Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return kicked off a cool new alternate universe for the Power Rangers franchise. Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson presented us with a future where the original six Power Rangers didn’t split away like they did in the original series. While we were shown a world after the Power Rangers defeated Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa not everything was happy and positive. We saw a Jason who has become the Renegade Red Ranger anti-hero and both Tommy Oliver and Trini Kwan passing away. The first issue ended with us seeing the niece of Trini finding Kimberly Hart to ask about the Power Rangers history. Let’s find out what we find out with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson
Artist: Nico Leon
Colorists: Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SOLICITATION
“Amy Jo Johnson-the Pink Ranger herself-continues leading this alternate universe story, with the classic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers plagued by tragedy.
Kimberly reflects on a shocking choice she had to make all those years ago when telling the story of the Rangers’ final hour against Rita and Zedd! But, did they make it out in time, and what ramifications did their final battle have for Earth in the present, including for Trini’s mysterious niece, Selena?” – BOOM! Studios
REVIEW
With Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2 we are taken back to get the full context of what happened in the final battle. Amy Jo Johnson, Matt Hotson, and Nico Leon certainly do not hold back in making sure fans feel the weight of the final battle between the Power Rangers, Lord Zedd, and Rita Repulsa. This goes places that we wouldn’t see from the original TV show, though we did see one similar moment in the recent Netflix anniversary special. It’s that along with all the emotional weight of all the reveals that make this second issue as good as the debut.
Right away the look of the final battle is beautifully captured by Leon. The scale of the Power Rangers piloting their Zords against Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa’s seemingly endless army is epic. Leon maximizes the setting of the final battle being on the Moon to cram as much detail as possible. This issue is certainly at its best when showing all of the Power Rangers in action. However, that is to not diminish the emotional moments as Leon also captures the weight of decisions made.
The tough decision is immediately felt as Jason, Billy, Trini, and Zack went all out against Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa’s forces. They show that they are not playing around as they went into this final battle with a plan. That was to survive and distract the villains as long as possible so Tommy and Kimberly could infiltrate Bandora’s Palace. Both the dialogue and artwork captured how important every second Jason, Billy, Trini, and Zack provided their teammates was important.
Rita being the one to discover what the Power Rangers were doing and confronting Tommy and Kimberly was the right battle to have. There is so much history there between Tommy and Rita that this is how the final battle should happen. The battle put over the overwhelming odds the Power Rangers were facing as Rita used her Putty Patrol as back-up. His helped both show how strong Tommy and Kimberly are while still making Rita look good in this final fight.
The fight was choreographed in a way that made Kimberly having to finish Rita with a fatal shot from her bow as the only way this could end. Tommy telling Kimberly she did the right thing reinforced their supportive relationship. Rita’s death reinforced how serious things have gotten between the two sides.
Which transitioned well into Tommy having to sacrifice himself in order to make sure the bomb to destroy Bandora’s Palace was set off. The decision was not easy at all as we see the strong bond between Tommy and Kimberly. Both knew what had to be done and why Kimberly had to be the one to leave. The moment when the other Power Rangers went from joy of finally defeating the villains to realizing Tommy’s sacrifice when they see a crying Kimberly was certainly a powerful moment.
Given how the story went it wasn’t all that surprising that Trini’s niece turned out to be, what appears, the daughter of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. The twenty-year time gap is enough to explain how Zedd and Rita’s kid could have been raised by a surviving member of the villains to get revenge on the Power Rangers. Even if this wasn’t a surprise it was still an effective reveal as Zedd and Rita’s daughter did not hold back when she revealed herself to Kimberly.
What makes the reveal even more interesting is what does this mean for what we’ve already seen in this story. Zedd and Rita’s daughter has now defeated both Jason and Kimberly. While it was said that Trini passed away when this series started it wasn’t revealed how. It wouldn’t be surprising if Zedd and Rita’s kid targeted Trini first given that she had the Sabertooth Tiger Power Coin in her possession.
Now we are left with the question of what happens next. It does look as though we will be seeing Kimberly and Tommy’s daughter, fully shown in the final page, become the Green Ranger. But given how things are right now she, Billy, and Zack may not be enough to defeat their villains’ legacy. It certainly creates a lot more interest in what happens next with what the villain’s plan is.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2 is an excellent follow-up to the debut issue of this mini-series. Learning what happened during the final battle against Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa hit on how epic it would be. Everything from the scale of the final battle to the emotional character beats where back-to-back home runs. This is something all Power Rangers fans should check out.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10