In April, Power Rangers was back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Appearing in a new documentary focused on the sentai series, former head writer Tony Oliver admitted that maybe it wasn’t so great that they had made their only Black actor the Black Ranger and their only Asian character the Yellow Ranger. The obvious stereotyping “was such a mistake,” he reflected.
But even the missteps of ’90s television can make a positive impression — and lead to greater storytelling as those influenced by pop culture grapple with it later in life. In the new Power Rangers novel Force of Chaos, author Diana Ma (Heiress Apparently) tells a story focused on the Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan, that deals directly with her Chinese heritage and the inevitability of racial stereotyping in her role.
“Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger, was important to me because she was one of the first Asian American superheroes I saw on TV,” Ma told Polygon via email. “As a Chinese American superhero-loving fangirl, it was powerful for me to see this representation in a kids’ TV show. Knowing that Power Ranger fans were watching and connecting to Trini as she kicked Putty butt as part of a superhero team committed to protecting the universe made me feel seen.”
Ma says her goal was to explore how Trini “came into her own” to embrace her cultural heritage, identity, and history to become the Yellow Ranger. “To do that, I bring Chinese mythology into this story in what I hope are exciting and surprising ways!”
Here’s the official synopsis:
Trini Kwan is trying to get through high school unnoticed. Nobody knows that she has trained for years in martial arts, and she prefers to let her classmates think she’s just the shy Asian girl.
But Trini’s world turns upside down when the homecoming game is attacked by an otherworldly winged beast with an army of clay soldiers. Unable to sit by while innocent people get hurt, Trini springs into action—alongside science genius Billy, her childhood best friend Zack, popular jock Jason, and new girl Kimberly.
In the aftermath, the five teenagers are recruited by an alien warrior named Zordon to become the new Power Rangers, charged with protecting the planet from an evil sorceress who recently escaped imprisonment. Suddenly thrust in the middle of a millenniums-long intergalactic war is hard enough, but getting her new teammates to work together proves to be a difficult task.
Can Trini help the others move past their rocky first impressions—and her own complicated history with Zack—to protect their home from destruction? And will she be able to finally accept her full self—and this new role?
Force of Chaos arrives to bookstores on May 13. Polygon has a new excerpt of the book, which wrangles all the classic Power Rangers for a very typical not-wearing-their-costumes hangout scene that very untypically goes deeper on the human drama.
“Angel Grove is up by fourteen thanks to those two touchdowns Jason threw,” Billy says like he’s been watching football all his life instead of this being his first-ever game. Then again, a genius like him shouldn’t have any trouble picking up on the basic rules.
“Yeah, that about sums it up.” Zack stabs a plastic fork into his paper container with unnecessary force.
“I think your cheesy nachos are already dead,” I say.
“You can’t be too sure.” His face lightens up with his first smile since Jason’s last touchdown pass. “This one, for example . . .” He picks up a greasy nacho oozing with globs of cheese. “I’m pretty sure it’s still got some life in it.”
Good. Zack cracking jokes is much better than the unnaturally glum version. “You should just put it out of its misery then.”
“As you wish.” He pops the nacho into his mouth.
“See? No shrieks of agony,” I say smugly. “It was dead.”
“Shows what you know. Right before I swallowed it, I heard it whisper, ‘My name is Bob.”
“Bob,” I repeat. “You shall be remembered.”
Billy shakes his head. “You two are so weird.”
I’m about to point out that a junior who studies quantum mechanics has no right to judge, but then shrieks ring through the stadium, making my head jerk up and my pulse kick into overdrive.
Is that . . . a grotesque winged beast with a golden body at the other end of the field? My body goes cold. What the hell? That thing just came out of nowhere. “Uh, guys—am I the only one who’s seeing a giant gold monster on the football field?” I ask shakily.
“I see it.” Zack sounds as shocked as I am. He points into the far stands. “There’s something over there too.”
“Oh my god.” The winged beast is scary enough, but these other creatures look like they came straight from a horror movie. They have vaguely humanlike bodies with arms and legs, but they look like they were made out of clay instead of flesh and skin. Even worse is their featureless, smoothly blank faces.
Billy gasps. “What are those things?”
Aliens? Demons? Science experiments gone wrong? Who knows. People are noticing them too. Screams come from all around me, and students scramble down from the bleachers to get away from the clay creatures now swarming the far stands. They seem to be looking for something. Or someone.
“We need to get out of here.” Zack stands, but others are running down the steps in the aisle and blocking his way out. It’s a full-on stampede, and kids are in danger of getting trampled. “Careful!” he calls out to someone who knocked down a shorter boy.
“You’re going to hurt him!” I’m on my feet, yelling at the crowd, but Zack has already shoved through the mob and picked up the kid.
Zack makes his way back to Billy and me. “We might be safer up here. Maybe we should wait until the aisle is clear.”
I know what he’s thinking. Zack could run down the bleachers easily without bothering with the steps, and he knows I can too, but Billy might have trouble.
“Yes.” My eyes meet his. “That’s a good idea.”
Then the gold beast roars so loudly the whole stadium shakes. “Where is your leader? Take me to him or I will destroy you!” He draws an enormous gold sword from a scabbard at his side and begins waving it around.
Um, the gold beast talks? I mean, yes—he talks like his only knowledge of our language comes straight from B movies, but there’s no denying that a huge winged giant monster is making clichéd villainous threats on our football field.
The beast suddenly slashes at the stands nearest him with his sword. Fear clutches at my throat as an empty bleacher collapses with a crash. The panicked screams all around me get even louder.
“At least that bleacher was empty,” Zack says grimly.
“No, it’s not!” Billy’s eyes are round in horror as he stares at the collapsed bleacher.
Heart racing, I peer through the dust cloud. There. “Two kids are trapped in the rubble.” One of the kids is big, and the other is skinny. “I think it’s Bulk and Skull,” I breathe. Of course it would have to be them. They must have been behind the bleacher when the monster blasted it.
“The clay creatures are headed for them!” Billy says. He’s right. The monsters have abandoned their search in the empty stands and are lumbering toward Bulk and Skull as if they sense easy prey.
My gaze swivels to the football team. They’re in the perfect position to help Bulk and Skull, but they’re all fleeing too—except for one. Only Jason is standing his ground.
“Stay here.” Zack sprints down the bleachers and toward the chaos.
Like hell I will. No way am I going to let him face literal monsters on his own. Without a second thought, I’m racing down the bleachers after Zack.
“Wait, Trini!” Behind me, I can dimly hear Billy saying, “Excuse me. Let me through! I need to help my friend.” It’s not surprising that Billy is following us. He might not be the athletic guy, but he’s as brave and loyal as they come.
I leap from the bleachers onto the field, and then I’m dodging kids who are dashing for the exits. A blur of red and white flashes in my peripheral vision. It’s one of the cheerleaders, and she’s not running away. Kimberly is running toward the fight. Astonishment grips me. So not only are we going up against invading alien creatures to save Bulk and Skull . . . but it’s going to be Kimberly, Jason, Zack, Billy, and me.
The five of us might be the strangest team-up of all time.
