Let's Talk About MIGHTY MORPHIN #10
Holy crap! Mighty Morphin #10 is now available to read and holy cow! We get to see where Lord Zedd came from and it’s wild! Ryan Parrott was accompanied by artist Dan Mora for this special issue and it was an inspired choice (I’ll detail more below the spoiler tag). Raúl Angulo did the coloring for the issue with assistance by Jose Enrique Fernández and Ed Dukeshire did the letters. BOOM! Studios was kind enough to provide me with a copy to read, but you can buy your own copy from your local comic shop, comiXology (affiliate link), or wherever you like to buy comics.
Discover Zordon’s ties to Bandora’s Palace on the Moon - the modern home of Rita Repulsa. When an assassin is sent to disrupt the Eltarians efforts to protect an ancient weapon Zordon is injured in the process and his mentor, Zophram, must make a decision that will alter the future of the Power Rangers as we know it! This issue contains spoilers for the never-before-seen origins of Lord Zedd.
This issue was insane! After the preview, we see Zophram and Zordon engage with the assassin. It’s weird seeing Zordon have a body, but also have an attitude. The assassin is able to fend both of them off fairly well and ends up poisoning Zordon. This sends Zophram into a rage and he just wrecks this unknown assassin. Surprisingly, he’s able to not kill the assassin, but capture him instead which is incredible restraint.
Later, we find the medics are surprised that Zordon’s not dead. They’re not sure how, but he’s survived when the poison should have killed him by now. Apparently, he has a strong constitution saving throw stat. Zordon then asks Zophram to use the Zeo Crystal before Dark Specter can get his hands on it. Of course, Zophram goes to the Council of Elders. They agree that it should be moved, but they don’t want it on Eltar because it could end up having devastating effects. Zophram loses it and yells at them about how stupid they are and how it’s hurt their own people. He wants to use it to defeat evil and the council says that’s unbecoming of protectors.
Zophram decides to screw the council and goes to get the Zeo Crystal anyways with Zartus. One of the Caretakers removes their bandages showing a fleshy arm similar to Lord Zedd’s although without the metal and this doesn’t stop him at all. Zophram sends Zartus to prepare the ship, but we see that Zartus ends up hanging around in the shadows (we’ll revisit this shortly). Zophram goes for the crystal and there’s an explosion! This rips his skin away basically and he’s buried under some rubble. Zartus helps recover him and then kills the other Eltarians that were with them before getting him back to a ship to recover and we see Lord Zedd for the first time (minus the metal supports). Zophram is Lord Zedd! That’s how he knows about Eltarians. There’s still more to the story I’m sure, but this is nuts.
So, what’s going on with Zartus hanging back in the shadows? Well, remember Mighty Morphin #9? During the opening, Zartus has the Caretakers put a protection spell on it. He never warns Zophram about it. Why? Because clearly Zartus has been planning this to take over for Zophram. In this issue, he even says that someone’s been plotting against Zophram to remove him from power. It’s not a member of the Council or some other guard, it’s Zartus. We know that he’s working with the Empyreals and he’s the current Supreme Guardian of Eltar. He’s always been a little suspect to me and it’s crazy watching it unfold.
I said Dan Mora was an inspired choice earlier and I stand by that. Mora has a history with Power Rangers that makes him a great candidate that the fans would love to see return for this monumental issue. However, Mora’s art is also perfect for the tone of this comic. His art tends to have a much darker tone to it and it really sells and takes this issue to the next level. Not only do we have the betrayal of Zartus, but we have Zophram going out of his mind in the fight with the assassin. That’s an incredible moment greatly served by Mora’s darker style.