Comic Book Review - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1

Amy Jo Johnson returns to the Power Rangers to tell a poignant tale of love and loss…

For most people of my age, we all grew up watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers on television. The show became an instant hit and spawned countless toy lines, video games, movies, comic books, and a heck of a lot more. 

Now to celebrate the shows 30th Anniversary (has it really been that long!?) Amy Jo Johnson, the original Pink Ranger, has teamed up with writer Matt Hotson to craft a “what-if” tale that’s arguably the continuation of the original series that is old timers have been waiting for. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return takes place in a future where 22 years prior to the comic, the Rangers defeated Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. After their victory the team goes their separate ways, yet remain tied together through their time as Power Rangers. Now in the present day the team have grown up and faced their own problems and challenges. However something evil is lurking in the darkness and threatens to drag the Rangers back into a past they left behind. 

Johnson and Hotson go all guns blazing for this opening issue. Straight from the get-go the duo throw us into a world that’s a far cry from what Misty Flores is crafting in the main MMPR series. The opening scene of Jason battling an unseen enemy within the destroyed Command Centre shows how much was lost in securing the initial victory over Rita and Lord Zedd. With no Zordon or Alpha as backup - Jason who now wields a very heavily modified version of the Red Ranger outfit - is quickly defeated with his Power Coin seemingly stolen. 

The scene then switches to Angel Grove as Billy presides over the unveiling of the Trini Kwan Memorial Park and Youth Centre. Here we not only catch up with Billy and Zack, but we catch a glimpses of Bulk, Skull, and Earnie in the crowd. While this is going on, we’re also shown Kimberly as she attempts to remain incognito to then escape the crowd while reminiscing about a previous time with Trini. Scenes then switch to Kimberly and Zack reuniting with Zack asking his former team mate to join Billy and himself for dinner. Reluctant to join them, Kimberly reminds Zack that she’s now called Emma Phillips. This is then segued in with some incredible art by Nico Leon that shows the gravestone of Tommy Oliver. 

From here we get plenty of exposition as we learn what’s transpired since that final battle. Jason seems to have been effected the most and while Zack publicly came out as a Ranger, and Billy reversed engineered his morphing technology, Jason remained ever present as the Red Ranger, raging a one man war on anything that threatens the planets peace. We also get a flash of concern from the former teammates as they attempt to get Kimberly to rejoin them in an effort to track Jason down and save him from himself. From here on in there’s a lot more that gives quite an impact to where Johnson is going with her narrative. I won’t spoil it but it’s the perfect accompaniment to how the original cast is made up today. 

As a Power Rangers fan this opening issue is perfect. It’s everything that I’ve personally wanted from a MMPR reunion. The deaths of Tommy and Trini play perfect homage to the real world deaths of Jason David Frank and Thuy Trang and honours their legacy with quite an emotional depth. There’s also a very small nod to both Tommy Oliver and Jason David Frank with Kimberly wearing Tommy’s necklace though out this issue too. 

While a lot of what’s coming in MMPR: The Return is still a mystery, Johnson and Hotson have delivered plenty of interesting ideas that’s turned the once bright action orientated Saturday morning show into a dark and emotional thriller. Not only do we have a villain who’s operating in the darkness, there’s plenty of room to further explore whats made Kimberly run from her Pink Ranger legacy. 

There’s been plenty of people who’ve drawn the various incarnations of the Power Rangers over the years. While Marco Renna has been my personal favourite for a while, he may just share my top spot with MMPR: The Return artist, Nico Leon. 

The word cinematic gets bounded around a lot when it comes to great art that allows the story to flow in an effortless manner. And here Nico Leon’s art is truly cinematic. Each character retains their likeness of the original cast which not only helps reconnect the reader to their childhood heroes, it also shows that the group - like us - have grown older. We’re also treated to one heck of an intense battle which kicks off the issue as Leon gives us Jason battling an unseen character in the ruined command centre. It’s a fight that’s mostly shrouded in darkness with the odd flash of colour from Francesco Segala as Jason and this foe trade shots. If we get more intensity like this, then we’re all in for something special! 

Overall and MMPR: The Return #1 sets this new series off to a great start. Not only is it a perfect continuation to the original series, it takes it down a much darker and more grown up route. In some aspects this feels a lot like the reunion special that we never got, and it’s certainly one Power Rangers comic that everyone needs to experience. And with Amy Jo Johnson as this tales scribe, we’ve got the perfect person at the writing wheel to deliver something that’ll long stay with us once the series has concluded! 

Rating: 10/10

 Rob Lake - For more comic book and video game chat why not follow us on X/Facebook @GeekCultureRev, TikTok/YouTube @Geekculturereviews, and BlueSky @geekculturereviews.bsky.social