Some of the most popular and powerful Rangers across the Power Rangers franchise have always been the color that is typically the protagonist, Ranger Red. There are a plethora of Red Rangers across the series—main characters and side characters alike—and that leads to some incredibly memorable characters.
A good Red Ranger is a strong leader, powerful fighter, someone who can inspire others, and is selfless. As the typical protagonist of the seasons they're in, they need to be well-written characters. Does that always happen? No. But most of the time, these characters have a lot of work put into them and leaves audiences with Red Rangers well worth remembering. Who are the best, though? With so many to compare, it can be difficult, but there are some that outshine the others, bar none.
36 Troy Burrows — Megaforce and Super Megaforce Red
There may very well not be a worse-written character in the entire Power Rangers franchise. Troy Burrows (Andrew M. Gray), the Red Ranger of Power Rangers Megaforce and Power Rangers Super Megaforce, is incredibly bland, to the point that one could call him a cardboard cutout of a Red Ranger.
He has little-to-no backstory, his motivation isn't strong, he has essentially no substantial character development across both seasons, and is often brooding for no reason. He's so boring to watch and takes viewers out of the viewing experience for Power Rangers Megaforce and Power Rangers Super Megaforce.
35 Zordon — 2017 Reboot Red (I)
Something cool that the 2017 Power Rangers movie did was establish that their iteration of Zordon (Bryan Cranston) was the Red Ranger all the way back in the Cenozoic era of Earth. Betrayed by his fellow Green Ranger, Rita Repulsa (Elizabeth Banks), Zordon hid the Ranger Coins until they'd be found thousands of years later by the 2017 team.
Despite being a great way to kick off the film, the audience doesn't get to spend much time with Zordon as the Red Ranger in the opening of Power Rangers 2017. Because of this, he doesn't stack up very well against the other Red Rangers who got more than three minutes of screentime.
34 Aurico — Alien Red
After the main team from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were turned into children, the series shifted to space when Zordon (David J. Fielding) called upon the Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers to come to the rescue. While the Red Ranger typically leads their own Ranger team, Aurico (David Bacon) does not lead the Alien Rangers, as they are led by Delphine (Rajia Baroudi), the White Alien Ranger.
While not being the leader doesn't necessarily mean that Aurico is less of a Red Ranger, but it's the fact that the writing of the series completely threw him to the side and didn't give him much love at all. This Red Ranger became a complete afterthought, rather than being important in any fashion.
33 Mick Kanic — Ninja Steel Red (III)
Power Rangers Ninja Steel got a little wacky in the latter half of its season. At the end of the day, Mick Kanic (Kelson Henderson) just isn't much of an interesting character and was a totally out of left field choice for a Red Ranger toward the end of the show.
Mick is a bit cowardly, but still has a good heart. This can make him endearing, but not a very interesting Red Ranger, especially when there are two other Red Rangers who appear in Power Rangers Ninja Steel that are slightly better at the end of the day.
32 Dane Romero — Ninja Steel Red (I)
No, Brody Romero (William Shewfelt)—the modern-day Ninja Steel Red Ranger—is not the first Red Ranger for this team, unlike most Red Rangers in other iterations. His father, Dane Romero (Mike Edward), is the original Ninja Steel Red Ranger, and his exploits as the Red Ranger are seen in the series.
While he may be the central point of Brody's personal story, Dane doesn't inspire much outside of that. As a character, he's pretty one-note and that also flows into his Red Ranger activities. He's not the best, but at least he serves as a plot direction for his son.
31 Brody Romero — Ninja Steel Red (II)
The leading man of Power Rangers Ninja Steel, Brody Romero, has the foundations for being a great Red Ranger. Lost his dad at a young age, said dad was a Red Ranger himself, and he's bold and courageous. Power Rangers Ninja Steel's writers don't go much beyond this, though.
Short of it all is that Brody could have been so much more but the writers don't venture much past really shallow and eventually uninteresting character traits that unfortunately don't carry him through the series strongly. One thing that Brody has going for him is that he's got a great performer in William Shewfelt, who does everything he can with the content he's given.
30 Zayto — Dino Fury Red
Before the iconic Amelia Jones (Hunter Deno) took over as the Dino Fury/Cosmic Fury Red Ranger, Zayto (Russell Curry), a Rafkonian on the Dino Fury team, helmed the mantle of the leading color. He's one of the only Red Rangers to meet his end in combat, when he fought the Nemesis Beast.
Zayto was a relatively servicable Red Ranger, but he wasn't all that interesting. This is proven even more by how much of a better character he is when he comes back from the dead and becomes the Dino Fury/Cosmic Fury Zenith Ranger and, eventually, the Zenith Morphin Master.
29 Casey Rhodes — Jungle Fury Red
Every protagonist should be flawed—especially a Red Ranger—it's what keeps them interesting. Sometimes, however, character flaws not utilized with prowess can make a story's main character downright unlikable. This is the case with Casey Rhodes (Jason Smith), the Red Ranger from Power Rangers Jungle Fury.
When he starts off, he's a cocky and over-confident Ranger, and ends up becoming a leader who spreads what some could consider... problematic ideologies to his students. His idea that a student is someone who never questions their master isn't exactly good. While he does undergo an arc that makes him more interesting than some other Reds, he still ends up as a guy who isn't very likable.
28 Rocky DeSantos — Mighty Morphin Red (II)
After Austin St. John left Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and the character of Jason Lee Scott behind; the mantle of Red Ranger for the original Power Rangers team was up for grabs. While one would hope for a bold and complex character like Jason or Tommy Oliver (Jason David Frank), audiences unfortunately got Rocky DeSantos (Steve Cardenas).
Rocky turned the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger into a forgettable role, as his more experienced comrades did more and Tommy Oliver pretty much stepped up to lead the team. Not to mention, there's an episode that doesn't do him any favors, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Season 2, Episode 32, "Rocky Just Wants to Have Fun", in which he actively tries to shirk his very important job as the Red Ranger to play some games.
27 Leo Corbett — Lost Galaxy Red
Leo Corbett (Danny Slavin) is an interesting case when it comes to comparing Red Rangers. He actually has some of the largest development from this era of Power Rangers. However, that doesn't mean that he stands up as well as others do.
The Red Ranger from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy gets a major character arc, and it is written pretty well. A lot of what holds him back is the series he is in. Compared to other Reds, he doesn't really do as much and hasn't accomplished as much. His potential wasn't fully realized.