Some of the most iconic Power Rangers in the franchise’s history have started out as villains, with names like Tommy Oliver (Mighty Morphin), Blake and Hunter Bradley (Ninja Storm), Trent Fernandez-Mercer (Dino Thunder), and Ryan Mitchell (Lightspeed Rescue) immediately coming to mind. Now the franchise has introduced a new Corrupted Ranger to the franchise, and their identity will definitely surprise you, especially if you’re a fan of one particular season.
Power Rangers Prime is set to deliver an epic final conflict in its upcoming finale, as the Prime Rangers have been confronted by the herald of the Legion Ravager in the form of a corrupted Gold Ranger (Trey of Triforia). The series has now revealed he isn’t the only corrupted Ranger in the finale, as Power Rangers #15 and concept art from Federico Sorressa (via CosmicRanger) have showcased the new corrupted Samurai Red Ranger, who is actually Lauren Shiba’s father.
The Corrupted Samurai Red Ranger Is Heartbreaking For Power Rangers Prime’s Leader
The corrupted Samurai Red Ranger boasts a pretty slick-looking design and keeps the overall tone and design elements from the corrupted Gold Ranger. That’s fitting if you’ve read Power Rangers Prime #15, which shows that Lauren’s father has become a follower of the Legion Ravager, and therefore an ally of the corrupted Gold Ranger as well.
Lauren has been looking for her family for years, who were captured by the Eltarians and moved around so that Lauren couldn’t track them down. Not only was her father captured, but so was her little brother Jayden, and in Power Rangers Prime issue #14, they are finally reunited, but issue #15 starts to show that everything’s not right with Mr. Shiba, who has convinced Jayden to also join the cause.
So not only does Lauren have to fight her father as a corrupted Red Ranger, but she also has to fight her younger brother, who she adores and who looked up to her throughout his childhood. There are signs that Jayden can be swayed to defect from the Legion Ravager, but the preview of Power Rangers Prime #16 shows that getting him to abandon his father completely isn’t going to be an easy task. Lauren’s father is still trying to convince her to join his side, but at the expense of everyone on Earth, and that’s not a price Lauren seems willing to pay.
It remains to be seen if we’ll see more corrupted Rangers in the final issue or if we’ll actually get that big Zord battle the series has been teasing for a few issues now, but we don’t have to wait too much longer.
Power Rangers Prime #16 hits comics stores on April 8, 2026.
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