Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #107 delivered a major bombshell at the end of the issue as Vessel’s true identity is said to be Zordon. If that wasn’t enough Lord Drakkon returned with his first action being to break Kiya Kyatyl, the former Blue Omega Ranger, from her prison. That is on top of everything Mistress Vile is doing, which includes turning Matthew Cook into her new evil Green Ranger. Can the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Omega Rangers overcome everything? Let’s find out with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Marco Renna
Colorist: Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SYNOPSIS
“Set in the past, Rita retrieves the mysterious Vessel with one of her close allies, who is shocked to discover The Vessel’s true identity! In a chain of emotional events, The Vessel himself will have to contend with where his allegiance will lie in the end. Will he be friend or foe for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers?” – BOOM! Studios
REVIEW
Melissa Flores and Marco Renna dedicate Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 to focus on the major revelation of Zordon being the identity of Vessel. That alone is a revelation that deserves dedicated time to explore the why and ramifications of this revelation. That is where Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 turns out to be a comic book that feels like an interlude chapter that is placing a single building block on the foundation of the Recharged Era rather than pushing things forward.
The reveal that when Rita Repulsa locked Zordon’s soul in the time warp she made sure to leave his body intact was a great use of continuity. This is something that works well within the continuity of the Power Rangers franchise. Given how the franchise has developed in its comic book form we have plenty of examples of how many added layers to different concepts only briefly explored in the TV series. Rita keeping Zordon’s body intact is something that further puts over how she always knew she would escape one day. Making preparations like having a minion put Zordon’s body on ice for an unknown use in the future adds to Rita’s credibility as a villain.
Addressing how Zordon could be Vessel right away was refreshing to see happen. This isn’t something that needed to be dragged out several issues after the revelation is made. There is too much going on in the Recharged Era to let everything hanging to only address one or two final issues at the end of the storyline. By getting the story of Zordon and Vessel’s connection out of the way Flores opens up the story to dedicate more time to things like Mistress Vile working for Dark Spectre and Lord Drakkon’s return. At the same time, Flores leaves things in a place where Vessel’s story is still developing.
The face-off between Zordon and Vessel gives us greater insight into the impact of the Power Rangers’ history during the “Zordon Era.” Because of how Mistress Vile broke him out Vessel tries to focus on the negative aspects of Zordon’s history to validate being prepared to be Dark Specter’s new vessel. This makes how Zordon fights back with all the positive memories of his life and all the good the Power Rangers have done work well. By doing this it creates a question as to what role Vessel will ultimately serve when all is said and done with the Recharged Era storyline.
While the Zordon and Vessel conflict does deserve the time it got in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 it is a bit disappointing that nothing else in the Recharged Era storyline is progressed. Outside of Rocky, Adam, and Alpha 5 being taken out by Vessel every other character seemed to be frozen in time. Because of that, the momentum for everything else in the Recharged Era does come across as unnecessarily stalled. It doesn’t take away from the success of the story between Zordon and Vessel but does hurt that greater storyline’s momentum.
For how Flores went with a deep dive into the Power Rangers history Marco Renna did a great job in framing all the flashback scenes. Renna made all of Zordon’s memories have a life of their own to deliver the impact of everything that has happened in his life. And with how simple of a facial design both Zordon and Vessel have it speaks to Renna’s abilities as an artist that he still gets across the strong emotions both characters feel during their confrontation.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 is an important interlude chapter for the Recharged Era. While the battle between the Power Rangers vs Mistress Vile is frozen in place, what we get in its place is a meaningful exploration of Zordon’s character. The way things are left between Zordon and Vessel does leave you wondering how the Recharged Era will continue to develop.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10