Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 Enter Uncomfortable New Territory

John Dodge is an MTV Writer for CBR who specializes in movies, television, comics, and pop culture. He has a deep knowledge of franchises like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , Marvel , and DC Comics , along with a passion for indie and horror titles. An expert on obscure productions from the ’80s and ’90s, John is known for his encyclopedic recall of cult classics like Beetleborgs .

The following contains major spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2, on sale now from BOOM! Studios.

The latest Mighty Morphin Power Rangers saga just took one of the most unsettling turns imaginable, but it might not be enough to keep readers invested in the series for much longer.

The second issue of BOOM! Studios' new ongoing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series has officially arrived, and it is very quickly proving that the latest take on the franchise is one of the most dangerous fans could imagine. That being said, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 (by Marguerite Bennett, Andrew Lee Griffith, Joshua Jensen, and Ed Dukeshire) still leaves plenty to be desired, although that very just be more of a feature than a bug.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 picks up right where the first issue of the new ongoing series left off, with the eponymous team of heroes caught in the clutches of a monstrous threat amassed from corrupted Earth technology. While the swarming mass continues to press its advantage, the Mighty Morphin heroes, who have only recently come out of their decades-long retirement , don't have any time to waste when it comes to getting back into the swing of things.

To make matters worse, the heroes finally learn everything they need to know about Rita Rabiosa, who is indeed a version of Rita Repulsa from another universe. Tragically, this Rita's reality is one in which the Power Rangers themselves were personally responsible for the death of her child, which has driven the Evil Space Witch to travel the Multiverse in search of any version of those same heroes upon whom she can force the same devastating fate.

After discovering a version of Trini who was celebrating the birth of her own daughter, Minh , Rita sets her sights on the child in the hopes of attaining some twisted sense of justice. This is more than enough to ratchet up the tension on display throughout Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2, though somehow it isn't enough for the issue to leave readers feeling the same immense weight with which the issue opens.

Once again, artist Andrew Lee Griffith masterfully captures the scale and scope of a Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fight scene, especially the oversized battles between the Megazord and one of Rita's towering monstrosities . Similarly, colorist Joshua Jensen casts all this explosive action in brilliant color that avoids washing out any important details even in the most chaotic of frays.

That being said, there is only so much genuine impact that can be felt when much of the battle in question features a largely amorphous mass of writing technology, albeit one that does eventually take on a more recognizable hydra-like form. When the battle reaches its climax, and the Megazord shows off just how far its reach goes, there is an immediately noticeable uptick in atmosphere that will pull meandering readers right back in, yet the likelihood of the scene having such an effect speaks to the issue's lackluster pacing.

Of course, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 is still trying to establish the baseline tone for the series, just as it is still trying to seed everything fans need to stay hooked without giving away the entire plot. As such, there is a very fine line that the person is forced to walk, which makes it understandable that there will be some number of minor missteps.

Thankfully, everywhere that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 succeeds more than makes up for its shortcomings. More importantly, the issue's success is more than enough to ensure that readers will come back for the third chapter in the story, which, hopefully, will come with a few more answers to some of the series' biggest questions.

Knowing where Rita Rabiosa is from and what she wants is certainly integral to the overarching narrative at hand in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers , yet hers is far from the only mystery that is in desperate need of some form of clarity. Like the previous issue, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 leaves off with a short sequence of Tommy Oliver making his way through a sprawling, seemingly prehistoric landscape , this time to a temple that looks to be just as alien as it is ancient.

Considering Tommy didn't heed the call for help as the rest of his former teammates did, it can only be assumed that whatever mission he is on is even more important than protecting the world from the threat of Rita. This has led to a whole number of questions that are arguably bigger than those that revolved around Rita Rabiosa's debut, and the sooner they are answered, the happier fans will be no matter what the outcome happens to be.

At best, Tommy's personal journey will give rise to indelible parts of the wider Mighty Morphin Power Rangers narrative that will themselves mark a major turning point for the series. At worst, the secrets surrounding Tommy's latest endeavor will prove to be less than worth the wait for readers, which only becomes more likely the longer they have to wait for some kind of genuine resolution.

Then again, the next two issues of the series are already promising to be more character-driven than the first two. This signals that Tommy's story will continue to be a background narrative, at least for the time being, though there is good reason to think that the series will navigate it in a way that doesn't leave readers feeling like the ensuing cliffhangers detract from the overall experience.

Considering how much Power Rangers fans love to see their favorite characters teaming up away from the battlefield, the pairings that will take center stage in the coming issues of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers could easily overshadow everything else. And, with the series taking such a pointed and personal turn, it is precisely that kind of character-driven storytelling that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is in some very real need of sooner rather than later.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #2 from BOOM! Studios is on sale now.