Comic Book Review - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104

Rob reviews Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104...

In need of some much-needed TLC, long-time adversary, Rita Repulsa has had a renaissance under Misty Flores' care. She's gone from being banished by Lord Zedd, to returning in a blaze of glory as the resurgent Mistress Vile. But how did this change come to be? And what ramifications does it have for the Power Rangers and Earth?

Much like Lord Zedd, Rita's history is just as mysterious. While Kyle Higgins and Ryan Parrott each brought much-needed backstory to Rita, it's now Flores' turn to add another chapter. With revelations - and more than a few shocking moments - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104 is one you won't want to miss.

MMPR #104 is entirely devoted to Rita as we see her gradual transformation into Mistress Vile. We kick things off with Mistress Vile trying again to break Matt's resolve. She tells him that his sacrifice was in vain and that he means nothing to his so-called friends. To hammer the point home, she then recounts her past to the Green Ranger.

Mistress Vile then takes Matt on a journey into her past as she details her upbringing, encountering her minions, her battles with the Rangers, and her banishment from Lord Zedd. It's all told across a gorgeous double-page spread that seems to branch out from the trapped Rita in the middle. This exile is then interrupted as another familiar face comes to Rita's rescue. Fans of Power Rangers Turbo are in for a treat as Divatox makes an appearance as the person who saves Rita. It's not all roses as Divatox is on a mission from Master Vile to find Rita and return her to Gamma Vile.

As family reunions go, to say things between Rita and Master Vile are frosty is a massive understatement. While Master Vile is all for celebrating his daughter's return, Rita is less than pleased. As Master Vile attempts to reconnect with Rita, he mentions that he's found another potential vessel for the illusive Dark Spectre. Rita reminds her father of his failed attempts - with one involving her brother. This time around Vile has an ace up his sleeve and reintroduces both the reader and Rita to Alpha-1.

The penultimate chapter of this issue then deals with Rita Repulsa's transformation into Mistress Vile. I won't go into too much detail, but it involves plenty of backstabbing and one heck of a power play!

Straight from her first issue, Flores has shown that her Power Rangers knowledge is incredibly vast. There are plenty of callbacks and cameos as we learn the reason behind Rita's transformation. Having Divatox back on the scene was a nice surprise, and helps to build the wider universe. Could we see the Turbo antagonist tackle the Omega Rangers? Either way, the worldbuilding in the Recharged Era has been epic in scope.

Kath Lobo and Simona di Gianfelice also bring plenty of scope to proceedings with a fantastic showing of art. Moving the action away from Earth allows for some alien landscapes, and their eclectic inhabitants to shine. Master Vile is well presented and leaps straight from the television series. Both artists capture his outlandish appearance and eccentric behavior so well that I could picture actor Simon Prescott's voice.

That double-page spread is a real thing of beauty too!

Likewise, Fabi Marques and Raúl Angulo's use of colors jump straight from the page. There's a nice shift in tones across the issue as we jump from the cold of space (and Divatox's ship) to the darkness of Master Vile's Castle, to then end within the fires of the planet Infernus. Along with the aforementioned art, it all comes together to build the atmosphere without shying away from the dark tones underneath.

And who could forget about Ed Dukeshire, whose lettering ties everything together?

All in all, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #104 continues the trend of beating its predecessor as being Misty Flores's best yet. Its always been known that Rita Repulsa has an explosive history, and through the pages of this issue, we get another chapter in her story. While Flores slightly touches upon Mistress Vile's plans for Matt, it seems that it's not just the Rangers that she has in her sights!

Rating 10/10

Like this review and want to support the blog further? You can do so by heading over to Ko-Fi.com/GeekCultureRev. Any donations will be greatly appreciated, but more so is the fact that you took the time to read this review Thank you!

Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow Geek Culture Reviews on Twitter, Hive, Facebook, & TikTok @GeekCultureRev

Crafting the Apocalypse with Kek-W

Rob takes a trip to Deadworld with 2000 AD writer Kek-W… ‘ The Fall of Deadworld: Redemption ’ made its return to the 2000 AD Prog this week. While the battle for Sector 13 and the wider city rumbles on, I spoke to curator of chaos, Kek-W about Deadworld past, and more importantly, its future. Looking back, what first attracted you to writing what’s essentially the Dark Judges origin story? KW - Well, the first four DREAMS OF DEADWORLD stories that Dave and I did were well received, so rather than just doing more of the same - stories that showcased the individual Dark Judges - I pitched the idea of telling the back-story of how the four of them destroyed an entire world. How did that happen, how might it work? I figured it was a landscape ripe with dramatic story-telling potential. 'Ripe' being the operative word! (laughs) I also thought it might be interesting to focus in on a ordinary family, to see and experience the collapse of civilization from their point of view and

Rogue Trooper - Blighty Valley TPB Announced

Garth Ennis takes a journey back to NU-Earth… Today, August 29th marks a pivotal moment in 2000 AD history. Back in 1981, Gerry Findley-Day and Dave Gibbons introduced GI Rogue Trooper. As a Genetic Infantry, Rogue is bred to survive the harsh war-torn environment of NU-Earth. Soon betrayed by his superiors, Rogue is forced to seek his revenge while traversing the dangerous battlefield that NU-Earth has become. With the bio-chip personalities of his former comrades as his only allies, Rogue spent the next few years tracking down the Traitor General. Fast-forward to today, and 2000 AD have announced that ‘Blighty Valley’ , Garth Ennis and Patrick Goddard’s recent foray into NU-Earth is being released in a trade paperback collection. ‘ Blighty Valley is Rogue’s first regular appearance in 2000 AD in a number of years – a thirteen-part story set at 'Night’s Horizon', the annual event where Nu Earth’s orbit carries it closest to a nearby black hole. The Norts call it Zvartchvinte

Comic Book Review - The Best of 2000 AD Vol. 3

Rob reviews The Best of 2000 AD Vol.3… The ‘Ultimate Mix-Tape’ of 2000 AD’s greatest hits is back for its third volume. Packed with an array of specially curated strips, The Best of 2000 AD series does its very best in introducing you to the world of Tharg, and his Thrillverse. Much like its predecessors, this volume offers up an enticing mixture of strips and feature that draw across all corners of the wider 2000 AD mythos. While we do get a couple of standard trips to Mega-City 1 with Judge Dredd, series Editor Owen Johnson shows us the anthologies more “Tales of the Unexplained” side as things get a little bizarre. Personally, this third volume has been my favourite out of the series so far. Not only does it feature a Judge Dredd written by Michael Carroll, we also have the debut of Ian Edginton and D’Israeli. While you’d think that Johnson would of opted to include the duo’s phenomenal Scarlet Traces, he’s instead swapped the Earth/Mars war for the Atlantic Ocean, as we get a mu

Geek Culture Reviews

Search This Blog