Warning: Spoilers for Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Return #1!Amy Jo Johnson, who famously portrayed Kimberly Hart, the original 1990s Pink Ranger, has been announced to be penning her own Power Rangers series with artist Matt Hotson, based around a “re-imagined” Mighty Morphin’ universe. Now, details have begun to emerge about the series’ setting, a new alternate reality unveils a world where the Power Rangers never broke up.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special #1 features the 8-page preview, “Re-Imagine,” written by Johnson and Hotson, with art from Francesco Mortarino, color by Joana LaFuente, and lettering from Ed Dukeshire. Readers will immediately notice that things in this story differ from the official canon of the show, and how those differences spell disaster for the Rangers.
In a Dark Reality, No Rangers Leave The Team
In the 1990s Power Rangers series, Zack, Trini, and Jason were replaced by Adam, Aisha, and Rocky when the former trio left Angel Grove for the Peace Conference in Switzerland, followed Kimberly leaving the team for the Pan Global Games. In Johnson’s reality, the original Rangers all remained on the team, with Kimberly marrying Tommy. All the Rangers opted to balance their careers and grad school with their Ranger life. However, it appears focusing on their lives outside of Ranger duties left the Command Center wide open for attack as Rita and Zedd obliterated the Command Center – with Zordon and Alpha-5 still inside.
The Rangers Staying Together Spells Doom For Zordon And Alpha-5
The preview ends with a flash forward of Kimberly Hart – under a new name – boarding a plane. Readers will have to wait until Power Rangers: The Return #1 launches in 2024 to see more, but the short prelude provides an idea of what to expect. It also feels like an interesting analysis of the famous pitfalls of the team. Fans reminisce fondly on the original core Rangers squad, and often mourn how it slowly changed over time, with different exits. However, this story showcases how that core team fell apart for the better, as staying together ends in disaster.
Each Ranger left to follow their dreams, and as this story shows, trying to do both is easier said than done. This preview also speaks to the dilemma of the average superhero. So many hero tales focus on the protagonists longing for the perfect life-heroics balance. In a world where no one leaves the team, the Power Rangers nearly achieve their happily ever after, as they actually find themselves striking that balance. Sadly, that balance only worked for so long before resulting in the deaths of Alpha-5 and Zordon. Not even the Power Rangers can have their cake and eat it, too, so to speak.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers 30th Anniversary Special #1 is available now from Boom! Studios.
