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A Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #12 Review – The Day Evil Won

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

mighty-morphin-power-rangersTITLE: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #12
AUTHOR: Kyle Higgins
PENCILLER: Hendry Prasetya. Cover by Jamal Campbell.
PUBLISHER: BOOM! Studios
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASED: February 15, 2017

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

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

I just have to keep reminding myself: The story’s not over yet. The story’s not over yet. The story’s not over yet…

Everything I wrote about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11 still applies in this issue. Exposing Tommy and Billy to elements from their future, such as the White Ranger, the Tigerzord, and the Thunderzords, potentially taints the events that occur later in his timeline. Assuming, that is, we don’t get a mind wipe at the end of this story. But until we see how the story ends, there’s no use poo-pooing what Kyle Higgins, Hendry Prasetya, and the BOOM! Studios crew are giving us here. So we may as well enjoy this whole post-apocalyptic, alternate universe tale they’ve crafted for us.

MMPR #12 tells us quite a bit about said universe. In this timeline, Tommy remained with Rita and her forces after the events of “Green With Evil,” as opposed to teaming up with the other Rangers. As such, Rita eventually conquers the Earth. But not before Zordon creates the White Ranger powers, and attempts to give them to Jason. In the final battle between the forces of good and evil, Tommy steals the White Ranger powers, and merges them with the Green Ranger powers. But Saba, the talking saber that was to have served as the White Ranger’s partner, has survived. And for the Tommy and Billy we know, he’s the only ally in sight.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #12, Hendry Prasetya, big fightOn the pages that show is the final days of this great war we see Lokar (who shows up later in season one) the Alien Rangers and Ninjor (season three), and even the Phantom Ranger (Power Rangers Turbo)! Strangely enough, we also have the Pumpkin Rapper, a random monster from season one. I don’t mind him being there. But out of all the monsters you could have picked, why the Pumpkin Rapper?

The battle itself really does look like a doomsday scenario where our heroes have their last hope snuffed out. I gripe about Tommy and Billy “knowing too much about their own destiny,” as Doc Brown would say. But I do appreciate the fan service that comes with having the Thunderzords, the Alien Rangers, etc. If you’re a Power Rangers fan, it has an undeniably epic feel.

On the subject of fan service…um, hi Aisha Campbell? The issue ends with the character that eventually takes Trini’s place as the Yellow Ranger showing up as part of a rebellion of sorts, next to Trini herself! Trini and, of all people, Bulk. Again, Tommy and Billy meeting Aisha in this alternate realty potentially spoils the emotional impact of them meeting later in life. But I’ll wait ’til the story’s over…. *clenches fists*

As I’ve said previously, Prasetya’s main strength on this book is drawing all the extravagant sci-fi stuff. He proves that yet again with a gorgeous splash page of the Tigerzord (shown below). It’s very reminiscent of the footage we always used to see on the show, with the crushing of the rocks and the big roar. It’s the strongest page in the issue, by far. Of course, the battle stuff is awesome. We get a very strong two-page spread of all the Rangers and baddies in front of the Command Center. It feels every bit as epic as it needs to be.

mmpr #12, Tigerzord, Hendry PrasetyaQuestion: Does merging the Green and White Ranger powers take a toll on the body of Lord Drekkon? I keep coming back to that weird vascularity we see on his face. If you remember from the “White Light” episodes, the Green Ranger powers were created by the forces of evil, while the White Ranger powers were created from “the light of goodness.” So in theory, it would be unnatural to combine them.

My assumption has been that Drekkon was the one to reach out to Rita across the space time continuum. But why? Perhaps to find a younger version of himself to give the power to, and then inhabit? Just a guess…

We also get a brief scene in this issue where we see Rita and her forces have taken over the Command Center. She tells Goldar that she and Finster are working on “a better you.” That’s damn intriguing, considering how Higgins has written Goldar in this book. He tended to have his own agenda on the show, and that’s very much the case here. I’d be surprised if he didn’t have a major role in the outcome of this story.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers remains near the top of my stack each time it comes out. But with each passing month, I get more and more nervous about how this story is going to end…

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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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