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Preface
** This comic follows the ending of the movie so SPOILERS! **
My brief review of the movie: Amazing movie with great acting, memorable characters, and fantastic action sequences. Some of the lore needed more explanation and one or two scenes could have been changed to create a better balance between action and character moments and still create the same message. A solid 7/10.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s dig into the comic!
The Cover
There are two covers to this comic: the main one and the alternate one you can find only at stores.
The main one is just boring with the Rangers just standing there against a navy background. The alternate one is easily better. It at least fits the art style of the book and is easily more visually appealing.
The Story
So, after Rita got slapped into space, it turns out that the energy she used to create Goldar is still effecting the environment, creating left-over Putties for the Rangers to take care of. Even though they take care of them easily, Zordon reminds Jason that he needs to be a true leader to the team, that there are more threats out there.
Meanwhile, in an abandoned sawmill 12 miles from town (this is an important detail), two “juvenile delinquents” (seriously, who still says this) are hiding from the cops. Meet Jacob and Aubrey Hogan, twins who’s dad died in the same mining accident that Billy’s dad was in. Since then, they were homeless and resorted to a life of crime, only managing to escape jail because of the chaos from Goldar. Which is where we are now. Suddenly, a piece of Goldar attaches onto Jacob.
While Zack is training in the Pit, Jason takes Kim back to her house. As he asks about their relationship, an explosion happens nearby. They morph and go to investigate.
Is this the Morpher or the coin? I can’t tell. Or is it a cookie?
It’s Jacob and Aubrey, with Jacob seriously mutated from Goldar. He attacks the two, with the rest of the Rangers showing up soon. They basically get their butts handed to them and they escape. Back at the Command Ship, Jason decides they should go on patrol and find the MOTW, but Trini points out how stupid that is. Jason storms out, acting like a child.
The reason the twins attacked earlier was to get a piece of Goldar so that Aubrey could become mutated as well, which is what happens. They use the power between each other to create a… wooden robot. Before they head out to fight, Jason apologizes to the team and tells them he’s like the rest of them and is still new at this. The Rangers head off in their zords, but are easily knocked down. Too easily.
They form the Megazord and destroy the robot, but the twins eject out. Billy comes up with a plan to take them out. Zack distracts them while Kim and Jason use power lines to electrocute them, which turns them into stone.
Later that night, the Rangers are alerted to a Putty attack at the docks, but it’s actually APEX, a government organization that hates superheroes and blah blah blah, led by a girl who was in the comic earlier, but all I keep hearing from her is blah blah blah.
Ending Thoughts
Power Rangers Aftershock is easily skippable and not that big of a deal.
The art is good for the civilian moments, but the style just doesn’t work for the morphed action. There’s just a lack of details that distinguish each Ranger from each other, even if they are all assorted rainbow colors. Not to mention that this comic isn’t great at conveying motion and it’s hard to keep track what’s happening.
Villains are pointless. They have an interesting backstory, realistic enough that it’s similar to the Rangers’ backstories. In fact, I could’ve easily seen it as a potential Tommy backstory. But, their personalities and powers are just the same as any generic MOTW.
Jason’s lesson is something that we’ve seen in multiple seasons of PR, but it’s something that feels natural here. Zack’s development to be strong also feels realistic. However, I’m not entirely sure what it is, but these characters don’t feel like the Rangers from the movie. It’s either the unrealistic dialogue or the simple fact that these aren’t the actors.
Ultimately, this comic is pointless. Really pointless. Especially if you’re only interested in it because of the movie.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- This comic is also packaged with MMPR #0 and 1. I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty sure a casual fan is going to like that a lot more than the Aftershock part. Better art, better storytelling, and TOMMY!
- Speaking of Tommy, he is not in this comic. Depending on your point of view, that makes this comic better or worse.
- Jason’s truck from the movie is fixed up here. So I’m assuming it’s from a deleted scene or something. Kim and Jason being an item here doesn’t make sense since their kiss was cut from the movie.
- Also, you’ll recall that in the movie, Jason placed the Power Sword back in its resting place. Notice how he doesn’t use it at all in the comic?
- We learned that Kim’s parents are stuck up snobs.
- We also learned why the Rangers keep their identities secret. Because government people are jerks.
- Zack: “These guys have a lot of guns. Why don’t we have guns?” Well, you could’ve had an awesome axe, but some people are just stupid and thought you didn’t need that.