Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has been in a new era post-Shattered Grid. Unlike in the original show where Jason, Trini and Zack left for a Peace Conference we learn that at least in BOOM! Studios continuity that was all a cloak for their new mission as Omega Rangers. That new status quo took quite a swerve as Jason, Trini and Zack’s Omega Ranger teammate, Kiya, betrayed them and killed the Blue Emissary. That set a chain of events where both the Mighty Morphin and Omega Power Rangers team up while working out the ramifications of the latter’s secret. Now with the two teams going to fight this new threat to the Morphin Grid, how will it all work out for them? Let’s find out with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #49.
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: With modifications to the White Tigerzord, Jason, Tommy, Kimberly and Billy are able to secretly make it behind the Moon of Safehaven. Zordon wishes the Rangers luck on their mission and they teleport to Safehaven.
Once on Safehaven Jason leads the others to Arkon, staying un-Morphed since the Eternity Point can detect spikes in Morphin Energy.
The four eventually find Arkon, who warns Jason he should not have returned because of the changes Kiya has gone through. He mentions that Kiya has turned many on Safehaven against Jason, Trini and Zack along with releasing others from the Vault. Jason asks Arkon to gather the others so they can move to a safer spot. Arkon agrees though he says it will be difficult.
Having seen all this from the shadows Raegyn contacts Kiya to inform her about Jason’s location.
Kiya teleports to the location and immediately says she wants to talk about peace. Jason doubts that given the situation on Safehaven. Kiya says no one is a prisoner on Safehaven and they can leave when they want including the Rangers. The exception to that is she requires the Power Rangers hand over their morphers because of the damage they’ve done, specifically calling out Tommy. Kiya then goads Tommy by wondering if he will turn bad like Drakkon.
Tommy apologizes for what happened to Kiya but says he is not Drakkon and never will be. Kiya gets pissed and powers up, saying that she can’t allow there to be a chance for another Drakkon. Kimberly calls Kiya out for acting like an egomaniacal warlord. Kiya says she will gladly play the monster for the Power Rangers, stating everything that happens moving forward is their fault.
Trini, Zack, Aisha, Adam and Rocky suddenly teleport in to join their teammates. Jason and Tommy then lead the Mighty Morphin and Omega Rangers into Morphin. As they do that Kiya Morphs and calls Dayne and Garrison to back her up.
Dayne says he will take care of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Garrison happily says he’ll take the Omega Rangers as he shows up piloting Kiya’s Blue Omegazord.
Tommy fights Dayne one-on-one to buy the other Rangers time to form the Power Blaster. Finding an opening, Dayne is able to capture Rockywith some black substance before the Power Blaster is formed. Dayne then is able to hit a power blow on Tommy as the other Rangers try to help Rocky.
Meanwhile, Xi and Ranger Slayer (Coinless Kimberly Hart) teleport near the Master Arch’s location. As they run to their destination the Ranger Slayer wonders if Kiya destroyed the Master Arch. Xi is more concerned Kiya learned how to use the Master Arch.
Ranger Slayer and Xi suddenly run into other Xi-like robots Kiya retooled. The Ranger Slayer immediately jumps in to fight all the robots.
After a short time they destroy all the robots. Xi then starts uploading the dimensional computations to activate the Master Arch. Once Xi finishes Ranger Slayer steps through the Master Arch’s dimensional portal.
Back outside, the Omega Rangers take on Garrison in zords. Garrison is happy the Omega Rangers are fighting him angry. Zack decides to take on Garrison one-on-one. Zack quickly gains the advantage.
Nearby, Kiya thanks Garrison for getting the other Omega Rangers in position. She then calls on the rest of the Anointed to show the Omega Rangers what true power looks like.
The Anointed power up and start swarming Zack’s Zord, blasting him with energy blasts. Jason tries to check on Zack but notices that Trini’s Zord is being attacked by various Anointed. Jason tells Trini to fly away. As she activates her Zord’s boosters Garrison grabs Trini’s Zord and slams it down.
As Garrison brutally beats Trini’s Zord, Jason desperately tries to call out to Trini and Zack to find out if they are okay. End of issue.
The Good: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #49 is exactly what you expect after all the build up with the “Necessary Evil” storyline. Ryan Parrott and Daniele Di Nicuolo do not waste a single panel moving the story to its final stages.
The opening page of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #49 does a good job of showing how there won’t be time wasted. We immediately begin with the Tigerzord being able to travel through space. Ryan Parrott quickly explains how that was done by Billy and Alpha 5 making adjustments to the Zord so that this was possible. In the world of Power Rangers we’ve seen the characters do amazing things, including saving the entire Multiverse. That makes them being able to use one of the Zords to travel through space plausible and not something you question when you see it happen.
That works to the benefit of this issue as we get moved straight into the conflict happening on Safehaven. That is where the real intrigue is and Parrott gets right into it as Jason, Tommy, Kimberly and Billy have to sneak their way through the planet to find out what is going on. Adding in how they could Morph was a nice touch to show how delicate things were for them as any sort of thing could set off the alarms on Safehaven.
On that note, Parrott is able to use Arkon to get over how not everything is as great as Kiya makes her followers believe. Arkon was used in the right way to set up how much has changed on Safehaven even though Jason and the others were away for only a short period. This set into motion how all the Rangers were truly in a war against Kiya and her Anointed group.
Bringing Kiya immediately into the issue in a confrontation with Jason and others once again gave us a look into what her state of mind is. For Kiya, she believes she is doing what is best for the universe. In putting everything out there we once again see how Kiya’s hatred for Lord Drakkon is fueling what she is doing. Her dig at Tommy Oliver showcased how she now feels like she should be the one controlling who has the power.
Kimberly calling her out as acting like an egomaniacal warlord dives deeper into how completely far gone Kiya is. She is fully accepting her role as the monster in the Power Rangers story. Being self-aware of this makes her come across as a villain who is completely different from Rita Repulsa, Lord Zedd, and Drakkon. Because while she is fine with playing the monster, in Kiya’s mind she and her Anointed are the true heroes that will help reshape the universe.
From there we just get one big battle scene, where once again both the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Omega Rangers are completely outmatched. Even in the short moments when it looks like the Omega Rangers were easily going to defeat Garrison in their Zords, Kiya brings out the rest of her Anointed to overwhelm them. Seeing Jason desperately call out to Trini and Zack put into perspective how much against the ropes both Ranger teams are in.
The fight between the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Dayne also did a good job continuing the narrative that this version of the team is still new. While they are starting to grow confidence in recent issues, the fact is Rocky, Aisha and Adam are still new. They are still trying to figure out how to be the best Rangers possible. The difficult part for their progression is that they are being thrown right into one of the biggest conflicts the Power Rangers have ever been in.
Dayne taking advantage of that with how he was able to stop the Power Rangers from forming the Power Blaster was another example of that. Dayne is already a powerful foe that the Power Rangers have to deal with. But it is his experience that makes Dayne so deadly, as we see that there is no wasted motion as he takes on the White Ranger while keeping track of the other Rangers’ actions.
With all this going on at the surface of Safehaven it made the simultaneous mission that the Ranger Slayer and Xi were own even more tense. With the others distracting Kiya, the Ranger Slayer and Xi needed to use every second they had to access the Master Arch. Them taking out the Xi-like robots put an emphasis on how they could not mess around with fighting. They needed to be as efficient as possible.
This all sets up a strong hook for if the Ranger Slayer will be successful in her mission into the original Morphin Masters. This could all bring us back to answering why the Morphin Grid is still messed up after the events of Shattered Grid. What the connection is and where it all leads to for the big Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 50th issue will be interesting to see play out.
Daniele Di Nicuolo, along with colorist Walter Baiamonte and Katia Ranalli, continue to nail how the “Necessary Evil” storyline feels like another epic event. Even as things break down with multiple fights going on everything is clear. You are able to see how powerful the Power Rangers, Dayne and the Anointed are even as various characters are flying around sending out various colors of energy blasts. That all helps make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #49 come across as if you are reading a big event.
The Bad: Nothing
Overall: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #49 was another excellent chapter in the “Necessary Evil” event. Ryan Parrott’s strong understanding of every character involved comes across as important to the story. The writing for Kiya in particular stands out as you believe that she and her Anointed are a force that both the Power Rangers and Omega Rangers are currently outmatched against. What that means for the big 50th issue of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will be exciting to find out.
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