Hello, my friends. Even though we’ve defeated several internal & external foes within our lives, we must still make the necessary changes to order to properly take on future challenges. Never was that truer than what our Morphinomonal group of teenagers with attitude would face while within the Big Red House of M. On that note, I welcome you back to the…
Last time, we began our journey within Hamilton Comics’ 14 overall issues of content. Throughout this era, we’ve explored the humble beginnings of this comics license as our teenagers with attitude went on book-length ventures that could easily be shown as regular episodes. This time around, it will be a far-more famous company that will get their time to shine with the property as they call upon their creative-minded Zords and weave some stories for the group to go on.
As far back as 1978, Marvel and the genre of tokusatsu have had an intertwining relationship. After all, they teamed up with the Toei Company to make a Japanese Spider-Man show where the Web-Slinger fought various monsters, especially within his own giant robot. Both sides would collaborate to various degrees before 1985 rolled around and they planned on making an adapted Super Sentai show for America, though it ultimately fell through due to the lack of any interest from the major U.S. networks. Eventually, Marvel would acquire the Power Rangers comics license in 1995 and they began their tenure by translating a certain cinematic outing.
Released on June 30, 1995, this film saw Bryan Spicer make his feature film directorial debut with a screenplay written by Arne Olsen who co-wrote the story alongside John Kamps. Made on a $20 million budget, it went on to gross over $66 million despite mainly receiving negative reviews from critics. Even still, it received a lot of tie-in materials which includes our first contribution from Marvel Comics.
This is an unusual situation, since there wasn’t just a single comic book adaptation. Not only was there a regular drawn version, but there was also a photo version that took screenshots in order to recreate the events of the movie. Both comics came out around July 1995 and had different teams working on them. The drawn version saw Nel Yomtov in the writer’s chair and Ron Lim handling the pencil work. Inking duties would be given to Mark McKenna, Harry Candelario, Jimmy Palmiotti & Mick Gray, while Mike Worley, Paul Becton and George Roussos took care of the colors. As for the photo comic, Ralph Macchio served as its writer, while Wayne Green and Steve Bunche were credited with “Production”. As for the role of Letterer, that would be handed over to Ed Lazellari, Joe Rosen, Lorina Mapa, Susan Crespi, Caroline Wells, Matt Maley and Kenny Lopez. As for how they handle the film’s plot, let’s see how they’re similar and different from each other.
Both adaptations open with our main group, along with Bulk and Skull, taking part in a charity skydive (known in the movie as the Angel Grove Jump-A-Thon). Only the drawn version elaborates on how this whole event will go towards financially preserving the observatory.
After our main six figures manage to hit the bullseye upon their individual landings, they meet up with a young boy named Fred and his father as the kid mentions that Ryan’s Comet is passing by Earth in two days’ time. As our teens prepare to go get some lunch, Tommy then wonders where Bulk and Skull went. It’s then revealed that they sailed way off course and landed in a construction site. Both adaptations then show the crew unearthing an otherworldly egg beneath a strange steel plate. The drawn version then has a worker trying to examine it, but he gets blasted by it.
Both adaptations then have our main group rollerblading towards Ernie’s Juice Bar for lunch before they get contacted and teleport to the Command Center. Both have Alpha 5 mentioning how the sensors “have been hit by a cataclysmic surge of evil”, to which Zordon tells them that it’s Ivan Ooze. He explains that six millenniums ago, he had a terrifying grasp on the world. Specifically, he got rid of the planet’s adult population and then brainwashed the youth into following his evil path. The drawn version mentions that Ivan Ooze was lured into a chamber before getting buried underground by his warrior faction known as the Order of the Meledan. Both adaptations have him mention that Ivan Ooze’s chamber has been accidentally discovered and that he wants his team to be very careful with returning the fiend to “the depths” before he’s released, due to him being an evil being that’s “beyond all imagination”.
That night over at the construction site, Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, Goldar and Mordant teleport in as Zedd mentions that he’s spent two millenniums searching for the otherworldly egg before he opens it up and frees Ivan Ooze. He does say “The Ooze Is Back” before asking Lord Zedd how he can repay him, to which Zedd says that he wants Ooze to smite Zordon so that he can “reign supreme”. Ivan then says that he looks forward to obliterating the familiar Eltarian before Ooze is left to his own devices and even mentions that he smells an “odious stench” that turns out to be “teenagers”. The drawn adaptation then has our main group arrive in civilian form and discover that the egg-shaped HyperLock chamber has been opened before they’re met upon by a security guard, only for him to immediately reveal that he’s Ivan Ooze. From there, he sends his henchmen known as Ooze Men after our heroes, forcing them to morph in order to properly fight them.
Over at the Command Center, Zordon & Alpha 5 discover that the Rangers arrived too late to stop their foe and that Ivan is on his way to their location. The drawn adaptation has Alpha 5 reminding Zordon that no one can enter their base without a Power Coin. However, Ivan manages to ooze through the security door and its security protocols. Afterwards, he casts Alpha 5 out of the way before he creates cataclysmic damage to the Command Center. During this, Zordon tells Ooze that he’s previously defeated him and that he won’t get away with this, to which Ivan says that he “already have”. Back at the construction site, the fully morphed Rangers ultimately manage to defeat the Ooze Men.
The drawn adaptation then has them suddenly de-morphed before they return to the Command Center and find the base in tatters. They also see Zordon lying wearily as they realize that because he’s outside of the time warp, he’s begun to rapidly age. He tells them that “the power” has been destroyed, as well as their Zords, weapons and uniforms. Despite this grim outlook, he wants them to stay strong. Tommy says that they must do something in order to not lose Zordon, to which Alpha 5 mentions a legend where a vast power is on a far-away and highly dangerous planet called Phaedos. The Rangers tell him that they have to try, or else Zordon will die, and no one will survive Ivan Ooze’s wrath. Alpha 5 ultimately agrees but warns them that he only has enough power to send them there and not enough to bring them back. As such, he wishes them good luck before teleporting them there.
Over on the lunar base, Rita is furious that Ivan failed to stop our heroes before the drawn adaptation has her, Lord Zedd, Goldar and Mordant noticing our main group teleporting towards “the Great Power”. Ultimately, both versions have Ooze showing up before he zaps Rita & Zedd and shrinks them down into a snow globe. From there, he spits some ooze before it forms into a group of bird henchmen called Tenga Warriors as he orders them to head towards Phaedos in order to smite our heroes. We then have a noticeable difference between the two adaptations as the drawn version cuts to the next day at the Angel Grove Chemical Plant where Ivan tells Goldar and Mordant that he plans to conquer the world by having Angel Grove’s children get recruited into his own army. Specifically, he’ll tempt them towards their wicked ways with “Ivan’s Ooze”. As for the children’s parents, he’ll turn them into mind-controlled pawns (or zombies as he calls them) in order to unearth “the tools of their destruction”. As for the photo adaptation, it moves up a scene that happens a little bit later where Ivan dresses up as a wizard and hands his ooze out to children in order to have them unintentionally help him rule the world. Fred had already gotten his own jar of ooze as his dad comes home and decides to check it out by sticking his fingers into the goop, only for him to become brainwashed alongside the other parents as they begin to help Ivan send out more ooze while also digging up some “mysterious giant mechanical parts”.
Over on Phaedos, both comics have our heroes doing some exploration before they’re met upon by the Tenga Warriors and proceed to struggle against them. Fortunately, an Amazon-esque woman comes in and chases them away by turning her staff into a pair of Whistling Sticks and waving them around fast enough in order to send a piercing shriek that messes with their hearing. Despite helping our group, she tells them to leave and return to where they came from. Once they mention Zordon, she reveals that she knows him before she introduces herself as Dulcea. While the drawn adaptation has Tommy about to explain their situation to her, the photo version has our team telling her that Ivan Ooze has been freed, to which she says that their world will be doomed if they don’t follow her.
Staying with the photo comic, Ivan Ooze, Goldar and Mordant are overlooking the mind-controlled parents digging up his monsters at the construction site. In a moment that actually happens a little later in the film, the Tenga Warriors return and admit their defeat at the sound of Whistling Sticks. Ivan realizes that they were foiled by Dulcea and that she can potentially lead our heroes to the “Great Power”. As such, he orders the brainwashed parents to unearth the exoskeletons of his two monsters called Hornitor and Scorpitron. Unbeknownst to him, Fred has been overhearing all of this before he heads out to find help. Back with Ooze, he punishes his Tenga Warriors by shooting some lightning at them, causing them to explode into a massive pile of feathers.
We then return to Phaedos as both versions have Dulcea leading the Rangers to some ruins (known in the movie as the “Ruins of the Ninjetti Temple”) while mentioning her past history with Zordon, since he helped free her planet from Ivan’s wrath. She then points our heroes towards the Monolith since it’s where they’ll find the “Great Power” (or the “Power of the Universe” as she calls it in the film). However, it’s heavily guarded and all who’ve previously tried to enter it have never returned. To help them, she gathers them around a campfire and prepares a special ceremony that will unleash “the Sacred Animals of the Ninjetti” within each of them. Ultimately, they get transformed into Ninja Warriors with their own animal spirit. Tommy gets the Falcon, Rocky has the Ape, Kimberly gets the Crane, Adam has the Frog, Aisha gets the Bear and Billy winds up with the Wolf. Dulcea then tells them that “anything is possible” with this kind of power before she sends them off on their own. As for why she doesn’t go with them, the photo comic keeps the explanation that she would rapidly age should she step past this plateau.
The drawn adaptation then decides to backtrack to the part in the movie where Dulcea starts to lead our heroes towards the ruins as Fred’s father comes home, finds his son’s ooze, touches it and becomes mind-controlled alongside the other adults, which would explain how Fred secretly followed his father and the rest of the brainwashed parents to the construction yard. From there, the Tenga Warriors return to admit their defeat at Dulcea’s hands before Ivan blasts them to feathery bits. Either way, both versions have Ooze exclaiming how once he has both of his monsters up and running, he intends to “annihilate Angel Grove and then the universe”. While Fred wonders where the Power Rangers are, Mordant activates a lever (as opposed to a circular valve in the film) as the ooze begins to power up the two monsters before the drawn adaptation has Ivan telling the brainwashed parents that he’s become tired of their “ugly faces and dull personalities”. As such, he wants them to head towards the construction site and leap to their doom. As for the photo comic, it includes him using his lightning to charge up his dual creatures.
Back on Phaedos, the photo adaptation has our heroes progressing on their trek. Suddenly, they’re attacked by a sentient skeletal triceratops before Tommy ultimately defeats it.
From there, both versions have the main group arriving at the Monolith before a small group of gargoyle warriors come to life and engage them. After a fierce struggle, our heroes manage to defeat their foes. From there, a massive door opens up to reveal a stone pyramid with a seal that has their sacred animals on it. It proceeds to emit a bright light upon the group before it helps them unleash their animal spirits and bequeath them with the Great Power, allowing them to become Power Rangers again and also have the power to teleport back to Earth.
Upon their return, they notice that Ivan Ooze’s monsters Hornitor and Scorpitron are causing lots of destruction upon Angel Grove. As such, they summon their new Ninjazords in order to engage the monsters. Over in the drawn adaptation, Fred manages to get Bulk, Skull and a large group of kids to help him save their parents from imminent doom. As such, they all hop onto a monorail train and take off towards their destination.
Back with the Power Rangers, they engage the monsters in a tense struggle. Unfortunately for Tommy, his Falconzord suffers a major hit from Scorpitron and is forced to sit out while he attempts to fix it. Fortunately, the rest of the team is able to smite Scorpitron. With his Hornitor on the ropes, both comics have Ivan Ooze deciding to merge with it and become the Ivan Ectomorphicon. As such, Adam, Kimberly, Billy, Aisha and Rocky manage to bring their Zords together and form the Ninja Megazord as the final battle ensues. Not included in either comic is where the Ivan Ectomorphicon steps on the monorail track, causing Tommy to not dock with his teammates yet in order to save Fred and company from their own doom with his Falconzord.
In the drawn adaptation, Ivan is able to nearly cripple the newly formed Megazord. Fortunately, Tommy was able to rejoin his friends’ unified Zords to become the Ninja FalconMegazord (or the Ninja MegaFalconzord in the comic). While the drawn adaptation has Fred leading his massive group to prevent the mind-controlled parents from walking towards their own demise, both comics have the Rangers luring Ivan out into space. After a tense struggle, our heroes manage to place their foe into the path of Ryan’s Comet, causing him to get permanently obliterated. Back in the drawn comic, Fred (with Bulk and Skull’s help in the film) manages to use a firefighting hose to spray the parents back to their senses. While Alpha 5 cheers for the day being saved, a newly freed Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd are about to unleash their wrath upon Goldar for turning on them (as well as Mordant, since this is essentially the movie’s mid-credits scene).
Despite our heroes’ massive victory, they return to the Command Center and discover Zordon in critical condition. Thankfully (and in a payoff moment to Dulcea’s earlier line to them), they form a circle around him and use their Great Power to restore him back to full health, in addition to repairing their base. We then shift to a glorious evening in Angel Grove as the drawn adaptation has Bulk and Skull fabricating their recent heroic exploit to a crowd of people. Nearby, our heroes thank Fred for his help and even tell him that he may become a Power Ranger someday. And so, both comics end with the skies being lit up with fireworks as one of them even spells out a message thanking the team for their valiant effort.
We now shift our focus from dual adaptations of a singular movie to Marvel’s biggest contribution to the franchise. Published between August 1995 and February 1996, this seven-issue venture contains two stories per comic. As for the overall creative team that managed to put these tales together, we have Fabian Nicieza (Issues 1, 2, 4, 5, & 6), Scott Lobdell (Issues 1 & 3), Frank Lovece (Issue 2), Barry Dutter (Issues 3, 5 & 6), Tom Daning (Issue 4), Grant Miehiem (Issue 7) and Darick Robertson (Issue 7) on writing duties. Over in the artist’s chair, that would be filled by Ron Lim (Issue 1, 2 & 4-6), Mark McKenna (Issue 1, 2 & 5), Jake Jacobsen (Issue 1), Harry Candelario (Issue 2), Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko (Issues 2 & 4), Jim Amash (Issue 2), Scott “Pond Scum” Elmer (Issues 2 & 6), Rurik Tyler (Issue 3), Mike Halbleib (Issue 3), Bart Schmitz (Issue 3), Phil Sheehy (Issues 3 & 7), Jim Sanders III (Issues 5 & 6), Chris Taylor (Issue 5), Sam Delarosa (Issue 6), Wayne Murray (Issue 6), Loretta Krol (Issue 6), Grant Mieheim (Issue 7), Darick Robertson (Issue 7) and Randy Emberlin (Issue 7). As for the Season 3-esque adventures that our main team would come across throughout this series, let’s get back to action and find out.
We kick things off with a technological tale called “Reach Out And Crash Someone!” as we open at the Internet Festival over at Angel Grove High School’s Gymnasium. Billy explains to his teammates that the computer modem allows them to talk with people all across the world. Within the local online conference room, he’s currently talking to several teens from ten different countries, including a specific Australian boy. Either way, Cranston expresses how wonderful it is to continue learning about things outside of a regular school day. Meanwhile, Bulk and Skull are also present as they try to figure out how to have some fun. Just then, they overhear a conversation where Mr. Sillows gives Peter a defective computer disk that has a glitch on it and tells him to not use it. Peter then mentions that it could’ve caused their computers to produce “garbled messages” before he’s followed by Bulk & Skull as they decide to use the defective disk in order to make it seem like Billy is sending out a wrong message. Unbeknownst to Peter, the disk falls out of his jacket pocket just as he’s hanging his jacket up on a coat rack. Skull manages to acquire the glitch-filled disk before he discreetly places it into a disc drive as he and Bulk eagerly await their prank to prevail. As for Billy, the glitch-filled disk begins to take hold as he notices that his message about the movie “Crocodile Dundee” gets mistaken for a silly question about where they live. Unbeknownst to him, Lord Zedd is overseeing this as he dislikes our main group being “nice and friendly” to others before he comes up with a plan to make them miserable while also conquering the world. Because the human race is connected to each other through computers, he decides to create an otherworldly computer virus that he can spread throughout the globe. Just then, the sentient group of viruses known as “Crash-Bugs” begin to pop out of the various computer screens within the internet festival as our group realizes that this is being caused by their familiar foe. They then proceed to hide underneath the bleachers before they morph into their outfits and engage the technological terror. However, there’s too many Crash-Bugs for them to deal with before Billy manages to reach the gymnasium’s main power switch and shuts it off, disabling the computers while also defeating the sentient viruses.
Despite the small-scale victory, Cranston says that their mission is most likely not done. From there, Kimberly receives a message from Zordon as she tells her teammates that the Crash-Bugs are popping out of the world’s computers, especially those that were linked to their school’s internet festival. As such, Tommy tells his teammates to use their Zords and individually head out in order for them to “squash some bugs”. From there, they summon their Ninjazords as they proceed to eliminate the numerous Crash-Bugs. Back with Lord Zedd, he sees this happening and mentions how the Power Rangers can’t be everywhere across the world, especially because of the constantly open computer modems as he uses the information superhighway to the planet’s disadvantage. From there, Tommy discovers and tells his comrades that Lord Zedd has taken the internet system’s vast energy to create a big “Worldnet Monster”. As such, the Rangers bring their Zords together in order to form the Ninja FalconMegazord and fight the being. With the creature giving them a fierce challenge, they also run the risk of harming some nearby citizens who’re unable to get away from their scuffle. Fortunately, Billy and Kimberly realize that they could convince the world’s kids who were connected to their school’s internet festival to help them out as the Pink Ranger sends them a message to turn their modems off. Thankfully, they manage to shut them down and cause the Worldnet Bug to get vanquished. And so, the story ends with the team celebrating their triumph while Tommy says that as long as the human race continues to properly talk to each other, then they can understand each other and be better off as well.
We then move into the back-up story as our familiar team will find themselves dealing with a certain struggle known as “The Copy Catastrophe”. This particular tale begins with the Power Rangers fighting Lord Zedd’s newest monster called “Copy Cat-Astrophe” within Angel Grove High’s gymnasium during a Pep Rally. However, the creature is able to fend our heroes off while also getting in some vicious hits upon Adam and Kimberly, even though the crowd managed to safely evacuate. After she receives a vicious blow, Hart thinks about how all of this came about in only a short amount of time before we transition back to our group meeting up in the gym for the upcoming Pep Rally. A blonde-haired (for some reason) Rocky then mentions that this is a wonderful opportunity for them and their fellow students to support their school, to which Billy says that other academic pursuits don’t have a similar means of drumming up the same kind of cheerful support that their athletics programs get. Just then, their principal (who’s most likely supposed to be Caplan) begins the Pep Rally before he suddenly finds himself getting duplicated. From there, the featured fiend appears before announcing that he’s here to smite the Power Rangers. After Bulk & Skull try and fail to engage the monster, our heroes manage to duck underneath the bleachers in order to morph.
We then shift back to the present as Aisha helps Kimberly up before informing her that the monster has absorbed every single duplicate that it’s made of their principal and is growing as a result. After the creature smashes through the roof and forces our heroes outside, they proceed to summon their Ninjazords before they come together in order to form the Ninja FalconMegazord (even though it’s actually the Shogun MegaFalconzord and that it can only be formed mostly with the Shogunzords). A struggle ensues as Copy Cat-Astrophe tries to absorb their combiner Zord’s power. Fortunately, they have more than enough power to spare as they manage to overload the fiend in order to smite the monster and return their principal back to normal. And so, the comic ends with him thanking our heroes as he announces that their Pep Rally will now become a Power Rally. Rocky then tells Billy that his brain power was equally important in their battle, to which Cranston says that they also worked together as a team.
Issue 2 starts up on a tale that will see our familiar figures fighting a monster upon an unlikely battleground while also “Playing Dirty”. We open with our main group spending their Saturday morning over at “U-So-Dirty Car Wash” where they’re taking part in their school’s charity car wash and having fun as well. However, Bulk and Skull are also present for this as a substitute for detention. Just then, they notice Kimberly trying to operate a hose before Bulk decides to completely open the valve in order to drench her and Tommy. Because Hart wasn’t expecting the sudden full force of the water stream, the hose ends up spraying around the immediate area and gets our core group wet. Despite that, Bulk and Skull are disappointed at them for not being miserable as a result. Fortunately, Oliver manages to grab onto the hose and get it under control.
Meanwhile, Lord Zedd had overseen all of this as he decides to create a monster that fits the current situation. From there, he sets his plan in motion as some patrons end up fleeing for their lives before our heroes spot a group of Tenga Warriors drive a monster-esque truck out of the car wash. With our group in need to morph but no subtle place to head towards in order to change into their uniforms in privacy, they decide to head into the car wash itself in order to morph without anyone else noticing. Once they emerge from the building, they proceed to fight and defeat their feathery foes.
Following the defeat of his Tenga Warriors, he proceeds to transform the entire car wash itself into a new monster called “Scrubb”, unaware that Bulk and Skull were hiding inside a car that was inside the building. With their new foe already looming large over them, the Rangers proceed to summon their Ninjazords and bring them together to form the Ninja FalconMegazord in order to fight it. After being unable to make much progress during their physical tussle, our heroes decide to take a different approach. After they noticed a nearby mud pond over by the gravel quarry, they’re able to pick Scrubb up with their combiner Zord and throw the being into the muck. After it emerges from the slick dirt, it then proceeds to frantically attempt to clean itself while it winds up washing itself of Zedd’s dark magic and causes it to revert back into a regular car wash. After Lord Zedd expresses his anger about getting foiled by a “dirty trick”, our de-morphed group then notice a single car emerging from the car wash before Bulk and Skull tumble out of it completely soaked. And so, the story ends with Kimberly giving them some towels in order for the two guys to properly dry themselves.
We then get to the backup story where so much trouble is bound to unfold out of “A Simple Misunderstanding”. This tale begins at a charity event for the local Lady Rangers Scout Troop as the Power Rangers make a special meet-and-greet appearance. Also in attendance are Bulk and Skull who’re providing some security for the event, since they were members of the Angel Grove Junior Police Force in Season 3. Not only that, but it was Skull who convinced Bulk to take this assignment out of the promise that they’ll “meet girls”. Alas, they haven’t had any luck with meeting women ever since they joined the youthful protective group. During this, Kimberly and Aisha had overheard their dilemma as Campbell says that she feels bad for them. From there, they head over to talk to them as the Yellow Ranger says that they’re impressed with their courage as junior policemen and that plenty of girls should feel the same way. She then tells them that they’ll find some ladies who can see them as special and that those lucky ladies could potentially be closer than they expect before she and the Pink Ranger head out. Afterwards, Bulk and Skull begin to assume that they were talking about Kimberly & Aisha and that they should pursue those women. Unbeknownst to them, they were being observed by Baboo & Squatt who actually respect them for their responsibly authoritative roles. Because Lord Zedd doesn’t think too highly of them, they manage to come up with a plan. Because the Pink & Yellow Rangers told Bulk and Skull that they have something “special” inside, assuming that it’s their secret weapon, they’ll make the bumbling humans inform them about it before they pass said information on to Lord Zedd in order to finally gain some meaningful respect. Unbeknownst to them, Rito Revolto (who’s actually Rita’s somewhat dimwit brother) overheard them and thinks that the “special” thing about the Rangers that they’re going after is their Power Coins. After he assumes that the secret weapon is what Baboo & Squatt will be using in order to accomplish their goal, Rito decides to inform Lord Zedd about it.
Later, Bulk & Skull are about to play some bocci in order to prove their expansive tastes towards women. Suddenly, they notice Baboo and Squatt arriving on Earth before they throw their bocci balls at them and approach them. Fortunately for Baboo, he says that he and Squatt only want to talk to them about “something special” that concerns the Power Rangers. He then says that if they talk about it, then they’ll help them hook up with “any girl in the galaxy”. As such, Bulk accepts before he tells Skull that he has a plan. Back on the lunar base, Rito informs Lord Zedd about Baboo & Squatt’s plan to steal the Power Coins by using a “secret weapon”. Zedd thinks that his henchmen are planning to usurp him before he destroys a caged two-headed bird. After Rito tells him that he’s just zapped and destroyed his sister’s favorite Glork, Lord Zedd then promises to get her a new Glork if he tells him where Baboo & Squatt went. Rito mentions Chicago before Zedd heads off, to which Revolto naively decides to also usurp the evil emperor as he heads off to Angel Grove. Meanwhile, Aisha and Kimberly are helping the Girl Scouts make some Endangered Species medallions out of liquid plastic. Unbeknownst to them, Bulk & Skull have shown up alongside Baboo & Squatt as they give the two monstrous henchmen a container that they can use to extract and contain the Power Rangers’ “something-special-inside”. Baboo and Squatt aren’t sure that the container is actually an extracting device before they ask where the Rangers are, to which Bulk and Skull point them towards Aisha & Kimberly’s group in order for them to carry out their own plan to “rescue” the ladies so that they can finally gain some romantic traction. Unlike the Junior Police Officers, Squatt & Baboo are fully aware of the female Rangers’ secret identities as they approach Aisha and Kimberly in order to take their “something-special-inside”. Our females Rangers then try to figure out how can they morph in order to properly fight the monstrous henchmen, but without revealing their secret identities to the Girl Scouts.
Thankfully, they manage to squirt some liquid metal onto Squatt and Baboo while Bulk & Skull try to arrest them as part of their own plan. Our females Rangers managed to create enough of a distraction in order to escape alongside the Girl Scouts, while Bulk and Skull have somehow missed the monsters and accidentally handcuffed themselves. As for Baboo and Squatt, they managed to swipe the Power Coins before Rito comes in and takes them from his devious comrades. Just then, Lord Zedd comes in and grabs them from Revolto’s hand while scolding him for luring him away. Suddenly, Rita (who’s been freed from her second space dumpster and has wound up with Zedd as a couple via her own love potion, weird) teleports in and chastises him for trying to smite her brother. Lord Zedd explains that her “free-loading brother” tried to usurp him, but she calls him out for eradicating her two-headed Glork. After Zedd admits that he’s always vaporized her Glorks and that he’s constantly replaced them, Squatt tries to tell both of them of the two humans that they’ve captured. However, they don’t care before Lord Zedd prepares to enact his wrath upon Squatt and Baboo for going behind his back. Suddenly, they’re all approached by the Power Rangers (thus revealing that Squatt & Babbo only managed to steal a pair of hand-crafted medallions) before they’re all forced to retreat as they teleport away. And so, Issue 2 ends with the Pink and Yellow Ranger freeing Bulk & Skull from their handcuffs as they tell our female Rangers to never give them any more advice before they flee for their lives.
We now move into Issue 3 as some aquatic terror awaits our heroes in this fathom-filled tale called “I’d Like To Be Under The Sea”. We begin with Lord Zedd and Goldar observing the Power Rangers as they once again fight a familiar foe known as Pirantishead. After a while, it manages to escape as our heroes mention that Tommy isn’t with them for this moment before they wonder why this particular creature is trying to steal some fresh water. Just then, Billy has a revelation as they manage to de-morph and make their way to a marine-themed park called AquaWorld. After strolling past a performing killer whale named Wally, they reach a “very special display” that contains radioactive piranha that’re in need of being cured. Billy elaborates by mentioning how these fish had potentially swum past some toxic waste that was carelessly dumped into the ocean. Just as Adam wonders why Lord Zedd is in need of both sea water and tainted fish, they’re suddenly approached by Pirantishead as they manage to avoid his laser shot. Afterwards, out heroes morph before they notice that their foe has taken the radioactive fish and managed to jump into a deep pool.
After Rocky, Kimberly and Billy dive in after their foe, Adam wonders why Aisha isn’t joining them, to which she explains that because the bear is her spirit animal, bears are incapable of swimming. As such, Park tells her to accompany them when she’s able to before he jumps into the pool and rejoins his active teammates. However, Pirantishead is able to use the water to its advantage as it easily beats our heroes up while also slowing growing due to being in contact with a radioactive piranha. As Aisha sees her teammates struggling, she decides to look past her spirit animal-seated fear and dive into the pool as well. With all five Rangers unified, they’re now able to summon their Ninjazords and bring them together to create the Ninja Megazord in order to properly fight the massively sized Pirantishead. From there, they manage to defeat their monstrous foe within the connected main pool with a massive uppercut as the crowd cheers them for their action. While Lord Zedd once again gets angry for another failed plan, the story ends back at the aquatic theme park as the Rangers notice that the piranha isn’t radioactive anymore before it leaps into the air alongside Wally for the audience. From there, they and her teammates thank Aisha for her timely intervention leading to their victory.
As we move into the issue’s backup story, our heroes will now step up to the plate to confront a particular monster who’s a prime candidate for “Most Valuable Slayer!”. We begin with our main group taking in a softball game before Kimberly notices a young woman named Kelly who’s crying. She tells them that just because she’s a girl, the boys on the team won’t let her play with them. As they all take a stroll through the park, our main group assures her that girls are more than capable of exceling at sports just like the guys. However, Bulk and Skull share their antiquated notion of women being incapable of playing sports before they get told to prove themselves as good athletes. Thankfully, Bulk whiffs on Skull’s pitch and falls flat on his rear. Despite getting a hilarious display, our group soon notice that Kelly is still feeling down since she’s already walking away. Just as they decide to give her a confidence boost, they suddenly notice a new monster flying in to cause some terror as it introduces itself as “Battalor”. Tommy then tells some nearby citizens to find some help while he and his comrades will stay behind to do what they can. From there, they find a secluded spot in order to morph into their uniforms. From there, they confront Lord Zedd’s newest monster as it manages to grab Adam within its talons and attempts to smite him. Thankfully, Kimberly is able to jump kick their foe and save him. Unbeknownst to our heroes, Kelly is observing their heroics as she also notices how they have mixed genders amongst themselves while also working together.
From there, Battalor gets grown to a titanic size as our heroes decide to summon their Shogunzords in order to bring them together and form the Shogun Megazord. Not only that, but Tommy also summons the Falconzord in order to have it join up with their combiner Zord in order to create the Shogun MegaFalconZord. As they face Battalor upon a softball field, they withstand a vicious slash before they use the Fire Saber in order to destroy their foe. We then cut to a short time later where our de-morphed heroes discover that Kelly had stayed behind in order to watch the fight as she admits her excitement of seeing a girl Ranger saving a boy Ranger. The White Ranger then tells her that he & his teammates won due to them working together and that girls are more than capable of being as good as boys when it comes to athletics. Soon enough, Kelly finally gets to play in a softball game as she manages to hit a home run. And so, the comic ends with Bulk trying to show off his improved pitching, only to fall flat on his back again while Kelly joins our main group in a big laugh.
Issue 4 sees a minor change to the Power Ranger lineup as a past fiend makes a terrifying return and has become a “Glutton For Punishment”. We open in the Command Center as Zordon informs his team that Lord Zedd is about to unleash a massive invasion upon Angel Grove, primarily focusing on the power plant that’s outside of town. Tommy & Aisha mention that it was recently shut down after trying to unsuccessfully run a new power source, to which Zordon confirms said source to be the toxic Ozone-Iridium #328 as the city council voted to shut the plant down until more environmental tests could be run. However, Zedd has brought back Pudgy Pig in order to attack it. As such, the Rangers teleport to the site where they’re confronted by the featured monster and some Tenga Warriors. After their feathered foes are defeated, they confront their featured fiend before Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa (who were observing the fight from their lunar base) manage to make their monster grow.
Fortunately, the Rangers respond by summoning their Ninjazords and proceed to swarm Pudgy Pig. However, it’s able to reach the power plant and feed off of the toxic source, allowing it to grow even further. Our heroes decide to bring their Zords together and form the Ninja FalconMegazord. They then discuss how Pudgy Pig’s metabolism was changed in order to properly absorb it, yet they doubt that it’s capable of absorbing it all at once. As such, they decide to force the toxic element down its throat in order to finally defeat it and also rid their city of the lethal element. From there, the Rangers carry out their plan as the Ninja FalconMegazord picks up the exhaust port containing the foul source and shove it into Pudgy Pig’s mouth, causing it to overload and explode. And so, the story ends with our heroes managing to save Angel Grove from a physical and an environmental threat.
Moving into the backup story, we have a narrative that has the Rangers dealing with a hassled youth as they look to avoid the “Revenge Of The Nerd”. We kick things off with our heroes battling a pair of monsters before it’s revealed to be news footage of a past fight as a young boy named Myron Zitzner is watching it (I assume at the Juice Bar) while wishing that he had a fraction of the group’s power. Suddenly, he’s approached by two bullies as they make fun of his pimple-filled complexion and compare him to a pizza before they physically hassle him. Fortunately, Tommy, Billy and Adam arrive as they get them to stop picking on the boy. After getting helped up, Myron becomes upset and says that he doesn’t need sympathy from anyone before storming off. From there, Adam and Billy assure Tommy that he just needs some time to figure things out for himself.
Just then, Aisha, Rocky & Katherine Hillard (whom after a series of Season 3 events became the new Pink Ranger after Kimberly stepped down to take part in a gymnastics competition called the Pan Global Games) come in and inform them that Zordon has contacted them as they all head out to answer the call. They learn that a giant Tenga Warrior is attacking near Angel Grove High, threatening the student’s lives. As such, our teenagers morph into their outfits before they head over to the school to deal with the giant creature. Katherine notices that the titanic Tenga is dangerously close to the science lab and that it contains some potentially explosive chemicals. As such, they decide to create a diversion. Meanwhile, Myron is out for a walk as he wonders why he’s having a hard time with other kids. He then notices two young ladies from his chemistry class and decides to introduce himself to them. However, he sees them giggle and assumes that they’re laughing at him as he storms off while vowing to show them all someday. Just then, he spots the Power Rangers fighting the giant Tenga Warrior as he decides to watch the scuffle. Suddenly, he’s approached by the two familiar bullies as they capture him before revealing that they’re actually Squatt and Baboo. From there, Rita orders them to bring the boy over to her at once, even though Lord Zedd says that he’s not sure how this regular human could possibly help them smite our heroes. Just as Squatt and Baboo return, she grabs Myron and tells him that she plans to unleash him with all the power that he’s ever wanted.
Later, the Rangers finally defeat the giant Tenga Warrior before they hear a loud rumble approaching them. They’re then met upon by a sentient, pimple-filled ball as it tells them that they’ll meet their doom. Tommy then tells his teammates that although they’ve never seen this monster, he senses something familiar about it. Suddenly, it starts shooting acidic puss as our heroes decide to lure it away from the school. While Adam takes up the task himself, Oliver tells his remaining comrades that their weapons won’t be able to affect it and that they’ll need their Ninjazords. As such, the team summons their Zords and attack the puss-filled creature. Ultimately, Aisha uses her Bear Ninjazord to squeeze the giant ball and pops it as Myron flies out of it before Rocky catches him with his Ape Ninjazord. Later, the young boy explains how he got turned into a pimple-filled monster before he realizes that he was feeling far too sorry for himself and got way too self-involved, even completely forgetting to thank Tommy for helping him out, to which the White Ranger tells him that “Oliver” would greatly understand how he felt. And so, Issue 4 ends a few days later at the Angel Grove Science Fair where Myron has won the competition before the two young ladies ask him for help with their schoolwork. All-the-while, our main group oversee this from afar.
For Issue 5, the Rangers will find themselves going up against an unusual kind of monster as they look to navigate through this unlikely “Vortex”. We begin at Angel Grove Park where our central group is out on a nature hike. Over on their lunar base, Lord Zedd & Rita are disgusted by this simple outdoor frolic and decide to hamper their fun. Back with the group, they’re taking a break from their trek by complementing each other’s company, especially with Kat who’s gotten much more comfortable with her teammates. Suddenly, a vortex opens up and begins to suck anything nearby into it. While Zordon and Alpha 5 pick up this brewing danger from the Command Center, our teenagers manage to morph and attempt to stop this otherworldly hole from destroying the park. They proceed to summon their Ninjazords and try to minimize the damage being caused. However, the vortex continues to get bigger as the Rangers bring their Zords together to create the Ninja FalconMegazord. Zordon then contacts them on how this isn’t one of Zedd’s regular monsters, but a living being from another dimension and that its whole body takes up the entire space. Because it can be as large as their universe and there’s no way to properly measure it, Zordon tells them that it can’t be defeated.
Instead, they have to try and close it off before it continues to grow and ultimately destroys the planet. Our heroes attempt to do so, but ultimately find themselves getting sucked into it. Once they enter the vast area of darkness, the sentient monster then introduces itself as Vortex. Adam expresses his stunned amazement on how they’re inside this creature, to which Billy says that this being is intelligent despite not have a regular body like they do. Vortex then tells them that it’s also lonely due to being a vast empty space with no one to share itself with. As such, Lord Zedd created the unique being like this in order to acquire friends that it can keep within itself. Aisha tells the sentient creature that Zedd only brought it to life just to get rid of the Rangers and that they were only trying to stop him from conquering Earth. However, Vortex doesn’t want to let them go out of the fear of being alone again. Fortunately, Tommy comes up with an idea as he gives his wrist communicator to the creature in order for it to always have someone to talk to. With the creature feeling much better, it proceeds to let our heroes go. And so, the story ends with the day saved as the Rangers celebrate the added fact that they’ve made a new and different kind of friend.
As we head into the backup story, our heroes will find themselves teaching an important fable-based lesson to a child in “The Boy Who Cried Wolf Rock!”. We kick things off at the Angel Grove Youth Center where our main teenagers are hanging out. Suddenly, a young boy named Peter runs in and says that a monster is right outside. Once our main group head out to confront it however, they discover no such being before Peter reveals that he was playing a prank on them. Tommy then tells him that he shouldn’t lie like that, due to it getting him into trouble. Afterwards, Peter glumly heads out by mentioning that he was only looking for “a little fun”. Over on the lunar base, Lord Zedd oversaw this and decides to create a monster called WolfRock. Upon its creation, it mentions how it intends to kidnap Angel Grove’s children in order to lure the Power Rangers out and destroy them. Fortunately, Peter saw and overheard it as he runs off to get some help. He ultimately makes it back to the Youth Center and tries to warn our central teenagers about the vile beast that he’s just seen as well as what it’s up to. However, his earlier prank is still fresh within the minds of our main heroes. As such, they decide not to listen to him. Peter then gets teary-eyed and tells them that it’s honestly different and that if nothing is done to prevent this horrid catastrophe, then people could get hurt and he would feel guilty about it. Aisha takes note of his tears and begins to suspect that he’s telling the truth, to which are heroes decide to take Peter up on his warning and investigate.
Soon enough, they discover WolfRock within the woods having already kidnapped some kids. Realizing that Peter was telling the truth, they proceed to morph and engage the creature. Despite freeing the kids, they’re unable to stop the fierce beast before it gets grown in size. The Rangers then proceed to summon their Ninjazords and bring them together to create the Ninja FalconMegazord before they get into a tussle with their foe. Suddenly, they realize that canines have ultra-sensitive hearing and thus, they emit a high-frequency sound wave from their combiner Zord and defeat the monster. Sometime later back at the Youth Center, Peter assures our main group that he’s learned his lesson and that he’s done with inventing lies. Suddenly, Issue 5 ends with him warning the group of a “chocolate-slurping monster” that’s behind them, to which they discover that it’s Bulk eating some ice cream while covered in chocolate syrup as the sight of his messy face allows our teenagers to laugh.
Issue 6 kicks off with a story showing our heroes confronting a group of monsters that’re literal forces of nature in “Elementary”. We open at Lord Zedd & Rita’s lunar base as they observe our main group in their science class. The teacher then performs a demonstration with some chemical elements and mentions how they’ve canceled each other out, similar to the “four basic natural elements”. Zedd then decides to create some monsters and send them after our group, to which they suddenly show up within the session as they find themselves within the presence of a water, earth, fire and wind monster that’re collectively called the Elementals. Once their teacher and their classmates have managed to flee from the room, our heroes manage to morph before they confront their foes. However, their physical strikes are unable to land any significant damage as the Elementals manage to grow, forcing the Rangers to summon their Ninjazords in order to properly continue the fight.
Unfortunately, the Elementals are easily able to overwhelm our heroes as they smack the opposing Zords around.
The Rangers then decide to bring their fighting vehicles together and create the Ninja FalconMegazord before Billy remembers their recent science lecture. Realizing that they can use the Elementals against each other in order to cancel each other out, they set their plan into motion as they pick the Water Elemental up and toss it at the Fire Elemental, extinguishing it in the process. The Earth Elemental tries to retaliate, but the Ninja FalconMegazord responds by hitting the creature towards the Water Elemental, causing the earth-based fiend to absorb its comrade. Afterwards, our heroes use the Fire Saber (which can only be used by the Shogun Megazord, by the way) to strike the Wind Elemental and force it back towards the Earth Elemental, causing it to get torn apart by its own fierce winds. From there, the Rangers finish things off as the Ninja FalconMegazord blasts the Wind Elemental and bring the fight to an end. And so, the story concludes with Lord Zedd vowing to get revenge upon our heroes while Rita shares her equal disgust for them.
As we get to the comic’s backup story, it’ll see some youngsters get put in grave danger as some subterranean perils await our familiar teenagers in a tale called “Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark”. We kick things off with a young boy and two young girls approaching a cave within Angel Grove Park as the majority of them want to go exploring within it. However, one girl named Becky is nervous due to it being dark in there. When her friends (who’re named Dave & Alysa) call her out for being scared, she ultimately decides to join them in their excursion. As they head in, they’re suddenly approached by a giant rock monster named Rocklor as Lord Zedd tells the newly frightened kids that he plans to kidnap the city’s children before he finally smites the Power Rangers. Becky manages to slip by the creature and escape, but her friends remain trapped by the massive being as they tell her to find some help. Later, she arrives at the Angel Grove Youth Center before she reaches our main group and informs them of her current peril. Tommy then tells her to head inside while he and his friends contact the Power Rangers.
Afterwards, they reach a secluded spot of the building before they morph into their uniforms and head out to deal with this cave-based crisis. They manage to teleport into the cave and distract Rocklor, while the Pink Ranger manages to guide Dave & Alysa towards the exit as the kids manage to escape. Just then, Rocklor gets grown into a massive size as our heroes respond by summoning their Ninjazords in order to bring them together and form the Ninja FalconMegazord.
From there, they bring the fight to an end by blasting Rocklor into rubble while Lord Zedd once again gets furious with his defeat and promises to get even with our heroes. Afterwards, the Rangers check out the remains of the decimated monster before Becky reunites with her friends while the White Ranger commends her for her bravery. And so, the comic ends at night as Becky is about to go to bed, but she actually allows her mom to turn the light off.
For the seventh and final issue of this series, we have an initial tale that will take our familiar group out of their city-based comfort zone in order for them to properly deal with a “Stone Canyon Shakedown”. We begin on the Stone Canyon Nature Trail as our main teenagers, as well as Bulk and Skull, are out on a nature walk with their classmates. Suddenly, thunder and lightning fill the skies before they’re met upon by Goldar and a group of Tenga Warriors who’re about to accomplish their own mission. However, they see the nearby humans as “fair targets” before they send some meteors down at them, forcing our heroes and their classmates to run for their lives. They manage to find some shelter from the overwhelming bombardment by sticking close to the canyon wall before Katherine discreetly asks Tommy why Goldar and the Tengas are operating on their own like this. Oliver agrees as he believes that there’s more to this, to which we shift over to the lunar base as Lord Zedd mentions how Goldar and the Tengas’ strike was the first part of his current plan, since he used a Magnetic Cannon to attract some meteors for his Tengas to use in order to help him finally defeat the Power Rangers.
Back with the teenage students, Tommy tells Bulk & Skull to guide their classmates up to the canyon’s rim in order to reach some safety, while he and his comrades will stay put to make sure that no one got left behind. Once their fellow pupils get far-enough away, our heroes proceed to morph before they head out to fight the Tenga Warriors. Meanwhile, the White Ranger engages Goldar as they get into a brief scuffle. With the Tenga Warriors getting clobbered, Goldar tells the fiendish birds to retreat in order for the Rangers “to meet their fate”. Afterwards, our heroes wonder why their foes would depart just as quickly as they arrived before they decide to go to the Command Center in order to get some answers. Once they arrive and share what they’ve just went through, Zordon tells them that Lord Zedd had sent Goldar and the Tenga Warrriors in order to deliver some meteor fragments over to Stone Canyon and to ultimately carry out a far bigger plan. Not only that, but their recent scuffle was meant to hide said scheme from our heroes. Zordon then says that the gathered meteors will be used to create a molten meteor monster in order for Zedd to carry out his scheme to enslave Earth. As such, they must return to Stone Canyon in order to deal with the brewing crisis. However, Lord Zedd managed to use his dark magic upon the gathered meteors and create his massive molten meteor monster. From there, the Rangers summon their Ninjazords as Rocky initially engages the creature within his Ape Ninjazord.
While his teammates try to surround the being in order to strike, Lord Zedd uses his power to make his monster grow even bigger. As such, our heroes manage to bring their Zords together and form the Ninja FalconMegazord before they resume the fight. Even though the creature is able to nearly deplete the combiner Zord’s power supply with their fierce tussle, it suddenly starts to falter as the Rangers take advantage of its shrinking size by delivering the finishing hit. From there, they de-morph and rejoin their classmates as Bulk & Skull take credit for guiding their pupils to safety, yet our group says that it was the Power Rangers who truly helped them out. Aisha then asks Tommy how he knew that hanging tough would be how the molten meteor monster would be defeated. He explains that Lord Zedd’s dark magic allowed it to throw more lava, thus allowing it to use up its own power and dissolve itself. From there, the story ends with Zedd telling our heroes to enjoy their victory while they still can.
We then close out Marvel’s first series on an evil scheme that’s become part of a deviously complete breakfast with “Major Munch”. We kick things off with a Major Munch commercial as he’s confronted by and ultimately defeats his foes known as the Droolies. As the broadcast returns to the Major Munch Cartoon Marathon on “Channel Z”, we have a pair of kids watching it while eating said cereal just as their mother comes home and asks them to head outside to play. However, they’re too consumed by the program. Not only that, but it ends up hypnotizing the mother into heading back to the supermarket in order to buy more Major Munch cereal.
Over in Angel Grove Park, our central group is playing Hacky Sack before a young boy comes in and asks to play with them. Even though they allow him to join them, they notice his glum demeanor as a black-haired (for some reason) Katherine asks him what’s wrong. The kid says that his friends never seem to come out and play anymore, due to them doing nothing but eat Major Munch cereal all day and continually watch TV. Billy picks up how the park seems to be a bit more empty than normal as he and his teammates decide to bring this up with Zordon. Later, they arrive at the Command Center before they’re told to look within the Viewing Globe. Zordon explains that Major Munch was created by Lord Zedd and that it’s part of a scheme to use a popular cartoon to lure kids into eating its tie-in cereal, since it contains chemicals that clouds their minds and makes them susceptible to suggestions. Not only that, but the kids are also wearing rings that forces them to keep watching and will shock them if they try to change the channel, pick up the remote or turn the TV off. As such, the program forces anyone who watches it to buy or eat the Major Munch cereal, with even parents being unable to resist its subliminal message to make them keep buying the cereal for their kids. Ultimately, Lord Zedd looks to conquer Angel Grove through its children. From there, our heroes proceed to morph before they spring into action.
Later at the Channel Z TV Station, Goldar is with Mordant as he tells Lord Zedd that all of Angel Grove’s kids are viewing their program and are under their control. Zedd then exclaims that his brainwashing scheme is almost complete as it’ll help him conquer the city. Suddenly, Goldar & Mordant are met upon by the Power Rangers as a fight breaks out between our heroes and the Tenga Warriors. After the fiendish birds get defeated, they’re suddenly approached by a sentient laser-shooting camera. Suddenly, Adam gets an idea as he wants Tommy to provide him with some cover while Katherine comes with him to the control panel in order to help him get a message out. Oliver manages to take the sinister camera out before Kat preps her teammate. Park then tells the mind-controlled kids that they’re watching a false show that’s being run by Lord Zedd. As such, he tells them to take their rings off. Afterwards, Hillard smashes the control console and bring Zedd’s plan to an end. With the day saved and the kids regaining their own self-consciousness, the series ends with Bulk and Skull returning to their droning selves while watching their regular programs.
We now have Marvel’s last full series with the franchise, but with a unique twist. Published from October 1995 to February 1996, “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Ninja Rangers” was a five-issue series that also served as flipbooks, since it shared its comic book space with another Saban show called “VR Troopers”. Of course, we’ll be sticking with our featured team’s tales for this retrospective. As for the creative team for this particular set, Nicieza (Issues 1, 2, 4 & 5) will be joining Frank & Vincent Lovece (Issue 3) in the writer’s chair, while Tod Smith (Issues 1, 2 & 5), Jim Saunders III (Issues 1 & 3), Sam DeLarosa (Issue 1 & 4), Don Hudson (Issues 2, 4 & 5), Newbaum Turk (Issue 3), Loretta Krol (Issue 3), Bart Schmidt (Issue 4), Steve Geiger (Issue 4), Scott “Pond Scum” Elmer (Issue 4) and Wayne Murray (Issue 4) get to share artistic duties. As for the tales they got to weave for these entries, let’s once again summon our critical Zords and find out.
We open with “Cheaters Never Prosper & Winners Never Cheat” as Tommy & the Angel Grove basketball team is down by two and making one last drive towards their opponent’s basket. Even though Oliver is open to make a three-point shot, his teammate named Mike Halker tries to make the winning shot himself. Unfortunately, it bounces off the rim as time runs out and they end up losing the game. Halker apologies to Tommy for not giving him the ball, to which Oliver tells him that it’s OK and that they’ll prevail next time. Afterwards, Tommy notices Mike getting met upon by a pair of shady-looking figures. After getting dressed, Oliver sees Halker getting into a car with the two guys before he decides to pursue them on his bike.
Later, Mike & the men arrive at a fish store across town while Tommy discreetly arrives and watches from afar. It’s then revealed that Mike is being paid for intentionally losing the game, to which Lord Zedd also notices from his lunar base. Because of the store setting, it gives him an idea for his newest monster. Later, Mike takes his leave while Oliver secretly watched from afar, becoming dismayed with his teammate for accepting financial bribes by fixing their team’s games, especially since Halker is normally a “team guy”. With this explaining why his friend has been behaving strange lately, Tommy proceeds to take his leave. Shortly afterwards, Zedd’s dark magic reaches the fish store and manages to turn a pair of lemon sharks into a monstrous duo called Loan Sharks as they head out to “corrupt some innocent souls”. Later, Tommy is fixing a motorcycle with Rocky while telling his fellow Ranger that he doesn’t want to expose Mike’s scheme without learning why he’s doing it, to which DeSantos tells him that cheating doesn’t have a “good enough reason”.
Later, Oliver heads over to Halker’s house in order to get to the bottom of this. Suddenly, he hears Mike’s dad berating his son for somehow coming up with some money, despite that fact that he’s out of work and that his wife’s medical bills are looming over them. Mike tries to leave without explaining, but he bumps into Tommy who tells him that he’s aware of his financial scheme. However, Halker says that he doesn’t have a choice before he runs away. Later at a local diner, the two goons are planning to make Angel Grove High lose another basketball game in favor of another big payout. Just then, Tommy confronts them and pretends to be interested in their scheme. After they explain their plan, Oliver then reveals that he’s taped everything they’ve said and that he’s handing it over to the cops. We then shift to the next day where Mike gets approached by the Loan Sharks at his home as they try to bribe him into making Tommy cheat during their next game and convince him to intentionally lose. Fortunately, Halker has learned his lesson because of Oliver’s intervention as he tells the two monsters that while things have been tough for him and his father ever since his mother’s passing, cheating shouldn’t be his way out of his problem. As such, he declines their bribe. Just as the Loan Sharks are about to harm him, Tommy arrives as the White Ninja Ranger as he lands some precise strikes and easily defeats the fiends, causing them to revert back into regular lemon sharks. He then tells Mike that their power only existed when they’re able to corrupt others and that him refusing their offer ultimately weakened them. Afterwards, Oliver assures him that his teammate is safe. Later, Mike shows up to the fish shop alongside the White Ninja Ranger and a pair of cops as he returns the lemon sharks, along with their bribe money. As the two shady men get arrested, Halker thanks our hero for giving him the courage he needed to come clean, to which Tommy tells him that he made the winning choice. And so, Issue 1 ends with Oliver checking out a newscast with Rocky as it reports on the goons’ arrest caused by Mike’s testimony and the wiretapping tape. As our two Power Rangers also mention, Halker got a job offer and lots of private donations, helping his dad pay their medical bills.
Issue 2 (“Let The Buyer Beware”) begins at the Angel Grove Mall where Kimberly has been trying out various clothes in a clothing store while Aisha has been brought along for this lengthy shopping venture. Just then, a woman named Mikie barges in and rudely takes Hart’s dressing room simply because all of the other stalls are occupied. As Campbell tells her friend that shopping seems to bring out the best in some people (maybe sarcastically), we shift over to Lord Zedd’s lunar base where he’s been observing this and notices how shopping tends to bring out the worst in individuals. As such, he decides to go after the female Rangers with a greed-filled plan as he casts his dark magic. Suddenly, Mikie emerges from the dressing room as a massive humanoid monster that’s devouring clothes. Our ladies contact Zordon about this, to which he tells them that their teammates are “too far away” to help them. Not only that, but Zedd’s scheme won’t be limited to a single victim. Just then, more innocent shoppers burst from the dressing rooms and proceed to eat away at the clothing.
Fortunately, this allows Kimberly and Aisha to use the stalls in order to privately morph into the Pink & Yellow Ninja Rangers respectively. From there, they attempt to prevent the transformed humans from devouring every single piece of clothing around them. Suddenly, Campbell gets an idea when she sees several shopping tags with UPC Bar Codes on them. She manages to scoop them up, head over to a cash register and scan them all with agile speed. From there, she receives a massive receipt and announces to the humanoid monsters that their abnormal appetite has compiled a massive bill. As a result, they spit the clothing out and cause Zedd’s magic to dissipate, allowing them to become regular humans again. While Lord Zedd is once again furious for another failed plan, Issue 2 ends with our de-morphed ladies helping to pick the clothes up as Aisha mentions that their foe didn’t realize that people can only purchase what they’re able to afford. As such, Kimberly says that she’s not going to buy most of the clothes that she tried on, due to the notion of shopping smart.
Issue 3 (“Dark Thunder”) opens with our heroes overseas as they were ordered by Zordon to provide some help to a Japanese port city that was recently ravaged by an earthquake. During this, Tommy spots a person who’s been pinned underneath an overturned truck. He notices that the vehicle is spilling gasoline and is mere moments from reaching a nearby fire & exploding. As such, he uses Saba to help the youth escape just as it blows up. Thankfully, they all made it out alive before Saba notices that the teenage boy is running away from them. Tommy just assumes that he’s trying to find his family out in the countryside, since that’s where the citizens have evacuated to. Just then, Billy notices that the earthquake had made a dormant volcano active again as the Rangers head over to deal with it. Unbeknownst to them, the recently rescued Japanese youth had originally stolen a car radio prior to getting initially pinned. As such, he looks to take advantage of the recent disaster and loot as many places as he can. Back at the Command Center, Alpha 5 mentions how Tommy risked his life to save a thief, to which Zordon says that they have much bigger worries to deal with, since they need to analyze the earthquake’s odd timing alongside other data. He then mentions that the Rangers were stripped of their prior powers by Rito Revolto and Vampirus before gaining their Ninjetti powers from Ninjor (as shown in the four-part storyline, “Ninja Quest”). However, he also mentions that the energy can never be destroyed, only transferred. While he wasn’t able to locate their prior energy source, he wonders where it could’ve reformed, since someone could discover it and possibly bring back the Thunderzords. As if on cue, it turns out that Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd have found the prior Zords. As for the Tigerzord, their sensors detect that it’s gone missing ever since it rose from the port city during the earthquake. While they do wish to track it down, Lord Zedd decides to bring back the Dark Rangers and have them consist of fiendish people from across the globe. Starting with the Japanese looter named Osamu Tezuka, he also chooses a bully from Zimbabwe named Farai Jukwai, a French sneakthief named Marie-Claire le Monde, a greedy & arrogant American named Stanford Winner and a female gang member from Columbia named Nelida Valensisi.
From there, Lord Zedd summons them together within the Mongolian plains and gives them duplicate Power Ranger uniforms. In addition to giving them access to our heroes’ discarded power-energy, he’s even able to have them all speak fluent English before he summons the Thunderzords and gives it to them as their vehicles.
We then shift into Chapter 2 as the Rangers are stunned to see the Thunder Megazord active once again, though it’s also causing more damage to the port city. As such, they summon their Ninjazords and form the Ninja Megazord. With the team unsure if the opposing pilots are either hostile or brainwashed, they’ll have to try and stop them without hurting them. As the two combiner Zords engage each other in a fierce struggle, Adam manages to contact the Dark Rangers and demands to know how they acquired their Thunderzords. Noticing how their foes are talking over each other in an attempt to communicate, Billy mentions how they lack teamwork and that he & his team will prevail. However, the Dark Red Ranger tells them that they have the same powers as them, but they’ll come out on top due to them being “tougher and meaner”. Suddenly, Tommy flies in on the Falconzord and opens fire upon the Thunder Megazord. He then says that while he and his team were previously “irresponsible” by “polluting the universe” with their prior power-energy, they’ve learned from their mistakes and they’ll ultimately triumph. Despite that, Oliver knows that his Zord’s ammunition is unable to damage the Thunder Megazord and that he has to join his comrades in order to truly win. Just then, the Tigerzord emerges from the volcano. Tommy then realizes that it’s about to join forces with the Dark Rangers as he hurriedly reaches the Ninja Megazord and combines his Falconzord with it in order to become the Ninja FalconMegazord. However, it’s too late as the Tigerzord reaches the Thunder Megazord and takes four out of the five Thunderzords (minus the Red Dragon Thunderzord) in order to become the Mega Tigerzord. As Billy wonders who could possibly be piloting the opposing combiner Zord, our heroes prepare to lure the Dark Rangers away from the populated areas. Suddenly, their foes fly off with the Thunderzords. From there, Issue 3 ends with Tommy telling his teammates that they’ll confront these fiends once again and when they do, they’ll “walk away victorious”.
Issue 4 sees our team back in the standalone story pits as out heroes will struggle to maintain a positive image within the public eye in “Loyalty”. We begin with the group already in their Ninja Ranger outfits as Goldar and the Tenga Warriors are causing some havoc on the streets of Angel Grove. As our main teenagers proceed to fight the Tenga Warriors, Zordon and Alpha 5 observe the scuffle on the Viewing Globe back in the Command Center. Over on his lunar base, Lord Zedd is also checking out the fierce fracas. While the Rangers are busy defeating the Tenga Warriors, they begin to realize that there doesn’t seem to be a purpose for Zedd behind this attack. They then agree to figure it out once they prevail over their feathered foes.
Once that happens, Goldar has been grown as he tells Angel Grove’s citizens that the Power Rangers are the ones who were truly bringing destruction to their town, as long as they’re allowed to operate there. With the fiend’s words slowly convincing them to turn on their heroes, Alpha 5 wonders how their group will deal with this, to which Zordon says that he’s confident his team will find a way. Back with the Ninja Rangers, they find themselves summoning their Ninjazords in order to properly fight Goldar. While the group struggle to deal with their foe, the populace continues to blame them for the collateral damage caused onto their town. Over on his lunar base, Lord Zedd is over-joyed by this turn of events before he proceeds to power up Goldar even further. As such, the Rangers respond by bringing their Zords together in order to form the Ninja FalconMegazord. Suddenly, the citizens realize that our heroes were actually protecting them and that it’s not their fault that giant monsters are constantly tearing up their city. From there, the Rangers proceed to defeat Goldar before they’re met upon by the populace as they share their appreciation towards them, even saying that they’ll never doubt them again. And so, Issue 4 ends with Billy telling them that as long as threats exist, they’ll be there to always be counted on.
Issue 5 closes out this series with our core teenagers going up against an individual who could potentially and unintentionally blow things out of proportion in “Weather Witch”. We open upon Lord Zedd’s lunar base where he sees a brewing situation in Angel Grove Park. Specifically, it’s a little girl named Emily getting rejected by a group of kids just because she’s unable to play soccer. She tells them that she doesn’t need anyone within the town, to which Zedd decides to imbue his dark magic into her, transforming the child into a magically wicked woman known as Weather Witch. From there, she proceeds to manipulate the weather and cause massive devastation upon the municipality. Over at the Command Center, Zordon informs his team about the current situation and that even though they must stop her, Emily is still an innocent pawn in all of this. From there, they morph into their Ninja Ranger outfits and teleport to the area. Once they confront her, she tells them that she’s been picked on and beaten up throughout her whole life. Now, she intends to get some grim payback as she shoots some lightning at them. After the Rangers dive out of the way, they decide to summon their Ninjazords in order to deal with her.
However, she responds by growing before creating a bigger storm to use against Angel Grove. Our heroes then bring their Zords together and form the Ninja FalconMegazord before using the Fire Saber (which, once again, is supposed to be the Shogun Megazord’s weapon) to cut through a tornado. Suddenly, Zedd’s magic wears off as Emily reverts back to her regular self. Afterwards, the Ninja Rangers approach her as she tells them that everyone will hate her for what she’s done. Kat assures her that she was an innocent victim who was under Lord Zedd’s control. Emily is then told that some misguided individuals’ actions shouldn’t be blamed on a whole group of people and that while the Weather Witch attempted to punish all of Angel Grove, they want her to be forgiving. And so, the series ends with Emily saying that she doesn’t blame everyone in the city for her troubles and that she vows to carefully choose better friends. All-the-while, Lord Zedd once again gets furious at another failed scheme.
Interestingly, there’s one last page within this comic. Specifically, it has Zordon telling the Power Rangers that their friend named Dex a.k.a. Masked Rider needs their help. As they wonder what his foe named Count Dregon has in store for him, Zordon informs them that Dex’ home planet of Edenoi is in danger of a “world-devouring monster”. As such, he must become the Masked Rider and leave Earth to protect his people. However, he’s unable to do so since he’s locked in a fierce Earth-based fight. As such, the Rangers are told to head to Leawood and fight Rhinosaur, which will allow Dex to leave towards Edenoi in order to save his home world. On that note, that’s the subject of Marvel’s final contribution to the Power Rangers franchise.
Published in February 1996, this singular issue is based on the Fox Kids show that ran for two seasons from September 16, 1995, to November 20, 1996. Like Power Rangers, this program used footage from a Japanese-based TV show and integrated it with its own original footage to tell its own stories. In particular, it injected footage from the Kamen Rider series known as “Kamen Rider Black RX”. Believe it or not, his show was originally a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers spinoff since Season 3 began with a three-part venture called “A Friend In Need”. Prior to all of the various Power Rangers shows that would come about later on, this was an interesting way to expand this universe. As for how our featured “Teenagers With Attitude” dealt with their supporting roles within another character’s book, we’ll see how that’s handled as Frank Lovece returns to handle writing duties by himself. While Rurik Tyler and Todd Smith occupy the artist’s chair, Jim Sanders, Mark McKenna, Vince Russell & Don Hudson will be sharing the ink work, while Tom Smith handles coloring responsibilities. So, how did Marvel close out its tenure with our Morphinominal group? Let’s take to the stars and find out.
We begin on top of an observatory as Prince Dex a.k.a. Masked Rider has already spent some significant time on his adopted home planet of Earth, yet he’s now engaging a fierce monster that was sent by his archenemy known as Count Dregon. As our hero fights the terrifying creature known as Exo-Skeletron, their tussle is being observed by a large group of scientists and reporters. Amongst this massive crowd of on-lookers are Tommy, Aisha and Billy as they notice their friend locked in a huge struggle against a particular Insectivore. Campbell tells her teammates that they should become Power Rangers and help Dex out, but Cranston says that since they’re present here as a “high-school science contingent”, they have to be careful with their secret identities due to the large number of cameras present within the area. Meanwhile, a young blonde woman named Molly Stewart arrives with Patsy Carbunkle as she tells her mother named Barbara that Dex is presently amongst them. She then tells her daughter to take Patsy and head inside, while also finding her dad & brother. Meanwhile, the father named Hal Stewart oversees his son named Albee and Dex’ alien pet named Ferbus eating some of his wife’s catered food. When Albee asks his dad if this is a serious moment, Hal mentions that it is since their observatory has found three galaxies in syzygy, which is something that hasn’t happened in billions of years, yet the light has finally reached Earth. As such, the scientists would like to find any kind of effect that it’s happening on the planet. Back with Masked Rider, he continues to fight Exo-Skeletron while telling him that he doesn’t have to serve Count Dregon. However, he has no intention of ever betraying his master before he protrudes the sharp metal of his rib cage for an upcoming attack. Suddenly, his bio-synthetic body convulses in pain as he falls over. Masked Rider heads over to help him be freed from his evil path, but Exo-Skeletron launches a surprise attack and has him down for the count.
Meanwhile within the atmosphere, a devious station called the Spiderbase is positioned as Dregon’s right-hand lady named Nefaria tells him that Exo-Skeletron was affected by the syzygy’s photonic energy, since it affected him with a power surge. Not only that, but Dregon’s high-ranking crony named Cyclopter informs him that it’s also affecting their cloaking shields. In addition, the Count’s rhyming informant named Gork says that this situation requires his attention, since they could be spotted by the human race if they lose their cloak. However, Count Dregon is way too focused upon the syzygy as he tells his royal court to not bother him. Despite them telling him that their present situation requires his immediate attention, Count Dregon shows them the energy droplets that’re forming into a pool that’re coming from the syzygy, since it’ll deliver “the most feared weapon in the universe” to him. As such, he doesn’t care about Masked Rider as he magically sends his royal court away. From there, he tells his robotic assistant named Fact that a single atom is held together by the energy needed to destroy a city. If it’s unleashed, then it’s a nuclear explosion. However, the exact opposite is occurring as the energy that comes from subatomic particles is coming together to create a bio-spear, especially since it has enough energy to doom Edenoi. Over on said planet, King Lexian is informed by Georell that their planet is in danger, since the energy from the syzygy is being collected on Earth. From there, King Lexian has an idea of what’s to come as a result of Count Dregon and this build-up.
Back with Masked Rider, he shifts into “Masked Rider Super Gold” mode and forces Exo-Skeletron off of him. The fiend thinks that he has the advantage since it took an energetic transformation to force him back, but Dex refuses to back down as he takes out his Electro-Sabre and strikes him. Suddenly, Cyclopter teleports in and finishes Exo-Skeletron off with his energy gun. Masked Rider then demands to know what’s going on, to which Cyclopter says that his master has gone mad. In a peaceful offer, he asks for help in defeating Count Dregon while he’s distracted by the syzygy’s energy. In return, he and his fellow baddies will leave Earth alone. Cyclopter admits that this partnership involves trust and risk, yet they can’t afford to let Count Dregon acquire new powers from said syzygy. Ultimately, Dex offers to hear him out. Back with Count Dregon, he’s finally built up enough syzygy energy to create the bio-spear. As Nefaria and Gork admire it, Dregon says that it’ll only exist for a small amount of time. Nefaria then asks him how it can be the universe’s most powerful weapon, to which Count Dregon says that it’ll summon a massive entity known only as “The End”. It turns out that to be “an energy-eater of planet-sized proportions” that’s also incredibly light until it consumes enough material and explodes within a hyper-nova as the expelled energy can leave individuals trapped within crystalized forms. As such, Count Dregon intends to send The End over to Edenoi and consume its life energy.
Meanwhile, Cyclopter leads Masked Rider to the space station. Just then, they notice Nefaria attempting to fix it as Dex offers to distract her while Cyclopter goes after the power source. However, it turns out to be a trap as Cyclopter and Nefaria ensnare Masked Rider in order for him to helplessly watch his home planet of Edenoi turned into crystal by The End’s explosion. After learning that the creature is real, Dex uses his Rider Punch to get enough of a grasp within the snare before he then grabs onto Cyclopter with his legs and gets enough leverage to free himself. Nefaria then tries to go after him, but Masked Rider fires his Ecto Ray in a precise way to ricochet her away and shatter her battle suit.
From there, he returns to Earth and tells Hal & Barbara that he has to make a difficult choice. While he must stop an ungodly being that was sent by Count Dregon from destroying Edenoi, he doesn’t want to leave his adopted world unguarded. Barbara assures her adopted son that he’ll make the right choice, no matter how difficult it will be. Suddenly, another monster named Rhinosaur is approaching them. Dex then becomes the Masked Rider in order to confront the creature.
Despite delivering several hits before and after he upgrades to his gold armor, he’s not able to make much progress against his foe. As such, he summons his sentient motorbike called Combat Chopper and his talking car named Magno. Meanwhile, the Rhinosaur begins to grow in size. Thankfully, Masked Rider gets some timely help as the Ninja Rangers show up. Dex asks them how they knew about his situation, to which Billy says that Zordon & Lexian are old friends and that they managed to be nearby. From there, Aisha tells him to save Edenoi while they take care of Rhinosaur. Liking how the Rangers care about his problems like good friends do, Masked Rider thinks that they’ll help him defeat the monster before he heads to Edenoi, but Cranston tells him that he and his teammates will defeat the monster themselves, as well as protect Earth from both Lord Zedd and Count Dregon. Ultimately, Dex agrees as he uses his emergency teleport to head out to his home planet.
Once he arrives, he learns from his grandfather King that they’re fully aware of their dire situation and that they’re evacuating their citizens. However, Georell comes in and informs him that they’ll only be able to get a small fraction of their people away before The End arrives. While Lexian thinks that all is lost, Masked Rider ponders how there’s still a chance and that he’s willing to pay the cost. Back on Earth, the Power Rangers continue with their struggle against the Rhinosaur. Suddenly, it’s able to grow as our heroes are forced to summon their Ninjazords and initially form the Ninja Megazord in order to continue their tussle. As a brief struggle ensues, Tommy combines his Falconzord with his teammates’ combiner Zord in order to form the Ninja FalconMegazord. Back with Masked Rider, he comes across the massive being known as The End. With him fully aware of the legend concerning how it’ll explode once it consumes enough energy, Dex begins to channel all of the loose energy between Edenoi and his current location as he tries to hold the massive surge back as long as possible before he unleashes it and defeats the opposing entity. Realizing that the resulting explosion will claim his life, he contains the colossal energy build-up before he finally channels its big blow-up just right in order to rocket the entity towards the other side of the solar system.
From there, the people of Edenoi see the huge explosion as The End is finally defeated. Thankfully for Masked Rider, Zordon and Alpha 5 managed to teleport him to Earth via “pinpoint teleportation”, which was also accomplished by King Lexian. While Zordon commends him for his noble fight and selfless acts, he says that it’s time for his grandfather to head out. While Dex wants him to stay in order to introduce him to his adoptive family, Lexian fades away as it’s revealed that it was a hologram. As Masked Rider says that he’s caught between his two worlds, Zordon has him look into the Viewing Globe as they see the Ninja FalconMegazord battle it out against the Rhinosaur. Realizing that he hasn’t been gone for too long, Dex summons his Combat Chopper and heads out to help the Rangers. Masked Rider is able to distract the massive monster long enough for the Ninja FalconMegazord to blast it into defeat. Afterwards, Dex feels empty despite saving his home world and fulfilling his Earth-based responsibilities. From there, he’s then met upon by the Ninja Rangers and assumes that he’s just hungry. As such, he invites them over to the Stewart’s house in order for them to have dinner. And so, the comic ends with Prince Dex thinking about how he’s lucky to have lots of family and friends from two different worlds before wishing a safe journey for his royal grandfather.
Overall, this particular batch of Power Ranger comics mainly continues to produce standalone adventures just like the previous era and with interesting results. In terms of the adaptations to the franchise’s inaugural cinematic outing, it is odd that two different versions exist. They both do as good of a job as they can to translate the movie’s story onto the printed page. Both have moments where the drawn version has certain details that the photo version is lacking and vice-versa, in addition to both of them rearranging some scenes in order to differentiate themselves from each other and the film that they’re based on. Not to mention, the drawn version has a few missteps in terms of coloring, particularly a moment when not all of the proper Ranger colors are present for the team’s teleportation to Phaedos or near the end when the White Ranger suddenly has a golden cod piece. While the main solution would’ve been to have just made one over-sized drawn comic and include as many details as possible from the overall narrative that they’re able to fit in, both are perfectly adequate for what they are. The drawn version’s artwork is decently fine, the pacing is suitable throughout, and the key moments are nicely presented in order to display the overall storylines in a coherent fashion. As for the photo version, the screenshots are nicely arranged in order to present the movie as best as it can, the pacing is also adequately good, and it also presents its main narrative as efficiently as possible. All-in-all, it’s an odd circumstance that’s worth a peak if you’re fans of the franchise. With Marvel’s first series, it contains mini adventures that could’ve been their own slightly fleshed out episodes. While each of these tales only had a limited amount of space to work with due to each issue containing two stories, I will say that the most unique narrative out of this particular batch is “Vortex”, since it takes a clever spin to the franchise formula and has a monster that isn’t a regular creation that can get defeated in normal fashion. Instead, it’s a vast void of sentience that longs for friendship before the Rangers comes up with a compromising way to satisfy its request while also saving the day. As for the remaining stories within this series, they have their fair share of silly pseudoscience, life lessons to teach its young audience and the fun action that the franchise is known for. For what they’re worth, they’re perfectly suitable for this series. They serve their purpose and help to entertain its main fan base with the signature energy, drive and thrill that they’ve come to know. As for the various art styles, some are better than others. While the artwork in “Playing Dirty” felt like a good blend of professionalism and a cartoon-esque style and “Vortex” presented a good eerie mood once our heroes found themselves inside the monster, “Most Valuable Slayer” had a 1990s sketchy look that didn’t entirely work for me, mainly when it came to human faces. There were also a few blunders that I noticed, such as the beginning of “Glutton For Punishment”. Even though Katherine had become the new Pink Ranger by this point, she was somehow given Kimberly’s hair style. Not to mention, Baboo and Squatt were actually given each other’s names over in “A Simple Misunderstanding” and even in “Revenge Of The Nerd”. I understand that this show could get very formulaic, but it shouldn’t have been hard to notice certain details like that. Despite my minor gripes, this was still a joyful read that’s worth hunting down for yourself. Moving on to the five Ninja Ranger short stories, I have a mixed feeling about them. The first two issues start off decently enough with entertaining individual stories. Seeing how it started off with Tommy followed by Kimberly & Aisha, you would assume that Billy, Rocky and Adam would get their own short stories within the remaining series. However, Issue 3 presented an interesting tale once Fabian took a break. Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa gaining access to the Power Rangers’ prior Zords, bringing back the Dark Rangers with a new roster and even keeping the old Zords by the end became very fascinating to me. It sets up a unique conflict for our main Rangers to deal with, especially since the harrowing perils that could come from it would be something unique. Alas, this was never followed up on in either this series or even in the main show. As such, Issues 4 & 5 went back to the old formula and tried to have lessons to learn. “Loyalty” had a neat idea where the populace would begin to doubt their heroes due to the destruction and chaos that comes with their duties. However, the situation gets resolved too quickly due to the story’s small length. It’s also a similar problem for “Weather Witch”, since Emily is quickly thrusted into her magical turn as a villain before she gets swiftly turned back and learns her lesson of knowing how to trust the right people. Because these stories are shortened due to having to share their comic space with another Saban property, they don’t have the necessary room to get fleshed out in order to leave an effective impact. Despite my grips, they’re not horrendously presented and are still packed with the kind of artwork that effectively captures the franchise’s unique energy. As such, they’re still worth checking out in order to judge for yourself. Finally, we have our lone issue of Masked Rider. It was a uniquely distinctive change of pace to follow a different character in the lead while the Rangers served as supportive guest stars. While the heroic teenagers mainly laid low until the climax, the comic presented Prince Dex within a likable state and is similar to Aquaman in the fact that he’s a man of two worlds who’s grown to care about the regular humans yet can revisit his original home whenever he wants. While his human family gets just enough panel time to get some representation, his main villains get a fair amount of time to show what they’re able to do within their villainous space. As for the true monster of the piece, The End gets presented as a towering and imposing creature capable of bringing doom to whatever inhabitable planet crosses its path, which happens to be Edenoi for this story. Ultimately, both Masked Rider and the Power Rangers get to save the day upon their respective grounds. While the Rangers rightfully take care of monster business on Earth, the comic makes sure that its main character deals with the central threat back on his home planet. While the timing of Zordon and Alpha 5 teleporting him away from his self-sacrifice can be a little suspect, it doesn’t deter from an otherwise enjoyable book that’s packed with fun characters, nice action, good narrative pacing and some enjoyable artwork that didn’t seem out of place at any point. For a show that was originally a Power Rangers spinoff, it was an interesting way to expand the universe and see other heroes that our main group could’ve crossed paths with. While it is somewhat of a bummer that it didn’t get much past a two-season show, at least its lone standalone comic brought enough of an energetic punch that can be enjoyed on its own. As such, it’s also worth tracking down for your collection. In the end, Marvel’s time with the franchise brought the series some mainstream recognition within the comic book side of things, especially given the company’s historical recognition when compared to a small-scale operation like Hamilton Comics. While not really making any noteworthy contributions to the TV series beyond the two different adaptations, the tales that were woven under their roof still captured enough of the show’s signature energy and feel to make them enjoyable reads. Both Hamilton and Marvel’s contributions (minus Hamilton’s mini-promo comic, the dual adaptations of the 1995 movie and Masked Rider’s book) have been collected into the first volume of Boom Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Archive, so they’re readily available for anyone who wants to take a trip back to a different time and a far-humbler period in the franchise’s history. Ultimately, it should be a Morphinominal time for all.
The initial Mighty Morphin era has come to a close and it’s time for the property to have a change of characters, outfits, Zords, enemies and especially comic book publishers. Come back next time as we see the franchise find different places to publish its new comic book materials, while also seeing different versions of the team past the initial three-season show. From Image to Acclaim and then to TokyoPop, the franchise will look to grow & evolve while telling some unique stories upon the printed page. A wild ride across the Morphin Grid awaits us in the next historical chapter, so may the Power keep protecting you until then.
Power Rangers (created by Haim Saban & Shuki Levy) is owned by Hasbro.
