Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #4 Review

Welcome back to this new take on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Last time, Tommy finally revealed that he’d been hearing Rita’s voice in his head to the other rangers, but it was all too late as Rita henchwoman Scorpina, using a replica of the Dragon Dagger, has taken control of the Dragonzord and plans to reek ten kinds of havoc on Angel Grove. The other Rangers get ready to fight, but Jason says that Tommy needs to stay behind until they can figure out what’s up with his powers. And so, the Rangers morph and leap into battle, calling for their Zords to combat the rampaging Dragonzord. To keep the Rangers busy, Rita summons some giant shark monsters. Jason tries to fight the Dragonzord in the Tyrannosaurus Zord, but it’s clear that the Rangers are struggling.

Back at the command center, Rita once again appears before Tommy so she can taunt him. However, this time around, Tommy’s figured out what’s really been going on. This isn’t Rita at all, but rather, a manifestation of Tommy’s insecurity and self-doubt. This “Rita” isn’t real and any power she has over Tommy only exists because he let his doubt control him, but Tommy tells the fake Rita that he’s not afraid anymore and he is sick of letting her control him, causing the hallucination to fade away. With a renewed confidence, Tommy knows that he can no longer sit on the sidelines and plans to use the real Dragon Dagger to try and take back control of the Dragonzord. Despite Zordon’s warnings, Tommy teleports away. Tommy arrives on the battlefield allowing enough of a distraction for the other Rangers to form the Megazord. As the Megazord fights off the shark monsters, Tommy leaps into the cockpit of the Dragonzord and overpowers Scorpina.

Back at the command center, after having captured Scorpina, Jason is none too pleased that Tommy disobeyed him. Tommy argues back by saying if he hadn’t interfered, the Rangers would’ve been destroyed. As their argument becomes more and more heated, Scorpinas crystal continues to glow. Before Jason and Tommy come to blows, the crystal explodes, leveling part of the command center. When the dust clears, a powerful looking monster in black armor steps out of the shadows. The mysterious figure says he’s been looking forward to destroying the rangers for some time.

What Works: Well, as Kyle Higgins himself had promised me, this is the most action packed issue yet. While this series has been trying to focus more on character development, and doing a great job of it I might add, the six-year-old in me who grew up with Power Rangers was stoked to see a classic style Power Ranger battle sequence. I really liked the moment with Tommy where he finally defeated his inner demons and the fact that the Rita in his head wasn’t real was a nice twist.

Finally, there’s this mysterious new adversary. This guy is a big question mark right now, but he came in with a bang and his presence almost guarantees that readers will pick up the next issue. What Doesn’t: My only real complaint is the attitude of Jason and Zack towards Tommy even after Tommy saved their lives. I get that they have the team’s interest in mind, but I don’t care for how their lack of trust, especially after Tommy proved saved the day. Also, the only thing that could have made that fight scene better was the one thing a visual form media like comic books could provide. That thing of course is a Ron Wasserman soundtrack.

Overall: 5/5 Mr. Higgins, if you’re reading this, I am proud to say that you are a man of your word when you promised an epic fourth issue for this series. With a great action scene, some solid character development and an insane cliffhanger ending, this is easily the strongest issue of the book thus far.