Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14 Review

BOOM! Studios’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers continues to be one of the most delightful surprises in the comic book industry. Kyle Higgins has been able to modernize the Mighty Morphin era of Power Rangers without changing the core of what made these characters so endearing. This latest arc dealing with a possible post-apocalyptic future led by an evil version of Tommy Oliver has been fantastic so far. I have no idea what will happen next but am excited to find out. So with that said let’s jump right into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14.

Writer: Kyle Higgins

Artist: Hendry Prasetya

Colorist: Matt Herms

Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: At Rita’s moon base Rita and Finster watch as Alpha 5 leads the remaining Power Rangers into her home base. Not knowing that it is Finster who is giving them the directions, the Rangers continue through the route Alpha is giving them. As soon as they reach the entrance they are met by Goldar and an army of his clones.

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In the alternate future world, Lord Drakkon’s Mastodon Sentries are smashing their way through the Coinless Resistance shield. As the Mastodon Sentries punch a hole through the shield Zack orders Trini and Billy to get their shield generators back online.

Bulk wants to lead a defense against the Mastodon Sentries but Zack does not think that is a good idea. Tommy steps up to say he has an idea involving Saba. Zack asks Tommy if he is ready to face Drakkon, which Tommy says he is.

In the present the Rangers are fighting off the army of Goldar clones. As they fight Alpha reveals that he has been reprogrammed by Finster to work for Rita. Kimmy and Zack use their weapons to create a rock slide to destroy the Goldars they are fighting.

The Rangers use the hole in the roof to climb out of the area they are in only to be met by even giant Goldar clones.

In the future the resistance do their best to fight the Mastodon Sentries but their weapons are useless against the Mastodon’s armor. Zack tries to inspire his team to hold the line but Scorpina and Tyrannosaurus Sentries appear to make things worse.

Elsewhere Tommy is leading Bulk, Aisha and Kat somewhere while being chased by one of Drakkon’s ships. Saba then activates the Falconzord to launch a counterattack.

At the shield generator Trini discovers that the core is beyond repair and that they have to come up with another plan before Drakkon’s forces can get the relic they are after. Billy wonders what the relic Drakkon is after. Trini reveals that the relic is Blue Triceratops Morpher much to Billy’s surprise. Trini reveals that during their battles with Drakkon that her Billy survived long enough to ensure she and his coin would be safe.

Back in the present the Rangers bring out their Zords to fight off the giant Goldars. The Goldars are able to overwhelm the Zords and disable the Sabertooth Tigerzord. The Goldars then capture Trini and take her to Rita’s home base.

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In the future Tommy is using the Falconzord to destroy Drakkon’s ships. On the ground Bulk, Aisha and Kat are cornered by Pterodactyl Sentries.

Drakkon suddenly appears and lands on top of the Falconzord. Drakkon is able break into the Falconzord and forces it to crash land. Drakkon then takes Saba from Tommy.

In the present two Goldars present Trini to Rita. Rita grabs Trini and prepares to kill her.

Back in the future Drakkon’s forces have surrounded Coinless soldiers and now have Tommy on his knees. Drakkon orders Coinless resistance to drop their weapons or else he will kill them just like he is about to do to Tommy.

Nearby Trini tells Bill that he can save everyone and hands him the Blue Ranger Morpher.

Drakkon gets ready to kill Tommy and just as he is about to do it Billy and Trini say they surrender with Billy showing that he has the Blue Ranger Morpher in his hand. End of issue.

The Good: If there is one thing that Kyle Higgins run on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has taught us is that there is never a moment to rest for our heroes. Even when the Power Rangers believe they can gain the advantage on Rita and her forces Higgins throws a monkey wrench in that possible advantage. That is best shown throughout the events of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14.

In the established universe of the Power Rangers I continue to be impressed with Higgins ability to world build. Both the present and possible future Mighty Morphin Power Rangers feel like fresh new universes. It’s in that ability to create fresh worlds that Higgins is able to amplify how much we are connected to Jason, Kimberly, Zack, Billy, Trini and Tommy. It’s in these core characters that we are able to accept the tone that Higgins takes as he shifts between the two timelines.

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The shift between the two timelines was also seamlessly handled. Through spending an equal amount of time between the two groups of Power Rangers we were able to get a better sense of how desperate things are in both timelines. The split also plays into how much more powerful the Rangers are as a team compared to when they are on their own or in small groups.

This fact help make how Rita went about overwhelming the Rangers further show us how merciless this version of the character is. Unlike the TV show, where she was much more cartoonish, Rita comes across as someone that is looking to put a stop to the Rangers through any means necessary. That comes across with how she used Alpha 5 to trick the Rangers into running her army of Goldar. This plan made her final threat to end Trini feel more believable as something she would do.

Everything that the Rangers were going through in the present helped to add to the danger level of the war that Tommy and Billy continue to take part in. There has been no wasted moment when it comes to this part of the story that Higgins is telling. Seeing how Drakkon’s various Ranger Sentries easily overwhelmed got across how the Coinless resistance has been fighting for their lives everyday. It also helped to get across how strong of a leader this version of Zack has become since he has been able to keep things together.

Higgins further creates interest in this world as we learn through future Trini how her Billy went down fighting until he couldn’t anymore. This helped get over how much tragedy the remaining Rangers have had to deal with because of Drakkon’s rule. Learning that Drakkon was not only after Saba but also the Blue Ranger Morpher creates further interest in how things are going to go down. With Billy and future Trini “surrendering” Higgins has set things up for Billy to finally have his big moment, something he hasn’t had yet.

Higgins also continues to use the alternate future world as a way to deliver some great fan service for long time Power Rangers fans. Seeing Aisha as part of the Coinless resistance on top of Drakkon’s powers being a combination of the Green and White Ranger powers was great callbacks to later seasons. Now with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14 we get to see another classic Ranger as part of the Coinless resistance in Katherine Hillard as one of its members. This addition adds to the history of the world as we see other chosen Rangers taking part in the war.

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Hendry Prasetya continues to deliver strong artwork that matches the tone of the story. Prasetya gets across how desperate things are for both groups of Rangers in both timelines. He especially delivers when it comes to showing Rita and Drakkon as merciless villains who will kill the Rangers at the drop of a hat. That lack of mercy elevated the story that Higgins told throughout the issue.

The Bad: The one spot that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14 that did not fully click is whatever Tommy was doing. His plan to fight off Drakkon with the Falconzord did not come across as the character acting with his brain. Instead he came across as someone who has no idea what he is doing since he already knew Drakkon would out match him. Hopefully the next issue will show Tommy stepping up to be the badass he is rather than just acting as rashly as he did in this issue.

Overall: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #14 was another strong entry in what has been one of the more enjoyable comic books on the market. Kyle Higgins has done an excellent job making Rita and Drakkon into threats that seem impossible for the Power Rangers to overcome. With how this issue ended it is going to be fun to see how Higgins gets the Power Rangers into a position that they can save the day in two timelines.