Lord Zedd’s personal assassin has arrived, and no Ranger is safe. Your Major Spoilers review of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #43 awaits!

MIGHTY MORPHIN’ POWER RANGERS #43

Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Daniele di Nicuolo
Colorist: Walter Baiamonte/Katia Ranalli
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Dafna Pleban
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 25, 2019

Previously in Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers finally come face to face with the Mastermind behind all of their recent problems… the evil Lord Zedd. Meanwhile, the newly launched Omega Power Ranger team is stranded on an unfamiliar planet with no hope of getting home!

“HIS NAME… IS DAYNE.”

Last issue ended with Dayne, the scary scaly alien dog-assassin, warning the Ranger that their fight was not going to be fair. True to his word, he takes every adventage, blinding the Red Ranger, swarming the Black Ranger with mechanical insect and breaking the Pink Ranger’s hand before focusing his fire on their leader. Tommy fights valiantly, but is quickly overpowered and taken out, and it seems for a moment like all is lost… until Dayne simply teleports away. Lord Zedd protests that he has made a mistake, but the assassin assures him that it’s part of the plan. With their leader, the most powerful Ranger broken, the team will be at a disadvantage when the meet again. Out in space, the Omega Rangers have infiltrated Planet Breel in search of a maguffin called The Empowered, only to discover that their cover has already been blown. Transforming into their (REALLY cool looking) powered forms, the team fights their way through the forces of the evil Empress Adriyel, who looks a lot like Vegeta. They defeat her shock troops, only to find that The Empowered is a member of her race… and he has just snapped her neck. Returning to their ship, Trini checks her voicemail, only to find a message from Kimberly, worrying about their next battle. As she listens, we see the fight on Earth… and what seems to be the death of the Thunder Megazord and the utter defeat of the Power Rangers!

WHO IS THE EMPOWERED?

After several really strong issues, this one slips back a little bit for me, probably due to the multiple combat sequences taking up much of the issue. It’s not as though this is a bad comic, but with nearly half the book consisting of fights, the lovely character moments and conversations that have made Mighty Morphin’ so much fun get less room this time around. Then again, the curbstomp battle that ends the book is pretty breathtaking and it all serves to make it clear that Dayne is ridiculously dangerous. This issue’s art is impressive as well, with the complex designs of both Power Rangers and Omega Rangers staying consistent and looking amazing. The array of aliens on Breel is likewise weird and wild, but the pages with a slightly worried Trini listening to her voicemail are just as impressive and just as suspenseful. Given that BOOM! has given us some of the best Power Rangers tales in recent memory, this alternate version of the arrival of Lord Zedd has the potential to be super-memorable. (Given that his TV arrival involved the creation of the Thunder Zords and Thunder Megazord, it’s interesting to see this story possibly destroying them.)

BOTTOM LINE: WHAT A CLIFFHANGER

With Tommy injured, the Megazord damaged/destroyed and Zedd still having cards to play, things look bad for the Power Rangers, meaning that even though Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #43 feels less complex than some previous issues, it’s still a succesful issue of comics with expressive and exciting art, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. The possibility of the Omega Rangers coming to save the day makes me want to read the next issue (or even the next couple) right now, which is the mark of a successful chapter.

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