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The Power Rangers are back. And a new universe calls for many new things to get excited about. Oh, and a new look for a classic MMPR villain. Writer Melissa Flores, Artist Michael Yg, Colorer Fabi Marques, and Letterer Ed Dukeshire have created a beautiful first issue for this comic.
I mentioned that we are getting a classic MMPR villain in this new series. She isn’t fully revealed until the end of the issue. However, we do get a tiny glimpse of her on the opening page of the comic.
From that opening page, we then get blasted right into the action. And there is a tiny detail on this next page that I enjoyed. And it was the Welcome To Angel Grove sign being spray painted to say New Eltar Buyer Beware.
But this first page sets up a crazy fight scene. And for fans like me of Power Rangers Samurai, you’ll be pleased to see a very familiar face from season 2 as one of the main characters for this comic. Seeing Lauren running through what looks like an area of the city center, seeing her running from Eltarian guards is so fun to see.
But, they got her cornered against a dumpster. And that is where things get interesting. We see she is trying to morph. And that didn’t quite according to plan. But she always has a Plan B. And that Plan B: get her sword, and just attack. That is exactly what we see. The fight is also very interesting to see.
The comic then cuts to what looks like hours later. And we see someone with his trash going for the dumpster. And he opens the dumpster and doesn’t expect to see someone in there. But the Eltarian guards find him and ask what his business is. And through this, we meet one of our new characters, Mark Zhao.
He lies to them and says he was just taking the trash out. We then see someone looking, and it’s unknown who it is. The scene then changes to the next day at Angel Grove University. And we see a history class happening. Now, we see Mark texting someone during class. And then Professor Barall asks Mark if he is a refugee. And when he answers, we see a single flashback of him as a baby.
Professor Barall then calls on another student, Jun. Now, Jun was born on Earth way after the Eltarians had come and taken over. Thanks to flashbacks, we see how exactly the Eltarians were able to invade and take over Earth.
Professor Barall then calls on another student, Jun. Now, Jun was born on Earth way after the Eltarians had come and taken over. Thanks to flashbacks, we see how exactly the Eltarians were able to invade and take over Earth.
The story then cuts to a gym class. We see Jun talking to another new character, Valentina. They are having a conversation while watching someone doing some practice fight training. While having a conversation, Admiral Janessa shows up. We find out that Jun is Admiral Janessa’s son.
The scene shifts to one of the most 80s/90s things ever: Saban’s VR Troopers. And we see Lauren sleeping on a bed with VR Troopers on the TV. And a dog is lying on her while she is sleeping. Mark’s roommate then gets Doobie off of her, which scares Lauren a little. We then learn the identity of Mark’s roommate. For fans of season 2 of Power Rangers Megaforce, seeing Orion in this comic is pretty incredible. Now before Lauren starts explaining everything, something is happening outside.Â
Eltarian guards are on the hunt for Lauren. We then see Mark texting Orion to warn him of what is happening. An Eltarian guard approaches Mark, at which point Jin also shows up. Jin knows Mark is hiding Lauren at this point. And he is trying to get Mark to explain it.
After the flashbacks, we see what looks like a rocket exploding off of the moon. Now, for fans of the original MMPR series, this will look like something that happened in the first episode of that series. And a new version of Rita Repulsa shows up. And that means something big is probably going to happen.
Final Score: 10
Melissa Flores has taken the reigns of the Power Rangers comic universe, and this first issue proves she can do no wrong. She has created a new story with some familiar characters and new characters. And it all works together. This makes me excited for what future issues have in store for this new comic series.
