If Tommy Oliver isn't the single most popular Power Ranger ever, he's at least one of the most popular ever. There was always an edge to Tommy; even after he battled back from his evil streak while under Rita Repulsa.
In the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics series by Boom! Studios, there's a version of Tommy who didn't see the light like the one in the show. He became the villain known as Lord Drakkon that was at the center of the series' greatest event yet.
Lord Drakkon was ruthless in his desire for domination. It took every Ranger in existence just to put up a fair fight against him. But that wasn't just a result of his determination and his awesome looking Ranger suit (the best one yet). Lord Drakkon was the most powerful villain the Power Rangers have ever dealt with. Here are 10 reasons why:
10 10. Universe Teleportation
If you think X-Men's Nightcrawler had serious teleportation abilities, you're never going to believe what Lord Drakkon can do. He is able to jump across other dimensions to carry out his evil doing. Now, he's not bouncing around every which way like Kurt Wagner, but he can pretty much teleport anywhere imaginable. Hard to plan for someone when they can drop in wherever they want to. Not to mention the Rangers who knew nothing of Drakkon. Several times he just showed up on their doorstep and went after them without hesitation.
9 9. White And Green Ranger Abilities
Lord Drakkon was given the powers of the Green Ranger by Rita, much like the Tommy everyone grew up with on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. After being freed from Rita's control, he rejoined her and found out about Jason Scott's transformation into the White Ranger. Tommy crashes the party mid-upgrade, defeats Jason and takes the powers of the White Ranger and withholds his Green Ranger abilities. The powers of the White Ranger already put him on a level above all other Rangers. Combined with the Green Ranger powers, Lord Drakkon became too much for any one Ranger to handle.
8 8. Black Dragon Cannons
Now, as much as Lord Drakkon is stronger than every other Ranger, he can't take them all on by himself. While he has an army to help him with that, he also has his Black Dragon Cannons to help with this. These cannons shut down any Ranger's powers from the Morphin Grid itself. From there, the fight turns into a slaughter since Drakkon and his soldiers are the only ones with powers — unless we're talking about the Space Patrol Delta Power Rangers that had inborn powers.
7 7. Knowledge Of The Morphin Grid
As if holding on to the powers of the White Ranger and the Green Ranger weren't already enough, Lord Drakkon discovered he could absorb more power with the help of his companion, Finster-5.
In Lord Drakkon's quest for all-out domination, Finster-5 discovers his master can absorb more power from the Morphin Grid by stealing one morpher from each group of Rangers — as opposed to stealing them all, which was the initial plan. However, any extra morphers could also be applied to his soldiers.
6 6. An Army Of Rangers
Lord Drakkon knows there's something to the concept "strength in numbers." He recruits Rangers to help his cause, creating a tremendous force that's often too much for one team of Rangers to deal with. On top of their evil intentions, Lord Drakkon is able to enhance their abilities with morphers from other Rangers.
5 5. Capable Of Killing Other Versions Of Himself
Being able to kill alternate versions of yourself is more of an intangible trait than anything else. You're not offing yourself, but it has to be the closest thing to it. That has to take a toll on anyone, even Lord Drakkon. Killing Tommy Olivers from other realities shows he's fully committed to what he's doing and nothing is going to get in the way of his goal.
4 4. Being Evil Is His Choice
Tommy Oliver was a free man before he became Lord Drakkon. He had rid himself of Rita's spell and was free to choose whichever side he wanted in the battle of good and evil. Yet he chose to be evil.
While there are some characters throughout comics who are pure evil like Drakkon, there seem to be more who actually the hero of their own story. That doesn't make them less evil, but it shows the right intent might be there, they just have a terrible idea of how to fix things. That's not a problem for Lord Drakkon, giving him to limits to relentlessness and unpredictability.
3 3. Precision Is A Priority
Lord Drakkon has flair in everything he does. His kick-ass look certainly helps with that, too. But unlike so many other idiotic villains, Lord Drakkon doesn't waste his time explaining his plot to his rivals. Like when Red Samurai Ranger Lauren Shiba asked him about his plans in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26, Lord Drakkon replied her, "You think you're entitled to a reason? Not every destruction needs to be explained." In fairness to Lauren, pretty much everyone else explains their intent. Lord Drakkon is a rare exception, keeping his plans safe and intact, thus making him more difficult to plan for adequately.
2 2. Brainwashing
One of Lord Drakkon's greatest weapons was, in fact, a person: his universe's Pink Ranger, Kimberly Ann Hart. Also known as the Ranger Slayer, Kimberly was brainwashed by Lord Drakkon to serve as his mercenary in his conquest. She eventually breaks his spell, but in the time she worked under him, Kimberly was the second deadliest Power Ranger in the universe (second only to Lord Drakkon, of course).
1 1. He's Loyal To His Cause Above All Else
As the end drew near, Lord Drakkon did everything he could to draw as much power as possible to complete his conquest. He'd had already been pushing the boundaries of what his body could handle, but did not care. However, his best friend in the universe Finster-5 did — to the point he was willing to refuse orders. Lord Drakkon then ended the life of the only other being that mattered to him. having people to fight for can bring the best out of a hero. But when a villain has no one they care about, they can be unpredictable and reckless — unsafe for anyone to be around.