Preface
Well, Darkest Hour ended last month. It’s only fair that for the Power Rangers franchise to continue on, a new cycle of heroes must rise up to the occasion. And, because of what’s so unique to Power Rangers, how its heroes can encapsulate so many themes and ideas, there’s an infinite amount of possibilities of where we can go next.
So, let’s take a glimpse into what we could get next…
The Cover
I’ll address the character designs later, but the cover overall is pretty great. It shows all of our heroes in their various Ranger poses and our villain being a menacing presence, overtaking the top half of the cover. It’s good and gets people interested in the comic itself.
The Story
SYNOPSIS: Lola Navarro is a girl who loves the Power Rangers franchise, dreaming of the day she can pitch her own. Yet, she’s timid and lacks the courage to do so. However, when she finds herself involved in multiverse shenanigans, with zany characters based on the franchise she had grown up with, Lola must find it in herself to find the power needed to be a hero against the evil Poisandra. Will she be able to morph into something greater or is this the end of the Power Rangers as we know it?
So, how is this chapter for our newest self-insert fanfic “Reader X Poisandra”?
It’s good, an overall fun time. Is it ground-breaking? No. Is it for everyone? Well…
I love stories that try to focus on the meta aspect, of interacting with the medium of comics in a unique way and trying to bridge the gap between reality and fiction. And, this story does it in a beautiful way.
Lola is essentially supposed to be us, the readers. People who love Power Rangers and dream about them, coming up with tons of ideas, but don’t feel like they could actually do it if given the chance. But, a lot of us are scared to put any of those ideas out there, fearing rejection. Especially with something like Power Rangers, where it could be treated as an insult whenever someone doesn’t like another form of media. In this story, our fangirl has to face Poisandra, someone who keeps rejecting idea after idea because it doesn’t fit what she wants. (Almost like a reboot, which again, do I have to point out the meta-narrative of how Power Rangers in a state of limbo at the moment?) But, Lola, being a true fan, understands the narrative and learns not to fear the thing that she loves. She transforms into her ideal self, embracing the core of the franchise. The final page is of her literally embracing what she enjoys out of the franchise: characters that are fun, creative, and wacky, but also filled with heart.
Is the overall story structure filled with predictable cliches? Absolutely. Are a lot of the characters just their one-note themes and ideas and nothing else? Basically.
But, this story is not meant to be just something that feels like it’s meta for the sake of it. It may feel, at times, like something out of a parody, but it’s not. It’s meant to celebrate us: the fans of the franchise. Listen to the polar bear in the end. We’re the ones who end up ‘saving’ Power Rangers by being who we are. By being creative, acting kind to each other, sharing what we love about the franchise, and keeping it from fully dying, no matter what cycle we’re on. Even if it does end, we can always treasure the characters that came before.
For infinity.
Ending Thoughts
If there’s anything else I can say about this comic, it’s that you should take the lessons of this story to heart.
Don’t be afraid to create things for what you love. Whether it’s art or fanfiction or podcasts or even writing a review on a niche website, it can be special.
Whether you think it’s something lame or dumb or potentially embarrassing, as long as you can connect to it, you’ll find a way to get others interested in it.
Because, like the cycle of Power Rangers, ideas and concepts can repeat over and over again. But, how they stand out is through the people they connect to.
Through colorful and fun illustrations, Power Rangers Infinity #1 serves as an ultimate reminder of the power of storytelling and a reminder to us all of how we can all become Power Rangers.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I just want to reiterate that though this comic made it look super easy, this is not how you pitch your ideas, people! You can’t just tell someone your brilliant amazing fanfic idea just because you’re a big fan of the franchise. You need to put in actual effort. Get writing experience. Get drawing experience. That can be taken seriously as you work your way up and create something better. (I remember those comments from Instagram back in the day. Do not just bombard and annoy writers online about it. Don’t.)
- Given that I am posting this review after coming back from Power Morphicon is an experience I gotta say.
- Sam Humphries is a newcomer to the Power Rangers franchise, but he has written lots of other superhero stories before for both Marvel and DC like Harley Quinn, where he brings over the fun jokes and humor from over there into here. Another one that’s not as well known, but I want to bring up: Dial H for Hero (2019). A story about two kids in the DC universe who find a phone capable of transforming them into different heroes with every call. It’s much like this one, mixing different genres together while being a meta take on what it means to be a hero. I highly recommend you check it out.
- Dillon, just what is that pose? “WEEE!”
- Lola knows enough about Power Rangers to know that Poisandra returned to the show in Super Ninja Steel, but didn’t know that we’ve already had multiple zords already based on dinosaurs and jeeps?
- (Though, if I want to be technical, Poisandra’s last appearance in the overall franchise was in Battle for the Grid where she was a DLC character.)
- The writer that Lola is pitching to looks familiar… I just can’t place it.
- I have not seen an actual Poisandra cosplay in real life. I would like to get this fixed. Please and thank you. (Also, the Poisandra Stan Society. The PSS?)
- The rest of these thoughts will be just focusing on the various Ranger teams shown here and all that we know about them.
- Paladin Force: 5 members. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow (Thomas), and Pink. Red’s a dragon and Green’s a unicorn. The others need a bit more info. Yellow’s based on something with horns and Pink might be a phoenix. Blue, I want to say, is based off a Cerberus, but I can’t be too confident about that. (Also, its style could be a parody of one of the other Toku knock-offs that came out back in the day: Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog)
- Personal Trainer Force: 4 members. Red, Blue, Green, and Yellow. All male. All shirtless. Has a floating dumbbell as their Alpha which is really clever to see. (Also, its style could be a parody of one of the other Toku knock-offs that came out back in the day: Tattooed Teenage Alien Fighters From Beverly Hills)
- Paisley Overdrive: 4 members. Red, Blue, Green, and Pink. And they’re all fabulous.
- The rest of these don’t have actual team names. I just have to guess.
- Bears: 5 members. Red (Coach Kumo), Yellow, Green, Pink, and either Blue or Black based on the lighting. (Blue is most likely, but I wouldn’t mind if it was black.) Kumo’s a polar bear and everyone else is based on other bears. So, I’m going to assume that when Kumo called his teammates his children, he was not speaking literally. (Also, why is Kumo the only member of his team without a jersey?)
- Pirates: 4 members. Black (Captain Magnus Storm), Green, Blue, and Pink. The only team without red just because red’s usually the leader. That’s funny. Apparently, there was a grandfather on board too, but I don’t know where he’d show up. Also, I think Pink might be a guy due to the usual pirate cliches. Had a trip called the Trini’s Fortune.
- Peggy: 4 members. Red, Blue (Peggy), Green, and Yellow. They might all be female, contrasting with the pirates. Peggy apparently used her knitting needles like wolverine claws. Damn.
- Pride and Prejudice: 4 members. Red, Blue, Yellow, and Pink (Penelope Prescott). They fight the “False King”, which could be a clever connection to the original source material. There was a character named Miss King in the story, but she never actually appeared. And, it does show off the famous dance between Penelope and her betrothed Yellow, who looks to be a female, making another LGBT couple in just a short panel.
- Pom Pom: 5 members. Red, Blue, Green, Yellow (Braylee Blackthorn), and Pink. Apparently, they went to regionals, then state, and then beat other teams with Zords on the mat. That’s actually not a bad concept. We’ve started with teenagers in attitude and are rooted for that in some iterations. Have an actual Ranger team as the protectors of that school. It’s awesome.
