The surviving Power Rangers have been captured by someone who knows the TRUTH of what happened twenty years ago. Your Major Spoilers review of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 from BOOM! Studios awaits!

MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE RETURN #3

Writer: Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson
Artist: Nico Leon
Colorist: Dono Sanchez-Almara
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Dafna Pleban
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: April 10, 2024

Previously in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return: A new adversary reveals the secrets of the final battle and deadly explosion on the moon all those years ago, but what implications arise when the long-thought dead are more restless than the Rangers thought? A secret hidden on the moon only survived after the sacrifice of another, and it will be up to the Rangers, with some unexpected help, to protect a vulnerable Earth.

And when the plan is enacted, what role will the Dragon Power Coin play?

SERENA’S SECRET REVEALED

After the unexpected arrival of someone claiming to be Trini Kwan’s cousin’s daughter leads Kimberly into a trap, she awakens in a force field. With her are a grizzled Jason Scott, a graying Billy Cranston, and Zack Taylor, who just plain doesn’t age, all captured by the mysterious Selena, who is… Well, someone with a serious grudge against the Power Rangers. With the help of Finster, the last remaining member of Rita Repulsa’s retinue, Selena has collected items of power including Rita’s staff, as well as her husband, Zedd’s, Finster’s Monster-Matic device… and now, the five morphers of the Power Rangers. As Selena begins a ritual to return Rita Repulsa to life, the male Rangers start to panic, searching for a way out of the shield that imprisons them, but Kimberly remains cool as the whole spell falls apart. She knew it would, all along.

After all, who but the Green Ranger’s widow would be most aware that there were SIX Power Rangers?

BUT KIMBERLY’S SECRET IS BETTER

So, as banjaxed as I was by the skillful reveal of Serena’s secret, I was even more shocked when we finally see the truth of what happened on the moon before the explosion. Tommy Oliver TRIED to keep the explosion from destroying Rita’s palace, but was overwhelmed by Putties, thanks to Finster’s own idiocy. Serena’s belief that Rita Repulsa is still alive in the Morphin Grid is pretty shocking, but not as much as the closing scenes of Tommy’s final battle. Both of those moments (which you must read for yourself) are amazing, but the final page revelation expands upon remarks made on the moon in issue two, taking the reason that Tommy insisted Kim teleport away to its logical conclusion, and it’s a remarkable final panel. The art and coloring are really killer throughout the issue, but especially in that panel, and it’s impressive how well the creative team can convey the effects of 20 years on characters we know. Finster and Jason get the worst of it, but it’s also wonderful to see Kimberly Hart as a forty-something, having not lost a step, even if she’s no longer the sassy teenage gymnast of 1993.

BOTTOM LINE: THIS ONE’S A ROLLER COASTER

In short, this issue features no fewer than three moments that had me yelling “Oh, HELLZ yeah!”, “Oh my gawd!”, or both, meaning that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #3 is a darn-near perfect third act for a story that has been careful and measured in its revelations, earning 4.5 out of 5 stars overall. I have no idea how this one is going to end, but at this point, I trust the creative team enough to believe that it’s going to be a stellar final issue and urge Ranger fans old and new to give this one a shot.

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