Chun-Li From 'Street Fighter' Joins Ryu In The 'Power Rangers' Lightning Collection As The Blazing Phoenix Ranger
Credit: Nway Games
The salt has its pepper, the peanut butter has its jelly, and the pairing is complete. It’s day 3 of Power Week, a series of daily announcements regarding the Power Rangers franchise leading up to its 29th anniversary on August 28. On Wednesday, the brand announced the second figure in the Lightning Collection Power Rangers X Street Fighter subset, Chun-Li. A continued happy 35th anniversary, Street Fighter!
The 127th figure in the Lightning Collection overall, this announcement follows Tuesday’s announcement of Ryu’s Lightning Collection figure as the Crimson Hawk Ranger. The Blazing Phoenix Ranger was unveiled with the help of Andre Meadows, who played Eddie Banks, the Hyperforce Blue Ranger on the Power Rangers Hyperforce tabletop role-playing series (akin to Critical Role). But what brought Chun-Li and Ryu into the realm of Power Rangers in the first place? Back in 2018, the mobile game Power Rangers Legacy Wars introduced six characters from Street Fighter into the game. The two playable Good Rangers were Ryu and Chun-Li, and this addition is where their Ranger forms originate. Power Rangers’s owner, Hasbro, and the game’s producers, Nway and Lionsgate, produced a live-action short with Bat in the Sun. This short featured Jason David Frank reprising his role as Tommy Oliver and Ciara Hanna reprising her role as Gia, the Yellow Megaforce Ranger. Both powers are Mighty Morphin’ -based as their Ranger powers come from Power Coins produced by Ninjor. Then known as the Chun-Li Ranger, the Blazing Phoenix Ranger form was added to Legacy Wars in 2019, and then to the similar console game Battle for the Grid as DLC in May 2021.
Image credit: Movies Unlimited
Lightning Collection Morphed Chun-Li is up for pre-order, scheduled for release in February 2023, and priced at $33.99. Power Week kicked off with the announcement of the Dino Fury season two part two release date and doesn’t end until Power Rangers Day on August 28 so there are still more announcements to come!
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Sources: Hasbro, FortniteBoards