That's doesn't make him badass.
Alright, hows about this.
We could start with the fact that he chose to fight the forces of evil without really having a big choice in the matter, what with being mindwashed to BE evil and all that. He could have chosen to walk away-but didn't.
Then his powers were taken. He was forced to walk away.
However he came back, not in a best case scenario-but in the worst one almost any Ranger has ever faced.
His friends were all powerless, the villains had his Zord, and had their parents.
And he had powers that were as likely to kill him as not.
He took them up without hesitation and single handedly saved the day...nearly dying in the process.
Then he used these faulty powers and continued fighting.
Fought as hard and as long as he could until they failed-and still fought.
Then he gained new powers and became the leader of the team.
Through this more loss, more pain, hard choices and difficult situations arose.
Eventually he left the Rangers...
Only to keep tabs on them all the while, building up his own powers, and eventually mounting a team of Red Rangers to take down the Machine Empire once and for all.
Then, his crowning moment.
A T-Rex appeared out of no where.
And his first thought, first action, most LOGICAL conclusion
Was to round house kick it in the face. Without powers.
Tommy is many things. overrated? Maybe.
Badass? Definitely.