Things have certainly escalated with Rita Repulsa returning as Mistress Vile to cause all sorts of chaos to not only the Power Rangers but also Lord Zedd. We’ve never seen a Rita this powerful as she has reached a whole new level that made even Lord Zedd look like a child playing with a toy. The question is how she not only escaped the cosmic dumpster but gained this sudden power upgrade. That is where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104 comes in as it teases revealing what happened to Rita since we last saw her before returning as Mistress Vile. Let’s find out now.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artists: Kath Lobo and Simona Di Gianfelice
Colorists: Fabi Marques and Raul Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SYNOPSIS
Mistress Vile then recollects when she was still Rita Repulsa she was found and freed by Divatox, who was hired by Master Vile to bring him back his daughter.
When Rita is brought to her father Master Vile reveals he will offer Alpha-1 as the new vessel for Dark Specter.
On Planet Infernus Dark Specter calls out Master Vile for thinking a centuries-old robot would be a proper vessel for his power. With Alpha-1’s help, Rita defeats her father in a fight. Rita then removes the memories of the fight and Dark Specter from Master Vile’s mind.
Rita then offers to be Dark Specter’s new general and obtain the Zeo Crystals for him. Dark Specter agrees and provides Rita with a portion of his power to complete her transformation into Mistress Vile.
Mistress Vile and Alpha-1 then go to Planet Bizerk to recover Vessel from where it is locked in ice.
Back in the present Matthew Cook is unable to fight off Mistress Vile’s torture as he is shown falling closer to darkness. End of issue.
REVIEW
With how much damage Rita as Mistress Vile has already done it was refreshing that Melissa Flores took the time to provide a deep dive into all that’s gone on in the Recharged direction thus far. What made this all work was how Flores uses the mythology of Power Rangers to connect everything. There are moments throughout Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104 that will hit with fans, especially of the Zordon Era.
Not only do we get Master Vile but also see Divatox, Darkonda, Dark Specter, and Alpha-1 return. This all is made to work within the mythology of the Power Rangers since we know that as Rita she had some relationship with them. Back in Power Rangers Turbo, there was a scene with Divatox and Rita that did paint them to be on at least contact terms. Here we see what appears to be the first meeting between Rita and Divatox that builds that connection. It’s things like this that are very much appreciated because while we know that BOOM! Studios Power Rangers has diverged into its own universe we have these ties that honor the show.
The relationship between Rita and Master Vile makes great use of how we’ve seen the Power Rangers comics develop Rita’s backstory. All of Rita’s history felt like it culminated at this moment when she was completely done working for Master Vile. The comments about everything Master Vile has done not only to her but also to her brother Rito just to fulfill finding Dark Specter’s perfect vessel made Rita’s case even stronger. Alpha-1 surprise reappearance was the final straw that Rita needed to see that her father was too far gone in fulfilling Dark Specter’s wishes that she could no longer follow him.
This all led well to seeing how Rita is a master manipulator. First, we see how she is able to easily use her knowledge of Alpha-1 to get the corrupted former assistant to Zordon to her side. Then there is how she talks with Divatox to make sure she doesn’t side with her father. And finally, there is how she goes about showing Dark Specter she makes a much better general than Master Vile does. It all made the transformation into Mistress Vile have much more impact as we find out how she got her power upgrade.
Tying all of this up to how Rita has been revealed to contain Morphin Grid energy within her the perfect general for Dark Specter to gain more of that power. And we once again see how important the Zeo Crystals continue to be as the power from them is enough for Dark Specter to agree with Rita. This all adds to the mythology of the Zeo Crystals being such a key item in the Power Rangers universe as even Dark Specter knows its powers to be game-changing.
Starting off we see that Mistress Vile is putting Matthew Cook through even worse torture than Tommy Oliver ever got to become her Green Ranger. She is doing everything to break Matt mentally and physically. This shows Mistress Vile learned from the errors she made as Rita Repulsa when making Tommy her Green Ranger. It all further pushes how much more evil Mistress Vile is compared to her previous Rita Repulsa form.
It also gets you to feel the urgency for the other Power Rangers to rescue Matt. No matter how strong he is Matt is going to inevitably fall to Mistress Vile’s influence if any more time passes. This makes you invested in Matt’s arc even more as we are seeing him possibly go down the path of his Green Ranger predecessor in reverse. What ends up happening keeps fans guessing what is possibly next.
Kath Lobo and Simona Di Gianfelice brought it for this important issue for Rita Repulsa’s character. Lobo nailed how Rita’s mind was already working to figure out how to obtain the power she needed for her revenge. Rita was a character that is done being used by everyone and feels her aspirations for power are held back by the likes of Lord Zedd and Master Vile. It all made what Rita is doing as Mistress Vile is doing come across as having a deeper level of evil, especially with how much pain she is putting Matthew Cook through.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104 does an excellent job giving Rita Repulsa new layers as she embraces being Mistress Vile. In the process, Melissa Flores, Kath Lobo, and Simona Di Gianfelice continue to explore the Power Rangers in exciting new ways. This is a must-have for Power Rangers’ fans.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10