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Preface
We’ve reached a new era of Power Rangers!
…I feel like we’ve said that a lot before.
Yeah, it really doesn’t feel like too much time has passed after we finished the Unlimited Power era and then went to the Death Ranger arc.
Now, we’ve recombined Mighty Morphin and Power Rangers and we’re back to one issue a month which is good for me… At least until December when MMPR / TMNT 2 comes back.
So, anyway, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #101.
After 100 issues of MMPR, let’s see what comes next.
The Cover
Really good-looking cover. I appreciate the art style and I love how the lightning comes out of the Morpher to create a cool-looking background for our 6 Rangers.
The Story
FLASHBACK LAND RETURNS!
Ten thousand years ago, Zordon defeated Rita Repulsa and her minions and was about to stick her in a dumpster for a lifetime. However, before that happened, Rita vowed that the war between good and evil. As Rita was sucked into the dumpster, she recited her final spell. That spell trapped Zordon in a realm between time and space.
Back in the present, the Rangers are finally going to do something about the invisible moon! After a training exercise with a game of paintball, the moon comes back out of nowhere! Which should be a good thing, but then the Command Center gets a distress call… from Lord Zedd!
All 7 Rangers then morph into action and fly to the moon in the Dragonzord. There, their Zord is immediately attacked by stronger-than-normal Putties. To find out what’s truly going on, the Rangers split up. Billy attempts to get the Zord working again while Adam defends him from onslaughts of super Putties. Rocky and Aisha head to the throne room where they find Finster and are literally attacked by the Royal Throney. Kim, Tommy, and Matt head down to the Caves of Deception where they find Lord Zedd’s worst nightmare… Rita Repulsa?!
Ending Thoughts
We have a new writer for the series, Melissa Flores. Power Rangers fans have known about her for a while since she has had a history with the franchise. She acted as the former director of Power Rangers development and production, she directed and helped write for Power Rangers Hyperforce, and voice acted as several characters in Battle for the Grid. And, now, she’s taking the comic book world by storm with this and her own series “The Dead Lucky”. We’re talking about this comic right now though. And I have to say it’s a good start.
Flashback Land this time around gave us one of the most pivotal scenes in Power Rangers that had never been seen before: how Rita got put in the dumpster and how Zordon got trapped in the time warp. How it’s portrayed with Rita casting the final spell as lightning creeps up on both her and Zordon. The artwork does it such justice. It gives the whole moment a chilling vibe to it.
It’s like that for the rest of the issue. It calls back to certain moments from the last 100 issues while reintroducing all of our main cast (both Rangers and civilians) without automatically revealing what the big threat is. There’s a lot of fun dialogue between all of the Rangers that is refreshing and still feels familiar to readers of the series before. The final page at the end serves as a good cliffhanger with readers wondering what exactly is up with Rita and doesn’t give too much away about what will happen next.
We have a new artist for this series now, Simona di Gianfelice. It’s not like the previous art style, which had a lot more shading and different proportions. Here, her artwork is a lot cleaner and more detailed, giving a more animated style to our Rangers, which fits with the franchise. The new designs for the Putties and Rita are downright terrifying and from what we’ve seen in action so far, they alone can make the scene a little more dynamic. Also, the use of colors in the scenes, like how bright and colorful Earth feels compared to how muted and dark the Moon Palace is, compliments the strong writing.
Whatever this new era is, with a new creative team, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #101 is an excellent beginning for readers new and old to PR comics.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Ok, imagine an Angel Grove High School or Power Rangers game of Community-style paintball. There’s potential here.
- Dragonzord’s Flyer Mode… is a downgrade. It had rockets on its feet to get to the moon before. It has that there now too, but now, it’s supposed to get wind in space?!
- They were teasing Matt and Aisha being a couple and I’m like… ok? Personally, I don’t mind it too much but I’m actually hoping there’s a twist to this…
- I’m going to wait before I judge Skull’s reaction to the breakup. Because let’s face it, in-universe, it must have been weeks since the Eltarian invasion.
- The Royal Throney… There’s a Queen of England joke somewhere there. I know it.
- Even though I thought the final page was a good cliffhanger, I gotta say I couldn’t help but think that Zedd being dominated by a strong, powerful woman is something he actually enjoys.
