Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 picks things up 10 years later and kicks off a new era
It’s been ten years since the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers turned in their morphers and went their separate ways. But now they’ve been called back to the legendary Command Center to face a new, terrifying form of a familiar foe: Rita Rabiosa. They may not be teenagers with attitudes anymore, but are they still the same heroes they once were? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 is both a new start and a continuation of the original team as they’re a little older and facing new threats.
I’ll start off by making it clear, I was never a Power Rangers fan. I’ve watched a few episodes of the original series, seen some of the movies, and probably have read more comics based on it than the number of episodes watched. Overall, I can see it’s appeal, but it’s never been a series that was interesting to me. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 is an interesting debut with aspects I enjoy but overall, for me, it looks real oomph and doesn’t lean in enough to what makes it interesting.
Written by Marguerite Bennett, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 attempts a difficult balance. It needs to hit the nostalgia buttons while also delivering something new and different. In that aspect, it’s a team and members that are older and different points in their lives. It’s a concept I can get behind and if that was the entire pitch for me, I’d be excited to see what’s to come. But, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 speeds through all of that and leaves some questions. Billy is still working as a Power Ranger while the rest have moved on in different ways. The concept of the team grown up and having to go back to being heroes is interesting. But, the comic feels more like a reunion of people who haven’t spoken in a decade than focusing on their current lives.
There’s some details that feel odd in that reunion. One team member reveals a child that everyone else seems to not know about, which tells readers the team hasn’t kept in touch, but from what I know, that not keeping touch feels a little out of character.
The comic also shifts quickly from the reunion to getting right into battle with a new villain, Rita Rabiosa. The action is ok and feels like what we’ve seen before from previous comics. There’s some leaning into the fact they’re out of practice, but again, it’s not quite as overt as one would expect. So, it dances around the most interesting aspect delivering a debut issue that feels like the more traditional comic we’ve seen.
The art by Andrew Lee Griffith is good. With color by Joshua Jensen and lettering by Ed Dukeshire, the comic’s look is what we’ve seen before. The characters look a little older but nothing of what one might expect after 10 years. There’s some interesting page layouts playing off of some of the visuals from the television series. Overall, the art is good but nothing that really stands out and excites.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 has an interesting concept at its core but the overall comic feels like what we’ve seen before in some of the previous starts. It’s not bad but feels more like it’ll be interesting to those who are die-hard fans of the Power Rangers than a new audience who could connect with its new concept.
Story: Marguerite Bennett Art: Andrew Lee Griffith
Color: Joshua Jensen Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Story: 7.5 Art: 7.5 Overall: 7.5 Recommendation: Read
BOOM! Studios provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
