 This article is about a comic book issue in the Power Rangers comic sub-franchise by Boom! Studios.
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Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #45 is the forty-sixth actual issue of the Boom! Studios comic book series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers which begins its numbering with Issue 0.
It is the sixth issue of the Necessary Evil story arc, the sixth story arc of the comics.
Synopsis[]
NECESSARY EVIL CONTINUES! The ALL NEW OMEGA RANGERS team up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for the first time! But as they battle evil forces on the Moon, it's Jason—now the Red Omega Ranger—who must face Lord Zedd alone! No matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same for any Power Ranger...[1]
Plot[]
Continuing with the battle on the Moon, Kiya continues to be unimpressed by the Putties and how they are not scary but sarcastically acts terrified as she rips them apart and flings one helplessly out into space. Squatt and Baboo are unsure of what to do, with the latter suggesting they flank Kiya and attack but Squatt doesn’t even know what a flank is. Upon seeing the Ranger fling Putties into space, the two decide that the best course of action is to run away.
Zack and Trini fight half made monsters and Goldar, with the latter finding Finster’s rushed creations more creepy than his finished ones. Goldar finds something familiar about the Black Omega Ranger as the two banter and fight and Zack suspects that he will run away because he always does, knocking away his sword with his Omega Kamas and Goldar cursing his name while doing exactly what he suspected and running away even though Goldar had nowhere to go. Finster creates more half made monsters to protect him as he escapes, but Trini powers up her Omega Hammer and releases a shockwave that causes an explosion in the palace.
On Earth, Alpha 5 alerts Zordon to sensors detecting a huge explosion on the Moon and asks if it could be a meteor shower, but Zordon detects a shift in the Morphin Grid and figures out that means that the Omega Rangers are possibly on the Moon and Lord Zedd is under attack.
Back on the Moon in Zedd’s Throne Room, the Emperor of Evil relishes how much he missed breaking the bones of his enemies and watching the hope slowly fade from their eyes. He admits that the Red Omega Ranger is stronger than any Ranger he has faced so far, but Lord Zedd still thinks that he is far from his equal as he powers up and smacks Jason into his throne with a hard swing from his Z Staff. Getting worn down, Jason radios his team wondering if they are coming anytime soon as Zedd sees his foe looking tired and offers him to “have a seat” as his throne turns into a monster with a huge mouth with multiple rows of teeth and four limbs. Despite being taken by surprise, Jason is saved by Kiya destroying the throne monster with her Omega Trident and the others reuniting with him to face Lord Zedd together. Zack claims that they got lost because the hallways in the palace changed again since they were last in here, which Trini claims is just an excuse. Lord Zedd is done playing around and slams down his Z Staff, unleashing a blinding burst of lightning that shocks all four of the Omega Rangers. He monologues that he has conquered planets and enslaved millions and while the Power Rangers are a challenge on Earth, they are in his domain.
Jason isn’t impressed by the villain’s attempts to scare them, gets up and summons his Red Omega Zord, giving Lord Zedd one last chance to surrender. Zedd refuses and immediately gets punched hard into the ground by the Zord, knocking him out cold. Trini considers that move a bit excessive, but Zack can’t argue with the results since he was worried Zedd was going to roast them like S’mores for a second. Jason says that they are done here and to prep a containment before Zedd wakes up and to run a sweep of the palace for any remaining hostilities. They find no Putties and Finster, Goldar, Baboo and Squatt are nowhere to be found. Jason seems fine with that as they cannot do much without a leader.
They are interrupted by the Mighty Morphin team teleporting in, expecting a fight, only to see that the battle is already over. Tommy questions the Red Omega Ranger about if they attacked Lord Zedd, to which he says they did and it’s over. Tommy then asks where Zedd is and Omega Yellow and Black show off his containment canister, joking he fit perfectly inside. Billy is fascinated by the containment unit while Kimberly wonders if it is all over now while Aisha says that the Omegas don’t seem to worry about escalating a fight.
Kiya walks in and says that her sweep was all clear, only to see the White Ranger. She remembers all the horrible memories from her mind link with Jason on Breel of the old timeline’s war and Lord Drakkon’s face. This causes her to go berserk and she lunges at Tommy to attack, believing that Lord Drakkon is in the room with them. Trini restrains Kiya and tells her to calm down, the other Rangers put their guard up until Trini explains to Kiya that it is the White Ranger and not Drakkon.
Kiya says she is sorry, but her attempt on Tommy’s life has the Mighty Morphin team on edge with Aisha saying that they can be enemies if they act like that again and Rocky insisting that the Omegas keep “Little Girl Blue” calm. Zack wants to start a fight after that snide remark but Jason calms everyone down and orders his teammates to load Zedd onto the ship. Tommy objects to this course of action, but the Red Omega Ranger says if he has a problem with that decision then he can “take me to your leader”.
Later in the Command Center, Zordon chastises the Red Omega Ranger for escalating a fight, stating that his Rangers were still learning and maturing as a team and while Lord Zedd was formidable, he was confident that they would rise to the challenge and be able to handle him. But by interfering, the Omega Rangers have created a galactic power vacuum and something far worse and more dangerous could come to threaten Earth. Zordon asks if the Omega Rangers are departing, to which the Red Omega Ranger says yes and they have other responsibilities to attend to. Zordon says his duty is to the safety of the Earth and despite not approving of their methods, shows gratitude for the Omega Rangers helping to defeat Lord Zedd, but reiterates that their actions have accelerated a future attack on Earth that they will not be prepared for. He says goodbye to the leader of the Omega Rangers and wishes for the power to protect him as he departs.
Outside the Command Center, Jason begins to radio XI for a teleport, but is stopped midway by Tommy who just wants to talk for a second. He admits to eavesdropping on the conversation with Zordon earlier and was surprised how harsh he was as his mentor is usually more reserved than that. Omega Red says that the sage has a funny way of saying thank you, so Tommy decides to say thanks for the help while he was unconscious as he couldn’t be there for his team when they needed him most. He feels guilty and worries about what might have happened to them if he couldn’t be there, but Jason tries to insist that he needs to leave. Tommy understands but just wants some quick advice, he asks if Red ever got used to being a leader because he admits he has no idea what he’s doing. Tommy confesses that a friend of his took off and didn’t leave him a “leadership manual” or anything to help him but then decides not to take up Red’s time and says to forget about it.
Jason stops and confesses that being the leader never gets easier, which doesn’t make Tommy feel any better but thanks him for being honest about it. He offers to pay back the favor of helping his team by assisting him if he ever needs it. Jason, feeling a bit guilty about leaving Tommy to figure things out, tries to defend his actions by saying that maybe his friend was confident in his abilities and thought he could handle himself. Tommy says that the Red Omega Ranger taught him that he is the exact opposite of that, feeling insecure about his leadership position given his defeat at the hands of Dayne.
Somewhere outside Angel Grove, at an abandoned gas station, Squatt, Baboo, Finster and Goldar are in hiding. Squatt is panicking that the Power Rangers will find them and it will all be over, they will be shoved into “itty bitty bottles” and be launched into space for all eternity. Finster examines the amount of magic clay that he managed to take with him during his escape, upset that he doesn’t have enough to do much with. Baboo agrees with Squatt, they are in big trouble and he suggests that they need to call Master Vile for help, which Squatt immediately rejects as Master Vile’s idea of “rescue” would be to send them to an arena where he can watch them fight each other to the death as penance for their incompetence. Finster grumbles that he can probably make one Putty from the clay he has..a small one that can be used to protect him. Squatt and Baboo dare to suggest that maybe they could work for Zordon and try the unthinkable by becoming good guys and helping around the Command Center. Goldar considers both of them sniveling cowards and decides to take command of the group, believing that both Rita and Zedd ultimately were all talk and accomplished nothing but being defeated in the end.
Finster finds that Goldar might have a point, while Squatt sadly says he misses Rita. Baboo questions what would give Goldar the right to lead them, with the winged warrior showing that he bravely went back for the Z Staff, which Baboo points out is broken in half. Goldar says that is true but if they fix it, the four of them can accomplish what Rita and Zedd never could…destroy the Power Rangers.
On the planet Safehaven, Jason is feeling guilty about his decision to intervene after talking with Tommy as he places the containment unit in Vault storage. Zack tries to reassure him that Tommy is going to be fine thanks to the “super White Light juju” flowing in his body, calling it a mix of “caffeine and happiness”. XI pleads for them to not drop the villains. Jason feels like he made a mistake, which Zack is confused by because it sounds like he wanted Dayne to murder their friends. Trini asks if he is sure that the team could have gotten out of the Thunder Megazord in time. Jason isn’t sure but thinks maybe he should have given them a chance, but changes the subject and asks how Kiya is doing. Trini says she is worried because Kiya has been quiet ever since the incident.
Outside on top of the Vault, Kiya is worrying that the Rangers are “too close”, knowing that they would not understand but HE is dangerous. The Blue Emissary tries to reassure Kiya that the Vault is secure and Lord Zedd cannot escape, but she says it is not Zedd she is worried about, it is Tommy Oliver. She tells Blue about how her mind linked with Jason’s and she saw how Tommy became Lord Drakkon and all the terrible things he did, including the Shattering and the aftermath of bleeding Grid energy that made her an Empowered which ultimately claimed the lives of her family. Blue sees in hindsight that they failed to convince Kiya and she gets angry but still tries, saying that isn’t the man who becomes Drakkon. Kiya is not convinced and thinks that he will become Drakkon someday and become the man who ruined her life, saying that they must ensure that there never will be another Lord Drakkon.
Blue says that is not a possibility, they have made certain that the Tommy Oliver of this universe is on the right path by giving him the White Light. This horrifies Kiya who knows how close Drakkon came to destroying reality forever. Blue states that the Light will guide Tommy’s hand and unlock his heart, people are not defined by simple choices they make but all the choices that they make that shape who they are. Lord Drakkon was an anomaly, they know this because they have seen all realities in the multiverse. Kiya disagrees, Blue can only see glimpses of the future, they cannot know for certain what is to come and if Tommy stays on the path they chose for him.
Blue tries to make Kiya forget about being troubled by Tommy and to focus as her mission is to protect the universe. Kiya, radicalized by her paranoia, takes this the wrong way and readies her weapon, with Blue seeing what is coming next as they foresee being stabbed through the back by Kiya’s Omega Trident. Blue screams in agony as she apologizes, but it has become clear that they are enemies and she believes so are the Power Rangers, she must do her duty to protect the universe from them. Blue realizes that one of the evil shadows Jason saw in his vision was her, as they slowly die, The Blue Emissary has one last vision of the future that they cryptically speak with their last breath:
“The Gate opened. The Planets aligned and the Earth rose where Water fell..…or at least it will…”
Back on Earth at the Youth Center, Skull and Candace invite Bulk to go to a traveling art exhibit but he declines the offer. Candace says that is a bit disappointing since her friend Lonnie is going to be there and she is a huge fan of Ranger Station, this convinces Bulk to go with them if only to not do the B-Roll from his recordings all afternoon.
The team is on the hunt for Goldar and the others with Billy looking for any ionic displacement and atmospheric distortions that could match a teleportation beam. Tommy encourages everyone to split into teams and report back anything if they find them and do not engage until the team forms up at their location.
On their way out, the Stone Canyon trio are wondering what will happen to them once Goldar and the others are defeated. Rocky thinks that Tommy will put them in a no win scenario simulation for training, but Aisha is worried that Zordon will relinquish their powers. Adam doesn’t believe Zordon would do that, but she feels she’s being realistic since they will not be needed now that Zedd is gone, then again maybe another bad guy might show up. She then wonders if maybe it is not such a bad thing to live a normal life again. Rocky doesn’t want to imagine that, as he loves being a Power Ranger. Aisha says she does too, but the thing that is better than protecting the world is to live in a world that doesn’t need them protecting it.
Back on Safehaven, inside the Vault, Kiya has freed Garrison Vox and Cavotas, apologizing to them and stating that she chose the wrong side but she will set things right. They are the true chosen ones by the Grid to protect the universe: The Anointed. Their mission is simple:
“No More Rangers”
To be continued.…
Appearing[]
to be added
Covers[]
Reprints[]
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Volume Twelve
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Necessary Evil I
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Necessary Evil Part One Deluxe Edition
Errors[]
- to be added
Notes[]
- In the greatest irony, Jason defeats Zedd by escalating the fight by having his Zord pummel Zedd unconscious.
- Fans of the original version of the show know Zordon's rule was just a way to keep the episode running longer for monster fights. This would change in Post-Zordon years to the Rangers' own choice to rely on their own skills and weapons to destroy monsters (which ends up being pointless for an obvious reason).
- It is humorous in retrospect as villains could have been defeated quite easily.
- Fans of the original version of the show know Zordon's rule was just a way to keep the episode running longer for monster fights. This would change in Post-Zordon years to the Rangers' own choice to rely on their own skills and weapons to destroy monsters (which ends up being pointless for an obvious reason).
- Rocky mentions that Tommy would probably place the team in a “no-win scenario”simulation for training. This is a reference to the Kobayashi Maru test from Star Trek, a test in Starfleet that judges a person’s character and how they perform in a stressful hopeless scenario to determine how they handle failure and responsibility in these situations by making sure that the test has no winnable outcome.
References[]
Footnotes[]
