Review: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #3

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are creating headlines on many geeky websites thanks to the up coming movie. Our Darryll Robson takes a look at Boom Studios! monthly ongoing to whet your appetite further.

With the phenomenal sales of issue 1 and the recently released images from the new Power Rangers movie all eyes are on Boom Studios! current series. This month sees the Green Ranger's saga continue as he faces doubts from his team mates and internal traumas.

Synopsis: 

The action opens with Goldar who sits in self-imposed isolation, punishing herself for losing Tommy to the Rangers. This brief prelude is all we see of her but does it foreshadow future developments?

Elsewhere Tommy awakens to a false safety. He is disorientated but everything seems normal. This doesn't last long as his carer tears her face off to reveal Rita Repulsa in a scene straight from a classic horror movie. Rita's insistence that she loves Tommy has him virtually paralysed with fear.

Credit: Boom Studios!

The narrative then plays out another horror movie cliché; it was all in Tommy's head. The rest of the Rangers stand over Tommy as he slowly comes around. He doesn't know what's happening to him and neither does anyone else, except of course Rita who is having a whale of a time on the moon. She revels in her own cunning evil, explaining that she can make her own Dragon Dagger with which to control the Dragon Zord.

Meanwhile Tina runs some tests on Tommy when the world begins to shake. A quick exit reveals the Dragon Zord tearing up the landscape. Tommy has no control over it and he attempts to sooth the rampaging Zord by playing his dragon sword like a flute. It almost works but not quite. This however turns out to be another hallucination; this time not as surprising.

The outcome of the two story lines is that the Rangers get to see Tommy's uncontrollable powers and Rita gets control of the Dragon Zord.

Analysis

This month's Power Rangers appears to have been influenced by classic 1980's horror movies, especially A Nightmare on Elm Street. There is the scene with the face tearing to reveal the villain; a dream passing as reality; and an over the top maniacal villain who lives in a fantastical realm. This is rendered brilliantly in the world of the Power Rangers and proves that there is life to breathe into the long running franchise.

The art work is, for the most part, top quality. Hendry Prasetya uses a variety of techniques to break up the narrative and illustrate the different elements of the story. He plays with the panel shapes, switching from the standard rectangular shapes to irregular sized panels to heighten the fear and action aspects of the story. A sense of unease and helplessness is created across a number of pages as the hero, Tommy, is towered over first by Rita and then the Dragon Zord. Although these scenes turn out to be hallucinations, they illustrate just how unstable the Green Ranger is.

Another artistic technique used to great success so far in these Power Ranger comics relates to the backgrounds. Prasetya has designed clean, medical and technological settings for the Rangers themselves and gothic fantastical, even magical, locations for the villains. Each setting fits the characters that inhabit them and contrasts the general differences between good and evil. Although this is a simplistic concept, the execution by Prasetya makes it more palatable and even enjoyable to read. As with most things, the villains look so much cooler than the heroes that the readers root for.

Credit: Boom Studios!

As per previous issues, Kyle Higgins weaves character development throughout the action. This comic is still focused on the Green Ranger, and I've already mentioned Tommy's mindscape, but the reader still gets a chance to know the other Rangers a little bit. This issue lets the Yellow Ranger out of her shell and the reader is shown her motivations for being a member of the group.

Higgins' best script work however is in Rita's scenes. He revels in the villainess of the character and isn't afraid to push the maniacal evil over the top. Compared to the subservient minions, Rita is a joy to read and leaves you excited about what she could possibly do next.

With over 100,000 copies of issue 1 sold, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have a lot of work to do to keep the readers interested. Based on the comic so far and in the hands of these creators, the Rangers haven't got anything to worry about.

Darryll Robson is a Contributor to ComiConverse.  Occasionally he might use his Twitter account: @DarryllRobson