Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120 Review

 

Writer: Melissa Flores

Artist: Valeria Favoccia

Colorist: Valentina Pinto

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Cover Artist: Taurin Clarke; Björn Barends; Goñi Montes; Anand Ramcheron; Mateus Manhanini; John Giang; Sketch Ellis

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 22, 2024

 

Kiya wanted to protect Earth by using a Power Egg to destroy the Morphin Grid. The Power Rangers have another plan, but they need assistance. Can the Solar Rangers help them combat Dark Specter's infection? Let’s leap into Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120 and find out!

 

Story

The universe can be a scary place. Fear threatens to paralyze us. Yet fear can also mobilize us if we remember what matters most.

 

In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120, Melissa Flores transports us to the Void. Once, the Void was severed from the Morphin Grid and started to die. Reattachment returned health to the Void. But it also allowed dangers to intrude. Now, the clear and present danger is Dark Specter’s infection.

 

Ellarien leads the Solar Rangers. They protect the Void from harm. Yet the infection is spreading, and they don’t know its source or how to combat it. Ellarien and her team defend a group of orphans in the Agate Asteroids. While the others fight the invading thralls, Ellarien’s lover, Remi, guards the orphans. But the Solar Rangers can't protect the Agate Asteroids indefinitely. They must fall back and cede territory to this unknown infection.

 

The Masters of the Cistern Belt have promised to care for the orphans. So, like the children sent away from English cities during World War II, Ellarien and Remi bring the orphans to them. Yet Ellarien and Remi struggle to say goodbye to one of the endearing critters. Ellarien, or Ari for short, promised Shara that she and Remi would never abandon her. Ellarien and Remi assured Shara that she was a member of their family.

 

Yet war demands sacrifice. In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120, Ellarien and Remi battle an unknown foe. While they battle thralls and  Solar Rangers infected by Dark Specter, Ellarien and Remi wonder who they are fighting. History suggests a way to halt the infection. Ellarien could use her powers to sever the Void from the Morphin Grid again. Like cutting off a gangrenous limb, it seems the only viable strategy.  

 

But then, they would be isolated. The Void would slowly begin to die. Again.

 

Art

When Shara wanders away, Remi clasps the critter by the shoulder, clutches Shara’s hand, and leads her back to the others. Like the candle in Shara's hand, the other muskies' eyes glow as Remi addresses them. A Morphin Master glares while a space station spins in the Void. Energy envelops Ellarian as she morphs. Yet, as Remi binds her lover's arm, the expressions Remi and Ari share seem more powerful.

 

Later, Maxie and Remi lead the orphans outside in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120. They watch as Ellarien, Salum, and Tigan battle thralls in the Agate Asteroids. Broken columns arise from boulders, now memorials to a fallen civilization. Shara's eyes bulge. Her jaw drops. Thralls guard stairs winding up a hill toward a spaceship. Ellarian and Remi leap into battle.

 

Valentina Pinto lavishes a loaded palette of appealing colors on Valeria Favoccia’s art. A yellow laser slices through two charcoal and red thralls, turning nearby space pink, orange, and purple. Turquoise hair frames Remi's face as she smiles and raises her fist. Her power coin glows yellow, matching her ears and the stripe running down her forehead, nose, and chin. A lavender and blue city awaits the refugees in the Cistern Belt. The children spill color across the woven streets while Remi and Ellarian walk amid weblike supports. Then, a purple and pink spaceship lands. Gray smoke rises to obscure the yellow-white glow of its thrusters.

 

Black uppercase lettering inhabits white dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. Ed Dukeshire’s letter size, line spacing, and contrast between print and backgrounds make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120 easy to read. Colorful dialogue and sound effects enliven the Solar Rangers' defense of the Agate Asteroids. Yet two booms, seemingly unaccompanied by violence, hint at an approaching storm.

 

Thanks to Boom! Studios for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

As Dark Specter’s infection reaches the Void, Ellarian’s dwindling hope drives her toward action that could derail Billy's plan to heal the universe in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #120.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.