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Preface
I’d say things are going pretty ok for Power Rangers fans now.
Everyone’s enjoying Dino Fury so far (and you should watch it if you aren’t already), we’ve got a good selection of Lightning Collection coming out this year (except for anything Zeo-related which I find suspicious), and Battle for the Grid is still doing good despite not having any new DLC fighters out. And, for the comics, they’re doing fine, I guess.
Nothing’s wrong with them. They’re still putting out consistent quality issues. It’s just from what I’ve seen, they haven’t been getting a lot of fanfare whenever they come out. For the Power Rangers series, they’ve been getting some interest because of their universe-building elements. But, for the Mighty Morphin’ series, it’s been a bit of a lull.
Part of that may have been from the book’s main selling point, the mystery of the Green Ranger, being a secret we all knew about. But, now that we can finally talk about it, the series should get a lot more interesting from this point on, right?
The Cover
The Power Rangers cover. Without a doubt.
Both artstyles on both covers are great. Each cover has a lot of detail in them. With the Mighty Morphin’ cover, that detail is all over the Megazords. With the Power Rangers’ cover, that detail is straight into Ecliptor’s eyes, directing your entire attention.
But, while the background for the Mighty Morphin’ cover is more interesting with the lighting and coloring, the fact is that the Mighty Morphin’ cover is just a generic shot of the Megazords together. The Power Rangers cover shows off a fan-favorite villain for Power Rangers’ fans and directs all of your attention towards the Omega Rangers in his eyes as he stands in their way. There’s just more to be excited for with the Power Rangers’ cover.
The Story
Flashback Land takes us back to Earth, five weeks ago, when the Mega Terrorzord was attacking the city in MMPR #55. As Matt was about to be crushed by falling debris, Grace teleported him back to Promethea and asked for his help in becoming the Green Ranger to help the other Rangers. Even though there was a chance he might not have survived, he took the risk and morphed into action.
After the fight is over, Grace offers him a chance to become a Ranger full-time. Although he doubts himself, believing that it was all just luck out there, Matt is convinced otherwise by Grace’s words of wisdom. Soon, he begins training at Promethea to become a better Ranger and even quits the football team to devote more time to it.
Eventually, we get back to the present with the events of Mighty Morphin’ #4. As the dome is enacted, Matt tries to stay and help Angel Grove on the ground level but is forcibly teleported to Promethea. As Grace tries to deal with the situation, Matt argues with her that to truly help Angel Grove, they have to let ordinary people out there know the truth and so… You know what happens next.
Ending Thoughts
Without a doubt, Mighty Morphin’ #5 is a filler issue. It’s up to you to decide on whether that’s a positive or a negative.
In terms of contribution to the overall narrative, nothing happens that we already haven’t guessed or couldn’t have guessed. This issue’s more of a character focus for Matt since again, we haven’t any focus on him in who knows how many issues. And it is a good focus for him since we see a lot of the aspects of him becoming a Ranger: the doubt, the struggle to keep the secret, the training and devotion it takes, him taking charge with his own decisions.
The funny thing though is that we already have seen this before with the 9 other Mighty Morphin’ Rangers we’ve gotten. And they have had multiple issues dedicated to this. So far, Matt’s focus on this topic has been condensed into this one issue. We’re just going to have to see what happens now that his secret’s out and see what makes his journey as a Ranger unique.
With spectacular art, Mighty Morphin’ #5 is an origin story for our newest Ranger in a new setting and with a new mentor figure but still feels like the Power Rangers we’ve been used to.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Terona! I legit am wondering how long has it been since we’ve seen him. Beyond the Grid for sure. But, I don’t remember him in any other book since then.
- Doxycycline, just so you know, is basically just a medication for acne. It’s also used to treat malaria but I’m willing to bet that’s not it for Matt. Also, side effects for it can be diarrhea, nausea, and an increased risk of sunburn. Hope you enjoyed that mental picture.
- So, retroactively, this issue puts the fight with the Green Ranger vs. Zedd as well as any fight with the Green Ranger in a different context. Just Matt secretly panicking the whole time. If this was a TV show, that honestly could’ve been used for comedic effect. Like, imagine a Marvel show and during the fight scene, you’re just hearing theme panicking while doing all of their cool stuff.
- Ok, so, according to Mighty Morphin #1, it was two weeks between MMPR #55 and MM #1. So, if this comic’s timeline is to be believed, it’s been three weeks between MM #1 and MM #4. But, MM #2 – MM #4 kind of run together to be around one day. Also, based on the scene between Kim and Matt here, it’s been about a week since the events of Power Rangers #1.
- Olivia: “Does this community outreach happen to have really long legs?” Actually, she does! You should see her when she’s wearing red.
- Candice’s comment about her is good foreshadowing, but honestly, we could easily just save that comment for when Dino Fury Green shows up…
- Matt: “Zord? Yeah, that’s not a real word.” I get the joke, but do people really not know what the Zords called? Maybe it’s a good thing that the Rangers keep calling out their attacks and summons all the time so people can actually remember what they’re called!
- Honestly, I do have to give props to the cool explanation about the Dragon Dagger and how the song is supposed to work.
- I will also give props to some of the cool decorations in the background for some scenes. I see you, Ryu. (Also, can I get a Lord Zedd mug, too?)
- We should’ve known Matt would be the one to break rules. He’s not wearing his Ranger colors in civilian form. That’s blasphemy! (Although, you wanna know what’s interesting? Grace is the one wearing green…)