Hello, my friends. What started as a creation within the mind of Shotaro Ishinomori and became a Tokusatsu standard on Japanese TV since 1975 would find a new form of life following an overseas business trip from Haim Saban. From there, he and Shuki Levy would create their own media franchise that would go on to become an enduring icon for 1990s kids. Even with the numerous comic book publishers that’ve had their time with this series, there’s a stockpile within one particular publisher that’s primed for my critical examination. On that note, I welcome you to a brand-new review series called…
In April 2024, it was announced that Boom Studios would be ending its comic book run with the franchise after eight years. After celebrating the overall series’ 30th Anniversary by covering its comic license within the hands of Hamilton, Marvel, Image, Acclaim, Tokyopop and Papercutz, I figured that there’s no better time to begin a lengthy, yet Morphinominal journey one volume-sized step at a time. For this string of reviews, I’ll be tackling the publisher’s numerous releases with the property by order of release.
We specifically begin our narrative quest with Issue #0, which came out in January 2016 and would sell 41,042 copies. Serving as our initial core staff within this line would be Kyle Higgins in the writer’s chair, Hendry Prasetya taking on the credited role of illustrations and Matt Herms working on the colors. So how does this particular periodical kick off Boom Studios’ near-decade run with the franchise? Let’s summon our critical Zords and find out.
We open upon a grisly scene where the Power Rangers have fallen at the hands of Tommy Oliver a.k.a. the Green Ranger, much to the devious delight of his master as Rita Repulsa intends to have him help her remake the world in her image. Fortunately, it’s revealed to have been a dream as Tommy is riding with Jason Lee Scott who asks him if he’s alright since he hasn’t said anything for several minutes. However, Oliver is mentally haunted by Rita who tells her former Ranger that his new friend is getting suspicious. Tommy assures him that he’s just a little spaced out and is having some “first-day nerves”. Jason reminds him that they’ve been going to school for several weeks now, to which Oliver says that the nerves come from him having just been included into their team. Scott assures him that he’ll adjust into his new role just as they arrive at Angel Grove High School. Just then, they’re met upon by Trini Kwan and Billy Cranston with the former telling the group that their A.P. History test is today while the latter mentions that he’s made some review notes for their group back on Friday. Shortly afterwards, Zack Taylor & Kimberly Hart arrive and learn about the upcoming test. With Rita weighing heavily on his mind, Tommy isn’t able to focus on his friends’ conversation as Zack asks him if he’s alright, to which Oliver says that he is and that he’ll catch up with them later.
We then have a quick scene at her moon-based palace where Repulsa meets up with Finster and learns that he’s just created a new monster called Bullzer. Back at Angel Grove High, our heroes are in the middle of their history class as Kimberly discreetly sends Tommy a text message that allows him to have a small smile. Suddenly, the school alarm goes off as a female staff member comes in and tells the students of an incident that’s in progress. As such, they’re required to make their ways towards the gymnasium. With our heroes realizing the monstrous threat that’s now upon their city, they all manage to slip away and spot Bullzer terrorizing Angel Grove as a gigantic monster. From there, they proceed to morph into their uniforms while summoning their Zords.
Back with Bullzer’s destructive rampage, it suddenly spots a bridge and heads over to attack it. Just then, the being gets attacked by the Power Rangers within the Dragonzord and the fully unified Megazord. Kimberly then asks her teammates if they know what they’re up against, to which Billy deduces their foe as a “sort of modified bull” with dense armor plating. Jason then tells his teammates that they have to lure the monster away from the bridge, yet Tommy tries to attack Bullzer head-on with his Dragonzord. However, Rita mentally tells him that this short-sighted tactic wasn’t smart for him to do. Back in the Megazord, Cranston realizes that they have to get within Bullzer’s armor plates as they manage to subdue the creature before Scott tells Oliver to attack the being with his Zord’s tail. However, he’s struggling to operate the controls as Repulsa continues to mentally taunt him by saying that his teammates are counting on him and that he’s not good enough without her. Fortunately, Tommy is able to power through and use the Dragonzord’s tail drill to defeat Bullzer. However, he’s not able to regain control over his Zord as its tail causes some damage to the bridge and threatens to send a pair of occupied cars into the water. Fortunately, Kimberly manages to detach her Pterodactyl Zord from Megazord and use it to save those patrons.
Later, the team is at the Command Center as Tommy says that he doesn’t know what happened other than his Zord’s controls locking up on him. He then says that maybe Alpha 5 could run some tests in order to check on its functionality, but Jason berates his teammate for not following his orders since they had a plan and he ended up putting some innocent people in danger. Oliver begins to argue, yet Zordon manages to break it up as he reminds Scott of his duties as the team’s leader, which includes making sure that his teammates are able to understand their “operating tactics and procedures”. He then tells Tommy that because he’s their newest member, he should be asking questions whenever he’s uncertain about something. Zordon then reminds his team that they should be nervously alert despite Oliver delivering the key strike in their recent battle. With Rita’s vast history upon the Green Power Coin, they must take any lesson from their victorious battle and prep themselves for whatever vengeful act their enemy has in store for them. And so, the issue ends at night with Scorpina recovering a black crystal from the water and returning it to Rita. She assures her master that she didn’t have any trouble acquiring it from within the wreckage before asking what it is exactly, to which Rita says that it’s their “new beginning”.
Now that we’re all set up, let’s finally delve into the series’ opening storyline. Issues 1-4 were published from March to June 2016 before all five issues would eventually be collected into a Volume 1 trade paperback and came out in September. In terms of individual sales, Issue #1 was the second-highest selling comic of March 2016 with 119,536 copies sold. Issue 2 was able to sell 58,976 copies in April, Issue 3 had 38,537 copies sold in May, while Issue 4 was able to move out 33,845 copies in June. In terms of the Volume 1 TPB, 2,354 books made their way into customer hands in September. As for how the initial chapters of “Green Ranger: Year One” were handled here, let’s allow the critical power to protect us as we dive in.
We begin with Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmeier and Eugene “Skull” Skullovitch taping an episode of their own online show called Ranger Station. In their episode, Bulk offers a recap on what’s been going down within Angel Grove. In particular, it all began when Rita Repulsa led her initial invasion upon the world in order to conquer it. While that day initially delivered “an age of crisis” upon the globe, it also led to the debut of Angel Grove’s signature superhero team known as the Power Rangers. Even though their actual identities, the source of their powers and the place where they keep their Zords is unknown to them, Bulk & Skull have their own theories. Bulk then says that Rita’s own “monsters and minions” were ultimately no match for our heroes, so she decided to fight fire with fire by unleashing her own Green Ranger against them. Even though the opposing figure and his Dragonzord looked nigh-unstoppable, our heroes eventually found a way to defeat him. It’s then revealed that it’s been two days since the monster battle from Issue Zero since they managed to record their own footage of the incident where the Megazord and the Dragonzord ultimately destroyed Bullzer. From there, Bulk & Skull decide to ask several citizens about their opinions on the Green Ranger joining forces with the Power Rangers. While some of the populace (which includes Billy and Trini) appreciate the team’s newest member, a few others are skeptical since the Dragonzord did cause some damage to a bridge. Eventually, Bulk and Skull try to ask Tommy about all of this, along with what the Power Rangers mean to him.
Fortunately, Kimberly is able to help him out of his situation as Oliver says that he’ll ponder their question and get back to them. After Bulk and Skull head out, she assures him that those two are ultimately harmless before he mentions how he plans on going to “the place” in order to take care of some training. She agrees to join him on it and then suggests for them to go get some coffee afterwards, to which he takes her up on her offer.
We then shift over to a class in progress where Zack is sleeping in the middle of a lecture while Jason tries to wake him up due to his snoring. Unfortunately, their teacher named Mr. Earls catches Taylor as he apologizes due to not getting enough sleep last night. However, their educator responds to his drowsy display with a single detention sentence. When Scott tries to defend his friend over the seemingly unfair nature of his punishment, Mr. Earls then proceeds to give him detention as well. Later, our original five heroes are at lunch together as Zack tells his friends about how he and Scott wound up in detention together. Jason then asks him about his whole “not sleeping thing”, to which Taylor says that he was only up doing some reading. Trini then tells him that while he and Scott serve their sentence, she and Billy will look over the Dragonzord’s diagnostics before he then tells Kimberly that he hopes to learn why it locked up in battle and that none of them knows what it’s like on the inside. Meanwhile, Tommy has gotten his lunch and is trying to find a place to sit. During this, Rita continues to mentally taunt him, especially when they spot a student watching footage of the recent monster fight. He then tells her that he won’t be broken since he’s stronger before he then comes across his teammates. He tells them that even though he doesn’t have the same lunch period as them, he managed to excuse himself from homeroom to meet with his advisor. Just as he’s about to join his new friends however, the bell rings as they’re forced to head back to class while Oliver ends up sitting by himself.
Later, Jason and Zack are being interviewed by Bulk as they tell him that while the Power Rangers are a team, Rita also has her own massive squad. As such, they don’t see it as a bad thing that the Green Ranger has switched sides. When Farkas then asks them if the Rangers know that they can trust him, they tell him that while they’re taking that risk, they believe that everyone is allowed a second chance and that their belief in their new comrade is good enough for them. Over on her moon base, Rita holds her newly acquired Dark Crystal in front of Scorpina, Babbo and Squatt as she tells them that it’s not presently able to sustain a powerful connection. Even though Scorpina asks her if embedding the crystal within Bullzer helped, Repulsa says it actually got some chaos energy and a good internal charge from the same Dragonzord that destroyed the creature. However, they’ll need more energy in order for it reach its full strength. Over at Angel Grove High, Jason and Zack are serving their detention as Scott quietly tries to ask his teammate about what’s going on with him, especially given his newfound dodgy behavior. Taylor assures him that it’s just some minor stuff at home before he shifts their conversation towards their Ranger Station interview with Bulk and asks him if he truly meant what he said about their new teammate, even reminding him that Zordon didn’t actually ask them about their comrade joining their ranks. Jason does admit that he’s a little bothered by that notion, but he still believes in Zordon’s faith upon them, especially Tommy.
From there, we shift to a major crisis within Angel Grove as the Green Ranger tries to save some civilians from the Putty Patrollers while the Pink Ranger uses her Pterodactyl Zord to fend off a monster. Fortunately, she’s able to break off from her confrontation long enough to provide her teammate with some cover fire. While Zordon then commends them for their tactic, he then tells Tommy that he’s running out of time to guide his group of somewhat-injured civilians to safety. With Oliver staring down two paths (one with Kimberly’s aerial fight against the monster and the other with a seemingly open pathway), he decides to guide his people upon an evacuation route. However, they don’t get too far before they’re met upon by a large group of Putties. As the Green Ranger tries to fight them off, Rita manages to mentally taunt him about how despite doing “the only thing” he’s good at, it won’t be enough. As the Putty Patrollers attack the civilians, Repulsa tells him that he’ll fail the people when it really matters. From there, it’s revealed that it was all a simulation since Zordon placed Tommy and Kimberly in a personally created pocket dimension for their training. He then takes his defeat hard since he led some people right into an ambush, but she reminds him that this was his first try and that this whole exercise was “an impossible mission”. He then asks her what that’s supposed to mean, to which Zordon comes in and says that their training sequence was purposefully meant for them to fail and thus, it’s meant to properly gauge how they handle certain defeat. He then says that their actions as a Power Ranger will be a major difference and that no matter what nigh-impossible odds they’ll confront, their drive to protect innocent people must never falter and that Oliver passed in that aspect. However, Tommy wants to run the training simulation again instead of going to get some coffee with Hart.
Later, he returns home and climbs into bed as he wonders about Skull’s earlier question on what the Power Rangers mean to him. However, he doesn’t get much time to ponder that question as Issue 1 ends with him getting confronted by Scorpina and gets held up at blade point by her Scorpion Fin.
Issue 2 opens with Billy and Trini inside the Dragonzord as Cranston examines its I/O sensors. Kwan then realizes that they’ll need to gather its data stream along with its cockpit commands before comparing the computations between them. As they head up to the cockpit, she notices his own worry and asks him about it, to which he says that he already knows about how their own Zords worked and that he was unsure what it would be like within Tommy’s own Zord since he thought that it would be made up of “dark talismans and rusty chains”. She then says that just because Rita gave Oliver his powers doesn’t mean that everything associated with it is automatically “dark & grisly” before assuring her teammate that their new comrade has far more in common with them. She then receives a suspicious response from Billy as she asks him about it, to which he expresses his belief that Tommy has more in common with his teammates in terms of their good-looking appearances as well as being “another fighter”. Trini assures Cranston that there’s more to their team than just being fighters, especially since they’ve all learned from Billy. She then says that she appreciates him due to his knack for finding the tricky answers to various situations and that the whole team is better because of him. From there, they proceed to get back to work on the Dragonzord’s sensors while the whole mechanical being is still submerged beneath the ocean.
Back at his house, Tommy gets demanded by Scorpina to relinquish his Power Coin or else she’ll execute him. They briefly get interrupted by Mrs. Oliver who’s right outside his room as Scorpina threatens to involve his mother, to which Tommy forces the Scorpion Pin from his neck, activates his communicator watch’s teleportation function and grabs Scorpina’s wrist as they then find themselves within the middle of a forest. She then grabs onto his communicator and crushes it in order to prevent him from calling for help before he manages to morph into his Green Ranger uniform. They then proceed to fight each other for a bit before Scorpina seemingly disappears. However, she reappears behind him and slashes his back before he soon discovers that she has some Putty Patrollers waiting to confront him.
Meanwhile at the Angel Grove Karate Dojo, Jason has finished teaching his children’s class for the day before he’s then met upon by Kimberly. When asked what’s up with her, she says that she just needed to get out of the house due to her parents arguing with each other along with Tommy deciding to continue his training over getting coffee with her. Scott then asks her if things are OK between her and Oliver, to which she says that she’s busy with her own things and that she doesn’t want to mess up their team-based chemistry in addition to her thinking that Tommy doesn’t really like her. She then changes the subject by complimenting Jason for his success as a karate teacher, to which he says that he’s able to channel their own “stuff” into teaching his excited kids. He then decides to go have some coffee with her before he’s then met upon by his Sensei who also compliments him on how well the children take to his lessons before she then asks him about Oliver. Specifically, she previously noticed some Wadō-ryū within his sparring style and has become interested in having Scott bring him in so that he can implement it within his advanced class. Jason says that he’ll think about it before his communicator beeps and mentions that he and Kimberly are running late for some event. As they excuse themselves, they learn from Zordon that Tommy needs their help.
While the Green Ranger attempts to fend off the Putty Patrollers, Rita observes all of this while she tells Baboo and Squatt that Oliver’s need to go down fighting and him willing to engage within “a one-man war” is why she initially chose him to become her Green Ranger in the first place. She then says that Tommy is unaware of how every single strike that he delivers allows her Dark Crystal to grow slightly stronger before its “Green Chaos Energy” ultimately smites not only himself, but the rest of the Power Rangers as well. Baboo then asks her if Scorpina would unintentionally screw up her plan by swiping the Green Power Coin, yet Repulsa says that it’ll provide them with a much-sooner victory. Back with Oliver, he gets subdued by the Putties before Scorpina attempts to relive him of his Green Power Coin. Fortunately, a fully morphed Kimberly and Jason arrive in time as they use their Blade Blasters to fend her off. The Pink Ranger then proceeds to free her comrade from the Putties’ grasp while the Red Ranger manages to duel against Scorpina. Shortly afterwards, Zack arrives as the Black Ranger as Scott gets kicked into him while Scorpina says that they’ll all be worshipping “Earth’s true ruler” soon and that nothing they do will stop the impending Armageddon. Once he’s freed, the Green Ranger tries to go after her yet he’s unable to catch up.
Just then, Rita mentally intrudes on him and mentions how he shouldn’t beat himself over this before taunting him on how his teammates wouldn’t have bothered to save the Red Ranger if he was in the same situation and that Tommy will never be like Jason. Oliver says that he was outnumbered and that Scorpina crushed his communicator, yet Rita says that she’s his “biggest supporter” and doesn’t need to be convinced, yet she wonders what his comrades would think about it. Back with the rest of the Rangers, they manage to defeat the Putty Patrollers as Kimberly wonders why Tommy ran off from them while Zack gets curious as to why Oliver and Scorpina were out in the middle of the woods to begin with. Just then, Tommy returns and says that he teleported out here along with Scorpina due to her being within his actual house. Scott says that he wished that he and his teammates could’ve gotten here sooner (with Rita even mentally mentioning how this proves her point) before Oliver snaps and says that he got blindsided and did everything that he could, despite his assumption that his comrades would’ve handled this situation in a better way. Jason assures him that he did do everything that he could’ve done, yet Tommy doesn’t accept his excuse.
Later, the whole team meets up at the Command Center as they wonder what the point was for Rita to send someone into his home “and not turning it into a big thing”. Scott says that a full-scale assault won’t allow her to reclaim the Green Power Coin, while Taylor adds onto the fact that sending a lone person into Oliver’s house sends a sign to him about how far she’s willing to go if he refuses to cooperate. When Billy asks for Zordon’s opinion on this, he tells his team that he agrees with Zack in that Rita won’t stop until she gets Tommy’s Power Coin and that she’ll only get more extreme with her further tactics. As Oliver says that he won’t let Repulsa get her hands upon his Power Coin or the Dragonzord, Kimberly then asks Trini and Billy if they found anything wrong with his Zord. Kwan calmly allows him to do the explaining as Cranston says that its processors appear to be fully operational and functional, yet the Zord just stopped listening to Tommy, to which Rita mentally taunts Oliver about it being “an operator error”. Jason then asks why the Dragonzord would do that, to which Zordon tells his team that their Zords are connected to them and that they must be comfortable with each other in order for them to operate as one. As Repulsa continues to mentally taunt him, Tommy gets agitated from her constant nagging before he suddenly collapses to close out Issue 2.
Issue 3 begins within the Dark Dimension where Goldar is being held as Baboo and Squatt teleport inside in their attempt to feed him since they also mention that Rita will require his services soon. However, he refuses since he believes that Repulsa will never let him out after he failed to return the Green Ranger to her. We then transition to Tommy waking up at home as his mother informs him that he fainted in front of his friends. She also mentions how his pals wanted to stay put in order to make sure that he was fine, but she assured them that she could stay with him before she compliments her son for his new comrades and reveals that she’s aware of the fact that they’re Power Rangers. He’s stunned by this revelation, but she reassures him by mentioning that she’s still proud with what he’s been doing alongside his teammates. She even tells him that she’s OK if he decides to quit the team, yet weirdly mentions how he’s “not cut out to be a hero”. Just then, it’s revealed that Rita was pretending to be his mother as she then looms large over him.
From there, it’s revealed to be a nightmare as he’s still in the Command Center where he regains his consciousness before Jason tells him that he simply passed out. Oliver is unsure as to what happened that caused him to collapse before Kimberly tells him to take it easy and has Alpha 5 go get him some water. As Tommy gets back onto his feet, Scott asks him if his fight against Scorpina and her Putty Patrol had anything to do with his situation, Oliver simply says that it could be the case. Trini then takes his pulse and feels that it’s fairly high before she gets permission from Zordon to run a power scan in order to make sure that nothing’s severely wrong with Tommy. Up on her moon palace, Rita is feeling her former Green Ranger losing control unbeknownst to his comrades. Baboo then mentions how she’s not linked to her Ranger anymore, to which she says that even though Oliver is no longer under her spell, she’s still in tune with the powers that she gave him. Scorpina then comes in to acknowledge her failure and that she’s willing to accept any punishment since she didn’t retrieve either the Green Power Coin or the Dragon Dagger, yet Repulsa doesn’t deliver any harsh sentence since she reminds her fellow fiend of her success with forcing Tommy to be pushed to his limit during their confrontation. On that note, it helped to fuel her Dark Crystal with even more Green Chaos Energy. Rita then brings up how one last attack will allow her crystal to become fully powered and even be able to open a portal. Scorpina then brings up how they don’t have Oliver’s Dragon Dagger, yet Repulsa says that they can still use “a” Dragon Dagger as a pair of Putties bring in the beaten remains of a fellow Putty before Finster comes in with a cauldron and says that they can make a copy of said blade that they can use, even though it’ll be inherently unstable and won’t last. From there, he pours some molten liquid into the mashed-up Putty before Rita utters a chant and uses some dark magic in order to create her own specific item.
Back at the Command Center, Tommy has taken his place upon an examination machine while being overseen by Trini. She then asks him what he thinks of Angel Grove ever since he moved into town, to which he says that he likes it pretty well before mentioning that he previously lived in Boston, London and Philadelphia prior to settling down within his current setting. She then admits her jealousy towards him visiting various parts of the world as he asks her whether she’s not completely satisfied with her life as a Power Ranger. She tells him that even though she enjoys working as a Ranger, she does say that there’re are other ways to help out people before she brings up her dad who previously worked in Taiwan as a doctor, yet he stopped practicing when he came to Angel Grove. Despite that, she still recalls what it was like for her father and thinks that she could possibly venture onto that path herself. From there, she asks Oliver if he remembers anything while he was under Rita’s spell. When he doesn’t say anything, Kwan gets her answer before mentioning that her dad became a doctor because of his time within the military and that it took him a long time to get over what he saw. Suddenly, they hear a loud noise as they head outside alongside Alpha 5 to investigate.
Just then, their robotic comrade gets stepped on and crushed by a Dragonzord that’s operating on its own. Tommy and Trini proceed to morph before Oliver discovers that he’s not able to teleport into his Zord’s cockpit. Kwan then proceeds to summon her Sabertooth Tiger Zord before she tangles with the rogue Zord. However, the Dragonzord smacks its opponent down with its tail before the Green Ranger tries to get his Zord under control by playing the familiar tunes from his Dragon Dagger. Unfortunately, he’s unable to calm his robotic being before it charges right towards him. From there, it’s revealed that the whole incident was another nightmare as Tommy mentions to Trini that it felt so real. She then tells him to lay back down while she checks her scans before coming across a major finding.
Meanwhile at a local diner, Zack tells his fellow teammates how it’s a problem that something else seems to be going on with their new comrade. Kimberly says that Oliver is going through a lot of things and since she’s already tired of constantly hearing all of this before, she tells him to explain what he wants to say about it. Taylor mentions how they don’t know who their teammate is at all aside from arriving in Angel Grove before Rita picked him as their opposing adversary. Hart says that Tommy was brainwashed into becoming Repulsa’s Ranger, yet Zack says that they’re not sure with how much he’s still under their foe’s control, especially given his snapping action against Jason in the forest. From there, he mentions how he’s scared due to them knowing “where his head is at”. Hart then criticizes him for not giving Oliver a chance, to which Taylor says that they have to be careful around him, to which even Scott agrees in the fact that something is going on with their new comrade. He also adds that they’ll help their friend out, but only after said comrade admits that he has a problem. Shortly after Billy mentions how he’s just fixed their teammate’s communicator, Trini contacts them and says that they have to return to the Command Center in order to reveal her findings to them.
Later, she displays a Power Scan where she explains that it represents the molecular energy patterns within their bodies and is based on their own distinctive energy signatures, along with their connection to the Morphin Grid. She then presents Jason’s scan from several weeks ago as an example of what their normal readings look like before she presents Tommy’s erratic findings. Cranston then says that there shouldn’t be this much disparity despite the Green Power Coin not being connected to the Morphin Grid, to which Zordon tells his team that they still don’t know the full extent of the Green Ranger’s powers and it’s possible that Oliver’s body is still attempting to get used to it. Zack then asks him if Rita’s mind control is still in play, to which Zordon says that he’s not sure without further tests. However, Kimberly doesn’t buy Repulsa still having a grasp upon their comrade’s psyche since she only gave him his Power Coin. When Hart then mentions that Tommy would be able to tell if their foe was still messing around within his mind, he’s initially silent before he admits how it’s been going on ever since they initially broke her spell. He says that he originally thought that they were simple flashes, but they became far-more than that where it seems like Rita has been talking to him. He goes on to mention how he thought that he could control it, yet he’s seeing things within battle, to the point where he imagined seeing his Dragonzord coming to life and attacking the Command Center an hour ago. Zack then asks Oliver what this form of Repulsa is saying to him, to which he says that she wants him back and that he’s “nothing”. As Taylor discovers how this has been going on unbeknownst to him and the rest of their team, Jason asks Tommy why he kept this a secret from them. Oliver says that he was only trying to get a handle on it, but Scott tells him that he’s putting his teammates at risk for not saying anything and that he’s not giving his comrades some necessary trust towards him before saying that he shouldn’t be in the field. Suddenly, the alarm goes off as the Viewing Globe shows the Dragonzord operating without Tommy’s control. Within the cockpit, it’s revealed that Scorpina is in command thanks to the newly formed Dragon Dagger and its inserted Dark Crystal. She then proceeds to send it towards its final assault as Issue 3 ends with her targeting an innocent cruise ship at night.
Issue 4 kicks off with the Scorpina-controlled Dragonzord capsizing the cruise ship and allowing some more Green Chaos Energy to further energize the Dark Crystal within her faux Dragon Dagger. With the devious gem nearing its complete strength, she proceeds to send the Zord towards a populated coastline. Back at the Command Center, our heroes take notice of this incident on the Viewing Globe as Kimberly is puzzled as to how Scorpina is able to control Tommy’s Zord despite not possessing his Dragon Dagger, to which Zordon says that Rita’s history with the Dragonzord is vast and that through it, she’s found an alternative way. While Zack angrily mentions how it’s yet another thing that they didn’t know Repulsa was still able to control, Trini reminds Billy that he has access to one of the Dragonzord’s cameras before asking him if he can tap into its sensors in order to learn how this is happening. Cranston is able to do so as he picks up a power reading from the cockpit, though it’s not from the actual Dragon Dagger. Instead, his findings come back as odd and beyond the scope of their own sensors. Oliver asks if they can teleport into the cockpit, but Alpha 5 says that Scorpina is interfering with their teleportation frequencies. Jason then tells Oliver that he’s in no shape to return to the field and that he and the rest of the team will deal with this. Scott then promises to talk with him about how they can handle future events as a team along with him controlling his powers when they get back. From there, the original five proceed to morph into their uniforms before summoning their Dino Zords.
Over in San Francisco, Scorpina is using the Dragonzord to tear the city up. Fortunately, our heroes arrive as the Blue Ranger manages to wrap his Triceratops Zord’s power-link chain cables around the Dragonzord before dragging it out into the Pacific Ocean. Over in her moon palace, Rita is observing all of this before she orders Finster to create some monsters to help Scorpina out, especially since their plan won’t come to fruition if there’s no destruction. As such, he creates a trio of monsters before she sends them out to battle. Soon enough, the newly formed shark monsters attack the Dino Zords while freeing the Dragonzord. While Zack, Billy and Trini are forced to engage the opposing shark beasts, Kimberly and Jason manage to confront Scorpina in order to prevent her from resuming her destruction.
Back at the Command Center, Tommy is overseeing all of this before Repulsa mentally taunts him again about how it was only a matter of time before his comrades learned his secret. Fortunately, Oliver remembers his earlier conversation with Kwan about how when somebody goes through a terrible ordeal, ignoring the problem only makes it worse. As such, he’s finally confronting his personal problem by not letting her do the majority of the talking. He also says that she’s not actually talking to him and that he’s only allowed her to exist within his subconsciousness through his own self-doubt and insecurity, fueled by his own dragon powers. He then says that she’s everything that he hates about himself and that he was too afraid to let go, but he’s done doing that as she proceeds to vanish. Afterwards, he tells Zordon that he can’t sit on the sidelines anymore and that because he still has the genuine Dragon Dagger, he’ll be able to regain control over his Zord. Even though Zordon warns him that it’s not certain if his plan will be effective or even if he’ll be able to fend off his personal hallucinations, he’s not worried about the latter and that his teammates are in need of his help. Zordon then says that while he can’t stop him, he reminds Tommy that he would be defying Jason’s orders. However, Oliver says that he has to before he proceeds to morph.
Back on the Pacific coastline, the Tyrannosarus and Pterodactyl Zords continue to fend off the rogue Dragonzord when the Green Ranger suddenly teleports onto the top of his Zord. Just as the Red Ranger notices his teammate’s arrival, Tommy attempts to regain control by playing the familiar tune on his Dragon Dagger. Unfortunately, Scorpina is still in control as she’s able to shake him off. Fortunately, the Pink Ranger is able to catch Oliver with her Zord. Back with Billy, Zack and Trini, they’re struggling to deal with the shark monsters as the Yellow Ranger says that they have to combine their Zords in order to form the Megazord. While Jason is initially hesitant about this notion, Tommy asks for some trust since he has a plan. As such, Scott tells his fellow Rangers to bring their Zords together. Meanwhile, Kimberly flies Oliver over to the Dragonzord before he leaps up and smashes his way into the cockpit where he proceeds to fight Scorpina while his comrades combine their Zords in order to create the Megazord. From there, they summon the Power Sword in order to finally take care of the shark monsters. Back inside the Dragonzord, Scorpina has the Green Ranger on the ropes. Fortunately, he’s able to pull out the faux Dragon Dagger and smash it onto the console, allowing him to finally defeat her and regain control over his Dragonzord.
Despite their victory, the team isn’t in a celebratory mood within the Command Center as Jason berates Tommy for disobeying his orders. Oliver says that they were in trouble and that he was able to help them out of their situation. Because his action worked out and that they’re still standing, he deserves a pass. However, Zack tells him that he couldn’t even initially trust what he was seeing. Tommy assures his comrades that he got himself under control and that he’s no longer seeing any hallucinations. He also adds onto the fact that the faux Dagger and the Dark Crystal may have affected his powers, so now things are good now that they’re destroyed, and they should instead focus on imprisoning Scorpina within a pocket dimension. However, Scott tells him that they’re done with his recent action before Taylor escalates the tension by telling Oliver that he’s fed up with him telling the whole team what they should and shouldn’t do. From there, the Red & Black Rangers find themselves in a shouting match with the Green Ranger with Tommy saying that he’s done being treated like an outcast. Unbeknownst to our heroes, a tied-up Scorpina notices that Oliver’s outbursts are fueling the Dark Crystal. Jason then tells Tommy that he’s not putting the team in a good position with his actions before Oliver chastises his leadership skills. Just as he and Scott are about to come to blows, the Green Ranger’s rage manages to fully-energize the Dark Crystal as Alpha 5 warns the whole team that it’s forming a portal out of an energy signature that’s unknown to them. As such, the Rangers manage to summon their helmets in time before the portal unleashes a massive explosion that greatly damages the Command Center. As the Rangers stagger to get onto their feet, the Green Ranger thinks that this is another hallucination, but the Yellow Ranger says that it’s all real before they’re suddenly met upon by a giant monster that’s standing tall over them. And so, Issue 4 ends with the being shrinking down to regular size as it expresses its eagerness to smite every last one of them.
Even though that’s as much of the main storyline that we’re going to cover for this review, we’re not done yet. We also have an ongoing backup story that focuses on our favorite bumbling bullies called “The Ongoing Adventures Of Bulk & Skull”. Written by Steve Orlando, illustrated by Corin Howell and colored by Jeremy Lawson, let’s delve into the kind of hijinks that await both Farkas and Eugene throughout these initial five issues. We open within Principal Caplan’s office where he berates the familiar duo for their antics constantly getting on his nerves before he’s brought them into his office for their intention to bring in live animals for an upcoming debate. Suddenly, a staff member comes in and tells Caplan that a massive submarine sandwich order has come in at the front desk and that his name is listed on it. As the two adults head out to deal with it, Bulk and Skull manage to slip away as they heavily imply that they managed to put in the order in order to get out of their punishment. From there, they come across Kimberly and Trini talking to a friend named Roni who tells them about the Power Rangers having just rescued an out-of-control trolley before they head out. Miffed by his lack of self-importance, Bulk gets the idea of himself and Skull becoming Power Rangers themselves. We then shift ahead “many detentions later” to Ernie’s Juice Bar within the Angel Grove Youth Center where Bulk tells Ernie that he’s always giving Jason and his friends refreshments that’re “on the house” while claiming that he and Skull are “pillars of the community”, given the aforementioned thirty sandwiches that they donated to charity. Fortunately, Ernie tells them that the people they’re calling “dweebs” are actually cleaning up the town via the local recycling program while they’re campaigning for free drinks. Just then, they all catch a newscast about the Power Rangers currently fighting some “miming golems” as Bulk gets an idea as to how both he and Skull can get both Kimberly & Trini’s attention as actual heroes. Moments later, the two guys drive towards the giant monster fight before they approach a Putty Patroller wearing a trench coat & hat while casually reading a newspaper up on the sidewalk. However, Skull mistakes him as some bystander while Bulk just sees the being as a downtown shopper. They end up driving into a streetlight as it falls over and clobbers the Putty on the head as they finally realize what it is before Bulk tells his friend that it actually fits into their plan. They eventually manage to bring the being back to Skull’s house and tie it up within a recliner. Afterwards, Bulk mentions how they plan on using this Putty Patroller in order to defeat it in front of both Kimberly & Trini and present themselves as true saviors. However, he then tells Skull that they’ll need to look like actual heroes while doing so. Just as they’re about to use whatever’s at their disposal in order to give themselves proper outfits, they then wonder where they’ll fit their captured Putty.
Later, they drive back to the Angel Grove Youth Center with the Putty Patroller tied to the top of the car. They then spot Kimberly and Trini playing basketball with some fellow youths as they prepare to set their plan in motion. Before they have a chance to change into their outfits however, the Putty managed to rip out of its restraints and escape. With it confronting our heroines and their fellow friends instead of Bulk & Skull, our two guys decide to just get their uniforms and approach the being. Meanwhile, Kimberly and Trini find themselves in a bind since they can’t just morph into their Power Ranger suits in public and right in front of the same young people that they’re protecting. Suddenly, Bulk and Skull appear within their makeshift outfits. However, they end up fleeing in terror once the lone Putty Patroller initially chases after them before refocusing its efforts upon the female Rangers. Trini then asks her comrade if she has an idea in order for them to deal with this situation, to which Kimberly says that she’s come up with one. As they cower in fear, Skull mentions how their plan hasn’t gone as they had hoped before Bulk hopes that this kerfuffle will ultimately blow over. Meanwhile, our main heroines proceed to carry their plan out as Hart intentionally trips over a basketball in a certain way where it bounces off the backboard before Kwan makes sure that the deflected ball hits her in the back. From there, it ultimately slams into the Putty’s head hard enough to knock it out as the female Rangers are stunned that their plan actually worked. Afterwards, Bulk and Skull emerge to take the credit as the former says that their foe got scared of them. However, Trini notices some tape on them as the same one that’s also on the Putty Patroller before she discovers how this whole thing wasn’t coincidence. From there, this tale initially ends with our heroines walking off unimpressed from this failed hoax.
Finally, let’s get to one last tale that’s exclusive to Issue #0. With Mairghread Scott in the writer’s chair and Daniel Bayliss handling the artwork, let’s check out their own backup tale simply called “What Time Is It?!”. We begin with Rita overseeing the Power Rangers’ fight against Goldar as she proceeds to summon “the Power of Magic Mist” in order to separate the group. As a result, the original five Rangers are forced to fend off the hoard of Putty Patrollers while the Green Ranger ends up fighting Goldar all by himself. Fortunately, Jason powers his way through the mist and reaches Tommy in order to help him out. Scott then communicates with the rest of his teammates in that he needs some help, but Kimberly tells him that they’re having lots of trouble seeing anything within the abnormal mist while Trini adds onto the fact that it’s also screwing around with their locators. Fortunately, Billy is able to get enough time in order to triangulate his leader’s location. Not too long afterwards however, Repulsa has made Goldar grow to a titanic size in order to crush the Red & Green Rangers with his foot. Fortunately, Kwan managed to summon her Sabertooth Tiger Zord and shield her teammates before she retaliates.
From there, Billy, Kimberly and Zack have also summoned their Zords as they proceed to engage their foe as well. This was able to give Jason the time that he needed to summon his Tyrannosaurus Zord before they all come together in order to form the Megazord. Goldar says that it won’t be enough to stop him, yet Tommy plays a familiar tune on his Dragon Dagger before telling the fiend that Rita will be unable to rule the world since while he was able to fend his team off when they were separated, they’re “unstoppable” as a united team. And so, the story ends with the reveal that he managed to summon his Dragonzord as our heroes were able to surround Goldar with their massive mechs.
Overall, this was a compelling, dramatic and energetic start to the company’s run with this noteworthy franchise. In terms of narrative setting, it seems like the comic has the show’s initial events taking place within the mid-2010s and that once it got through the events of “Green With Evil”, it officially branches off from where the TV series originally went and officially begins weaving its own ongoing narrative. With Tommy Oliver, we go through his initial struggles that he’s enduring after having just joined the Power Rangers. Throughout the course of these five issues, there’s a sense of self-doubt that he’s allowed Rita to mentally fill and thus, gets to occasionally taunt him with the notion that he’s not good enough to fight alongside his new comrades. While she’s not physically active within this psychological warfare, she’s still a representation of his guilt for allowing her to manipulate him into becoming her agent of destruction. As a result of all of this, it causes a few members of the team to become extremely concerned with whether or not it was wise of Zordon to include him within their ranks. While Kimberly becomes Oliver’s most ardent defender, Jason and Zack each have their own reasons for being unsure if he’ll be able to perform his heroic duties without any major twist. As for Billy and Trini, their role within these issues mainly boils down to them investigating the causes for what’s preventing Tommy from properly helping them out in battle. Between these two, Kwan is the most self-assured and appears to have a good control over what’s going on with her life, while Cranston has his own self-doubt of not being traditionally good-looking. When it comes time for him to explain their findings within the Dragonzord, she gives him the confidence to share what they discovered to their teammates. It’s moments like this that make me wish that they had tried their hands at their own relationship within the original show since if you go back to it, then you’ll notice that the two of them do share some sparks of chemistry, not just from her translating his occasional technobabble. Either way, this moment from the second issue fills the reader with confidence in that they’ll potentially share some charming & fulfilling moments together and that it won’t be limited to the traditional power couple of Tommy & Kimberly. Getting back on track with Oliver, his character arc for these issues is one that sees him finally tackling and thus reestablishing control over his self-balance yet will lead to potentially devastating ramifications for the whole group given what’s transpired around him. As for Rita, we mainly get the catalyst for her plan to see our heroes wiped from existence. Even though we don’t see Repulsa in action too much since Scorpina mainly handles that duty on her own, the scheme is able to effectively build towards its devastating revelation due to Tommy unintentionally casting a huge cloud of doubt over himself because of his personal dilemma while Scorpina helps facilitate this master plan by getting physically involved in two key moments. With the Dark Crystal that gets continually powered by devious energy that’s emitted by different kinds of Green Ranger-related conflicts, we don’t get the full scope of what Rita has planned to put our heroes through. However, it’s more than made up by the fact that it’s able to exist within the background and slowly become powerful enough to bring a devastating being to Earth in order to give our heroes a major fight for the next batch of issues. This scheme combined with good pacing allows the series to have a good blend of the franchise’s signature silliness and some compelling dramatics that’re neatly tied together with strong development in order to make this series get off to a solid start and can serve as a nice jumping-on point for anyone who’s interested with delving into the franchise’s comic book run while also looking for some sophisticated storytelling. As for the artwork, it’s professionally handled and pleasing to the eyes. There’s a wonderful use of color range that makes every scene, moment and battle stand out to the reader. From bright and eye-popping to moody and serious, Herms is able to effectively use his palette to help Prasetya’s pencils stand out. Speaking of which, it’s professionally detailed and filled with enough passion-filled effort to help make the events of its story shine through. There’s hardly a need for a gradient background within the panels and when it does resort to just having colors behind its characters, they’re filled with striking motion. As for the principal players themselves, they’re easily recognizable and retain the familiar flair that they each originally had during the TV show’s initial run. In the end, the mainline narrative succeeds in helping Boom Studios get off to a solid start with a compelling story, classic characters and familiar action from both the street-level brawls as well as the titanic Tokusatsu tussles. Moving on to Bulk and Skull’s bumbling antics, their initial venture presents them with shades of their Season 1 days where not only were they largely unsuccessful bullies, but they constantly try to prove their worth in something that’s beyond what they’re actually able to do and wind up failing in embarrassing fashion. For what we see from them, their attempt to defeat a single Putty Patroller in front of our female Rangers and have them be impressed with their singular accomplishment is mildly outlandish yet fits in line with their silly and misguided efforts into showing others that they can do anything worthwhile. Their motivations are short-sighted as usual and serves as their own means to do good in a self-serving manner, while their extreme cowardice serves as a reminder to how over their heads they can get and how little they actually know about the subject that they claim to be experts at. As such, Kimberly and Trini have to save their bacon while being limited to their civilian guises, even though I question the method as to how they defeat the Putty due to them being able to recognize in the moment the various angles that the basketball would have to travel in order for them to save the day. Even though there’s still more of their bumbling antics yet to come, what was able to be included within this set felt satisfyingly self-contained and is backed by a brisk pace, good humor and artwork that’s colorful and semi-exaggerated, yet compliments the comedic nature of these two wayward youngsters. Finally, we have our secondary backup tale from Issue Zero. For what it is, it’s a simple story that shows how strong the teamwork and bond of our main heroes can be when facing fierce foes like Goldar. On their own, they’re effective fighters with their own physical and technological skill sets. When they’re together, they’ll ultimately send their villainous adversaries to their destructive end. For what’s essentially one big action scene, it’s presented very well as Bayliss’ artwork felt energetic and was wonderfully paced in order to let the events of this story be efficiently presented to its readers. In the end, these five issues allowed the L.A.-based company to get its eight-year run with the famous franchise off on a strong note as the main narrative allows its initial audience to get a more mature take on the familiar material, while still maintaining the heart and feel of the original TV program. Whether you decide to go after the individual issues or simply go after a trade paperback collection, they’re worth checking out in order to have a Morphinominal good time.
Next Time: We will ultimately return to the main series but before we do, our chronological release list has us coming across our first mini-series within this line. After she attempts to leave her heroic duties behind, our featured heroine will find herself drawn back into the whole ordeal once her folks get put into grave danger. In order for her rescue to get pulled off, she’ll need to bring some fellow friends with her along for the Morphinominal ride. Kimberly Hart will be going through perilous twists and turns within a six-part tale called “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink”.
Power Rangers (created by Haim Saban & Shuki Levy) is owned by Hasbro.
