 | This article is about a/an ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. |
- For the Boom Studios comic version of this character, see Zack Taylor (2016 comic).
- For the 2017 version of this character, see Zack Taylor (2017 movie)
Zachary "Zack" Taylor is the first Black Ranger of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Retroactively, he is also referred to as the Mighty Morphin Black Ranger or Black Mighty Morphin Ranger, though these are in reference to the show, as opposed to proper labels. He is also the second-in-command to Jason Lee Scott.
Character History
Mighty Morphin Era
- "Looks like it's time to go to work"
- ―Zack Taylor
- "It’s Morphin Time! Mastodon!"
- ―roll call as the Mighty Morphin Black Ranger[src]
"Mastodon!"
Zack Taylor was a student who attended Angel Grove High School. A very enthusiastic, upbeat person, he was very close with his friends Jason Lee Scott, Billy Cranston, Trini Kwan, and Kimberly Ann Hart. Zack is a prankster and particularly enjoys holidays such as Halloween, to scare his friends; in contrast he was greatly afraid of bugs and snakes, a fear he partially conquered when he fought the monster Spidertron. He enjoys dancing at every chance he gets, and even developed his own fighting style, Hip Hop Kido, which he occasionally taught. As a close friend to both Jason and Tommy, all three liked to work out together and practice their martial arts. Zack served as Jason's second-in-command prior the arrival of Tommy and his becoming the White Ranger and eventual leader of the team.
When Rita Repulsa had been released and her intention was to take over Earth, Zack and his friends were chosen by Zordon to defend Earth as the Power Rangers. Although initially dismissive of being chosen, Zack soon discovers that he is right for the job. Zack became the Black Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, and controlled the Mastodon Power Coin and the Mastodon Dinozord.
Throughout the remainder of the first season, Zack attempts to gain the affections of fellow school student, named Angela, though she would turn him down several times before conceding to go on a date with him. When their date was ruined by a monster attack, Zack's chances with Angela seemed slim. However, he refused to give up and succeeded in making amends with her after several ruined attempts, earning a kiss on a lips for his efforts. When Lord Zedd came to Earth for his own ambitions, Zordon gave the Rangers new Zords to battle Zedd's more powerful monsters. Zack gained control of the Lion Thunderzord.
Later on, a peace conference was soon held to be attended in Switzerland, and only three teenagers were selected to go. Zack, along with Jason and Trini were selected. With his zest for living, upbeat attitude, and charm, Zack was a natural choice at the peace conference. Three of their friends, Adam Park, Rocky DeSantos, and Aisha Campbell would replace them as Rangers. Zack's last Ranger mission was to find the Sword of Light, which he would use to transfer the Rangers' powers. Adam became Zack's successor as the new Black Ranger. His current whereabouts are unknown but it is possible that he may have returned to his normal life.
Legacy of Power
Zack was featured in a chronicle of Power Ranger history compiled by Tommy Oliver shortly after he formed the Dino Rangers, which was found by the nascent Ranger team in the Dino Lab. Legacy of Power
Super Megaforce
The five Mighty Morphin Power Rangers join the battle.
Zack and the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers returned, with powers somehow restored, as part of the army of Legendary Rangers led by Tommy that helped the Mega Rangers defeat the Armada once and for all, fighting in a huge battle against hundreds of X Borgs and dozens of Bruisers. Legendary Battle
Family
- Mr. Taylor - Father
- Mrs. Taylor - Mother
- Curtis - Cousin
Black Mighty Morphin Ranger
Legendary Ranger Devices
The Mighty Morphin Black Ranger Key.
The Black Mighty Morphin Ranger Key is Zack's personal ranger key. This key along with the majority of the Core Ranger Keys are seen lining the Command Center's interior walls. This key is mainly used by Jake Holling (Super Megaforce Green) who uses it to fight as the Black Mighty Morphin Ranger.
- When the Super Mega Rangers became the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while fighting Matacore. Samurai Surprise
- When the Super Mega Rangers became the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers while fighting against Invidious and his XBorgs. Love is in the Air
As part of SDCC 2015, Bandai released an exclusive Dino Charge Mighty Morphin' Charger set with each Dino Charger depicting four pictures. In Mighty Morphin' Black's case, it featured his Ranger form, the MMPR title, the Mastodon Dinozord, and the Power Axe.
MMPR interactive CD-ROM
- Zack's birthday was given as May 3, making him a Taurus.
- Zack's birthplace was given as Washington, D.C.
- Zack's favorite food was meatloaf; his favorite subject was American history.
- Zack was supposedly the fastest sprinter on Angel Grove High's track team.
- Intuition was the guide of Zack's life, as he frequently acted on gut feelings.
MMPR fan club video
- Asked about favorite foods, Jason admitted he liked big bowls of ice cream, though not as big as Zack would eat.
- Asked about what music he liked, Jason said he liked hip hop, which he got from hanging around Zack too much; Zack and Jason would often dance around and have a good time in one of their garages, until someone would walk by, embarrassing them.
- Being interviewed himself, Zack sat in the Juice Bar; he had his hair in braids and wore a communicator.
- Zack described himself as the fun, bouncy member of the group, the crazy, fun-loving, spontaneous jokester; he added that he was a guy everyone got along with, and he'd always have an ear for people.
- As an instance of being caught off-guard, Zack described seeing an old lady acting weird and then turning into a Putty; he remarked that he should've known Rita had been up to something.
- Zack's favorite ice cream was cookies and cream.
- On the topic of music, Zack said he liked hip hop, since he loved anything he could dance to, and although he claimed to be able to dance to almost anything, hip-hop had a funky groove he liked; he also enjoyed a variety of other music from rap to old-style rock 'n roll such as Elton John and Billy Joel.
- With regard to his plans for the future, Zack thought he'd go to college, where he'd have more time to discover what he wanted to do; some ideas he'd considered were going into advertising, in which he could be creative and come up with jingles, or being a travel agent so he could see the world.
- Asked how he'd come up with hip hop kido, Zack said he'd combined dancing with martial arts, figuring it was the best way to have fun and defend oneself at the same time.
- Talking about her friends, Kim said she loved Zack, calling him fun and a great party guy who could always entertain people.
Appearances
Appearances in other media
- Zack appears as a playable character in Power Rangers Legacy Wars, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (video game), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Sega CD) (archive footage), Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (video game) (Sega Genesis version), Power Rangers: Super Legends
- A Black Ranger appears in Power Rangers Unite, though it is not specified if it is him or Adam Park.
- An alternate version of Zack with a slightly altered history appears in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Mega Battle.
- An alternate version of Zack with an altered history appears in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Boom! Studios).
Notes
- Controversy over Thuy Trang and Walter Jones being cast the Yellow and Black Rangers led to accusations of racism against Saban. According to Tony Oliver at Power Morphicon 2007, the producers were unaware of this being racially insensitive until the 10th episode. However according to IMDb, Walter Jones was originally cast as Billy the Blue Ranger. But it was Jones' idea he be cast as Zack, saying he'd be more recognizable as the Black Ranger, so he was re-cast.
- Walter Jones, the actor portraying Zack, is missing the middle finger on his left hand, but somehow the camera almost managed to avoid portraying this. However near the end of "Island Of Illusions, Pt. 1", you can see the missing finger. His missing finger can also be seen in his morphing sequence, where the other Rangers show 5 fingers on the top of their Morpher. If you also look closely in "The Wanna-Be Ranger", Primator tricks Trini and Kimberly that the others are having trouble in the park as Zack. Zack actually stays behind and drinks Trini's banana shake, and his missing finger is seen. And in the end of Switching Places, he is talking to Zordon on his communicator, his missing finger can be seen.
- He's the only original Mighty Morphin Ranger who is not featured in Power Rangers: Super Legends.
- Due to the morphing order of the five original rangers, this makes Zack technically the very first character in the series to morph into a Power Ranger.
- Zack is also the very first Ranger in the series to be officially introduced. However he's not the first ranger to appear onscreen. This title belongs to Kimberly.
- Zack shares the name of the 12th president of the United States.
- Zack is one of three original Rangers to leave the series and make no further appearances in character. Trini and Billy were the other two; however Thuy Trang (The actress that portrayed Trini) was killed in a tragic car accident in 2001, and David Yost (the actor that portrayed Billy) left the show due to disagreements with the cast and crew and is unlikely to return.
- Zack's fun-loving and wisecracking personality sharply contrasts with his Sentai counterpart, Goushi, who was the serious voice of reason.
- Zack's personality is very similar to Billy's Sentai counterpart.
- While Zack's Zord is a mastodon, his Sentai Counterpart's Guardian Beast is a mammoth. This can be forgiven, as a mastodon and a mammoth look somewhat similar to each other.
- The spelling of Zack's name is often disputed, with several sources including official merchandise spelling his name as "Zach." However, as confirmed by opening credits, it is officially spelled "Zack".
- The name Zack Taylor was originally used in a pitch by Saban for an adaption of Choudenshi Bioman called Bio-Man. The character was to be Green2, and he was a detective, and an Aries instead of a Taurus.
- Zack is also the first Ranger to serve as second-in-command as his Sentai counterpart, followed by Aurico, Chad Lee, Taylor Earhardt, Hunter Bradley, Sky Tate, Flynn McAllistair, Kevin, Chase Randall and Ravi Shaw.
- Zack was the first Ranger to have a solo morph.
- Zack is a playable character in Power Rangers Legacy Wars.
- Zack is the first Black Ranger to be second-in-command, followed by Tommy Oliver, Will Aston and Chase Randall.
See Also
- Sharma Tribe Knight Goushi - Super Sentai counterpart in Zyuranger. See comparison page.
- Daigo of the Heavenly Phantom Star - Super Sentai counterpart in Dairanger. See comparison page.
- Adam Park - The Ranger who replaced him as Black Mighty Morphin Ranger.
- Shirou Akebono - The first Sentai black.
- Kanpei Kuroda - The first Sentai Black to be second-in-command.
- Kenji Asuka - The first Sentai Ranger to take his position on the team.
- Akira Shinmei - The first Second-in-command Ranger.
- Zack Taylor in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comic Book Reboot 2016.
- Zack in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Movie Reboot
References
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| Black Rangers |
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| Identities Zack • Adam • Corcus • Carlos • Danny • Tommy • Will • Dillon • Jake • Chase Adam (alternate continuity) • Zack (2016 comic) • Zack (alternate continuity) • Vesper • Jamie Secondary Rangers Power Sets |
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