Tag Power Rangers Zeo

Power Rangers Beast Morphers, “Making Bad” Review (Goldar Returns…sort of)

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

***As big a Power Rangers fan as I am, I must admit: I’m a little behind on modern PR. Here’s where I attempt to fix that, as I check out episodes of Power Rangers Beast Morphers!***

Goldar Maximus, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Making BadSERIES: Power Rangers Beast Morphers
EPISODE: S27:E14 – “Making Bad”
STARRING: Rorrie D. Travis, Jazz Baduwalia, Jacqueline Scislowski, Abraham Rodriguez, Campbell Cooley (Voice)
WRITERS: Becca Barnes, Alwyn Dale, Maiya Thompson, James Collins, Cameron Dixon
DIRECTOR: Simon Bennett
PREMIERE DATE: June 17, 2020 (UK), October 17, 2020 (US)
SYNOPSIS: Evox’s forces debate which villain to revive to take on the Rangers.

New around here? Check out the Power Rangers review archive!

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

“Making Bad” is a strange episode. Not necessarily strange in a bad way. But strange nonetheless.

The premise is that Scrozzle, Robo-Blaze, Robo-Roxy, and the other villains are debating about which villains to bring back next with the Reanimizer. They watch old footage of villains like Koragg, Astronema, Lord Zedd, and Psycho Red before finally settling on their choice. As a long-time fan that’s really cool to see, even if the footage is “watered down” (more on that in a bit).

But from a storytelling perspective, it’s odd that the episode spends so much time teaching us about villains we ultimately won’t end up seeing.  The four villains mentioned above have no impact on Beast Morphers whatsoever. So what’s the point in talking about them? Simple fanservice?

Lord Zedd footage, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Making Bad

Incidentally, seeing how much Lord Zedd is emphasized in this episode and the previous one, I can’t help but wonder if at this point they already knew what they were going to do with Zedd in Dino Fury…

Most of the retro footage we see in this episode has a “watered down” feel to it, as it’s all been re-dubbed by different voice actors. It’s not limited to actors inside suits, either. The “conventional” performances, where you can see the actors’ faces, are dubbed as well. For instance, in the footage we see from Power Rangers in Space, Melody Perkins (Astronema) and Christopher Kayman Lee (Andros) are dubbed over by new actors. And for the most part the original actors, like Perkins and Lee, weren’t used for the dubbing. (The only major exception is Koragg/Leonbow, whose actor Geoff Dolan does return).

According to research done by Linkara, this may have something to do with voice-only tracks for those old episodes not being available. Whether that’s actually the case or not, the effect is the same: It sucks. It really takes the punch out of seeing characters like Zedd and Astronema referenced in modern PR.

Trivia note: The actress who dubs for Rita’s voice, Susan Brady, also voiced the character during her brief appearance in Mystic Force.

After Robo-Roxy suggests Astronema be revived, Robo-Blaze says she should remember Astronema became a good guy from Ranger History Class. So wait, Blaze and Roxy took the class too?!? Who’s in this class, anyway? Did Nate take it too? Are Devon, Ravi, and Zoey still taking it as the series continues? I want to know!!!

Robo-Roxy, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Making Bad

Robo-Roxy is batting a thousand in this episode, as she refers to King Mondo from Zeo as “King Mondu.” Whoops.

While the villains are debating about who to bring back, the Rangers spend some time hunting for a jewel thief who picks his targets in alphabetical order. It ultimately turns out to be a Robotron, who may very well be the stupidest jewel thief of all time.

Evox’s forces ultimately choose to revive Goldar, albeit an “upgraded” and enhanced version of Goldar. He’ll ultimately be referred to as Goldar Maximus, so that’s what we’ll call him here. Once again, Goldar’s original voice actor, Kerrigan Mahan, is not used. I’m not sure if it was a union issue (which Power Rangers has run into historically), an issue of not wanting to pay a certain amount to get him, or something else. Even more than the dubbed retro footage, that hurts the final product. No disrespect to Adrian Smith, who was ultimately picked to voice Goldar Maximus. But as a kid, a huge part of why Goldar had such an imposing presence, especially in season one, was because of the beastly and animalistic voice Mahan used. It just doesn’t feel like Goldar without him doing the voice.

Behind the scenes, the decision to use Goldar was dictated by the Sentai source material they’d been using for “Finders Keepers,” this episode, and the next episode, the movie Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters: The Great Dinosaur Battle! Farewell, Our Eternal Friends. (Yeesh. That’s a title…) The film sees Goldar’s Sentai counterpart, Grifforzer, return in the altered form we see here. So to a large extent, if they wanted to use Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters, they had to use Goldar…

Goldar Maximus, image 2, Power Rangers Beast Morphers, Making Bad

Or did they? Would it have been too lame to make the altered Grifforzer suit Goldar’s son, or some kind of relative? That would solve the Kerrigan Mahan issue.

On Evox’s order, Goldar kills Sledge for his insolence. That’s a nice little feather in Goldar’s cap, as Sledge was, of course, a lead villain. And I have no doubt Sledge will be back somewhere down the line. Beast Morphers was the third consecutive series he’d appeared in, after Dino Charge and Ninja Steel. The guy is hard to keep down, that’s all I’m sayin’.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Power Rangers Spotlight: Jordan Gibson

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By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

I’m a huge fan of all the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers variant covers you’re going to see here. That’s why it’s somewhat embarrassing to say I just recently discovered they’re all by the same guy: Jordan Gibson.

Issue #28: Jason remembers. This is the first Gibson cover I can remember seeing. It’s downright touching, actually. A Zeo era Jason gazing fondly at his old Red Ranger costume in the Power Chamber. It’s very easy to read a nostalgic fondness on his face. Ironically, the same feeling those old MMPR episodes evoke from so many of us. For some reason, the placement of his hand on the glass goes a long way in that regard as well. It’s funny how much a simple hand placement can do.

Issue #31: “Forever Red.” I’m convinced this is a nod to another famous comic book cover. I just can’t figure out which one. At the very least, it captures that epic vibe that a lot of covers go for. Certainly as fitting a tribute to “Forever Red” as there’s ever been. My only complaint? I would have put the Red Wild Force Ranger in the center, as opposed to Red Turbo. It was a Wild Force episode, after all.

Issue #33: Dr. Tommy Oliver. Conspicuous by his absence in this year’s big Shattered Grid event comic was the Tommy we saw in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. The Tommy that acted as a mentor to his own team of Rangers. As the villain, Lord Drakkon, was an evil alt-universe version of Tommy, it would have made sense to see those two meet. The closest we got was this variant cover from Gibson. To his credit, this thing is friggin’ awesome. It catches Tommy in the final miliseconds of his morphing sequence. The orange background is really what makes it, capturing the same color scheme they used for most of the morphs that season.

Issue #34: “Once a Ranger.”

“Once a Ranger” doesn’t necessarily get a lot of love from longtime fans. I can see why. Operation Overdrive wasn’t exactly a critical success. But the two-parter still had its merits. At the very least, it was fun to see all the former Rangers back. Gibson tips his hat to said alumni with this variant cover to issue #34.

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MMPR: Shattered Grid – 25 Morphinominal Moments, Part Two

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

We’re back, and still counting down moments from Shattered Grid. It’s 25 Morphinominal Moments for 25 years of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!

(Check out Part One if you missed it!)

6. Enter the Ranger Slayer (Go Go Power Rangers #9)
Go Go Power Rangers maintained an interesting balancing act during Shattered Grid. It had to continue doing its own thing, while also introducing us to the Ranger Slayer, and giving her a story that ties into the event overall.

Of course, the Ranger Slayer is the older Kimberly counterpart from Lord Drakkon’s universe. This take on Kimberly definitely has a Katniss Everdeen vibe going for her. She gets a strong introduction too, complete with a couple of oddly humorous lines from Miss Appleby. Mora re-uses this same action pose later in the issue when we see her in morphed form.

And then to boot, we get this next little moment…

7. “Who let you go outside with that haircut?”

I mean, we’ve got two Kimberlys. At that point, you can’t not have a hair joke, right? At least she made herself laugh.

8. Power Rangers Zeo (MMPR Annual 2018)
Zeo has been surprisingly underrepresented in the BOOM! books. Luckily that will be rectified a bit once Marguerite Bennett and our new creative team take over. But MMPR Annual 2018 was the first time we’d seen the Zeo covered by Kyle Higgins and the crew.

Drawn by Marcus To, the story shows us the team’s farewell party for Jason after he loses the Gold Ranger powers. But amidst it all is a great little scene between Tommy and Jason on top of the Command Center. They reminisce about old times, and Jason talks about how good it was to be a Ranger again, if only for a short time.

Of course, there’s a big swerve near the end. But I adore the idea. Scenes like this are a big part of what makes this BOOM! Studios MMPR run so great.

9. Zordon and the Emissaries (MMPR Free Comic Book Day Special)
One of the highlights of Kyle Higgins’ work in the PR universe was MMPR #15, a Zordon-focused issue, following everybody’s favorite blue head in a tube as he travels through a dimensional rift and meets his counterpart from Lord Drakkon’s universe. In the MMPR special that came out on Free Comic Book Day, Higgins once again got to play around with Zordon. This time with co-author Ryan Parrott, and illustrator Diego Galindo.

As the conflict with Drakkon continues to escalate, Zordon seemingly travels to an etherial plane of sorts to meet with three emissaries, in the hopes that they will ask the “Morphin Masters” (long story) to intervene. These emissaries take the shifting forms of various red, blue, and yellow rangers, which is fascinating. They’re seemingly speaking to Zordon from inside the Morphin Grid. So it makes a sort of sense that they would take on these familiar forms.

While there’s certainly no need for us to see them again, I certainly wouldn’t mind another appearance from these emissaries, if not the Morphin Masters themselves.

10. Tommy lounging.
This might seem relatively insignificant, given all Shattered Grid throws at us, but I love this panel. Daniele Di Nicuolo, along with inker Simona Di Gianfelice and colorist Walter Baiamonte, show us Lord Drakkon slumped down in his throne. He almost looks like a petulant young king. If you’re just doing a quick scan of this page, it’s easy to mistake Tommy’s expression as a smile. But of course, it’s not. He’s stewing as he stares into the Red Zeonizer Crystal he stole from his Zeo-era counterpart (see above), who was loved by his friends and fellow Rangers…

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That Power Rangers 25th Anniversary Photo: Pulling Back the Curtain!

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

So yesterday, like a perfectly normal 33-year-old man, I geeked out over a photo from a children’s show.

But not just any children’s show. The Power Rangers 25th anniversary episode, which is set to air August 28 on Nickelodeon. In prime time, no less.

As you can likely tell, I’m an un-closeted, unabashed PR geek. As such, I can tell you history dictates that an anniversary show usually means appearances from past Rangers. With this big anniversary approaching, we were all expecting an episode with some familiar faces. We just weren’t entirely sure who we’d see. This week, we got our first official confirmations with this photo from IGN…

For the uninitiated, these are (left to right) Catherine Sutherland, Jason Faunt, and Jason David Frank, reprising their roles as Katherine, Wes, and Tommy. All three are regulars on the convention circuit nowadays, so it’s not necessarily a huge shock to see them. But while JDF and Jason Faunt both appeared on the show’s 20th anniversary episode, this will be Sutherland’s first on-screen appearance for PR since 1997. So it’s obviously quite special to see her with a morpher on again.

Oddly enough, some fans have balked at Kat using the Turbo powers, as opposed to the Zeo powers. The argument being that while she eventually passed her Turbo powers on to someone else, she was the one and only Pink Zeo Ranger. While I admit that given the choice I’d have her use the Zeo powers, I’m not going to nitpick it. I’m just happy to have her back.

Look closely, and you’ll see Tommy is using the Green Ranger power coin. So he’ll be the Green Ranger again, as he was when we last saw him. It makes sense, as the Green Ranger has more nostalgic value than almost anything else in the series. But I’ve actually got a soft spot for Tommy as the White Ranger. I almost wish they’d swerve us and go that way.

As for who else we’ll see on the show, there’s a list of names out there of PR actors spotted in New Zealand (where the show is filmed) during production. But again, nothing is confirmed. The only unannounced name that I think is pretty obvious is Ciara Hanna, who played Gia in Power Rangers Mega Force. She recently did some business with the show alongside JDF. So I don’t think it’s much of a stretch.

Either way, here’s hoping this show is as special as we’re all hoping it will be. After enduring for 25 years, the series deserves at least that much.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or follow Primary Ignition on Twitter.

A Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #6 Review – The Feminist Ranger

Rob Siebert 9 Comments

MMPR: Pink #6, Daniele Di Nicuolo, coverTITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Pink #6
AUTHOR: Brenden Fletcher and Kelly Thompson (story), Tini Howard (script)
PENCILLER: Daniele Di NIcuolo
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: January 25, 2017

***WARNING: Spoilers lay ahead!***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

Ah, the letter. Given when this story is set, I didn’t think we’d get to address that. But here it is.

During Power Rangers Zeo, the season that succeeded Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Tommy gets a letter from Kimberly. It’s essentially a Dear John letter, as she ends their long-distance relationship, saying she’s met someone else. This left a bad taste in the mouths of a lot of fans. Kim was rarely mentioned after actress Amy Jo Johnson left the series. When she returned for the Turbo movie, her relationship with Tommy was barely touched on. Thus, the long-standing relationship between two of the show’s most popular characters ended on a pretty sour note.

That letter turned out to be a piece of what MMPR: Pink is all about. In the end, it became about Kim being her own person and letting go of her old life. About moving on, and becoming a new kind of hero. Fans who’ve dreamt of seeing Kim and Tommy end up together may not be thrilled by that idea. But in the end, it’s pretty damn cool.

MMPR: Pink #6, 2017, Rangers arriveThe issue starts with Kimberly’s makeshift team of Rangers (Zack, Trini, and two civilians she enlisted in France) arriving to save Tommy and the active Rangers on a faraway planet. They arrive in Typhonis, a giant battle machine Goldar constructed using pieces of the destroyed Thunderzords. They also have Titanus and Tor the Shuttle Zord, which the Rangers have used previously. The use of words from previous seasons is cool fan service, though admittedly a little hokey. There’s an epic feel to seeing those old zords next to the Ninja Megazord in the final battle.

Last issue we learned Zack and Trini have become a couple. That’s completely out of the blue, considering how the characters were on the show. But it’s fine. It’s even intriguing in an opposites-attract sort of way. The only sad thing is I’m not sure we’ll ever see this explored more.

As far as I’m concerned, Daniele Di Nicuolo is welcome back in the Power Rangers sandbox any time. He’s a tremendous fit for the PR universe. His work is clean, dynamic, and compliments what we saw on the show very well. He also got pave some of his own ground with the makeshift Ranger suits, Kim’s Katniss Everdeen wardrobe, and the inner workings of the zords. Mind you, I still don’t understand why Zack’s costume has a hood. He’s already got a helmet! What does he need a damn hood for?

Nagging questions: We’re led to believe that Tommy and the active Rangers don’t know who came to their rescue. But Kim communicates with them through the cockpit of her zord, and there’s no indication that her voice is disguised. How do they not recognize her voice? Also, Zordon obviously sent them Titanus and Tor. Couldn’t they have just asked him who the mystery rescuers were?

mmpr-pink-6-motorcycleThere’s been a “life after the Power Rangers” vibe to Pink, which comes full circle at the end. Kim meets Zack and Trini at a cafe, and they talk about their next move, promising to do a better job of staying in touch. When we jump to a year later, we see she’s done just that, including Jason in the mix as well. I like that. Even with as deep a connection as they have, they drift in and out of contact like real people.

There’s obviously a strong feminist angle to Pink, and they hammer that home at the end. A year after the rescue, as Kim is writing the famous letter, she recognizes she and Tommy have very different lives. Not content to “be the woman in pink, at his side,” she sets out to forge her path independently and be her own hero. That ending does a lot of justice to the Kimberly character. It’s really remarkable how, without necessarily intending to, Amy Jo Johnson and the crew on MMPR created this strong female character that resonated with so many viewers. This whole story is essentially a love letter to that character and that performance.

Perhaps the most surprising element of Pink is that Kim and Tommy never speak. He’s never even aware she’s nearby. That’s a hell of a thread to leave hanging, and would make for a hell of a moment in a sequel. Just saying…

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A Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11 Review – Lord Drakkon Revealed

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11, 2017, Jamal CampbellTITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11
AUTHORS: Kyle Higgins, Steve Orlando
PENCILLERS: Hendry Prasetya, Corin Howell. Jamal Campbell.
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: January 18, 2017

***WARNING: Spoilers lay ahead.***

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

This is more or less what I imagined we’d get from this follow-up to the big reveal in issue #9. They threw in a little extra garnish. But it’s essentially what I expected.

For the most part, that’s a good thing.

After the big battle in issue #9, Tommy and Billy have been transported elsewhere in time. A time when Earth has been decimated, and ruled by a mysterious White Ranger called Lord Drakkon. But who is Lord Drakkon? What’s become of our heroes? And how do Tommy and Billy get home?

Lord Drakkon is in fact an alternate version of Tommy (shown below). Though in all fairness, that’s a pretty easy prediction. The costume is clearly an amalgamation of the Green and White Ranger suits, with some extra stuff thrown in. It’s unclear how old Tommy is supposed to be. He’s got some gray in his hair, and some odd purple vasculature going on. But I assume this Tommy has been doing weird things with the Morphin Grid. So perhaps his body is feeling the effects.

Lord Drakkon, MMPR #11, Hendry PrasetyaTo create this alternate timeline, Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasetya are plucking things from subsequent seasons of the show. As our heroes make their way to the wrecked Command Center, we see the remains of the Thunderzords. Tommy eventually makes his way down to what would become the Power Chamber in Power Rangers Zeo. There he finds Saba, the White Ranger’s talking sword from seasons two and three.

Normally I don’t like when creators get cute like this. Having Tommy and Billy see things from their future taints the emotional intensity of what happens later in the show. But I’m holding off on judging too harshly until they’re done. Stories like this tend to come with mindwipes anyway.

As Billy alludes to, it’s unclear at this point whether this is an alternate timeline, or the timeline we know with an altered future. Given Tommy’s gray hair, it’s entirely possible this takes place decades in the future.

We get another tweaked costume here, in the form of the Mastadon Sentries (shown below), designed by Prasetya. According to Higgins, Drakkon has warped the Power Coins to create an army for himself. As such, we get this sort of Black Ranger S.W.A.T. team outfit. Note the lining on the gun barrel, which resembles the handle of the Power Axe. It’s a fun design. I can’t help but wonder if Drakkon has an elite guard that has the Red Ranger design. Sort of like Palpatine’s guards in Return of the Jedi.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11, Hendry Prasetya, Mastadon SentiesThe capitol building in Angel Grove has some cool design elements from Rita’s castle, most notably the orb on top. What used to be Angel Grove high is now called the Finster Memorial Correction Facility, which is a riot.

I also love the Planet of the Apes homage cover by Jamal Campbell. We don’t see anything like that in the issue, but you get the idea.

We’ve got a little bit more parent drama in this issue, as Billy’s parents and Tommy’s mother talk to the police about their missing kids. I always appreciate that in my teenage superhero dramas.

“The Ongoing Adventures of Bulk and Skull” continue, as Steve Orlando and Corin Howell tell a tale about the boys controlling a two-headed monster. This still doesn’t do much for me. The highlight was Bulk calling Rita “that nice lady with the wicker rabbit hat.”

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers continues to be at or near the top of my stack each time it comes out. We’ve reached the point where Higgins, Prasetya, and the team are really sinking their teeth in, and starting to forge their own ground. For this ’90s kid, it makes for supremely interesting comics.

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