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Preface
This is it. MMPR #55. The final issue for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
56 regular issues including the 0th issue, 3 annuals, an FCBD special, one special Shattered Grid issue, and we are done. From its announcement back in November 2015 to now, nearly 5 years later.
There’s a lot that people can argue with about this series, whether if it’s canon or not, whether it focuses too much on Tommy or not, whether it’s worthy of having an animated adaptation to it. But, one thing’s for certain: it left an impact. It did new things for the lore of the Mighty Morphin’ team and brought in a lot more comic readers back to the world of Power Rangers from their childhood. You can see its ripple effects through the Lightning Collection series, the Battle for the Grid, and all of the original graphic novels we’ve been getting.
This story will continue into its next series, but let’s see how it ends for now.
The Cover
All 7 of our Rangers (That’s right. 7!) posing with flashes of color behind them. Normally, this kind of thing would be generic, but since it is the final issue, this perfectly sums up why this issue’s important.
The Story
The Mighty Morphin’ team faces off the Dark Rangers in their new Terrorzords and they’re losing. Bad. It gets even worse when the Terrorzords combine to become the Mega Terrorzord.
With no other options left, Billy tells Grace to activate the Green Protocol. Grace teleports into the Command Center and right outside Drakkon’s holding cell. She makes him an offer to follow her lead to get out of his cell or rot in his cell.
As the Mega Tigerzord and the Red Dragon Thunderzord struggle against the Mega Terrorzord, out of nowhere, a new Green Ranger attacks Zedd on the ground. The Green Ranger smashes the Chaos Crystal, removing the Dark Ranger powers from Goldar and his gang and allowing the Rangers to destroy the Terrorzords. As Zedd retreats to his palace, putty Rita sneaks away from the aftermath of the fight.
At Promethea, Grace congratulates the new Green Ranger on a job well done.
Ending Thoughts
Like the previous issue, this is essentially one Zord fight scene. But, it’s a good one with all of the individual Zords showing off their strengths, especially with. Not to mention, the Mega Terrorzord’s design looks sick.
Essentially, both MMPR #54 and #55 are supposed to be the end for their respective arcs for the Omega Rangers and the Mighty Morphin’ team. The purpose of the Omega Ranger arc is to tease a new enemy for the universe and to give the Omega Rangers motivation for them to fight back against this new threat. The purpose of the Mighty Morphin’ arc is to set up a threat too powerful for the Rangers to face that warrants the new Green Ranger to be created.
It’s clear that both arcs aren’t supposed to be fully fleshed out since it’s supposed to be followed up in both of their respective series. It’s easier to give the series a pass for this (and does show why we need two books for both these teams), but it’s still odd that it feels like both stories end abruptly. Sometimes this strategy can work, building up anticipation for the new series and waiting for the answers to our questions. Other times…
This was MMPR #55: “Second Chance”. Thank you for reading this and may the power protect you all as we head into Mighty Morphin #1.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I understand why Billy asked Grace for help for this battle, but to be honest, it seemed weird to me that he asked for it on a page where he was handling himself well.
- So, now that the Green Ranger is finally revealed, what are my thoughts on his suit? Whatever. The new helmet and the shield are fine. It’s everything else about the suit I don’t care for. A lot of the aesthetics like the boots and the gloves don’t match that well with the main MMPR team. Even ignoring that point, the suit feels too busy, especially with all of that neon. I generally think neon should be on an extra piece of armor for the suit, instead of the main suit. Makes everything look too Tron-ish.
- And you know what? If the power source for the Dragon Coin is the Psycho Dagger, why not make that your suit? Combine MMPR Green with Psycho Green. That’d be a cool concept to see.
- What do I like more, this Green Ranger suit or the Bat in the Sun version? Bat in the Sun, weirdly. That suit is also busy, but it does a generally good job of not being too in your face that it’s new and looks slimmer than this one.
- It does feel fitting though that the series began with the Green Ranger joining the team and now this series ends with the introduction of another Green Ranger.
- Who do I think is this Green Ranger? Not Drakkon because that’s too obvious. I highly doubt it’s Bulk or Skull. If it’s Matt, I don’t think I’ll like it. If it’s Violet, I will give a standing ovation to the comic. If it’s an alien like Trek or one of Zordon’s college buddies, then that would be just weak. If it’s Ms. Applebee, I will buy every PR variant that has the new Green Ranger on it.