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Preface
Wait a minute. This issue features Power Rangers… In. Space..?
Groundbreaking.
The Cover
A helmet visor reflection of looking at Earth from the moon.
Even though the concept of this cover is a good one (and does mirror the feelings the Red Ranger was probably feeling in this issue), it still feels like an “eh” cover because there’s no real action happening (and I feel like I have seen this concept for a cover before)
The Story
Grace Sterling was a secretary for NASADA who dreamed of being a female astronaut, despite it being impossible. Nikolai Chukarin was a secret agent of the Russian KGB forces. Jamie Gilmore was a British singer and songwriter. Terona Washington was a war veteran, serving in the military (I think?). Daniel O’Halloran was a college student, protesting social issues like the Vietnam War. What do all five of these people have in common? Well…
On the day of the Apollo 11 moon landing, astronauts unintentionally awoke an alien pilot from hibernation: the Green Psycho Ranger, Dark Specter’s second in command. Upon learning this, Zordon and Alpha teleported all five individuals listed above to the Command Center and informed them of the situation. Naturally, they all were freaked out, getting teleported out of nowhere but eventually, they all accepted the mission and they morphed into action.
Have you seen this image already? Because I have. A billion times.
The Rangers are teleported to the moon to guard Rita’s dumpster and stop Psycho Green from opening it. Nikolai and Jamie (the Blue and Black Rangers) decide to go hunt for Psycho Green, but Psycho Green ambushes them both, killing Jamie with a piece of moon debris. The other three come to help, but Psycho Green punches a hole in Daniel’s (the Pink Ranger) helmet, Daniel dying shortly thereafter due to the lack of oxygen. The others managed to create the Power Blaster and blast Psycho Green. However, the Psycho Green Ranger turns into its monster form and attacks. Nikolai grabs a cannon from Rita’s abandoned palace and blows it up close to Psycho Green, destroying Psycho Green and sacrificing himself in the process.
Back at the Command Center, Grace and Terona (Red and Yellow if you weren’t paying attention) don’t exactly give Alpha and Zordon warm regards, especially when Zordon takes their Power Morphers from them so they can’t use the power to “interfere in human affairs”. Grace and Terona both go on and head back to their respective homes. However, it’s revealed that Grace kept a souvenir from her trip to the moon…
Ending Thoughts
A story like this is a challenge to make.
You have to establish five new Rangers (even though we technically we saw Grace before in previous issues), establish the threat / reason why the Rangers needed to be assembled, have Zordon and Alpha explain the threat to our heroes and give them their powers, have a satisfying amount of Ranger action and make this a self-contained story, all within 20 pages. And, the writers here did a good job with what they had to do.
Even with the short amount of screen-time, this issue did an excellent job showcasing every Ranger’s personality. There wasn’t one Ranger here I didn’t understand what their motivations were. The Ranger action did feel rushed for the whole fight, though, this did help to add to the stakes to the fight. That this Psycho Ranger took out two Rangers within a couple of minutes. (Even though those two Rangers were a songwriter and a college student and odds are they were never in a fight before in their entire lives).
And, this story not only gave us more backstory and motivations for Grace (someone who is shrouded in mystery in the current storyline), but that concluding scene with Zordon, Alpha, Terona, and Grace did set up a lot of conflict that’s most likely coming down the road. I did have an issue with this story, but it’s minor at best. It felt “gimmicky”. I know it wasn’t the writers’ intentions, but it just felt that way. It might’ve been just the marketing from a digital marketing agency, but the whole idea of “Ranger team with female red and male pink fighting their own evil green ranger” just seems like it’s a way to grab people’s attention. It’s probably just me.
MMPR #20 is a great issue, showcasing an untold adventure of new Rangers and paving the future for new story elements down the road.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- You remember the latest Go Go Power Rangers issue? Well, if you don’t, Zordon, in that issue, said that Jason was chosen as the leader because he was somewhat like Rita. Maybe that’s where Grace will be heading towards…
- The wake-up protocol that Alpha mentioned… Yeah, what if the nearby lifeforms were, I don’t know, lunar bats or any other non-sentient lifeform? They wouldn’t be much help to a stranded pilot. Why not initiate this protocol when it detects a nearby spaceship?
- Yeah, that Wizard of Oz reference… I understood that reference.
- Why I think this comic felt “gimmicky”? The guy complaining that he was wearing pink was a good factor…
- So, only one Ranger per team has to have a skirt? I know it’s a weird thing to mention, but it’s now even more jarring why Kim and Grace have skirts, but Jamie and Trini don’t.
- Grace crying in her helmet on the moon for the first time was just amazing.
- Nikolai not caring about the moon is like me going to the Grand Canyon. “It’s just a bunch of rocks, what the big deal?”
- Jamie’s death, I just realized something. She got crushed by a rock. On the moon. Where there’s no gravity and she could probably lift that thing, even if she wasn’t a Ranger? Yeah, that doesn’t seem right to me…
- I also just realized, Igor was in an explosion. And yet, his Power Coin survived…
- Unpopular opinion: I’m not that big a fan of the Psycho Rangers. I think they have excellent designs, but the episodes of In Space they were in were bland and uninteresting. (Though the Psycho Green Ranger’s monster form was pretty awesome. Not going to lie.)
- And this does make me hopeful for more non-MMPR stuff from Boom! down the road.
- Here’s the scary thing about this comic’s ending. What happened to Jamie and Daniel’s bodies? Igor got disintegrated so doubt Zordon and Alpha can do anything about that. But, Jamie and Daniel… Zordon and Alpha had to get their Power Coins so that Kim and Zack can use them now. But what happened to the bodies? Were they just teleported back to their respective homes so their families could have an idea on what happened to them? Or were they buried near the Command Center? Or even worse, did they only grab the Power Coins and leave the bodies on the moon so no one else found about the Power Rangers?
- Not to mention, that anyone who cared about Igor is now worried sick because they think he just disappeared and never came back.
- You know what could’ve helped with the pacing issues? If you took out the Baboo and Squatt side story. Seriously, we can live without them for one issue. Their appearances have been starting to get as annoying as Victor and Monty in Ninja Steel. I know I can’t take that back.
- Also, where was Grace keeping that giant dagger? I don’t think she had a pocket that big.
- So, what did Zordon do differently choosing our teenagers with attitude compared to the guys we see here? And why are our teenagers more effective?
- Teamwork (the main reason) – Zordon chose five teenagers who were friendly enough and knew each other enough to help each other. These guys, who despite separately I can see having attributes as to what a Power Ranger is, don’t know each other from the ground up. You can’t just throw five people in a room together and expect them to be a team.
- Teenagers – Even though on paper it’s a dumb idea, teenagers are more likely to do some of the crazier stuff Power Rangers can do.
- Instincts – All of the teenagers we have now are quick on their feet, which is something that’s important for combat. Billy, the only one who doesn’t have that great of fighting expertise, still has the intelligence to think through situations and find a solution quickly.