Mighty Morphin #12: Never Eat the Food

As the Eltarian War looms over Earth, the Power Rangers are attempting to prepare for battle as best they can. Tommy confronts Matt about revealing his identity, Aisha talks Billy into patching it up with Zordon, Rocky cracks jokes, and Zordon tries to reason with Lord Zedd. There are so many different plots going on in this story, and I ain’t mad about it. I’m thrilled that each character is given something to do, as this series has a larger cast than its sister series Power Rangers.

This is particularly the case with Aisha and Rocky, both characters introduced in Season 2 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers after Jason, Trini, and Zack left the team. Less so with Adam, another newcomer who isn’t really given as much characterization this time around. But Aisha is portrayed here as the voice of reason and a great source of strength (fitting as she later gets the Bear zord). I was a bit worried that Aisha seemed too confrontational at times, but here we see her softer side as she tries to get Billy to reconcile with Zordon. I’m a big fan of Aisha’s actress, Karan Ashley, who brought a real bubbly warmth to the character, so I hope we see more of that side of her in this series.

As for Rocky, you’d think his one-liners would get annoying, and sometimes they get close to it, but I really love his wisecracking personality here. I always thought of him as the “sorta dim but cute” one. I do hope we get more of Adam in the future, though I’m liking his wry sarcasm.

This is a very character-driven series, so I love the work put into fleshing out these characters who were otherwise, admittedly shallow in the show. Kimberly is another one who has been given so much personality, standing up to Zordon any chance she can get. I haven’t really been a big fan of Matt, the new Green Ranger, but the parallels of him and Grace with Tommy and Rita have made me interested to see how this plotline plays out.

There were several surprising moments in the issue, one with Lord Zedd and Zordon, but it’s the cliffhanger ending that really threw me through a loop. I love being surprised, and comics rarely do so nowadays, but they got me, gal. I’m so excited for what’s to come.