The upcoming Power Rangers film reboot may be what's on the mind of most fans of the franchise, but fans might also want to be paying some serious attention to the ongoing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic from BOOM! Studios. Why, you ask? Because it just introduced a brand new ranger into the mix.
Spoilers for Mighty Moprhin Power Rangers #9 below!
Writer Kyle Higgins and artist Hendry Prasetya have wasted no time introducing new elements in their Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic to go alongside many of the familiar faces and ideas fans are already accustomed. From issue #1, the rangers have been battling against classic villain Rita Repulsa...and her new villainous partner, a massive being known as the Black Dragon.
The fight hasn't been going so well for the Rangers, especially after the Black Dragon somehow took control of the Rangers' Zords with plans to use them in order to destroy cities across the globe. The fight for the planet comes to a head in issue #9, when the Rangers all become Green Rangers in order to defeat the Black Dragon. While the other Rangers cause a distraction, Billy (the blue Ranger) and Tommy (the Green/White Ranger) discover that the Black Dragon isn't actually a monster like most of Rita's other allies, but is actually a Zord. The duo break into the Black Dragon and shut it down, which causes a massive explosion, seemingly killing the two Rangers and the villain in the process.
Except not exactly. It's revealed the actual Black Dragon is alive and well, and is secretly a seventh Ranger controlling his Zord from a separate dimension. It's the dimension of the Black Dragon that Tommy and Billy now find themselves trapped in, having been transported there in the explosion.
It's a huge reveal and one of the biggest shake-ups of Power Rangers canon in more than a decade. Design wise, the Black Dragon's Ranger form borrows heavily from both the Green and White Ranger, which makes perfect sense when you think about it. Just think back to Tommy. When he was introduced, the Green Ranger served Rita and was a villain for the other five Rangers before eventually becoming an ally and later the White Ranger. It appears then that the Black Dragon might be some version of the Green or White Ranger from another reality.
But that's all speculation at this point. Officially we still don't know exactly what the deal with the Black Dragon is. Why did he want to partner with Rita to destroy Earth? What is the exact reason behind his costume looking so similar to that of the Green and White Ranger? What is his ultimate goal? And will he become an ally at some point, just like Tommy before him? Those are all questions fans will have to wait to learn the answer to. No doubt Tommy and Billy will come face to face with the Black Dragon soon enough, and we can only hope their encounter will lead to some answers.
