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Preface
F*ck Masked Rider. That’s all I’m saying. *drops the mic*
The Cover
There’s not a lot to say about this cover, it’s a decent promo shot. It draws your eyes right to the Dragon Coin, which acts a good tease for the Green with Evil arc. Yeah, that’s about it.
The Story
In Flashback Land, the 10,000 years ago section, King Lexian of Edenoi AKA guy you really don’t need to care about gives our pal Zordon a brand new screen-accurate product with so many points of articulation straight from Hasbro itself – an Alpha.
Back in the present, the Rangers manage to defeat Stabasaurus Rex by using their Tower Formation move. Meanwhile, Rita’s conversation with her ghost mom is going pretty well actually. She apparently never heard of her daughter’s evil exploits over ten thousand years ago (Mother of the year, everybody) and tells Rita that she can still use the Dragon Coin if she finds someone who’s worthy of using its power. So, Rita sends out Goldar and a squadron of Putties to find that person.
Back at the Command Center, Alpha 1 gives the Rangers his origin story, about how he was an actual soldier in the war against Rita Repulsa until one day, he was sent to a moon called Prillon 12 to investigate a possible invasion force but was a trap and the moon was destroyed. Since he couldn’t find Alpha-1 in the debris, Zordon assumed the worst. However, Alpha-1 actually was blasted into deep space, inactive for centuries until a passing-by spaceship picked him up. Ever since then, he hitchhiked his way back to Earth to fight again for Zordon.
How this conversation should’ve gone:
Zordon: “Alpha-1, you’re more than welcome to join us… on the condition, you stop calling me “master”.
Alpha-1: “Of course. I will try not to, Master Zordon.”
Zordon: “Just call me Zordon.”
Alpha-1: “Yes, Master Zordon.”
All of the Rangers welcome Alpha-1 to the team… except for Trini, who finds it a little bit suspicious that Alpha-1 was just spying on them for a while and then showed himself just at the right moment when they needed help. The other Rangers try to brush off her concerns, especially Jason, who trusts Zordon’s judgment. Talking to the guidance counselor about this, Trini realizes that she’s actually a little saddened by the fact that all of her friends and Jason, in particular, didn’t trust her judgment.
Just as Alpha-1 tells Alpha-5 that together they will defeat Rita Repulsa and that this is only the beginning, Lady Fienna confronts her daughter. Fienna has been floating around the Moon Palace and puts two and two together and realizes that her daughter with an army of monsters at her command might not be so trustworthy. So, Fienna does what any good parent normally does: tries to destroy her daughter’s goals and ambitions.
Rita: “NOOOO! YOU’RE WASTING SOME PERFECTLY GOOD FOOD, MOM!”
Ending Thoughts
I’ll be honest, there’s not a lot to say about this issue. It’s the middle of the arc, it’s fairly standard, and we know where we’re heading soon. And, it’ll be easier to talk about and expand on it more when the arc is completed. But, I gotta admit, there’s still some stuff to say.
Like the last issue, the counselor scene is pretty good. It’s a good way to have a character convey their inner thoughts without using thought balloons and for Trini personally, gives a little insight to Trini, as in who she wanted to confide in when she couldn’t talk to any of her friends. The relationship between Rita and her mother is amazing. Even when Rita is doing some dirty business, talking to her mom, she just looks so sincere and somewhat compassionate in what she says. It’s such a different side of Rita that we haven’t gotten in this series yet.
Even though it’s a bit obvious Alpha 1 ain’t gonna be around much longer, the concept of him alone is purely amazing. His full introduction here showed off both concepts from the show’s lore we’ve never seen before and elements from the show’s episodes fans are sure to recognize. For any PR fan, it’s just fun to finally see so much lore from this universe.
Go Go Power Rangers #18 gives us two reunions, one between old friends and one between mother and daughter, and prepares us for the tragedy that’s bound to come next.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Alright, I don’t want to hear any more comments about Masked Rider. I don’t want to see anything else about Masked Rider. Let’s just leave it alone, alright? Masked Rider was one of those things from the 90s that was so bland and forgettable it deserves to be forgotten.
- One point about this comic that I want to make is I wonder why Rita just didn’t remove the spell or whatever that summoned Fienna here the second she got the info she needed. If there’s a purpose to this, I hope it’s explained (other than Rita conveniently just getting the Dragon Shield)