Always Expect The Unexpected: Reviewing ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ #107

Nostalgia is a powerful thing. There are ways to shape or wield that power in a creative way that resonates. There are also ways to use that power in a way that feels empty or just doesn’t hit for some. Currently, we are seeing a heavy dose of nostalgia across every single entertainment medium as companies turn more and more to their past for things to create in the present.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as a series is a perfect example of how to wield the power of nostalgia in a powerfully creative, resonating, and unexpected way. Having worked on the property for so many years and clearly being a fan, Melissa Flores is able to weave through the morphing grid itself to craft a story that doesn’t fear touching on things that will make fans squeal in glee or wrap around themselves like a comforting old blanket while mixing in tons of brand new unexpected mind-blowing things.

I mean truth be told that cliffhanger finale at the end of the last issue wasn’t one that I thought could be topped emotion-wise, but Flores said, “Hold my morpher” and came in swinging once again here. Never once, if asked, would I have been able to guess who/what the identity of the Vessel truly is and what that means for the overall story being told.

Yes, there are these mind-blowing cliffhangers and big fights and expanding chaos in this issue and the last two, but it’s all earned. Flores came on board after the road to the big 100^th issue and didn’t scale everything back to some zero point as we’re thrown into some stuff right away. At the time the reveal of Mistress Vile and what she was doing felt huge, and it truly is and was, but the stuff around it, in hindsight, was quieter and in essence was the “slow build” that led up to this point. Essentially those moments were us getting on that scary new roller coaster that has a rise and drop right away, but it’s all been leading us to the bigger scarier hill that is going to have a spectacular drop on the horizon.

Wrapping around to that nostalgia bit again, what makes the nostalgic vibes work here is that this world is fleshed out and we know these characters and can just exist alongside them but in a new way. Everything about this series since the day it launched has tapped into that Power Rangers vibe but with modern sensibilities and setting. Not only that but the thing that sets it even more apart from the show, which Flores does superbly, is actually exploring the emotions and issues and problems these characters face.

All the actors did great work and the shows explored stuff some, but there was never really enough time in a half-hour kids’ show about monster fighting that basically had to do a semi-reset between episodes (otherwise Angel Grove would have been rubble by like episode ten). Comics come with the inherent space and natural proclivity to spend more time on character exploration/development alongside taking things to a level they couldn’t entirely go within the space that the show gave them. Basically, this series takes what was great about that era of the television series and makes it even greater.

It helps to have a fantastic artist in Simona Di Gianfelice on board who makes every bit of that emotional character development, as well as everything else we see on the page, come to brilliant life. We know this world, yes, but it also must feel like a lived-in real deep world on the page and Di Gianfelice pulls that off so easily. There is tons of detail that enhance any moment, but there are also spots where that is pulled back in order to keep the focus on a character or characters and whatever is happening right then with or to them. Plenty of great layout choices that shift around to keep our point of view moving in order to keep us the reader deep in the action but also to help showcase moments with close-ups or wide shots or other depths.

It’s so awesome how well Di Gianfelice is able to balance the line of having an art style that feels very animated and tapping into a more lighthearted type of energy but also can feel dark, heavy, and menacing at the same time. Many of the more personal light moments can feel 100% like the energy we would get from the show, but then at the same time, moments like the pages with Mistress Vile or the rise of the Zedd Ranger feel so terrifying to behold as these characters showcase their deadly power and definitely don’t feel like the easily beaten villains, we saw time and time again on screen. In this universe, I would fully believe Zedd or Vile would kill a Ranger with their own bare hands before bothering to send some monster that would be defeated easily.

Raúl Angulo’s colors achieve this same balance because they are vivid and pop to bring that light and fun in spaces but are also very heavy and toned down when they need to be. It keeps the whole thing grounded but also makes sure it never loses the fact that this is a far more supernatural/fantastical world than our own full of aliens, giant robots/monsters, and teenagers with the ability to call upon amazing power on a whim. Another aspect of this comes from the fact that the overall style choices remain the same throughout, but each space has a life of its own that we can see and feel.

Angulo pulls upon the energy of the different settings we’re bouncing through to make sure that the colors are true to them and how they would feel, even down to how well or little they would be lit. Love the scenes with Zedd and Grace where everything has the red hue over it because of the alarm red alert system in effect with Zedd’s escape.

Setting the tone is also the accomplished mission of Ed Dukeshire in every issue, just bringing all the voices and personalities clear to the page with fantastic lettering. Every bit of pain, anger, raised voice, awkwardness, or whatever is so clear right on sight. Just pumping up the font size or style of the bubble does so much, and Dukeshire knows how to do that weaving sort of dance with letters that make things work so well. We’re reading about a colorful fantastical world and the emotions/words that come from that world should have that same energy.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #107 is now available from BOOM! Studios.