Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #7

Written by: Kyle Higgins

Art by: Hendry Prasetya

Coloured by: Matt Herms

Lettered by: Ed Dukeshire

In the previous issue, with the Command Centre destroyed and facing off against an unknown enemy, the Rangers ready themselves for a fight. Before anyone can react, however, the monster opens its mouth, shooting shock waves at them that slowly begin to tear the powers from their bodies. Kimberly forces his mouth closed by shooting him with an explosive arrow, and the other Rangers jump into the fray, but it quickly becomes evident that the monster is simply too overpowered for them to win. They opt instead for a tactical retreat to the only place they know they will be undisturbed; the pocket dimension Zordon created for their training. As they teleport away, however, Billy is grabbed by the monster, rendered unconscious, and captured. The Rangers prepare to return and save Billy when suddenly, using Billy's power coin as access, the monster strips them of their connection to the Morphin grid and thus their powers, Tommy being the only one unaffected.

This issue follows directly on the heels of this, with Billy waking up in Rita's dark dimension, previously used to hold Tommy. Back with the other Rangers, Trini attempts to figure out what is wrong with their powers, lamenting Billy's loss due to him being the most technically proficient of the group. Their activities are interrupted, however, by a message from Rita in her new palace atop the destroyed command centre, informing the world that she has taken control of the Zords, and any country that does not swear their allegiance to her will be destroyed. Realizing that they are running out of options, Jason and Tommy decide to assault Rita's moon base, assuming that with her forces on Earth it will be less heavily guarded, to save Billy. Unfortunately for them, however, the Black Dragon, the monster that overpowered them before, is waiting. One thing that I really did like about this issue is the absence of Billy. This issue really cemented him as the technical expert of the team, and the fact that he is gone is a much larger blow for the team than you would think.

I have very few new things to say about the artwork as a whole, but there are a couple of things that I would like to point out in particular. Firstly, the scene of the Sabertooth Tiger Zord and the Tyrannosaurus Zord in Tokyo and Paris respectively do a very good job at showing the scale of the Zords and give us a much more on-the-ground look at them then we have gotten thus far, making for a couple of really interesting panels. Secondly, the scene of the Dragonzord approaching Rita's palace on the moon, obscured by shadow except for the glowing red eyes, was similarly impressive and showed just how menacing and powerful these machines can be.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed this issue. It presented a perspective that we rarely see, that of Billy being taken away from the team and the effect that that has at a time when he is needed most. It also showed the Rangers acting outside of their element, having to formulate plans and try their best to figure things out without the crutch of their powers and Zords. Rather than simply relying on the old system of presenting the Rangers with a monster that is too powerful for them to beat until the end of the episode, as was common for the show, they are instead presented with a monster that, while powerful, is much more dangerous because of his knowledge of the Morphin grid and his ability to strip that from them, presenting them with new challenges that I look forward to seeing them struggle to overcome.