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Preface
Ok, if for some weird reason you’re only reading Mighty Morphin and not the Power Rangers series, then you might be a little confused as to what happened after the ending of Mighty Morphin #13.
To put it simply…
Omega Rangers arrived to help out Promethea. They got a cat as a Ranger now.
But, Empyreals arrived and blew the place up along with the Command Center and the Moon Palace.
Zartus won the war already. Now, it’s a law that all humans shave their heads and dye their skin blue.
The Cover
This is a no-brainer. Awesome unique shot of Zordon suiting up to fight or a good-looking but generic shot of the Empyreals? I mean, come on. (Though, I will say it’s a shame that the cover spoils the ending.)
The Story
In Flashback Land, Zordon receives some devastating news from an Eltarian doctor. Turns out the poison that Zordon was affected by back in Mighty Morphin #10 caused more long-term damage than he thought. He now has only five years left to live.
But, then suddenly, Billy and the Blue Emissary appear. In what turns out to be a fakeout, this isn’t Flashback Land, but rather this is the fragmented pieces of Zordon’s memories. Both Blue Rangers attempt to explain the situation to Zordon, but he refuses to listen, going even deeper into his memories.
Back on Earth, Zartus announces to the world, via vlog, that he is now in charge of Earth. As the Sentry Force Four search the wreckage of Promethea for the Rangers, Tommy, Matt, Aisha, and Zack demorph and sneak away.
Back into Zordon’s memories, Billy urges Zordon again to rejoin the Rangers, but Zordon’s faith is shaken due to his past decisions. Though, Billy gives the confidence boost Zordon needs by reminding him that failure is a choice.
On Safehaven, after considering their options, Goldar and his gang agree to help the Rangers fight Zartus and his army. Jason believes the best option for them now is to lay low, but after talking about it with Kim, he’s willing to go into battle if they have something to even the playing field. Then, Zordon walks in and – Wait, What?
Ending Thoughts
Not an action-packed issue, but this is potentially one of my favorite issues from Mighty Morphin. Just because I love every single piece of character development and focus here.
We don’t have the focus on the Rangers, but a majority of the issue is focused on characters like Zordon or Goldar. Characters we don’t get focus on that often and I love seeing more focus for them. Goldar and his crew, for example, haven’t gotten any focus since being forced to work with Zedd. It’s fascinating to see what they want to do now they’re “free” at the moment. It’s even more interesting seeing them in the ending scene presenting their ideas and acting as equals to the Rangers.
This issue is also the big breakdown for Zordon, where he finally admits he’s been wrong. The comic displays his thought process perfectly with him clinging on to his time on Eltar because it’s the only thing that makes sense. How Billy helps him out, relating Zordon’s failure through his own inventions, is great progression for both of their characters. I can even make the argument that him going out in Billy’s invention is Zordon, in a way, literally stepping outside of his comfort zone and readying himself to fix his mistakes.
And, even I’m still not on board with the Matt vs. Tommy conflict we’ve gotten, I actually love that Zack has now placed himself in attempting to resolve this. Remember, in the comics, Zack was the original candidate to be the Green Ranger. Zack, of course, would also have his own feelings about someone being the Green Ranger. But now, he’s grown from judging Tommy as the Green Ranger to helping Tommy get over his personal feelings to accept a new candidate for the Green Ranger.
Mighty Morphin #14 is a fantastic issue taking a deep dive into our Rangers’ mentor’s memories while giving the chance for our villains to decide what they want for a change.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I’m really trying to think about it, but was there any other alien invasion that announced itself via vlog channel?
- Also, I get Tommy’s a bit too quick to criticize Matt, but I mean… Matt’s plan of just calling the Dragonzord and making a bunch of loud noise is not the greatest plan, though.
- Also, I absolutely hate the “Ode to the Imaginary Peace Conference” joke. Not sure why, though.
- Love Finster’s just making more sand creations during all of this.
- That tree in Zordon’s memories does not look comfortable to sit on at all.