During the 90s, there were 3 huge fads. The first one was TMNT. The second were the Power Rangers. Last was Pokemon. Out of those fads, did the fans from each of them have a friendly war with the other fans about who were better or was it hardcore such as the fans fighting with each other? Keep in mind that all 3 fads overlapped each other during the decade. In the mid 90s, there were TMNT fans and Power Ranger fans. In the late 90s, there were Power Ranger fans, Pokemon fans and TMNT fans.

To make the question simple, did the fans of these fads have wars with each other like the game console wars?

I wouldn't say they overlapped each other during the 90s. The Turtles were mainly popular in 1990, children's interest in them was waning with each passing year. Once Playmates came out with the Sewer Sports Ninja Turtles, it was over for the company. My brother was distinctly looking for the basic Raphael from 1990 to 1993. He hated the variants at the time. I remember him claiming, "The Costumed Turtles are stupid, they're called NINJA TURTLES for a reason". You're missing that period in between when the X-MEN were a big deal. There was the arcade game, cards, animated series and toys found at Kay Bee Toys. This lasted from late '92 to 1994. I'm sure Turtle fans were upset over Power Rangers taking top spot for number one toy on everyone's Christmas list in 1994. I don't think they expressed it. At most, they got angry when someone did not get them a Turtle figure for their birthday. The Power Rangers were only 'in' for two years, 1994 and '95. Children of the 90s did not expect the cast members to change with every season. It was really the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers that they all liked. The Power Rangers were never on two covers (if any at all) of Mad Magazine nor was the Theater full for Power Rangers the Movie like it was for the first TMNT film. In 1996, all kids spoke about was the Nintendo 64. For a while there, action figures weren't the toys for boys. I remember when Pokèmon arrived, both my brother and I were too old latch on to that one. I think kids discovered the card game first and the cartoon and games afterward. Whereas, with the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers, children first saw the show and then bought "the lunchboxes" (so to say). Pokèmon was "hot" (as we said in the 90s) for about two years and three months of the 1990s. I don't think Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fans were up in arms over Pokèmon. By that point, the Power Rangers were a joke. People were making fun of all of the different name changes for the Power Rangers at the end of the 90s.

In the late 90s, all of those children who had their Mothers search for a basic Donatello had gone up and left all things Turtles behind them. The early 90s were officially old in 1999. Believe it or not, with Slim Shady around, Marky Mark and Ice looked like rappers of the 80s. I did not see any Ninja Turtles fans in the late 90s. The Turtles were there for all of the 90s. People like my brother never forgave Playmates for putting more Turtle variants on the market. I like the Turtles out of all of the 90s kid trends. The other ones had annoying themes to them.

I think of Pokemon as more of a millennium-era thing. The peak of its popularity was when I was in 3rd grade during the 1999-2000 school year.

I think of Pokemon as more of a millennium-era thing. The peak of its popularity was when I was in 3rd grade during the 1999-2000 school year.


You're right. I remember seeing Pòkemon items in Circuit City as late as 2008.

You're right. I remember seeing Pòkemon items in Circuit City as late as 2008.


The franchise is still around so of course there would be items in stores even today.

Pokèmon was "hot" (as we said in the 90s) for about two years and three months of the 1990s

Btw how do you figure this? Pokemon didn't even come to the U.S. until September of 1998 and took some months to gain momentum. I think it reached Europe and Australia even later.

The franchise is still around so of course there would be items in stores even today.

Btw how do you figure this? Pokemon didn't even come to the U.S. until September of 1998 and took some months to gain momentum. I think it reached Europe and Australia even later.


Sorry, I thought the cartoon came out in 1997 along with the trading card game.

I wouldn't say they overlapped each other during the 90s. The Turtles were mainly popular in 1990, children's interest in them was waning with each passing year. Once Playmates came out with the Sewer Sports Ninja Turtles, it was over for the company. My brother was distinctly looking for the basic Raphael from 1990 to 1993. He hated the variants at the time. I remember him claiming, "The Costumed Turtles are stupid, they're called NINJA TURTLES for a reason". You're missing that period in between when the X-MEN were a big deal. There was the arcade game, cards, animated series and toys found at Kay Bee Toys. This lasted from late '92 to 1994. I'm sure Turtle fans were upset over Power Rangers taking top spot for number one toy on everyone's Christmas list in 1994. I don't think they expressed it. At most, they got angry when someone did not get them a Turtle figure for their birthday. The Power Rangers were only 'in' for two years, 1994 and '95. Children of the 90s did not expect the cast members to change with every season. It was really the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers that they all liked. The Power Rangers were never on two covers (if any at all) of Mad Magazine nor was the Theater full for Power Rangers the Movie like it was for the first TMNT film. In 1996, all kids spoke about was the Nintendo 64. For a while there, action figures weren't the toys for boys. I remember when Pokèmon arrived, both my brother and I were too old latch on to that one. I think kids discovered the card game first and the cartoon and games afterward. Whereas, with the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers, children first saw the show and then bought "the lunchboxes" (so to say). Pokèmon was "hot" (as we said in the 90s) for about two years and three months of the 1990s. I don't think Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fans were up in arms over Pokèmon. By that point, the Power Rangers were a joke. People were making fun of all of the different name changes for the Power Rangers at the end of the 90s.

In the late 90s, all of those children who had their Mothers search for a basic Donatello had gone up and left all things Turtles behind them. The early 90s were officially old in 1999. Believe it or not, with Slim Shady around, Marky Mark and Ice looked like rappers of the 80s. I did not see any Ninja Turtles fans in the late 90s. The Turtles were there for all of the 90s. People like my brother never forgave Playmates for putting more Turtle variants on the market. I like the Turtles out of all of the 90s kid trends. The other ones had annoying themes to them.

Costumed TMNT toys? I see those now that they're trying to bring back the craze with a new movie. I don't think it will be near the big deal. Turtles and X-Men overlapped, but fans of one tended to like the other or so my observations were. Power Rangers were big in my 2nd and 3rd grade years. There were also not as good knockoffs of it. VR Troopers and the worst, Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters with acting so bad a school play could have been more convincing. After that you're right about the new lineup and too much change. It went downhill a little when three of the actors were replaced on the show because of a contract dispute I think. The difference between Power Rangers and the two aforementioned shows was more girls got into it too. The other difference was obviously cartoons vs actors, but the acting could be a little cheesy at times with Power Rangers. Pokemon was later in the 90's and not only was it for a younger audience, but too cutesy for me. Earlier popular anime was Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Yu Gi Oh had a good sized fanbase among high school and even college kids who would play the game, but that was more of a 2000's thing.

Turtles and X-Men overlapped, but fans of one tended to like the other or so my observations were. Power Rangers were big in my 2nd and 3rd grade years.


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I wouldn't say they overlapped each other during the 90s. The Turtles were mainly popular in 1990, children's interest in them was waning with each passing year. Once Playmates came out with the Sewer Sports Ninja Turtles, it was over for the company. My brother was distinctly looking for the basic Raphael from 1990 to 1993. He hated the variants at the time. I remember him claiming, "The Costumed Turtles are stupid, they're called NINJA TURTLES for a reason". You're missing that period in between when the X-MEN were a big deal. There was the arcade game, cards, animated series and toys found at Kay Bee Toys. This lasted from late '92 to 1994. I'm sure Turtle fans were upset over Power Rangers taking top spot for number one toy on everyone's Christmas list in 1994. I don't think they expressed it. At most, they got angry when someone did not get them a Turtle figure for their birthday. The Power Rangers were only 'in' for two years, 1994 and '95. Children of the 90s did not expect the cast members to change with every season. It was really the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers that they all liked. The Power Rangers were never on two covers (if any at all) of Mad Magazine nor was the Theater full for Power Rangers the Movie like it was for the first TMNT film. In 1996, all kids spoke about was the Nintendo 64. For a while there, action figures weren't the toys for boys. I remember when Pokèmon arrived, both my brother and I were too old latch on to that one. I think kids discovered the card game first and the cartoon and games afterward. Whereas, with the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers, children first saw the show and then bought "the lunchboxes" (so to say). Pokèmon was "hot" (as we said in the 90s) for about two years and three months of the 1990s. I don't think Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers fans were up in arms over Pokèmon. By that point, the Power Rangers were a joke. People were making fun of all of the different name changes for the Power Rangers at the end of the 90s.

In the late 90s, all of those children who had their Mothers search for a basic Donatello had gone up and left all things Turtles behind them. The early 90s were officially old in 1999. Believe it or not, with Slim Shady around, Marky Mark and Ice looked like rappers of the 80s. I did not see any Ninja Turtles fans in the late 90s. The Turtles were there for all of the 90s. People like my brother never forgave Playmates for putting more Turtle variants on the market. I like the Turtles out of all of the 90s kid trends. The other ones had annoying themes to them.
Did the Turtle fans and X-men fans have friendly wars with each other? and were they bad names to the power rangers? and what were the annoying themes?

Did the Turtle fans and X-men fans have friendly wars with each other? and were they bad names to the power rangers? and what were the annoying themes?


I don't remember Turtles fans getting pouty over the X-men blowing up. I think by that time, Turtle fans had accepted that the craze had long since been over. From late '92 to mid '93, the X-men were thought of as much edgier heroes over the Turtles.

Yes, I'd say the names Saban had for the each new series of the Power Rangers were terrible. I had a friend who made a joke referencing the Power Rangers of the early 2000s. It went like this, "We need a light speed rescue, let's get the Power Rangers in here". I think people could tolerate the Neo title, but not the others. There was Turbo, In Space (the most random out of them all)…I can't think of the others. I watched a little bit of the Mighty Morphin' shows to see Kimberly Hart, but that was it. I could not stomach anymore of the Rangers beating the space aliens through  deux ex machina for every episode.

I thought the opening themes to both Pokèmon and the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Go! Go! Power Rangers! Go! Go! Power Rangers! Go! Go! Power Rangers! Do you see what I mean?

I don't remember Turtles fans getting pouty over the X-men blowing up. I think by that time, Turtle fans had accepted that the craze had long since been over. From late '92 to mid '93, the X-men were thought of as much edgier heroes over the Turtles.

Yes, I'd say the names Saban had for the each new series of the Power Rangers were terrible. I had a friend who made a joke referencing the Power Rangers of the early 2000s. It went like this, "We need a light speed rescue, let's get the Power Rangers in here". I think people could tolerate the Neo title, but not the others. There was Turbo, In Space (the most random out of them all)…I can't think of the others. I watched a little bit of the Mighty Morphin' shows to see Kimberly Hart, but that was it. I could not stomach anymore of the Rangers beating the space aliens through  deux ex machina for every episode.

I thought the opening themes to both Pokèmon and the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers. Go! Go! Power Rangers! Go! Go! Power Rangers! Go! Go! Power Rangers! Do you see what I mean?
i have read posts about power rangers and some said that they only watched the show to see the pink ranger Kimberly. Other than that, they thought the show was stupid.

Yes. I do know. The original pokemon theme was actually good and inspirational, but it was annoying to some people. The original power rangers theme did have an interesting guitar solo. However, it some people hated it.

I guess I was the perfect age, because I was actually a fan of all three.

I was really young when TMNT was at it's peak, but it was the first "kid phenomenon" I ever got into. The original 1990 movie is my oldest surviving VHS tape, and I even had that stupid "Coming Out of Their Shells Tour" video that really should have never happened. The atrocity that was the 3rd film, which came out in 1993, seems to be what really killed the fad off.

The Power Ranger fad really burned bright but fast. The show had only debuted in August of 1993, but by the beginning of 1994, it was already the most popular syndicated children's show ever. I got into MMPR pretty much right away (as I was prime age at the time), and I bugged my parents into getting all the overpriced, hard to find toys. The fad was actually pretty short lived through. The 1995 feature film didn't do quite as well as expected at the box office (even though every kid I knew saw it), and by late 1996 most casual fans had moved on.

I was in junior high when the Pokemon fad took off, but I was still a fan. Not really of the anime, but of the awesome Game Boy games, as well as the trading card game. To this day, I still have a couple binders full of the rare "holographic" cards I collected back then.

I guess I was the perfect age, because I was actually a fan of all three.

I was really young when TMNT was at it's peak, but it was the first "kid phenomenon" I ever got into. The original 1990 movie is my oldest surviving VHS tape, and I even had that stupid "Coming Out of Their Shells Tour" video that really should have never happened. The atrocity that was the 3rd film, which came out in 1993, seems to be what really killed the fad off.

The Power Ranger fad really burned bright but fast. The show had only debuted in August of 1993, but by the beginning of 1994, it was already the most popular syndicated children's show ever. I got into MMPR pretty much right away (as I was prime age at the time), and I bugged my parents into getting all the overpriced, hard to find toys. The fad was actually pretty short lived through. The 1995 feature film didn't do quite as well as expected at the box office (even though every kid I knew saw it), and by late 1996 most casual fans had moved on.

I was in junior high when the Pokemon fad took off, but I was still a fan. Not really of the anime, but of the awesome Game Boy games, as well as the trading card game. To this day, I still have a couple binders full of the rare "holographic" cards I collected back then.


Yea, I was a fan of all 3 as well. I caught the tail end of the TMNT craze, and was just young enough to get into Pokemon when it first came out.

I wouldn't say there were any friendly wars, because they didn't really overlap each other in terms of peak popularity. TMNT was pretty much an afterthought by the time Power Rangers came out. It actually ran until 1996, which I never would've guessed, because nobody I knew was into it then. But then again, I think they STILL make the Pokemon anime.

Yea, I was a fan of all 3 as well. I caught the tail end of the TMNT craze, and was just young enough to get into Pokemon when it first came out.

I wouldn't say there were any friendly wars, because they didn't really overlap each other in terms of peak popularity. TMNT was pretty much an afterthought by the time Power Rangers came out. It actually ran until 1996, which I never would've guessed, because nobody I knew was into it then. But then again, I think they STILL make the Pokemon anime.

They do make Pokemon, but it's a new version of some kind.

I was really young when TMNT was at it's peak, but it was the first "kid phenomenon" I ever got into. The original 1990 movie is my oldest surviving VHS tape, and I even had that stupid "Coming Out of Their Shells Tour" video that really should have never happened. The atrocity that was the 3rd film, which came out in 1993, seems to be what really killed the fad off.

Did you play TMNT video game?

During the 90s, there were 3 huge fads. The first one was TMNT. The second were the Power Rangers. Last was Pokemon. Out of those fads, did the fans from each of them have a friendly war with the other fans about who were better or was it hardcore such as the fans fighting with each other? Keep in mind that all 3 fads overlapped each other during the decade. In the mid 90s, there were TMNT fans and Power Ranger fans. In the late 90s, there were Power Ranger fans, Pokemon fans and TMNT fans.

To make the question simple, did the fans of these fads have wars with each other like the game console wars?


They barely overlapped.  TMNT peaked in the early '90s, Power Rangers during the mid '90s, and Pokemon during the late '90s.  I was very young for TMNT.  I was more into Power Rangers because I was just the right age when they were popular.  Pokemon I thought I was a tad old for by the time it hit.  I knew a lot of classmates who were into it though. 

They barely overlapped.  TMNT peaked in the early '90s, Power Rangers during the mid '90s, and Pokemon during the late '90s.  I was very young for TMNT.  I was more into Power Rangers because I was just the right age when they were popular.  Pokemon I thought I was a tad old for by the time it hit.  I knew a lot of classmates who were into it though.
how? I think you were also the right age for TMNT. And I was also into power rangers like you,  but i was even interested in pokemon too.

how? I think you were also the right age for TMNT. And I was also into power rangers like you,  but i was even interested in pokemon too.


I meant that I remember liking TMNT but I don't remember it as vividly as I do Power Rangers.  I had the action figures but was only five years old.  I remember watching the morning cartoon but couldn't tell you the plot of a single episode.  I could still to this day explain the first three MMPR seasons plus Zeo in detail.  I could have been into Pokemon, a lot of my classmates were, but I went through a phase around that time in which I wanted to be "too old" for everything.

I meant that I remember liking TMNT but I don't remember it as vividly as I do Power Rangers.  I had the action figures but was only five years old.  I remember watching the morning cartoon but couldn't tell you the plot of a single episode.  I could still to this day explain the first three MMPR seasons plus Zeo in detail.  I could have been into Pokemon, a lot of my classmates were, but I went through a phase around that time in which I wanted to be "too old" for everything.
oh. I feel you on the first statement. And i understand the last statement as by the time you are 10 or in middle school, most likely, you either feel old or considered too old for kid things and might get laugh at if you stayed in kid fads.

I meant that I remember liking TMNT but I don't remember it as vividly as I do Power Rangers.  I had the action figures but was only five years old.  I remember watching the morning cartoon but couldn't tell you the plot of a single episode.  I could still to this day explain the first three MMPR seasons plus Zeo in detail.  I could have been into Pokemon, a lot of my classmates were, but I went through a phase around that time in which I wanted to be "too old" for everything.


To this day I remain a TMNT fan and what gave me staying power is that I continued to rewatch the several VHS tapes I had to keep the detail of each episode. And I feel that Power Rangers' popularity died with the sequel to the first movie: Turbo, which turned out to really be a pilot for the next season and is frequently mentioned on lists of the worst movies of all time. This made much of this audience move on to more preteen/teenage-oriented stuff such as the Teen Pop music that was blowing up, the various fashions, and edgier stuff. I think of 1997 and much of 1998 as the peak of the Beanie Baby craze along with Elmo from Sesame Street, with older kids also moving on to Nintendo 64 and discovering the Internet. That said, there was an attempt to keep Ninja Turtles alive via the Next Mutation series, but it flopped and the franchise was effectively dead for several years, though there was still a notable community online that continued to support it until a new series and toyline began in the winter of 2002-03. Power Rangers was just about dead in the late 2000s after Disney had continued to bring the brand in a downward spiral, since I feel that although Lost Galaxy began a trend similar to Super Sentai with a new story each year and created some new fans, it never really went away and is quite complicated with all of the parallel universes that take place. Pokemon of course mostly faded due to overexposure and the law of diminishing returns, but is like Sesame Street in that it has never really gone away. Speaking of the cards, a sealed first edition booster box which cost around $100 when first released now sells for close to $7000! Even a non-first edition at around $1250 is still quite a bit, and it is likely due to the mass consumption that few sealed boxes/packs survive today. Of course, used cards are abundant and outside some of the holo rares, are still affordable.

To this day I remain a TMNT fan and what gave me staying power is that I continued to rewatch the several VHS tapes I had to keep the detail of each episode. And I feel that Power Rangers' popularity died with the sequel to the first movie: Turbo, which turned out to really be a pilot for the next season and is frequently mentioned on lists of the worst movies of all time. This made much of this audience move on to more preteen/teenage-oriented stuff such as the Teen Pop music that was blowing up, the various fashions, and edgier stuff. I think of 1997 and much of 1998 as the peak of the Beanie Baby craze along with Elmo from Sesame Street, with older kids also moving on to Nintendo 64 and discovering the Internet. That said, there was an attempt to keep Ninja Turtles alive via the Next Mutation series, but it flopped and the franchise was effectively dead for several years, though there was still a notable community online that continued to support it until a new series and toyline began in the winter of 2002-03. Power Rangers was just about dead in the late 2000s after Disney had continued to bring the brand in a downward spiral, since I feel that although Lost Galaxy began a trend similar to Super Sentai with a new story each year and created some new fans, it never really went away and is quite complicated with all of the parallel universes that take place. Pokemon of course mostly faded due to overexposure and the law of diminishing returns, but is like Sesame Street in that it has never really gone away. Speaking of the cards, a sealed first edition booster box which cost around $100 when first released now sells for close to $7000! Even a non-first edition at around $1250 is still quite a bit, and it is likely due to the mass consumption that few sealed boxes/packs survive today. Of course, used cards are abundant and outside some of the holo rares, are still affordable.


Totally agree with you on Turbo being the end for Power Rangers.  Zeo was pretty good.  It explored darker, deeper themes than MMPR did, yet retained the familiar cast.  The show itself however was already starting to tank in the ratings by that point and then Turbo simply did it in.  As great as Zeo was, it was never given a proper finale and no explanation was ever given for the need to switch to Turbo powers.  The Turbo movie and the first half of the show retained most of the original MMPR cast but it had clearly jumped the shark.  It wasn't until Lost Galaxy though that continuity was cut.  By that point, I had long lost interest in the show.

Surprisingly, the show survives to this day, likely because its extremely low budget and consists of mostly reused Sentai footage.

I would also include Batman on and off during this period. In the Early 90's I remember kids in my summer day camp were playing with the Tim Burton Batman toys and then a year later everyone had the animated series toyline. There was also a lot of hype during Batman Forever.

I would also include Batman on and off during this period. In the Early 90's I remember kids in my summer day camp were playing with the Tim Burton Batman toys and then a year later everyone had the animated series toyline. There was also a lot of hype during Batman Forever.


You're right, Tim Burton's Batman was very popular from '89 to '93. To this day, people still wear their Batman Returns shirts like its a minute in the fall of 1992. At the same time, I knew people who absolutely loathed Batman Returns for the Penguin being a deformed freak and Selina Kyle for having nine lives like a cat. The '92 stuff didn't sell as well as the '89/'90 merchandise for the first Tim Burton film. I remember children going to Halloween parties dressed like Tim Burton's Batman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I can't speak of Batman Forever because, before then, I had accepted that the mid 90s just weren't for me. I won't get into that.