Hello, my friends. Just like the real world, evil leaders and their overwhelming reign of terror may have their moments to impose their will unopposed. Fortunately, the power can protect you long enough for justice to start shining through within its ever-building glow. As for what our Morphinominal teenagers with attitude will now find themselves in and for how it played out upon my critical battlefield, that’s what we’re here to find out as I welcome you back to another entry of…
Even though our last entry saw us tackling a six-issue mini-series featuring the Pink Ranger, we’ve finally returned to the mainline series. As such, a proper recap is in order. During our trek through the first five issues, the Green Ranger had just joined the team after defecting from the devious space witch. Even though he’s free from her direct control, she’s been psychologically affecting him as his self-doubt loomed over him. Meanwhile, the actual villainess would use his combative stamina known as Green Chaos Energy and collect it into her Dark Crystal whenever he exerted himself in either physical combat or in emotional outbursts. Despite our heroes stopping a recent incident where Scorpina had used the Dragonzord to terrorize San Francisco, the Green Ranger would find himself in a heated post-battle argument with the Red & Black Rangers. This would fully energize the Dark Crystal and create a portal that would blow the Command Center up before a new foe emerged from it in order to engage our multi-colored cast of characters.
Issues #5-8 would be released from July to October 2016 and each managed to sell at least 20,000 copies. Issue 5 would have 28,505 books sold, while the 6th issue had 25,161 periodicals purchased. Issue 7 wound up with 23,244 copies bought while Issue 8 managed to sell 20,563 comics. All four issues would be collected into a Vol. 2 trade paperback which came out in March 2017 and wound up selling 28,254 copies. Kyle Higgins would continue to serve as the main writer, while Thony Silas & Bryan Valenzia have respectively handled the illustrations and coloring for the 5th Issue. Meanwhile, Hendry Prasetya and Matt Herms took care of those respective duties for Issues #6-8. As for how the series’ initial story arc known as “Green Ranger: Year One” handles its narrative while it reaches its midway point, let’s reenter the Morphin Grid and find out.
Issue 5 opens one month prior to Tommy Oliver’s arrival into Angel Grove, but the book doesn’t find itself starting off within said California municipality. Instead, it’s in Italy where the country’s Prime Minister tells reporters that his people have lived in fear of “moon witches and monsters” for too long. As such, he defiantly says that his country will no longer bow down to Rita Repulsa and that not only is she unable to break their will & spirit, there’s also nothing she can do to bring said dread onto them. During this, she’s watching this press conference from her moon-based palace before we then shift to “a short time later” where she responds by sending a towering monster based off of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man drawing after the Prime Minister. While the bodyguards attempt to escort the Prime Minister to safety, the monster is then met upon and attacked by the Power Rangers who’ve arrived in the Power Sword-wielding Megazord. However, the Vitruvian Monster recovers and strikes back before he goes after the Prime Minister. With the creature bearing down on Italy’s leader, Jason Lee Scott a.k.a. the Red Ranger leaps out of the Megazord and plunges his Power Sword into the massive being.
This manages to harm the monster just enough as Jason tries to help the Prime Minister escape, yet the leader isn’t willing to abandon his people. The Vitruvian Monster is able to rebound and is about to retaliate, yet Zack Taylor a.k.a. the Black Ranger manages to deliver the finishing strike with the Megazord’s own sword before he’s complimented by his onboard teammates. Once they all get to ground level however, the Italian crowd praises the Red Ranger much to Zack’s dismay.
Up on her moon palace, Rita notices this from her observation before Goldar informs her that the monster should’ve been armored and that it’s given language shouldn’t have been entrusted to Baboo & Squatt simply finding Leonardo Da Vinci’s quotes that they found on the internet. He then says that he’ll have Finster prep a new version of the creature, but Repulsa shoots that idea down and mentions how she has “a better idea”, especially with Taylor in her sights. Later, Zack is walking through Angel Grove before he’s ambushed by a group of Putty Patrollers. He initially fends them off before he tries to contact his teammates, but he ultimately gets overwhelmed and smothered by them before Goldar orders them to “take him” as they proceed to teleport him away.
Taylor then awakens within the imprisoning sector known as the Dark Dimension and discovers that his arms have been shackled. Just then, he’s approached by Rita as she assures him that she has no intention of harming him. Not only that, she also tells him that he still has his Power Coin before she frees him from his shackles and even says that he’s allowed to leave. Despite that, she would like to talk to him before she brings up his heroic action over in Italy and that she commends him for it since it’s the main reason that he & his team prevailed. He argues that it was simply “a team effort”, yet she brings up how he piloted the Megazord in the key moment while the Red Ranger ended up receiving all of the glory. She then tells him that if it hadn’t been for his crucial strike from inside the Megazord, her monster would’ve squashed both his team leader as well as the Prime Minister. This manages to strike a chord with Zack before she then offers to show him something, to which he agrees to as she creates a portal for both of them to use.
They then arrive at her moon palace before she tells him that she doesn’t want all of this “destruction and bad blood” between them, yet it’s Zordon who’s perpetuating all of this since he’s not giving anyone a choice in the whole matter. Taylor argues with the fact that she attacked Earth with her monsters, yet Goldar says that she didn’t make them big until Zordon had created Zords and that he doesn’t know about “the whole story”. Zack doesn’t believe him, yet Repulsa tells him that Earth’s people can reach their full potential if she’s allowed to become their leader. Taylor is skeptical about that, to which she tells him that his planet isn’t exactly “that great of a place” in its current existence, not including the destructive aftermath from their titanic battles. She then says that they can solve Earth’s problems and that he can “become more” as she reveals her intention to make him her Green Ranger, with her playing on his desire to lead and that they can join forces in order to create “a better world”. She even adds how she’s always believed that the Power Rangers should help people, yet it should be “the right Ranger” who delivers “the right guidance”. Zack asks her what her catch would be if he took the offer, to which she says that he would need to relinquish his current Black Ranger powers in order to properly receive “the unbelievable power” from the Dragon Coin. Taylor says that he would be turning his back on both Zordon and his teammates, yet she says that him making the world secure would let them understand that he was helping them. Zack then looks at his current Morpher and realizes that they should be doing more, to which Goldar begins to present him with the Dragon Coin.
Fortunately, Taylor had no interest in switching sides as he punches the fiend and acquires the coin. However, he immediately loses it as Rita zaps him with her magic wand and berates him for declining her offer. Zack then finds himself within Goldar’s grasp, yet he manages to free himself before teleporting back to Earth. Later, he meets up with Zordon and Alpha 5 in the Command Center in order to have a private conversation with them. He brings up Repulsa’s intention to have her own Power Ranger, yet Zordon wants some time to assess this situation along with her “capabilities” before they inform the rest of the team about this. Alpha 5 then shares some sympathy towards Zack for his harrowing experience, yet Taylor admits that he was tempted by the various things that she promised him. Zordon assures him that he’s human and that he has a commendable trait of hoping & wishing for the best towards the entire world, which is why he’s honored to have him as a Power Ranger. However, he also senses something else weighing on his Black Ranger to which Zack says that he wants to do more for the world and not necessarily by leading the team. As such, Zordon says that he’ll consider how they can properly carry this out especially since every action comes with some negative consequence. Later, Taylor meets up with his teammates at the local diner as Jason thanks him for his key action which wound up saving him and the Italian Prime Minster from grave harm. Scott then tells him that the Rangers aren’t who they are without him before he then has him order something to eat. From there, Issue 5 ends back on the moon palace as Rita tells Goldar that her Green Ranger will need to be a complete outsider before she begins to set her sights on Tommy Oliver. An ominous voice then warns them that he’ll ultimately leave their side and join forces with the Power Rangers. She then demands to know who dares to speak to her in this way, to which the mysterious being says that they’ll ultimately meet when she’s finally “ready to rule Earth” and that she realizes that he’s “right”.
Issue 6 begins within the destructive aftermath over in San Francisco before we shift over to Mrs. Oliver who’s watching some news coverage on this disaster area. After briefly wondering why they moved to Angel Grove, she then tells her son to get out of bed. When she reaches his bedroom however, she soon discovers that he’s not even in it.
We then shift over to the recently decimated Command Center where the Rangers are met upon by the same mysterious being who now stands before them due to the fully powered Dark Crystal as he introduces himself as the Black Dragon. Our heroes then draw their own weapons and prepare to engage him, yet the fiend unleashes a sonic shriek that not only causes them some auditory pain, but is also interfering with their connection to the Morphin Grid.
Kimberly Ann Hart a.k.a. the Pink Ranger manages to fire some explosive arrows from her Power Bow in order to distract the Black Dragon, which allows her teammates to recover and properly attack him. Unfortunately, he’s able to fend them all off with ease.
After getting blasted by a beam, Trini Kwan a.k.a. the Yellow Ranger tells Jason that they must retreat before it gets worse for them. While the Black Dragon picks Tommy up by his neck, Trini says that they can retreat to their pocket dimension since their teleportation system is still online. As such, Scott tells her to route all necessary systems there since the Command Center has been compromised and that they can’t let their foe follow them. As the Black Dragon begin to rip Oliver’s shield off from his outfit, Zack manages to strike the being with his Power Axe which frees the Green Ranger from his grasp. Jason then begins to teleport himself and his teammates into the pocket dimension, yet the Black Dragon is able to prevent Billy Cranston a.k.a. the Blue Ranger from escaping. After the fiend says that he only needs one of them, Billy tries to fight him yet gets blasted by the perp’s sonic shriek which causes him to get knocked out. Afterwards, the Black Dragon tells Repulsa that they’re ready.
Meanwhile, the other Rangers manage to teleport into the pocket dimension as they find the surrounding area in a ravaged state. Kwan explains that without Zordon, everything that had been built in this plane of existence during their last visit is falling apart. As the team tries to wrap their heads around what they just faced, they soon realize that Cranston isn’t with them. Taylor then recalls him helping Kimberly prior to them retreating before Tommy asks her if she saw him teleport, to which she says that she thought that he did. Trini then says that they have to return in order for them to rescue their comrade, just as Jason brings up a projection of the heavily-damaged Command Center which is being infiltrated by the Putty Patrollers. While Zack bemoans over them losing their connection to both Zordon and Alpha 5 along with them losing control of their base to a new foe, Hart asks Oliver if he recalls anything vital concerning Rita’s grand plan during his time under her command. He brings up Scorpina telling him that the Dark Crystal feeds on Green Chaos Energy, to which an agitated Taylor confirms that’s what created the destructive portal and that their new enemy is somehow tied to him. Tommy then angrily tells him that he doesn’t know how he’s tied to said being, to which Kimberly steps in to defuse their argument and reminds them that they’re friends along with the fact that one of their comrades is in peril. From there, Trini mentions how this is just as bad as every last situation that Rita has thrown at them before she wonders how they’re going to rescue Billy, Zordon and Alpha 5.
Back in the main reality, Repulsa stands over Alpha 5’s lifeless robotic body as she admits to the Black Dragon that she was skeptical towards his offer, yet this has exceeded her devious expectations despite them losing Scorpina in the massive explosion. He then informs her that most of the Rangers have fled into a pocket dimension and that they’ve rerouted their control systems there. Even though they’re not able to go after our heroes, he says that won’t need to before he removes the Blue Power Coin from Cranston’s Morpher and holds the Dark Crystal in front of it. From there, he fires a laser that goes through it and strikes the Power Coin. Back in the pocket dimension, Scott informs the team that they don’t have a single idea if either Zordon or Alpha 5 are still alive. Also, there’s no sign of Billy over at the Command Center to which Oliver realizes that he’s being held in the Dark Dimension. Just as Jason says that they must figure a way to save their teammate, he, Kimberly, Trini and Zack suddenly keel over in pain before a surge of power gets expelled from them. From there, Issue 6 ends with Tommy discovering that his comrades have been de-morphed and have now lost their connection to the Morphin Grid.
Issue 7 opens in the Dark Dimension as Cranston searches for his glasses within the fog-covered floor before he hears a scraping noise and demands to know who else is within his presence. It turns out to be the imprisoned Goldar who explains that he’s being punished for failing Rita and for losing her Green Ranger. Billy says that he’s failed her before and wonders how the aforementioned failure is any different, to which Goldar refuses to answer and tells him to worry about himself. Meanwhile, the Black Dragon has reached the Tyrannosaurus Zord and proceeds to bring it to life under his command. Over within the damaged Command Center, several Putty Patrollers manage to stack themselves onto each other before Baboo uses a flamethrower to melt them into one another in order to become the building’s newest wall. Meanwhile, Repulsa has a few other Putties place her throne onto the former spot of Zordon’s communication tube. After she sits down, she holds up Alpha 5’s head and tells him that he was blindly serving “the old sage” long past the point where he still knew what was remotely good for anybody. She then orders for Alpha 5’s body to get melted down in order to become her new lamp, unaware that the noble robot is still alive.
Back in the pocket dimension, Kwan hasn’t been able to figure out why she and most of her teammates have lost their ability to become Power Rangers. She hasn’t found any problem with their Morphers, yet she feels lost without Zordon, Alpha 5 or Cranston helping her. Jason assures her that they’ll figure this out before they rescue Billy, to which Trini discover that they’ve been cut off from the Morphin Grid while Oliver’s powers are connected in a way that’s different from them and that he still has his Green Ranger powers. Meanwhile, Tommy looks over the Command Center’s security footage which shows the moment that the fully-powered Dark Crystal creates the destructive portal that brought the Dark Dragon into their world. Hart then approaches him before he tells her that he defeated Scorpina, destroyed her fake Dragon Dagger and took the Dark Crystal before she told him that it feeds on Green Chaos Energy. Despite the warning, he then blames himself for getting into an argument with Scott & Taylor which fully energized the Dark Crystal and created the situation that they now find themselves in. He then says that he wanted to do a good job, to which she assures him that the entire team is aware of that despite them still “getting used to things”. She mentions how they were already a good team before, yet it takes time for people to get used to “new things”. With him being the only one amongst the team who’s still able to be a Power Ranger, she then assures him that he’ll have a chance to prove himself, Suddenly, Rita broadcasts an announcement to the entire world. With it being properly picked up within the various languages, she then proposes her message of “unity”. With their war amongst each other having gone on for too long, she then gives the world leaders a one-day deadline to completely stand down and give their allegiance to her. If not, then she’ll unleash her wrath. She then tells the populace that the Power Rangers won’t be coming to their rescue since not only has she defeated them, she’s also commandeered their Zords. From there, she once again tells every world leader to surrender within 24 hours or else she’ll take control of their nations by force.
Back in the pocket dimension, the Rangers were also able to see this broadcast as Kimberly wonders how Repulsa has gotten control over their Zords before Zack says that it’s because of the Dark Dragon. Oliver then asks if they’ve solved their power connection problem, to which Jason says that Trini has discovered an interference with their connection to the Morphin Grid and that Tommy’s own powers aren’t affected by it. Kwan adds how she doesn’t know where to start since Cranston would have a better idea for them to use and not only is he still captured, they can’t pinpoint where he’s being held. Oliver says that Billy is most likely being held in the Dark Dimension and that he wants to go save him before Scott asks him if he can get there. Tommy brings up how there’s a portal generator over in the Moon Palace and that as a result of her fortifying her position within their Command Center, there’s a good chance that there’s not as much security back at her main base. Taylor then reminds him that he’s not able to teleport there, yet Oliver has an idea on how he can reach his destination. Soon enough, he flies up towards the moon within his Dragonzord while Scott accompanies him on the mission. Shortly after they arrive and approach the Moon Palace, the Putties spot the approaching Zord and fire a defense cannon at it. Fortunately, the Green Ranger has the Dragonzord shoot some finger missiles at it before stepping on some fleeing Putties. He then gives Jason his Dragon Dagger and leaves him in charge of his Zord before he sneaks his way into the Moon Palace. Just as he reaches the portal generator, he’s then approached by the Black Dragon.
Back in the pocket dimension, Zack asks Trini if Zordon is still alive. She says that they’ve been cut off from him before and that energy isn’t able to be destroyed, yet she doesn’t have a single idea of what she’s looking for without Cranston by her side. He then tells her that she’s doing a fine job and that he wants her to remain calm, especially given their situation. She then begins to regret telling Scott that they should retreat and that they should’ve stayed in order to the Black Dragon, yet Taylor says that they would’ve been wiped out as a result. He then says that it’s easy for them to think how they should’ve done things differently, but they now have to “adapt” and “grind” in order to for them to reach a breakthrough. Suddenly, they start to get some good news as they receive a transmission from Alpha 5. Back on the moon, Jason continues to blast away at the Moon Palace’s defenses with the Dragonzord’s finger missiles. Meanwhile, Tommy gets struck by the Black Dragon and gets sent flying across a great distance. The fiend then spots the looming Dragonzord and proceeds to grow in size, to which he delivers several crippling blows which launches it along with a newly-unconscious Scott out into space. Afterwards, Issue 7 ends with the Black Dragon picking Oliver up while telling him that he has “a much bigger problem” to deal with.
Issue 8 begins with Farkas “Bulk” Bulkmeier and Eugene “Skull” Skullovitch recording another episode of their online show called Ranger Station as they report about Earth’s grim outlook due to Repulsa’s one-day deadline looming large over the world leaders. Though there have been some attempts at military campaigns, they haven’t been successful since there was one in Tokyo that tried and failed to stop the rogue Triceratops Zord. Over in Angel Grove, a large-scale evacuation is underway out of fear of the Dragonzord returning in a rogue state. Bulk then mentions how ever since the assault in the Bay Area, there hasn’t been any sign of either the Green Ranger or the Dragonzord. As such, he wonders where the notable Zord is currently at, where said Ranger is currently at and also for his current status.
Back on the moon, Tommy is still trapped within the titanic Black Dragon’s grasp as the fiend berates him for turning his back on the evil empress. Fortunately for Oliver, he’s being picked up by his uniform’s Dragon Shield as he disengages it and frees himself before he contacts Jason. Even though Scott managed to stay conscious enough, he’s struggling to regain control of the Dragonzord out in space. As Tommy sees the Moon Palace, Jason tells him to stay within a reasonable distance from the Black Dragon so that the fiend can’t properly maneuver. After her avoids some of the perp’s strikes, Oliver manages to reach a defense cannon and fire some shots at him. However, the Black Dragon disorients him with a thunderclap before Tommy calls him out for only fighting back while he’s a giant. The monster agrees and returns to regular size as Oliver tries to take advantage by charging at him, yet the being is able to deliver several more fierce hits as he’s about to deliver the finishing strike.
Fortunately, Scott flies in with the Dragonzord and rams him hard enough for the fiend to lose his right arm in the impact. Afterwards, Jason teleports Tommy back into the cockpit as he informs him that they’ve missed their chance due to the Putties refortifying the base and that the Black Dragon is about to retaliate. As such, they’re end up retreating in order to come up with another way to rescue Billy.
Back in the pocket dimension, Hart gets informed of Alpha 5’s faint yet active signal. She then brings up how it’s most likely that his back-up system is running before asking if they’re able to send him a signal, to which Kwan tries to figure it out. Fortunately, they receive a communication from Alpha 5 as he tells the group that he’s lost all means of mobility due to his body being melted down for parts. Shortly afterwards, Scott and Oliver manage to rejoin them along with the Black Dragon’s severed right arm. While the Green Ranger rests up, Jason informs his teammates that their foe kept him separated from Tommy despite him doing his best to fend him off and that they were unable to rescue Cranston. Trini is then presented with the Black Dragon’s severed arm in order for them to scan it before Scott gets contacted by Alpha 5 who tells the Rangers that he’s operating on his back-up systems, yet he doesn’t know how long he’ll stay active without his primary power source. Kwan then asks him what he saw Rita doing, to which he explains that the Black Dragon is controlling both their powers and their Zords due to him accessing the Morphin Grid by phase blasting Cranston’s Power Coin. While Kimberly wonders how he’s able to warp their powers like that, Jason reminds the team that Repulsa’s one-day deadline is almost up before she sends their Zords after any nation that hasn’t surrendered. As such, they have to figure out how to get their powers back in just over 4 1/2 hours.
Over on the Moon Palace, Rita berates the Black Dragon for letting Scott and Oliver escape. He says that he underestimated the Green Ranger and won’t let it happen again before she asks him why he can’t warp the Green Ranger’s powers away like he’s already doing with his teammates, to which the Black Dragon explains that the Dragon Coin accesses the Morphin Grid differently and that he wants to smite Tommy when he’s at full strength. When she asks him why he wants that, he’s doesn’t respond before she tells him that he hesitated. He then tells her that he’s doing this for her since she hasn’t been able to conquer Earth by herself before she wonders why exactly he doing any of this, to which he then refuses to share his motives as he simply wishes to be the one who finally smites Oliver. From there, he attaches his new right arm (built for him by Finster) and says that he won’t hesitate to finally deliver the finishing blow this time. Over in the Dark Dimension, Goldar refuses to talk to Billy due to them being sworn enemies. Cranston then reminds him that they’re both prisoners before he asks the “Sworn Armor Guard” if Repulsa still of him the same way that he still think of her, to which Goldar says that she has to remember how valuable he is to her.
Back in the pocket dimension, the deadline is over two hours away as Zack tensely meets up with Tommy. After confirming that his teammate tried to take on the Black Dragon who was in giant form, Taylor then apologizes to Oliver and says that just because Rita chose him as her Green Ranger, it doesn’t inherently mean that there’s something wicked about him. Zack then tells him that he’ll be a good Ranger before also apologizing for not being more supportive, to which Tommy makes note of his appreciation. Taylor then brings up how taking on a gigantic Black Dragon may not have been the best idea, to which Oliver says that he would gladly swap places in order for let him fight their fiend before it then gives him an idea. Just as his teammates are looking over the Black Dragon’s severed arm and discover that it’s made of a metal that’s not known to them, Tommy returns and asks if their foe’s limb can project the same energy used in the “Phase Blast Trick”. While Trini is initially unsure, he says that they still have their powers despite being cut off the Morphin Grid. As such, he offers to share his powers with them. He explains how the Phase Blast is the same blast that Alpha 5 saw the Black Dragon use on Billy’s Power Coin. As such, they could perform the same trick yet they’ll be filtering their morphing through his Dragon Coin. Kimberly wonders if it’ll work, to which an overhearing Alpha 5 says is can since splitting the Green Ranger’s powers onto his teammates would allow them to access the Morphin Grid in an alternate. However, Oliver would be powerless as a result. Hart then asks him if he’s sure about this, to which Tommy says that he can’t stop their foe by himself yet they can reclaim their Zords and that it’s worth the attempt. Scott then commends him for his idea as Oliver hooks up the Black Dragon’s arm in order to transfer his Morpher’s energy into his teammates. From there, his comrades proceed to morph as Issue 8 ends with them successfully morphing, but they’re all Green Rangers now.
Before we move into our last featured subject, let’s reacquaint ourselves with the back-up feature known as “The Ongoing Adventures Of Bulk & Skull” (Writer: Steve Orlando, Illustrator: Corin Howell, Colorist: Jeremy Lawson). Last time within the initial chapters, our silly duo attempted to impress Kimberly and Trini with their supposed heroism by defeating a Putty Patroller that they had initially captured. However, it managed to escape from them before reaching the Angel Grove Youth Center’s basketball court that Hart & Kwan are at alongside some fellow youths. Even though the featured men confront the being, they’re easily overcome by their cowardice before our female Power Rangers manage to figure out and execute a way to defeat the Putty Patroller without compromising their secret identities. We then pickup where our featured comics our at as Bulk and Skull are on trial at the Angel Grove Youth Court where the judge is actually the brother of Principal Caplan. Because of said family connection, he’s realized how much of a hassle they’ve become to his school-based sibling. With Bulk and Skull being reprimanded for their recent action, Judge Caplan decides that the only way that they’ll behave like actual heroes is through community service. As such, he sentences them to serve 1,993 hours and that they’ll be overseen by “a true community servant”. Just then, said servant comes in as it turns out to be Lt. Jerome B. Stone as Bulkmeier and Skullovitch become shocked by this.
From there, the bumbling duo begin their community service over at the Arthur Norvell Public Park as they paint a castle-shaped playground structure while a child’s birthday party is occurring nearby. Our young men then become annoyed by their paint-based duty to society while also complaining about wanting some ice cream before Jerome butts in and spooks them out of their thoughts, causing them to spill lots of paint onto themselves. After they bemoan both their task and Lt. Stone maintaining his cool-headed appearance despite drinking coffee in warm weather, Bulk then realizes that they should try and get him on their side so that they can use “his powers” for their personal benefit, to which he proceeds to paint a plan out for him and Skull to execute. Over the next several days, Bulkmeier tries to convince Jerome into seeing his job as boring along with also trying to have him either see & do silly things with the various tasks that he and Skullovitch are doing. Unfortunately for then, Lt. Stone doesn’t remotely take their bait and says that they would be done with their community service if they put the same energy that they use to scheme towards their actual work.
He then decides to give them a lunch break before we shift ahead a few minutes later to the three guys arriving at a particular sandwich shop. Skull brings up that this is the same business that they used to fake a massive order onto Principal Caplan which helped them sneak their way out of trouble, to the point where it made them famous enough for them to earn their own sandwich. From there, our bumbling duo cut their way to the counter as Bulk then attempts to order said food item known as “The Bulk”. However, the cashier says that they don’t serve it anymore which causes Bulkmeier to hysterically flip out over it. Later, the three men are outside the establishment as Jerome hears about their plan and wonders why they’re doing this all because of a certain sandwich. Bulk says that it has his name on it, even though he also brings up how the employees utter “You Again” when he arrives along with the fact that his plague is next to a paper towel dispenser. He then asks Lt. Stone if he ever cared about a dream, only to have it tossed aside before striking a chord with him by wondering if he stood by and did nothing it was being done to his coffee. Ultimately, he takes them up on it as we eventually have Bulkmeier and Skullovitch protesting outside of the sandwich shop. Suddenly, a masker robber bursts out of the building after he just stole some money. A blissfully unaware Bulk then grabs the perp and demands to know if the establishment had brought back the sandwich that bares his name, to which the thief gets freaked out before he runs into Jerome and gets arrested by him as a result. From there, Lt. Stone commends their passion over a sandwich helping him foil a robbery. As such, this part of the storyline comes to an end as he tells the young guys that they’ve completed their community service before Bulkmeier that it wasn’t that miffed over a sandwich and that it was all part of his plan in proving that both he and Skull are heroes.
For our final book for this review, we now get to the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 Annual”. Published in August 2016, it would go on to sell 18,036 copies. Instead of telling one massive story within its pages, it would take the anthology route and tell six different tales. What various Morphinominal yarns will this particular comic weave? Let’s get “Back To Action” and find out.
First up, we focus on how busy a team leader can get between his school life and his superhero duties in a story called “A Week In The Life…” (Writer: Kyle Higgins, Illustrator: Rod Reis). We open on a Monday where Jason is up early while assuring his mother that his full week “shouldn’t be too bad” before we have a particular afternoon moment during his school day where he has a paper that’s due on Wednesday. After smiting several Putties as the Red Ranger during the late afternoon, he manages to fulfill his duties at the local karate dojo teaching young kids in the early evening. We then get to Tuesday day where he’s up even earlier and out for a morning job with Zack as the latter mentions how it’s too early for them to be doing this. Not too long afterwards, Scott is back home having breakfast while working on his paper. During lunchtime at school, Trini mentions how she and Billy be running some training simulations within the pocket dimension if anyone wants to join them. Despite Cranston’s concern, Jason accepts the offer and says that he has plenty of time. During the afternoon, the entire team manages to fend off a gigantic Goldar with the Megazord before Scott continues to serve his evening duty at the local karate studio. Once Wednesday rolls around, he’s aware during the twilight hours working on his paper before his mother comes across him sleeping several hours later and tells him that he’s overslept. He manages to get to school and hand in his paper before we then shift about six hours later when he and his comrades get summoned by Zordon. From there, the Rangers proceed to fight a massive snake monstrosity out in space and on an asteroid. However, the struggle lasts so long that it prevents Jason from teaching his karate class in time.
We then shift to Thursday evening as an exhausted Scott returns home, only for him to do his schoolwork during the twilight hours. He then tries to invite Taylor to another early-morning job, but the Black Ranger declines his offer since he’s still exhausted from their recent monster fight. He then hones his karate skills at the local dojo before going through his regular school day, fulfills his teaching duties at the karate studio and then has an evening training session with his teammates in the pocket dimension. After he then proceeds to sleep through Saturday, he’s then awoken by his wrist communicator as we then shift to Sunday where he meets up with his fully-morphed teammates as they have a cliffside picnic in order for them to relax from their busy week. From there, the story ends with him learning that they have another hectic week ahead of them before he exclaims how he “can’t wait”.
Our next tale sees a familiar bumbling duo actually getting called on in order to save our regular heroes as well as the day as they become “Unlockly Heroes” (Writer: Ross Thibodeaux, Illustrator: Rob Guillory, Colorist: Taylor Wells). We begin in the style of an episode recap where our primary figures are attending the Angel Grove Talent Show and Billy is going to perform a magic act. However, Rita observes this moment through her telescope as she vows to send out a monster that will make her opponents disappear. Eventually, the Rangers find themselves engaging a devious being called Sir Locks-A-Lot before the being sucks our heroes into himself.
We then reach the story’s proper starting point at the Angel Grove Youth Center where Bulk and Skull are prepping a scheme that has Bulkmeier pretending to be a strongman in order for them to win the upcoming talent show. However, he won’t be lifting actual weights but sticks attached to balloons that’ve been spray-painted grey. Suddenly, they get teleported to the Command Center where they’re met upon by Zordon and Alpha 5. However, they naively think that they’re still in the youth center and that Alpha 5 is a juice machine. Zordon then informs them through the Viewing Globe that Repulsa’s newest monster has captured the Power Rangers and that he needs their help. As such, he gives them their own Power Coins as Bulk becomes the Purple Ranger with the power of the “Baconadon” while Skull is now the Orange Ranger and has the power of the “Featherdactyl” While the duo become boastful over their new status, they then get teleported out to forest-filled setting where they’re then met upon by a large group of Putty Patrollers.
Naturally, the two guys immediately freak out and try to run away, yet Skullovich’s pants fall down as they end up rolling down a hill where they spin at a fast-enough rate in order to form a massive ball of energy. The Putties then try to engage them, but Bulk & Skull’s stumbling charge is able to plow through them and even defeat them. The bumbling duo is then met upon by Sir Locks-A-Lot as they immediately hide away in terror before the Purple Rangers remembers how Zordon sees them as their only hope. This helps them work up enough courage to confront the monster as they use some “Cockroach Kung-Fu” and slam their heads into the fiend’s head actually defeats the being much to shock of not just Zordon and Alpha 5, but even Rita and company. As for how they manage to unlock the monster and free the actual Rangers, they simply call a locksmith. As they begin to remote the lock on said bested beast, they then wonder about the massive amounts of merchandising that will come from this. Just then, the tale ends with them getting zapped by Alpha 5 as this particular gun not only stripped them of their powers as well as their memories of this entire ordeal.
Next up, we have a narrative that features the female Rangers as they deal with a furry kind of natural crisis in “A Spot Of Trouble” (Writer: Marguerite Bennett, Illustrator: Huang Danlan). We open at the Barnes Botanical Gardens where Trini and Kimberly are attending a formal charity ball with all proceeds being donated towards the local environment, especially since it’ll help protect the animals within their community. Suddenly, the event gets attacked by a creature named Vixenya who proceeds to turn the human attendees into animals in a twisted idea of how to save the surrounding animals. Hart then confronts the being, only for it to transform her into a rabbit. As such, Kwan morphs into the Yellow Ranger before Vixenya tries to attack her. With the opposing strikes sending a strawberry cake that Kimberly brought into the air, Trini manages to catch it while telling the opposing being that the Power Rangers are trying to help protect the animals and that they’re “on the same team”.
Vixenya then swipes one of Kwan’s Power Daggers and says that she doesn’t need a team before she attempts to attack the Yellow Ranger. However, the transformed Hart bunny hops in the way as Vixenya manages to restrain herself before bemoaning how she almost harmed another animal. Trini says that they’re not much different and that Kimberly has never stopped being a friend, despite her current condition. She goes to tell the opposing being that the human race needs to be reminded of their capability to do much good as they can of doing grave harm. As such, she wants Vixenya to undo her transformations upon the humans in order for them to work together and find the good that they can do. Just as the being thanks her, she suddenly gets a mental assault from Rita who’s revealed to be the one who sent the creature against humanity in order to assist the space witch with her plans of world domination. Kwan assures Vixenya that she has a choice to not do things “as they always have” and that she can use her powers for good in order to save the planet in her own way. Thankfully, the being turns the humans back into their regular selves before becoming a regular fox and thanks Trini before promising to trust humans while keeping watch over Angel Grove’s animals. As Vixenya takes her leave, Kwan manages to de-morph as the female attendees recall how helpless they were as animals. Shortly after she reunites with Hart, the story ends with the event becoming a success as Kimberly wonders if Vixenya has truly changed. With said being looking on from the nearby forest, Trini assures her friend that sometimes everyone simply deserves a chance.
We then shift to a villain-focused story as our favorite gold-armored, winged warrior gets to shine in “Only The Strong” (Writer & Illustrator: Terry Moore, Colorist: Hi-Fi). We begin with a destructive battle occurring on a distant planet while Goldar narrates about his race being known as the universe’s “most aggressive”, especially since it values the strongest of the fittest. He mentions how within his own kind, new warriors are put into their first battle with nothing and that they can only claim their fallen enemy’s weapon by prevailing in their initial combat. With each successive victory, they can also acquire their enemies’ armor and that the more of those they have, the more they’re seen as the strongest. They also serve Lord Zedd as his elite warriors, mowing down every obstacle that opposes them. With his group’s recent battle won, Goldar stands proud alongside his brother named Silverback whom he’s spent his whole life trying to be like. The two brothers then announce how much they oppose anyone who sides with Zordon’s home planet of Eltar since they see the promotion of peace & diplomacy as a weakness. Just then, Lord Zedd’s emissary emerges and tells them that his master is pleased with their progress before also saying that his wants to meet them at once. Silverback is pleased to finally meet him, yet Goldar says that they have to remain cautious of “those who are stronger”. However, Silverback isn’t fearful of Lord Zedd since he’s heard rumors about him failing to locate the Zeo Crystal and that he’s been hiding out in crippling fear ever since. Goldar says that it hasn’t been proven true before wondering why the fearful being has vanished from the front lines, to which Silverback says that Zedd has become a coward. Goldar then mentions how they must slay him and find a far-more worthy leader if that’s truly the case, to which Silverback agrees since they deserve to conquer Eltar instead of being sent to lay waste towards lesser planets. Goldar then assumes that Lord Zedd is finally ready to lead an invasion on Eltar, to which Silverback says that it better be the case or else he’ll take matters into his own hands.
The two brothers are then led into the throne room as Lord Zedd learns from another emissary about Zordon escaping through their blockade, yet they’re tracking his path towards Earth since they assume that he’s trying to find the Zeo Crystal. Lord Zedd mentions that Zordon has been cut off from the Morphin Grid and he’s trying to find said artifact in order to use it as a power source, to which he then brings up how it’s actually within the moon palace and that he’s placed Rita there to keep it secure. The emissary then brings up the possibility of Zordon attempting to meet up with Ninjor who’s rumored to be on Earth, to which Lord Zedd says that their foe can’t be allowed to meet up with the figure who “empowered the Aquitians”. Silverback then makes his presence known before he and Goldar enter as the latter commends his leader, yet Silverback immediately assumes that they’re ready to invade Eltar and offers to prep their forces. However, Lord Zedd tells him that he shouldn’t be concerned since he doesn’t see Eltar as a major priority. Goldar then wonders why they’ve been summoned, to which Lord Zedd informs them to meet up with Repulsa at her moon palace in order to serve as her generals against Zordon who’s arriving onto Earth. The brothers are shocked by this request as Silverback calls him out for failing to find the Zeo Crystal and that they should serve someone who can actually get things done, such as Dark Specter. This enrages Lord Zedd as he removes his hooded robe before he fires some lightning bolts from his hand which hits Silverback, thus proving how formidable he’s still capable of. Silverback wearily asks his brother for help, yet Lord Zedd reminds Goldar that his sibling dared to speak out against him which makes him a traitor. He then asks what they do to those who betray them, to which Goldar says that get destroyed. As such, Lord Zedd gives him Silverback’s sword in order for him to carry out the execution before Goldar narrates about how he’ll always remember his brother begging him to be saved. However, he betrayed their master and by extension, he also betrayed his sibling. Because he sees Lord Zedd as someone who isn’t weakened by defeat, he’s also capable of conquering the universe as Goldar vows to serve Rita before he proceeds to slay his brother. Lord Zedd then tells him that he now owns his sibling’s sword and that it’ll remind everyone of how much of a disgrace Silverback was. He then tells Goldar to head out in order to keep an eye on Repulsa due to her own ambition. As Goldar reassures him of his loyalty, the story ends with him narrating about how he actually agreed with his brother since the mission to smite a single Eltarian seemed to be a waste of their talents. Despite him feeling like there’s better uses for his skills, he’ll still carry out his master’s will since he has no idea how much of a hassle Zordon and his eventual Power Rangers will become.
For the comic’s penultimate tale, we focus on an unlikely foot soldier and the bizarre love triangle that it’ll find itself in as we soon discover that “It’s Putty Time” (Writer & Illustrator: James Kochalka). We open with the Green and Pink Ranger easily defeating the Putty Patrollers as Tommy mentions how easy it is to beat them up, yet Kimberly admits that she sometimes feels sorry to them. He asks her why that is, to which she says that they’re being forced to fight them before she also wonders if they have any feelings. Even though he finds that notion silly, he still commends her for her nice thought but doesn’t want her to become “too derpy” before they take their leave. Unbeknownst to them, one of the defeated Putties has become smitten with the Pink Ranger and wants to keep fighting her.
Later at Ernie’s Juice Bar within the Angel Grove Youth Center, the Putty shows up disguised as a civilian kid and had convinced Tommy to get trained. Kimberly agrees to the request and gets into her fighting pose, yet the Putty instead tries to hug her. Even though Hart managed to successfully deliver an elbow strike, the disguised Putty is still standing and continues to pursue her. She ultimately defeats her foe with kick to its face, along with its hair falling off. From there, the narrative ends with them realizing that the kid was actually a Putty and that it was using a bird’s nest as a wig before Oliver wonders it the being actually has feelings. However, Hart says that she doesn’t feel sorry for it and even calls it a jerk.
We then close this book out with a certain street-level perspective during a titanic tussle as we find out “What Makes A Ranger” (Writer & Illustrator: Jorge Corona, Colorist: Gabriel Cassata). We begin in Angel Grove where our heroes are using the Megazord and the Dragonzord in order to fight a monster called the Commandant who’s operating his own mech called the War Golem. Amongst the populace watching from ground level, a little girl named Kelly gets excited by this burgeoning scuffle before she breaks away from her mother and makes her way up a building in order to get a better perspective. Back with the city-wide monster battle, the Commandant’s War Golem manages to subdue the Dragonzord before blasting the Megazord with enough force to topple it over.
The Yellow Ranger then emerges from the team’s toppled combiner robot then tells the Blue Ranger to fire, to which he proceeds to launch a robot-powered fist at the War Golem. This strikes the opposing machine with enough force to send the Commandant flying from his cockpit before he’s then swarmed by the Rangers. Despite their victory, the Pink Ranger tells her team that they’re not done yet. While Rita once again complains about her recent defeat over on her moon palace, Zordon tells Alpha 5 throughout the course of the story that their team will never back down even when things look bleak. He even says that even though the Rangers use their Power Coins to morph along with the weapons & Zords to defeat their enemies, those aren’t the things that makes them great. And so, the comic ends with the team de-morphed and helping Angel Grove’s civilians in the aftermath while Kimberly offers to help Kelly get back to her mother. During this, Zordon mentions how his team are true heroes before they even get to “Morphin Time”.
Overall, these particular stories range from serious to various shades of light-hearted fun. With the four featured chapters within this batch, it shows our heroes at their lowest point as Rita and the Black Dragon find themselves in complete domineering control while our super six (ultimately five due to Billy getting captured and his Power Coin being used to sever his initial teammates’ connection from the Morphin Grid) are forced to flee into their own space in order to come up with any kind of idea as to how they could possibly rebound from this bleak place. Admittedly, this is more along the line of what Issue 6-8 is doing since Issue #5 adds a background detail to this world in that Zack was initially chosen by Repulsa to be her Green Ranger before he fled and she ended up choosing Tommy. It’s never directly confirmed within any of the issues presented up to this point, but it may explain why he acts hostile to Oliver at certain points due to how tempting said position could be. If that’s exactly what’s up, then we also haven’t seen him, Zordon or Alpha 5 bring up the moon palace-based incident that Zack found himself in to his teammates. Maybe it did happen and it occurred off-panel, yet I feel like it’s something that could’ve been addressed with the world’s present day. Despite that hiccup, it’s still nice that Taylor is able to find some emotional room in order to forgive the current Green Ranger for being an unknowing pawn to their familiar and unfamiliar foes. It was also interesting to see Trini trying to analyze and work over such fantastical technology without having Cranston nearby to provide some comforting help, as it proves that while she is fairly adept in figuring out how this otherworldly machinery works, she’s not quite as familiar or fluent with it as her Blue Ranger comrade. It was only a small moment, yet it still kept the desperate vibe that our heroes are feeling within their predicament. With Tommy still being able to access his Green Ranger abilities due to his alternate way of accessing the Morphin Grid, it takes a while for him to think outside the box in order for him to discover a way for his fellow Rangers to get back into the fight and ultimately sets up their resurgence against the evil beings. Sure, it’s natural to assume that rescuing Cranston will also somehow lead to the regular Morphin Grid connection being restored since that’s where their mindset is at for that point. Even though the Green & Red Rangers aren’t able to make much progress in that area due to the Black Dragon’s overwhelming might, the moon-based struggle is one of the most fierce entanglements within the franchise’s history and continues to instill the kind of terror that looms large over our heroes with a powerful feeling that’s plentiful and impactful. While there’s not as much physical confrontations within these particular issues, the ones we do have nicely demonstrate the Black Dragon’s formidable power while presenting him as a nigh-unstoppable presence. As for our featured villain, he makes a good introduction into this series given how powerful he is right out of the gate while not providing the audience with much in terms of his backstort or to how his alliance with Rita came to be. He does set himself up some potential development as the series goes on, but his mysterious aura along with the raw might that he wields makes for a good first impression for the audience towards this foe. All-in-all, this gave off a good kind of worrisome feel towards its readers before ultimately leaving them off on an odd yet hopeful note as the whole ordeal is backed up by some good art work, fluid pacing and some nicely-constructed struggles for our familiar protagonists to find themselves in. They help the readers grind their way through this bleak point in the tale while providing some enjoyable narrative progression that sets them up for the next batch of comics yet to come. Moving on to “The Ongoing Adventures Of Bulk & Skull”, it provides a different way for our bumbling duo to meet Lt. Stone when compared to MMPR’s third season where they decided to enroll in the Angel Grove Jr. Police Force in a foolish attempt to attract women since they would be in uniforms. Despite said difference, Jerome remains headstrong throughout these four issues while the two young men are serving out their community service (which is 1,993 total hours and is a neat nod to the year that the franchise began) before the central part of this story works its way to a sandwich shop where Bulk’s petty behavior ultimately helps both him and Skull unintentionally foil a robbery. This small batch does a good job of maintaining our central characters’ selfish natures (especially Bulkmeier’s), especially since it was a prevalent trait of theirs throughout the show’s initial three seasons. Whether or not this recent set of events actually sets them up to try and become noble heroes (or at least fail in comedic fashion while learning some kind of lesson in the process) will ultimately be revealed, yet what’s presented here has some pacing that’s brisk yet effective, artwork that’s colorfully exaggerated and humor that’s small in scale yet familiar to audiences who grew up with their bumbling natures. It progresses their inept and goofy misadventures as they find themselves paying for their poorly-planned superheroic endeavor, yet maintains a light-hearted feel that naturally comes with their territory in order to provide its readers with a level of silliness that only these misguided youths can exclusively provide. Finally, we have the 2016 annual and its half-a-dozen pack of short stories. “A Week In The Life…” does a good job showing how hectic it is for Jason as he tries to balance his school life with his duties as the Power Ranger’s leader. Even though its place here ultimately doesn’t provide any grave or looming threat for the short proceedings, its succeeds in presenting its audience with how much Scott has to balance the multi-tasking ventures that hang over his teenage life. With good pacing, nice artwork and a solid color palette, it delivers in helping the reader feel the struggles that the Red Ranger goes through both in and out of costume when not confined to a single-episode format. “Unlockly Heroes” lets us focus on Bulk & Skull while combining two elements that were previously explored in prior episodes. Unlike the moment in the episode “Crystal Of Nightmares” where they dream about becoming superheroes called “Incredible Bulkster” and “Super Skull” before they pilot and crash the Megazord, an unlikely situation has them actually recruited by Zordon & Alpha 5 into becoming actual Power Rangers. It also combines an element used in the episode “When Is A Ranger Not A Ranger?” where it’s ultimately up to them to save our actual heroes and they succeed while also getting their memories of the whole ordeal erased in the process. Unlike said episode where the Scatterbrain monster caused the main characters to forget that they were ever Power Rangers along with Bulkmeier and Skullovitch actually discovering their secret identities beforehand, the bumbling duo faces a creature that literally captured our main heroes within itself and it’s their physical antics that saves the day. While the artwork may be a bit too exaggerated given the comedic tone of this tale, the bright color palette, brisk pace and silly antics still makes this an enjoyable & light-hearted read while allowing the familiar goofiness of our inept young men to shine as they live out their superhero fantasy that they’ll be forced to forget yet will leave a memorable ring within its readership. Moving on to “A Spot Of Trouble”, this female focused outing ultimately gives Trini the spotlight as she goes up against a being within a familiar environmental protection situation. While the story allows Kwan’s environmentalist side to flourish, her level-headed nature allows her to convince a misguided monster to give humanity a chance in order to prove that there’s enough of them who care about nature and want to protect it. As it’s been proven throughout history, trust is a double-edged sword since it can either make or break one’s faith in someone or something should they open themselves up and entrust their confidence within something that they don’t know will be used in the way they hope for. Because Vixenya was initially working for Rita along with the story’s small length, it doesn’t have the internally uncertain struggle that the being could’ve gone through when deciding whether it could become convinced by the Yellow Ranger into undoing its transformative terror. Despite its simple narrative, the pleasant artwork, decent pacing and well-intended message should allow it to become a recommended read. We now get to “Only The Strong” which delves into Goldar’s background and reveals a few neat details about this famous henchman. It provides an interesting progression that his race goes through where they’re essentially thrown into the combative fire (I assume after some kind of training) and must constantly prevail over their foes in order to prove their physical might. While it never explains the particular conflicts that Goldar ultimately acquired his armor, the explanation fits within this limited space while also revealing that he’s always been loyal to Lord Zedd which explains why he instantly sided with him during Rita’s ousting in the three-part Season 2 opener known as “The Mutiny”. Even though Goldar has constantly proven himself to be a formidable foe against the Power Rangers, this tale ultimately proves that he’s not the strongest there is. After all, his loyalty to Lord Zedd ends up clashing with the admiration he has towards his brother Silverback. When he’s then forced to execute his sibling who dared to criticize his tactical orders, it ultimately proves that Goldar will wind up siding with whomever is stronger in order to have a better chance of being on the winning side since he’s not strong enough to venture out to his own malevolent desires on his own. In the end, this proves to be the best story from this comic thanks to its intriguing narrative, well-paced series of events and artwork that presents its plot effectively within its limited space. I highly recommend that you give it a read since it sheds some light on a famous villain while also being familiar in the real world. We then shift to another breezy entry known as It’s Putty Time” where despite Tommy and Kimberly as our featured Rangers, it decides to allow a regular Putty Patroller to have some form of self-sentience. From what we’re given, this Putty has gained some kind of masochistic love towards Hart since it seems to get a twisted personality from the regular beatings that he and his fellow henchmen get. Obviously, this is meant to be a comedic story since the Pink Ranger initially feels sorry for it constantly getting beaten up before they reengage and she changes her mind about it. Maybe a more serious tale could take the idea of a villainous henchman and its developing sentience into a a standalone venture, but what we’re given in this realm is decently enjoyable with a brisk pace, nice humor and artwork that’s childish-looking yet equally colorful. In the end, it’s quick and meant for brief laughs yet serves what it sets out to do. Finally, we have “What Makes A Ranger” where the backdrop of a regular Megazord & Dragonzord fight against a towering monster while a little girl runs off from her parent in order to get a better view as a framing device. Zordon’s narration essentially has him explaining to Alpha 5 why his team of Power Rangers will stand tall when things get rough in battle before ultimately concluding with the fact that the team are still heroes before they even morph into their outfits. He’s obviously proud of his super six for presenting themselves at their best no matter the situation while the team themselves face their most opposing challenge with a monster controlling its own mech. Yes, there’s the usual collateral damage that results from these fights and it became a major sticking point with audiences after “Man Of Steel”. However, it was hardly ever addressed on the show or even on its Japanese inspiration known “Super Sentai Zyuranger” even back in those days. Fortunately, it does address our heroes helping the civilians following the major battle since they wrap this tale up by searching through the rubble in their regular clothes before coming across Kelly and promising to her help reunite with her mom. As such, it’s only a little moment that deals with the aftermath of a major titan clash yet it’s still nicely handled. In the end, this story closes the comic out with some decent action, fairly nice pacing and artwork that’s a little sketchy & rough yet still presents its events while ultimately leaving on a hopeful note. All-in-all, it’s still worth the investment by purchasing the individual issues or even the trade paperback and engaging within this bleak stretch in order to begin the rise towards the promise of a bright turnaround. As such, give this a read for some Morphinominal progression.
Next Time: While we’ll ultimately conclude the initial 12-issue opening arc, we’ll be taking a quick break from said storyline in order to celebrate a cinematic anniversary. Our initial five heroes are back on the big screen after two decades and have just defeated a great evil, yet it continues to fester and pester them alongside the civilians while their home town is trying to recover. What sort of problem will our heroes find themselves in after they manage to save the day? That’s what will find out within the pages of a graphic novel called “Power Rangers: Aftershock”.
Power Rangers (created by Haim Saban & Shuki Levy) is owned by Hasbro.
