Guest Author
Welcome Rangers to the inaugural edition of…
MORPHIN TIME TUESDAY at Comic Watch!
It’s the Dawn of a New Era for the Power Rangers franchise with more and more exciting news releasing that has longtime and new fans alike truly hyped for what’s to come. We are going to be checking in every week to follow up on all the excitement, looking at news, reviews, commentary and so much more in the world of Power Rangers. But this isn’t just about what we all have to look forward to, it’s about YOU the fans!
Do you have a podcast, fan art, project, merch or just an intriguing fan theory or insight that you want to share? Let us know! Contact us at Editor@Comic-Watch.com to let us know what you think we should cover in our following installments every week on #MorphinTimeTuesday!
We are going to kick things off with a bold new vision of the future of Power Rangers with the news that has had everyone talking since its reveal. It was recently announced that director Jonathan Entwistle has been brought onboard to spearhead a connected story universe set to bridge multiple platforms. With eOne productions (recently acquired by Hasbro in 2019) leading, Entwistle is set to reimagine the franchise for not just a new rebooted live action film, but also a television series as well and potentially more. With news of comics and TV veteran Bryan Edward Hill also attached under writing duties, the future of the franchise is undoubtedly brighter than ever before.
After the 2017 Power Rangers film garnered a lukewarm reception and failed to take off as many had hoped, this new development puts the franchise in prime position to capture the interest of fans everywhere who grew up with the series as well as help to usher in a new generation of fans. With an interconnected universe spanning multiple platforms, it will be interesting to see how the team approaches the remarkably in-depth lore established from the 27 seasons and so much more already released. Jonathan Entwistle himself commented on the news saying…
“This is an unbelievable opportunity to deliver new Power Rangers to both new and existing generations of awaiting and adoring fans. We’ll bring the spirit of analog into the future, harnessing the action and storytelling that made this brand a success. I’m looking forward to working with the teams at eOne and Hasbro. Together, we can’t wait to share more Power Rangers with the world very soon.”
On the heels of this incredibly exciting news, BOOM! Studios is also hard at work in their refreshing take on the Power Rangers with their popular comic series. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers splitting into multiple series after issue #55, giving us both a Mighty Morphin as well as a Power Rangers comic series. Mighty Morphin #1 released on 11/4 with Power Rangers #1 following just a week later on 11/11. We were truly impressed with the first issue of Mighty Morphin rating it a 9.5/10 saying it “is an exceptionally well executed comic on every level, pulling readers into the new series with a clear focus on dramatic new developments, a twist no one will see coming and artwork that is sure to impress“! You can check out the full review HERE.
In these new series, following the events surrounding the downfall of the powerful Lord Drakkon, fans everywhere were introduced to a thrilling new mystery with the arrival of a NEW unknown Green Ranger. With this mystery swirling and a new danger rising, writer Ryan Parrott is going all in to give fans a story that will keep you guessing and eager for more in both series. We learn about this ongoing mystery and even the origins of Zordon in Mighty Morphin plus we follow up with the Omega Rangers (made up of the original MMPR members Jason, Zack and Trini) in Power Rangers, but new fans shouldn’t worry because now is the perfect time to jump in to this groundbreaking take on the Power Rangers.
We even got a chance to sit down with Ryan Parrott himself to chat about this exciting new era!
BOOM! Studios isn’t stopping there, however. They have also released a new original graphic novel titled Power Rangers: Sins of the Future and you can catch an extended first look right HERE at Comic Watch! For fans of Power Rangers: Time Force won’t want to miss this one, it follows up after the series conclusion with a daring new journey through time following fan-favorite characters including the Pink Time Force Ranger Jen Scotts and Red Time Force Ranger Wes Collin as we find out whether their love will be the end of all time or not!
If two new comic series, a brand new graphic novel and news of an interconnected Power Rangers universe across multiple platforms wasn’t exciting enough, we also recently got some new insight on the 28th season of Power Rangers titled DINO FURY. We got a first look at the casting, some of the toys that will be accompanying the series and even the latest Lightning Collection toys as a part of Hasbro Pulse’s Fan First Friday. Power Rangers Dino Fury will feature Russell Curry as Zayto the Red Ranger, Hunter Deno as Amelia the Pink Ranger, Kai Moya as Blue Ranger Ollie, Tessa Rao as Green Ranger Izzy, and Chance Perez as the Black Ranger Javi. This series has been confirmed for 2 seasons similar to other series in the past. You can check out the live stream event for a closer look at some of the reveals below plus the official announcement on Twitter.
When an army of powerful alien beings is unleashed on Earth threatening life as we know it, a brand-new team of Power Rangers, fueled by the pre-historic power of the dinosaurs, are recruited to deal with the threat!
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POWER RANGERS DINO FURY coming in 2021 to @Nickelodeon pic.twitter.com/XXev8Y5G6u— POWER??RANGERS (@PowerRangers) May 15, 2020
With all of this news hitting within just a few weeks, it’s easy to see that it is a remarkable time to be a Power Rangers fan. The fandom has already been heavily engaged and continues to dive deep into the implications of all the latest developments. One of the most popular podcasts RANGER COMMAND recently released an episode just in time for Halloween taking a look at the first Halloween episode ever, but not before discussing the major news of Jonathan Entwistle and Bryan Edward Hill delivering a connected Power Rangers universe across multiple platforms. As fans of their awesome longrunning show, we are excited to plug Ranger Command Power Hour Extra Ep:068 and introduce our own audience to the Ranger Nation. Check out the latest episode HERE!
Just as we mentioned at the start of this installment, Morphin Time Tuesday is about more than just all the exciting news happening and what we can look forward to, it’s about all the great fans that continue to help this franchise thrive after decades of entertainment. One of the best places you will find to engage with this fandom yourself is on Reddit with the r/PowerRangers subreddit. The mods at this subreddit are not being compensated by any means for this, I only hope to shine a light on some of their spectacular work in facilitating a place that we can all get together and engage as fans. It’s a place to discuss anything and everything Power Rangers and always welcomes new members who want to discuss their love of the franchise, show off fan art and their collections plus so much more. In each new installment, we will be highlighting some of the best posts that have myself and so many others hyped! This week’s comes from u/WWFAttiude98 featuring an image by @ninedpr on Instagram that you might not initially believe is actually from the Lightning Series action figures! Check out the original post HERE and be sure to join today!
This is honestly just the beginning of all the excitement surrounding the Power Rangers franchise and its great fandom that we have to share, with already a full slate set for next week. But before we wrap things up, I wanted to give just a little insight on myself. My name is Nicholas Osborn and I am currently the Editor in Chief here at Comic Watch. Power Rangers has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, making up some of my most cherished memories as a kid dressing up on Halloween and filling my Christmas wishlist full of all the latest toys every year. As I grew up and rekindled my love for the Power Rangers outside of just a nostalgic fondness, I began to understand the important life lessons it has imparted and how it serves to bring each of us closer together through a shared commonality. We all had our favorites growing up and we certainly all have our opinions on who the best Ranger really is. Billy’s Blue Ranger played by David Yost in the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers captured my interest very early with his intelligence and care for the team as a whole. I couldn’t think of a better time to help share the love of all things Power Rangers at the start of so many thrilling developments.
We’ve always said that Comic Watch is BY fans FOR fans and that couldn’t be more true here. Thank you so much for joining us on this continued deep dive into the Power Rangers franchise, I’ll leave you all with a picture of 2 year old Nic dressed as the one and only MMPR Blue Ranger!
Be sure to tune in next week for another edition of #MorphinTimeTuesday and share your thoughts on social media including the hashtag to potentially be included in a future article!
