GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The original Red Power Ranger is coming to Grand Rapids. Grand Rapids Comic-Con has announced that one of its guests will be Mighty Morphin Power Rangers star Austin St. John. The event will be held November 11-13 at the DeVos Place.
John played Jason Lee Scott in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, which aired on Fox Kids from 1993-1995. Jason was one of five teenagers from Angel Grove chosen by Zordon (played by David Fielding, and later Robert L. Manahan) to become a Power Ranger to stop the villain Rita Repulsa (played by Machiko Soga and Carla Perez, and voiced by Barbara Goodson). The rest of the original Power Rangers team consisted of Zack Taylor (Walter Emanuel Jones), Billy Cranston (David Yost), Trini Kwan (Thuy Thang), and Kimberly Hart (Amy Jo Johnson). They were later joined by Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank), the Green Ranger, who was originally an evil adversary controlled by Rita.
John later left the series during its second season. Jason, Zack, and Trini were then written out of the show, with the characters being chosen to represent Angel Grove at the World Peace Conference. Rocky DeSantos (Steve Cardenas) then took over as the Red Ranger. John later returned as Jason in the follow-up series Power Rangers Zeo, which aired on Fox Kids in 1996. In the series, he becomes the second Gold Ranger, succeeding Trey of Triforia (played by Ted, Tim, and Tom DiFilippo). In the final episode of Power Rangers Zeo, Jason returns the powers of the Gold Ranger back to Trey and once again retires from being a ranger.
John would later play the character again in the 1997 film Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. In 2002, he returned as the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger and teamed-up with nine other Red Rangers for the Power Rangers: Wild Force episode “Forever Red.” John most recently played Jason in the 2020 Power Rangers Beast Morphers episode “Grid Connection.”
Outside of the Power Rangers franchise, John also starred in the 2019 film A Walk with Grace. The film also starred Ashely Bratcher, David Lee Smith, and Jason London. It was directed by Nick Kellis.
Grand Rapids Comic-Con will be held November 11-13 at the DeVos Place. More information on the event can be found on its website.
