Early this spring it was announced that Boom! Studios’ Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers comic series would officially come to an end after eight years with the company, with the publication of Darkest Hour #1. That finale to the Rangers’ long run at Boom! Studios finally came late last month, but even with the rangers’ run finally ending, there is still a little more Power Rangers content coming from Boom! Studios before the year ends even with that finale having been published. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Recharged: Volume Five is scheduled for release on soft cover edition Sept. 3 through Boom! Studios. The penultimate entry in what is the first half of Boom! Studios’ dual story arc (that includes Darkest Hour), this forthcoming anthology compiles stories from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #115-118 and will come more than four months after the release of Recharged Volume Four.
The latest forthcoming entry to Boom! Studios’ final Power Rangers run is another engaging and entertaining collection that longtime Power Rangers fans are sure to enjoy. That is due in large part to its featured four-issue story. This will be discussed shortly. The story’s transitions help to keep readers engaged from beginning to end and in turn. This plays into the bigger presentation in its own right and will be addressed a little later. The bonus content that accompanies the collection rounds out its most important elements and will also be discussed later. Each item noted is key in its own way to the whole of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Recharged: Volume Five. All things considered they make this collection a strong setup for a big finish for Boom! Studios’ Power Rangers Recharged series and for the Power Rangers’ nearly decade-long run with Boom! Studios.
Boom! Studios’ forthcoming Power Rangers anthology, Recharged: Volume Five is a strong new entry to the company’s ongoing final, bigger Power Rangers story. Its success comes in large part through its featured story. Spanning four issues of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, this story actually picks up from another of the many tie-ins for the bigger “Dark Spectre/Darkest Hour” crossover event, which include the “Eltarian War” story, the “Death Ranger” story and the “Unlimited Power” story. To that end, audiences would be well advised to pick up those stories first in order to understand and appreciate this latest entry in the bigger story. In the case of Recharged Volume Five, the story opens with Tommy having been captured by Mistress Vile (nee Rita Repulsa). Rita is trying to torture Tommy to the point of him becoming her evil minion once again (which is a throwback to the original Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers TV series. This is something that longtime fans will appreciate. Meanwhile, the infection created by Dark Specter and that has spread throughout the Morphing Grid, has turned countless rangers across the universe into Dark Specter’s minions. Dark Specter, in the body he originally obtained thanks to Rita much earlier in this story, is spreading the infection even more thanks to Rita using the Zeo Crystal (yes, that Zeo Crystal) as a means to be able to travel from world to world. Even the infamous Psycho Rangers are not safe from Dark Specter and his virus. All hope is not lost though, as Billy discovers a new power source that ultimately plays into the tide turning in favor of the Rangers thanks to help from none other than the Phantom Ranger, who plays into the bigger far-reaching multiverse story in his own major way. The big turning point comes as the new power source helps some unlikely allies to the Rangers face off against Dark Specter and his infected minions on Rita and Zedd’s stomping grounds on the moon. Rita’s fate is ultimately left up in the air in the collection’s final pages and the new power source is certain to play into the story in the final volume of Recharged, which is currently due out Nov. 19.
As noted, the story contained in the pages of Recharged Volume Five is engaging. However, without the background provided in the first four volumes and in the Darkest Hour story so far, as well as the tie-ins, it is going to be somewhat empty. That aside, there is another positive to note here. That positive is in the form of the story’s transitions. Writer Melissa Flores ensures the transitions are clear in very simple fashion – the labeling of each scene within the volume ensures readers know Flores has taken them to another point in the story. It is such a small, simple act but does so much to keep the story moving fluidly. The engagement ensured by that fluidity also ensures more entertainment. To that end, the transitions are a small part of the whole presentation but play quite well into the old adage that less is more.
Knowing that the story and its transitions play important parts to the whole of Recharged Volume Five, there is at least one more positive to note. That positive is the bonus content tat accompanies the volume. That content in question is the covers gallery that has become so common among Boom! Studios’ releases. The covers allow audiences to have all that varied artwork once again in a single setting rather than having to spend so much money on the standalone issues. Artist Zu Orzu’s watercolor style portrayal of Mistress Vile for Issue #116 is one of the covers that really stands out. The richness and raw look gives it such a unique identity. Adam Gorham’s variant cover design for Issue #115 is another notable offering. The contrast of Tommy in his White Ranger outfit overshadowed by Dark Specter creates its own sense of the power struggle at play. On a related note, the design that Dark Specter has received throughout the story has led to thoughts of Marvel’s villain Apocalypse and even to DC super villain Darkseid, interestingly enough. Between those and the other covers featured herein, they make for one more thing for fans of this series to appreciate. When considered alongside the story and its transitions, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Recharged: Volume Five proves itself another interesting addition to Boom! Studios’ ongoing final major Power Rangers story arc.
Boom! Studios’ forthcoming latest entry in its Power Rangers “Dark Specter/Darkest Hour” crossover is another interesting addition to the ongoing story. That is due in part to its featured story. The story is just the next chapter but is certain to lead up to something very big in the sixth and final volume of the company’s “Recharged” storyline. The transitions contained within the story make reading the tale easy because of how simply they ensure readers know when different scenes begin and end. The bonus covers gallery allows art fans to have all the variants in one setting once again as a nice addition. Each item examined her is important in its own way to the whole of this presentation. All things considered they make Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Recharged: Volume Five another welcome chapter in Boom! Studios final major Power Rangers comics event.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers Recharged: Volume Five is scheduled for publication Sept. 5. More information on this and other titles from Boom! Studios is available at:
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