Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50 is a classic crossover in comic form
The second season of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series received a sudden shakeup when the actors for Jason, Trini, and Zack left due to contract disputes. At the time, their characters were written off by attending a peace conference in Switzerland, paving the way for Rocky, Aisha, and Adam to take their places. This would largely mark the end of those three original Rangers for several decades. But following 2018’s “Shattered Grid” event, it was revealed in the pages of the Mighty Morphin comic (and its recently ended prequel comic Go Go) that Jason, Zack, and Trini were actually traveling in space as Omega Rangers, along with an alien named Kiya who was given powers in the aftermath of the event.
It’s a shared lie that has finally put the Omega trio on a collision course with their old team. Kiya went rogue, releasing similarly empowered people with the hopes of eradicating all Rangers. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #50 (Boom! Studios) marks the end of the “Necessary Evil” arc, and Ryan Parrott has done a great job of making this feel like a natural part of the Ranger mythology featuring the original team. He has a clear voice on each featured Ranger and gives them each a time to shine, particularly Rocky, Aisha, and Adam as they learn to grow into themselves and vibe with the seasoned veterans. This arc functions as a classic Rangers crossover that fans of the franchise will love, and recent additions like an alternate universe version of Kimberly dubbed the Ranger Slayer, and the Solar Rangers from the “Beyond The Grid” arc, get moments to shine and show how they’ve grown and evolved.
Daniele di Nicuolo’s art has a fluidity and sense of motion befitting superheroes that know martial arts, and he and Parrott are clearly having a blast in a requisite Zord fight where Jason and Tommy combine their Zords to form the Red Tiger Zord. It’s pure childish nonsense befitting of the series, and the striking colors by Walter Baiamonte and Katia Ranalli help the action scenes pop. Just seeing the Omega Rangers morph with their old friends in a colorful double spread was striking on its own as di Nicuolo and Baiamonte place the trio in front of the six Morphin Rangers, making the Morphin Rangers look as they normally do while the Omega Rangers look like beings made of pure energy. It’s hard reading this comic and not wanting it to be an animated series in its own right.
Of its many successes, the Mighty Morphin comic succeeds at feeling like a vital part of Ranger history. The new additions to the show’s canon seem well thought-out and inspired. A sudden return of Lord Drakkon (the evil version of Tommy thought dead after “Grid”) at the issue’s end hints at greater threats to come, and another reason for this team to prove why they’re worthy of the “Mighty” in their title.