The “Necessary Evil” storyline in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has not slowed down. After Kiya, the Blue Omega Ranger, took out the Blue Emissary she wasted no time in severely injuring Jason as well. Now with their backs against a wall after a betrayal from within Trini and Zack are forced to go get help back on Earth from their friends and fellow Power Rangers. How will Tommy, Kimberly, Billy and the others react when they learn the truth about why their friends left and the mission of the Omega Rangers? Let’s find out with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47.
Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Daniele Di Nicuolo
Colorists: Walter Baiamonte and Katia Ranalli
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: On Safehaven Kiya does her best to convince Dayne to join her to fight those that are oppressing them. Dayne does not care to join up with Kiya. She mentions how there is something the Masters of the Morphin Grid are hiding in Safehaven that they could uncover. Hearing this along with the thoughts or revenge against the Power Rangers makes Dayne agree to team with Kiya.
On Earth, in the Command Center, while Jason is getting medical treatment, Trini and Zack try to talk with their friends while avoiding revealing their mission as the Omega Rangers. Tommy, Kimberly and Billy don’t hold back showing their anger and disbelief in their friends keeping such big secrets.
Just before things escalate an attack from Goldar is detected and Zordon sends the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to deal with the threat. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers morph and immediately teleport to the location of Goldar’s attack.
The Power Rangers find Goldar with two monsters he has created attacking the city. While the others deal with the two vehicle based monsters the White Ranger fights Goldar alone. During their fight Goldar reveals he now has control of Lord Zedd’s staff and uses it to overpower the White Ranger.
Back in the Command Center Trini and Zack tell Zordon about how Kiya killed the Blue Emissary. While doing that they continue to leave out the full details of their mission. Understanding the weight of the secrets they are keeping something Zordon agrees to help Trini and Zack in whatever way he can. Hearing Zordon say this deeply touches Trini and Zack.
Suddenly Xi contacts Trini and Zack to tell them he has found a Level 7 energy spike. Xi says that if he detected it then Kiya likely knows about this Level 7 empowered as well.
Back in Angel Grove, the Power Rangers do their best to fight the two monsters. During the fight they discover that Bulk, Skull and others are being held hostage inside the monsters. This forces the Power Rangers fight defensively while figuring out a way to save the hostages.
Nearby the White Ranger dodges all of Goldar’s attacks. He then powers up Saba and is able to break the Z-staff Goldar is holding with one strike. With the staff destroyed the monsters revert to just being vehicles, saving the hostages in the process.
Seeing that he can’t win a Goldar sadly flies away.
In the Command Center’s medical bay Kimberly does not hide how upset she is with Trini. Trini isn’t able to say much except to ask that they take care of Jason.
Aisha, Adam and Rocky suddenly show up and volunteer to join Trini and Zack on their new mission. Trini accepts their offer and they teleport to the Omega Rangers’ ship.
Back on Safehaven, Dayne has found a secret entrance into a cave within one of the Emissary statues. When he gets to the bottom of the stairs he finds something that is highly interesting to him.
Elsewhere Kiya, while wearing the Blue Emissary’s cloak, tries to convince everyone that the Omega Rangers saved thus far that they were being treated like infected people by the Blue Emissary. She goes on to state that if everyone stands with her they can show the universe what they have is a blessing. One of the kids within the group is the first to show she is with Kiya.
Back in the Command Center, Jason wakes up and is welcomed back by Kimberly, Tommy and Billy. Tommy does not waste time in revealing they know about the Omega Rangers.
On the Omega Rangers ship, seeing that they are alone Aisha asks Trini if she, Rocky and Adam were chosen to only be temporary Power Ranger replacements. Trini assures Aisha that she and the others did not pick them to takeover for them as Power Rangers because it would only be temporary. Aisha has a hard time believing that given how Trini, Jason and Zack are still keeping the whole truth about being Omega Rangers a secret.
Eventually the Omega and Power Rangers reach the Telvax Nebula, where the Level 7 empowered was located. As Xi searches for the energy spike he spots someone standing on a comet.
The guy standing on the comet apologizes to the Rangers and then unleashes an energy blast that cuts the Omega Rangers’ ship in half. End of issue.
The Good: Once again, Ryan Parrott shows how talented of a writer he is in handling multiple storylines at the same time without one suffering for the other. Every character in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 is given something to do. Even if they don’t have as much dialogue as others, every character has a purpose to serve not only the story but their personal development as well.
What I found most impressive about Parrott’s writing throughout Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 was how he was able to stay consistent with every character portrayal. Every interaction came across as natural. Even when characters like Tommy and Kimberly were sarcastically talking at Trini, Zack and Jason it does not paint anyone in a bad light. It is all written in a way that you understand where everyone is coming from.
That’s the big thing that helps make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 a strong continuation of the “Necessary Evil” storyline. You get why Tommy and Kimberly are pissed the same way you understand why Trini and Zack continue to not reveal everything about being Omega Rangers. Understanding all sides in these tension filled scenes shows the reader who every character in this franchise is a multi-layered individual.
This also works in making how Zordon is able to play the peace maker as both the Omega and Power Rangers’ mentor come across even better. Zordon understands, even without knowing everything, that there is a lot of tension in the air. He is able to do his best to break that tension up by reminding everyone of their responsibilities as Power Rangers. At the same time, he is able to deliver words that are able to calm Trini and Zack down, reminding them why they love Zordon so much.
With all this tension Parrott is able to show how the Power Rangers are growing as a team. When we first saw the team of Tommy, Kimberly, Billy, Aisha, Adam and Rocky they were shown not to have great chemistry. Now that they are slowly gaining experience as a team we are seeing how that chemistry is growing. The way they were able to hold the vehicle monsters back and keeping the hostages from getting hurt showed the growth as a team that they are getting without knowing.
Which helps build up the sub-plot of Aisha, Adam and Rocky not seeing themselves as real Power Rangers. Trini, Zack and Jason showing back up clearly did not help their self-esteem issues. As the “Necessary Evil” storyline continues its clear that Aisha, Adam and Rocky need something that will allow them to accept they aren’t just replacements. Parrott is clearly building to that to be a big moment in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series in the right way.
On the other end of the “Necessary Evil” storyline Parrot continues to do a good job in building Kiya as the big antagonist for this storyline. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 may be the best showing of the character as we see how she is able to be a charismatic leader who gets others to follow her. Whether it is the careful way she got Dayne to join her Anointed team or convincing the people in Safehaven to believe what she was saying about the Blue Emissary, it all spoke to how charismatic Kiya has become.
Showing Kiya in this kind of light helps to build her and Anointed as a different kind of threat for the Power and Omega Rangers. Unlike Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, who are tyrannical leaders, Kiya understands the power of being able to convince others to follow her vision. It all positions her to be more of a long-term villain that won’t simply be defeated in one fight.
Having Dayne join the Anointed was a great move to continue to build out his character. In the short time we have spent getting to know Dayne he has already come across as one of the biggest badasses in the universe. Now that Dayne is motivated by revenge on the Power Rangers there is no telling how powerful he can become. That will especially be hard to gauge as it seems he found something in Safehaven that he found highly intriguing.
With all this going on I don’t want to overlook how Parrott is also building up Tommy’s White Ranger powers. With each appearance as the White Ranger, Tommy is clearly growing stronger. His control of the White Light that is powering his Power Ranger powers is getting refined. It’ll be interesting to see if Tommy’s growth as the White Ranger is somehow tied to the current problem with the Morphin Grid’s chaotic state.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 is another great showing of how the consistency that Daniele Di Nicuolo brings with his artwork is a real strength for this series. Along with the coloring work done by Walter Baiamonte and Katia Ranalli, all of the artwork in this issue pops off the page. That is especially the case during the action sequence the Power Rangers are involved with against Goldar and his monsters. From the moment the Power Rangers morph the artwork has a dynamic energy that gets you excited for how the fight will conclude.
The Bad: The only problem I have with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 is the missed opportunity to present Goldar as a bigger threat. Without Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa around this was a chance to elevate Goldar beyond being more than just a follower. But with how he was defeated so quickly by the Power Rangers it is hard to buy him as a viable threat. Especially when you consider how well Kiya, Dayne and the Anointed are being built-up in comparison.
Overall: “Necessary Evil” is a storyline that has gotten stronger with each passing issue. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #47 continues that trend with Ryan Parrott delivering excellent character development throughout this issue. Daniele Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte, and Katia Ranalli help to elevate Parrott’s writing with their dynamic artwork. With where we leave off the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Omega Rangers and Kiya’s Anointed there is a lot to be excited about how the “Necessary Evil” storyline will progress.
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