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Preface
I got nothing.
Now that Once and Always is done, we’re fairly chill on 30th-anniversary celebrations. We know of some of the stuff coming like Cosmic Fury and some of the new comics, but other than that, we’re back to the waiting game until August for anything new. Right now, this series is the only thing for Power Rangers at the moment.
The Cover
This is a really great cover. The imagery of the vessel falling into the light with an evil set of jaws ready to consume it. It’s fantastic. Gets the readers interested while delivering a hint of what’s to come.
The Story
So, back in Flashback Land, it is revealed that yes, the Vessel is Zordon’s original body. Mistress Vile corrupted it for her own good and plans on using it for Dark Specter’s return.
On Earth, Adam and Rocky return to the Command Center and try to help out before they, along with Zordon, discover the Vessel’s true identity. The Vessel defeats them, goes past Alpha, and then joins Zordon in his mind-space. The Vessel offers Zordon a chance for the two of them to merge back into one being, but Zordon declines, knowing that Rita’s dark magic will corrupt him. Literally taking him down memory lane, the Vessel shows Zordon all of the points in his life where his kindness in life failed him and the people around him. The Vessel tries to force the two of them to recombine, but Zordon fights against it, saying that there is always hope in his strength.
With that, the Vessel is now his own consciousness, free to choose his own path, as he leaves the Command Center and heads back into the battle.
Ending Thoughts
So, looking back at these past few issues, it’s clear to me why I like this issue more than the previous ones.
The past few issues were ok / average in terms of quality. The action overall is great, and the artwork is always fantastic, but my enjoyment of those issues was lowered due to some of the decisions that were made. The story uses the plot points that have been set up earlier before this arc. Like some of the conflict with the Omegas, brainwashed Matt, the Zedd Ranger… However, all of these plot points feel like they were trying to up the stakes of the plot, but couldn’t successfully make readers invest in those plot points. Because the characters themselves are not the focus. Instead, the story tries to juggle through those scenes, and any good development that does happen gets muddied underneath it all.
This issue is stronger as a result because it slows the plot down and focuses on one character: Zordon.
Now, we all saw the plot point of Zordon’s body being used as the vessel from a mile away. However, even though that is the case, the plot still uses it to great effect, showing off a lot of Zordon’s history and development for the comics. This issue reminds me of MMPR #104, the story of Rita’s ascension into Mistress Vile. Both stories are about how Rita and Zordon respectively want to do better than what happened before and yet also show the sharp contrast of their identities. Rita believes that she can do better by discarding who she was, getting rid of her old allies, and becoming an entirely new person, Mistress Vile. Zordon, on the other hand, believes in the power of hope and chooses to trust in his allies and all of the good memories that have come from them. The Recharged Era has had some stumbles here and there, but it is certainly strongest when it’s focusing on these two.
MMPR #108 is an important interlude in this story, giving us some insight into who the Vessel is while providing a retrospective of Zordon’s development.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I laughed out loud the moment when I realized that Rocky, Adam, and Aisha aren’t anywhere in Zordon’s “good” memories.
- In addition to both Rita and Zordon’s stories about them wanting to do better, both of them were trying to teach this respective lesson to someone else. Rita was trying to teach it to Alpha-1, a former ally of the good guys. Zordon was trying to teach his lessons to the Vessel, a being entirely made of dark energy. Both of their lessons come out clear to their respective students and it’s up to them to decide what’s next.
