Kimberly’s journey following her departure from the show comes to an end. There are loose ends to be tied, epic conclusions to be had, and character development to explore, so let’s see how it goes.
Written by Brenden Fletcher, Kelly Thompson, and Tini Howard
Illustrated by Daniele Di NicuoloFinal issue! Are Kimberly, Trini, and Zack ready to leave behind the life of a Ranger once more? What does this mean for Tommy and Kimberly?
When I was a child, I watched Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers religiously for the first few seasons. However, I stopped some time around the middle of the third season, before Kimberly left the team, so my knowledge of that point in the show comes mainly from Linkara’s “History of Power Rangers” videos. Fortunately, the comic works quite well without requiring too much knowledge from the show, aside from the basics.
What started out as a comic featuring Kimberly doing some solo heroics in France has evolved into a team-up with two matching ranger teams in giant robots on the moon. And yet it’s all done one step at a time, introducing each element over the course of the story in such a way that it’s a natural progression and doesn’t cram everything in at once. The end result is well worth it, as we get a conclusion that’s satisfying in terms of action, character growth, and story.
The very scale of the combat in the issue is as huge as the megawords themselves, with multiple giant robots in combat. Seeing swarms of putties trying to climb up the Megaword really provides the scale for the mechs we see, and the large panels used to show them off allow readers to really take in their immensity and details.
Speaking of the giant robots, the Typhonis Ultrazord is an interesting combination, using Typhonis (the mishmash Megazord made from broken zords the previous issues featured) in combination with Titanus and Tor, which are both support/transport zords. So the end result is Typhonis sitting in Titanus (a brachiosaurus), which is in turn sitting in Tor (a giant turtle). For the sentai-inclined, this is also a combination of a comic-original mech, one from Zyuranger, and one from Dairanger.
Regardless of the design, the comic does a great job putting the various robots to use. Titanus and Tor are put to use in combat situations like the show never tried before, and it gives them distinct cockpits using similar designs as the typical zords from the show, with power coin-like icons behind the pilots.
The action with the giant robots is great all the way through, with a real sense of scale and impact. There’s plenty of explosions and posing, as per the source material, but the enormous Serpentera is a fitting final foe for the team to fight.
Technically this is a team-up between the “main” Power Rangers team and the temporary team Kimberly assembled throughout the comic, although they never actually see each other outside of their Megazords. But it’s still amusing to think that there are 11 simultaneous Rangers at once in this issue, one of the higher counts for any Power Rangers or Super Sentai series. (Fun fact: the show Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers was adapted from, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger is pronounced in a way that sounds like “jyu ranger,” which could mean “ten rangers.” It led some fans to theorize that it would be a ten-man team instead of five (later six), so technically this is fulfilling that expectation over 20 years after the fact.)
However, while the action is all well and good, the real focus of the issue is the characters. A large part of the issue is examining Kimberly, both in her growth as a character and person and where she wants to go from here. Her feelings for Tommy, her concern about being apart from the team she was once a part of, and how she’s supposed to deal with being a normal civilian after being a hero for so long are all major thoughts she brings up even during tense situations, but it all comes to a proper close.
As a conclusion, it’s a little uplifting. We see how each of the characters have been affected and changed by the events of the comic, all for the better, and see the paths they choose afterwards. The artwork does a great job setting the mood of those contemplative scenes, just as it did the action, and really adds a soul to the characters. Everyone is nicely expressive, and the lighting, backgrounds, and landscapes all help set the mood and tone.
Continued belowAt one moment, the panel is just Kim lying on her bed, face scrunched in thought as she takes in everything that’s happened, and in that moment it gets all her thoughts and feelings across without needing any dialogue.
As I was reading, I remembered the aforementioned “History of Power Rangers” videos, and how poorly the show handled Kimberly’s break-up with Tommy Oliver, the White Ranger; it was a “Dear John” letter that existed simply to set up new romantic interests for Tommy, with no concern for the history the characters shared.
The comic takes that moment and turns it around, making the real motivation into something so much better than “she met someone else.” Instead, it’s the result of her development, her independence, and her desire to grow further on her own. And that is an infinitely better way to end that chapter of the Power Rangers mythos.
Overall, “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Pink” has been a fun run, in many more ways than expected. It’s brought in some great redesigns, new characters, new mechs, and some excellent character growth, throughout a satisfying six-issue story arc.
Final Verdict: 8.9 – With plenty of giant robots, character development, and a satisfying conclusion, it’s a great way to bring the original Pink Ranger’s story to an end.
