“Power Rangers Dino Fury” has unveiled its first out LGBTQ female superhero — and she’s heading to TV screens this fall.
In a snippet of the soon-to-be-released episode, which is slated to air on Nickelodeon later this month, Izzy Garcia, the Latinx Green Ranger who is played by Tessa Rao, is smiling, holding hands, and set to go on a date with her girlfriend and former rival Fern (Jacqueline Joe). The show’s executive producer, Simon Bennett, said he’s excited that fans are responding positively to the show’s first queer character.
“Very happy with the reaction to Power Rangers #dinofury episode 13, which has just aired in France,” Bennett wrote on Twitter. “Really looking forward to when it is available in the US, and I can jump into discussions.”
One of the greatest moments in Power Rangers history#DinoFury #DinoFurySpoilers #LGBTQ pic.twitter.com/alL8ehFbYK
— Power Rangers Daily (@PowerRangersDay) September 7, 2021
This news comes four years after the series gave fans a peek at a queer character in the 2017 “Power Rangers” movie. During the film, the Yellow Ranger Trini Kwan, who was played by singer and actress Becky G, is asked if she is having “boyfriend problems.” Then the character corrects his cis-heterosexual assumption and says, maybe she’s having “girlfriend problems,” reports the Hollywood Reporter. This was one of the first times in the series that the audience saw a character open up about their sexual orientation.
Other franchises are also introducing queer superheroes. Earlier this year, Marvel Comics announced that Aaron Fischer, a gay teenager known as “Captain America of the Railways,” would join the original Captain America, Steve Rogers, in “The United States of Captain America,” a series released during Pride Month that explored the hero’s quest to find his stolen shield.
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