Billy Cranston


 * For the movie version of this character, see Billy Cranston (movie)

Billy Cranston is a fictional character in the Power Rangers francise. He is the Blue Ranger in the series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, portrayed by David Yost. Billy is the only original Power Ranger to remain for the entire MMPR series, and is the third longest-serving Ranger overall behind Tommy Oliver and Adam Park. 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 foresaw, and even invented the first team's wrist-worn communication devices (it is believed, though not proven, that he created every other communicator up until his departure from the show).

The character was also played by Yost in the unaired pilot. Billy also appears in the video game Power Rangers: Super Legends alongside some of his Ranger teammates.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Billy was one of the five "teenagers with attitude" selected by Zordon to become the original Power Rangers, along with Jason Lee Scott, Zack Taylor, Trini Kwan and Kimberly Hart. Billy became the Blue Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, and was given both the Triceratops Power Coin and the Triceratops Dinozord.

Billy began the series as the stereotypical "nerd." His closest friend throughout the series was Trini, to whom he could communicate most comfortably and effectively. He was initially very insecure about himself, making him an easy target for people like Bulk and Skull, who tormented him often in the beginning. 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 not only created the communicators, 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. This fear would affect him well into his teens and Rita would use a spell to exacerbate this fear. When he was the last Ranger left able to contend with the Goo Fish monster, Billy overcame the spell and then, after helping to free his friends and defeat the monster, completely overcame the fear itself on a fishing trip with Ernie, the owner of the Youth Center.

Each of Billy's teammates had 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, 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 Ranger's 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 was accepted into the Young Scientists of America program. He befriended Zack's cousin Curtis when he became the newest student at Angel Grove High. Curtis' musical interests, particularly in playing the trumpet, sparked Billy's intrigue into the rhythmic patterns of jazz music.

Zedd's Invasion
When Lord Zedd invaded Earth after doing away with Rita, Zordon upgraded the Dinozords into the Thunderzords; Billy was given control of the Unicorn Thunderzord. When Zordon and Alpha disappeared, Billy was the one to find the secret door where they were making the White Ranger. While most of the other Rangers were disappointed of a new member was suddenly joining them, Billy knew that they needed a new Ranger to help them against Zedd, regardless of who it was. However, he was happy to find that the White Ranger turned out to be former teammate Tommy Oliver.

New Friends and Teammates
One day, while roller blading in the park with Tommy and Kimberly, Billy unexpectedly met Rocky DeSantos, Aisha Campbell, and Adam Park, and helped them stop a runaway stroller carrying a teacher's baby boy. When Zedd kidnapped the new teens to change them into his own Dark Warriors, Billy, Tommy, and Kimberly set out to rescue them. Billy entered the cave where the teens were being held and grabbed the evil snake that would turn them evil. However, the snake wrapped itself around Billy's neck, and he was forced to remove his helmet to breathe, thus revealing his identity. Rocky, Aisha, and Adam swore to keeping the Rangers' secret and became friends with everyone. When Jason, Trini, and Zack were chosen to attend a peace conference in Switzerland, Billy and the Rangers had to retrieve the Sword of Light to allow the Rangers to transfer their powers. Though Billy was sad to see his teammates leave, he was happily surprised that his new friends would take their place as the new Rangers.

When Kimberly fell through a time wrap to the days of the Wild West, she would recruit Billy's ancestor William in the 1880s to become the first Blue Ranger when she assembles and takes command of the Wild West Ranger team in a battle against Goldar and several other time traveling foes.

Ninja Quest
After the Thunderzords were destroyed by Rito Revolto, Billy and the other Rangers sought out Ninjor, the creator of the Power Coins, to give them new powers. Billy became the Blue Ninja Ranger and controlled the Wolf Ninjazord. It was Billy who was able to use his intelligence to let the Rangers control the Shogunzords and he would personally control the Blue Shogunzord.

Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers
The Rangers were de-aged by a time reversal spell performed by Rita Repulsa's father, Master Vile. Billy devised a plan to restore the Rangers' proper age using a machine that ran off of the Power Coins. Billy restored himself, but Goldar stole the machine, and Zedd and Rita destroyed all six 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, acting in this period as a liaison between the Alien Rangers and Earth.

Power Rangers: Zeo
Billy officially retired from active Ranger service, allowing Tanya Sloan (who was sent back in Aisha Campbell's place) to take his place while he continued his support role by creating and maintaining most of the weaponry, gadgets and Zords the Zeo Rangers would use. He traveled briefly to Aquitar to assist the Aquitian Rangers in battling with a race of aliens called the Hydro Contaminators. To do so, he completed a prototype device that Cestro started to defeat them. Upon his return, his ship was diverted by King Mondo to fly straight into the sun. From the Power Chamber, Zordon, Alpha 5, and the Rangers were able to rescue him.

Before the Gold Ranger's identity was revealed as Trey of Triforia, several red herrings mislead the viewers into believing that the Gold Ranger was Billy, but when Rocky confronted him with this theory he assured the team that he'd never have kept such a thing secret from them, and had simply been busy working on a never-specified project (most likely the Turbo powers). When Trey returned to Triforia on sabbatical to try to unify his three selves, Billy was selected to assume 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, the former Red Ranger (who, being nowhere near the Command Center at the time of its explosion, was a safe choice), received the powers.

Billy was last seen to be suffering from accelerated aging because the regenerator he used to restore his proper age had a side effect. To counter this, he traveled to Aquitar for a cure from their Eternal Falls (analogous to the Fountain of Youth), and opted to remain there with Cestria, a female Aquitian with whom he had fallen in love.

MMPR interactive CD-ROM

 * Billy's birthday was given as April 1, making him an Aries.
 * Billy's birthplace was given as Chicago, Illinois.
 * Agreeing with the later Fan Club Video, Billy's favorite food was guacamole cheeseburgers.
 * Billy was developing theories on gravity manipulation.
 * Billy was a member of the debate team, the science club, the math club, the chess club, Mensa, and the William F. Buckley Vocabulary Society.

MMPR fan club video

 * Being interviewed, Billy sat in his lab; he had light brown hair and wore a blue shirt and his thin-framed glasses, using absolutely no technospeak, and furthermore using the occasional bit of incorrect grammar; whether he wore a communicator is unknown.
 * As a child, Billy had started reading very early and had read the newspaper with his dad; then when he went to school, he became interested in science and the world.
 * Recalling a frightening experience, Billy described fighting Madame Woe to save Marge, his girlfriend at the time; he said it had been hard and scary, but he'd done it.
 * Billy gave his favorite food as guacamole cheeseburgers, adding that he liked a lot of fast food, such as pizza, French fries, and hamburgers.
 * Billy said he tried to use his mind over muscle in his normal state, and even when fighting Putties, he'd try to outsmart them to make them injure or destroy themselves; if he had to get physical, he said, he would do it, but he used it only as a last resort.
 * Billy remarked that being smart could take you anywhere in life, and he said that his intelligence often allowed him to help devise solutions to problems, since Zordon and the other teens didn't always have the answers.
 * Billy said he was a straight-A student, which would take him somewhere after high school; he planned to move on to college and hopefully become one of the world's leading scientists.
 * Billy listed honor, respect, and courage as the most important things he'd learned from Zordon.
 * Talking about her friends, Kim said that Billy was great, because he was so smart, and she would always go to him for help with homework; he was such a giving person, he always helped out.

Trivia

 * Billy received a tribute in the credits of his last episode.
 * Billy was the Red Herring for the identity of the first Gold Ranger.
 * Billy is the only Ranger to keep a single power for the first three seasons without giving it away or switching colors, and the only "original Ranger" to not be replaced, as he stepped down from his position at the start of Zeo. **Technically, Billy's powers were replaced once, going from the Tricera powers to the Wolf powers between season 2 and 3. Even though his suit remained the same, the different coin could be considered as a new power.
 * Billy is the only Ranger to retire from being a Ranger, but not immediately leave the show.
 * Because of the absence of Yost (he had left the show a few episodes prior to his character's departure, hence his lack of appearance in them), stock footage of Billy was used for his departure and his character was voiced by someone else. He was also the last of the original Power Ranger team to leave the show, although his former teammate Jason would later reappear in Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (alongside another former teammate Kimberly Hart) and in the Wild Force episode Forever Red. Also of note is that, backstage, David Yost (Billy's actor) left the show on bad terms, causing the writers to change the Turbo movie's plot so that the Rangers created the Turbo powers themselves w/ Alpha 5's assistance rather than by Billy himself. Some fans conclude that during Billy's absences during the misleading plots that made him seem like the Gold Ranger, Billy was creating the blueprints for the Turbo powers.
 * Billy was the longest running Blue Ranger of all time (3 Seasons).
 * Interestingly enough, Billy along with Jason were the only two Rangers capable of handling the Gold Zeo powers in the 4th Season. This means that, due to his experience and skills, that Billy should have been on par in strength and fighting/leadership ability with Jason, the original leader of the Power Rangers before leaving to Aquitar. This theory is further backed by the fact that Adam Park, another non-Red Ranger (Black), was able to lead the Retro Rangers during Once A Ranger.
 * In Power Rangers: Zeo, his teleportation color is white, as it is the teleportation color for all civilians and/or White Rangers. In Rangers of Two Worlds Part 2, his last episode, his teleportation color is a black molecule, to match the Aquitians' teleportation.
 * Billy has been turned into a child twice along with Tommy, Adam, Aisha and Rocky.
 * According to IMDb, Walter Jones was originally cast as Billy. However, when he auditioned, he said he thought he'd be more recognizable as the Black Ranger, so he was re-cast.
 * Billy frequently dressed in clothing that was oversized or otherwise baggy or frumpy, in an effort to cover David Yost's well-defined physique (as since he was supposed to be a nerd, and thus, not entirely athletic). This effort was dropped by the second season of MMPR.
 * Billy is the first Blue Ranger to turn evil. The second one was Kevin in Power Rangers Samurai.
 * Billy is the opposite of his Sentai counterpart in which he is a serious, analytical nerd, while Dan is the immature comedy relief. He however shares his intellect with Zack's Sentai counterpart.
 * During the 2010 reboot of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, a toy version of Billy was seen with the Dragon Shield.