Chris Cooper reviews Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Vol. 1…
Dive into the first collection of our best-selling, modern, ongoing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series! After escaping Rita Repulsa’s mind control, Tommy Oliver, the Green Ranger, joins the Power Rangers to combat the onslaught of evil attacks plaguing Angel Grove. Any semblance of a normal life is gone for Tommy now, but with his newfound family there lies hope for a brighter path.
Back in my younger days I ran around the Primary School playground with a group of friends fighting imaginary Putty Patrols whilst shouting ‘Triceratops’ with furious conviction. As an adult I own a morpher, which I used to pose with the original Blue Ranger (David Yost, humble brag, lovely guy).
So as you can imagine I was terribly excited to find out that there was going to be a comic book based on my era of Power Rangers.
When I heard that Kyle Higgins would be writing the series I was filled with confidence. His work on Nightwing and Gates of Gotham for DC was some of the best to come out around the start of the New 52 so I knew he could take established characters and work well with them. He gives us a much wider and deeper look into the Rangers, all the while keeping in mind how the TV show was always about teamwork overcoming evil. This collection only includes the first five issues of the comic (0-4) but manages to lay the groundwork for each character’s personalities in a stronger way than the show did. They all have their moments to show strengths and insecurities whilst hinting at bigger things to come.
With the story starting immediately after Tommy’s defection to the light he gets a lot of attention. Struggling with a new school and his recent dramatic events, the Green Ranger’s biggest challenge is working his way into a group that has clearly defined itself into a clique with their own way of working. Quite rightly there are question marks over his allegiance. These issues threaten the group on more than one occasion, giving us levels of drama the show could never really match (Green with Evil aside).
It’s not just the story telling that is improved.
Unhindered by budget or Super Sentai footage, these Rangers are fully able to show off their abilities both suited and in their Zords. Individually the Zords are shown to be useful whilst when joined as the Megazord you still see the team working together. Rita and her cronies are no slouches either as down on the ground even Putties are shown to be decent adversaries. It really helps the story in a dramatic sense when both the heroes and villains are shown to be competent.
I could go on and on about all the aspects I love about this comic. The storytelling is strong and the artwork is a great match. You get exactly what you expect from it – colour coded civilian clothes and morphing sequences – alongside plenty you haven’t seen before. Everyone is perhaps a little too square-jawed but it’s a minor complaint. Even Bulk and Skull look right.
Oh and the covers! Take them in and love them. They are things of beauty.
It’s rare that I venture outside of my TMNT/Batman bubble in comics. But this is one excursion that proved worthwhile.
If I had to sum it up in one word I’d go with…
Morphinominal.
Rating: 9/10
Chris Cooper
Originally published October 29, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
