPEARANCE: “Danger and Destiny Part II” – Power Rangers RPM
PERSONAL WEAPONS/GEAR: Turbo Axe, Engine Cell 4, Teleportation, Shadow Puppetry
ZORDS: Tail Spinner, Croc Carrier (w/ Ranger Black)
PORTRAYED BY: Milo Cawthorne

PROFILE

Before Corinth went the direction of Mad Max, Ziggy was associated with criminal cartels that operated a black market within the city. He primarily worked for Fresno Bob of the Scorpion Cartel, and although he was pretty bad at his job, they still kept him around. However, Ziggy had a heart of gold and was saving his checks to help out the local orphanage. On one of his jobs, Ziggy realized that his van was filled with millions of dollars worth of medical equipment. Instead of delivering it to its destination, he opted to drop it off at the orphanage and, shortly after, fled from Corinth to prevent himself or the orphans from getting hurt.

Alas, Ziggy did have to go back eventually. While wandering around outside the city, he came across a lone wolf named Dillon and tried to carjack him. Obviously this didn’t work because Dillon was half cyborg and could probably throw him over a mountain. They decided to carpool (at least once Dillon realized that Ziggy knew where Corinth is) and together they were able to bypass the anti-Venjix wall around the city. There, they had their first view of the famous Power Rangers in action, but they were quickly apprehended by police when it was found that Dillon’s body contained Venjix hardware.

Thrown in the slammer, Dillon developed a habit of protecting himself and Ziggy from other prisoners. Colonel Mason Truman noted Dillon’s prowess and invited him to join the Power Rangers. Dillon’s only request was that Ziggy be released with him. The Colonel complied, and Ziggy would basically be the Rangers’ intern.

With four out of the five Ranger Series Bio-Suits occupied, it was time for them to find a fifth Green teammate. Ziggy organized an audition process that looked more like a high school talent show. Not a single good contestant took the stage until a mysterious lady named Tenaya Sevenson rescued him from some of Fresno Bob’s goons. The Rangers found her to be a perfect fit for the job and sent Ziggy to fetch the Morpher for her.

When he arrived back with the Rev Morpher, he quickly discovered that Tenaya was an evil half-human Venjix Infiltration Attack Bot. Giving the Morpher to her probably would have been a bad idea, but she was dead-set on stealing it from him. In a moment of panic, Ziggy slapped the Morpher on his wrist, bonding it to his DNA and making him Ranger Operator Series Green. He wasn’t too thrilled, but he used his newfound abilities to escape Tenaya 7.

Needless to say, Doctor K and the other Rangers weren’t exactly ecstatic with this turn of events. When your new superhero teammate winds up being the lamest, most uncoordinated guy in the city, it tends to rub you the wrong way. Ziggy lacked the proper training and physical coordination necessary to be effective as a Ranger, but despite not wanting to do it in the first place, he persisted. He fumbled around with his Turbo Axe. He couldn’t quite get the hang of his teleportation powers. When the going got tough, Ziggy could often be found hiding in the fetal position or hiding behind a tree. There was much work to be done.

Nobody was as impatient with Ziggy as Doctor K, whose stoic, no-nonsense personality simply could not handle somebody as bombastic and careless as Ranger Green. In fact, for the longest time she couldn’t even call him by his real name. After all, it was very difficult to take him seriously when he, well, didn’t take a whole lot of things seriously himself. She straight up told him she didn’t like him pretty early on.

It got so bad that, when he was arrested for accidentally teleported inside of a bank vault, she wanted him stripped of his Ranger powers. It was only after she realized that Ziggy’s criminal record was actually sort of a Robin Hood situation that she begrudgingly allowed him stick around. She showed the mildest sign of affection for him when she rescued him from the angry Scorpion Cartel.

Dillon found out that his missing sister may be slaving away at a factory outside the city, so Summer and Ziggy tagged along to help him find her. Ziggy proved to be invaluable in helping the gang escape when they were pursued by Grinders. He distracted the goons with shadow puppets.

Ziggy owed quite a bit of money to the Scorpion Cartel from his little orphanage stunt, and it eventually caught up to him. Tenaya 15 (she used to be 7, it’s not important) teamed up with Fresno Bob with the aim of capturing Ziggy. In exchange for him, Bob would give her a very special suitcase containing something she may find useful. They were successful in kidnapping Ziggy, but Tenaya wound up betraying Fresno Bob and keeping Ziggy and the case for herself. In a strange turn of events, the Green Ranger wound up saving Fresno Bob’s life. Though Ziggy was initially scared that he would come after him, Bob showed up at the Rangers’ garage to let him know they’re square now.

Doctor K made the mistake of going outside with Ziggy for ice cream. They wound up being attacked by Grinders, leading Ziggy to teleport Doctor K inside a cave for safety. The problem was that he de-morphed and was unable to recharge his morpher. The two were stuck together and pretty much gave up hope of escaping. Doctor K revealed to him that it was her birthday, so he made the best of the situation and made her smile with his shadow puppets. Meanwhile, the Rangers were able to gain access to her computer and rescued them by finally figuring out her password: ZIGGY.

During the climactic battle with Venjix, Ziggy went to great lengths to keep Doctor K safe. In the aftermath, the Rangers returned their morphers and the two announced that they’re opening up a school for kids, which surprised just about everybody. Also, she finally called him Ziggy, which was very sweet.

 

SUGGESTED VIEWING

Any episode with Ziggy is likely to be a riot. On top might be Ranger Green and Go For the Green, as those really give you a sense of what he’s all about. Run Ziggy Run is an uncharacteristic episode for Power Rangers, as it features one of the main villains teaming up with a normal-ass civilian. Well, a mob boss, but whatever.

 

RANKING

There’s a lot to love about Ziggy. He’s incredibly charming and, to paraphrase what he told Doctor K when he first became a Ranger, what he lacks in combat skill he makes up for in heart. He’s probably one of the purest, most well-meaning Rangers since the original Mighty Morphin’ kids. He’s also fucking hilarious and without a doubt the funniest comic relief Ranger. He’d certainly be #1 on the Comedians of Zordon.

Ziggy also happens to be the first Ranger on this list to share a season with a previous entry, so there’s a good starting point for a frame of reference. He’s definitely gonna be above Scott because Scott is kind of petty. I’ll also put him above the underutilized Cassie since I think Ziggy was milked closer to his full potential.

Here’s the thing. Unlike characters such as Dustin and Eric, Ziggy didn’t really have a whole lot of growth. He wasn’t a bad person who needed to be reformed and never acted in his own self-interest. In the end, he was still just a loveable goofball. He just got a little bit better at fighting. However, he eventually exceeded the expectations of just about everybody around him. I like to think Kim did the same, but unfortunately in her case that was never conveyed very well within the show. I think this places our underdog Ziggy as the new number four on the Children of Zordon. Sorry, /u/Gooflactus.

Next week, I’m taking a break before I burn out. In the meantime, why not head over to the Children of Zordon Twitter? I’m giving away one Lightning Collection SPD Shadow Ranger figure and the winner could be you! Just keep in mind it might not be you. I hope you understand that you can’t win everything all of the time. Make sure you also check out the list and see where the first 10 Rangers stand. It’s getting pretty big, isn’t it? You could also follow no context power rangers, which often contains screencaps of episodes that I watch during the making of this quality content.

I will be back May 20th to check out Leo Corbett, the Red Galaxy Ranger and master of dramatically ripping his shirt off. Seeya then babies.