Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Anniversary Special Issue 1

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Anniversary Special Issue #1 is the 25th anniversary special issue of Boom! Studios ongoing comic book series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (Boom! Studios). It features the Mighty Morphin team.

Synopsis
To celebrate 25 years of Saban’s Power Rangers, superstar creators Magdalene Visaggio  (Kim & Kim), Joe Quinones (America), Sina Grace (Iceman), and more pay homage to the world-wide phenomenon with original standalone stories set throughout the Power Rangers universe.

Pet Project
After a long absence, Scorpina returns to Rita’s Palace and has retrieved the last remnants of the Powerdraining Candle from the Wizard of Deception. Unfortunately, the material is only enough to form a small disc, but should weaken Tommy Oliver’s powers enough to place him back under the control of Rita Repulsa. Rita observes the Rangers at a community event to help animal shelter pets get adopted and gets an idea to use the disc as a dog tag. She then takes Scorpina’s pet silkworm monster and uses a spell to turn it into a small black puppy, despite Scorpina’s objections. Rita orders her to place the dog at the event so Tommy will come in contact with it and feel the effects of the power drain.

The plan seems to work as Tommy is drawn to the adorable “dog”, but before he can pick up the puppy, Bulk and Skull grab it and decide to adopt it and name the dog “Bubba”. Enraged at this turn of events, Rita orders Scorpina to go down and retrieve the dog from the two bullies. Scorpina scares the two off with a group of Putties and they run into Tommy, telling him the monsters are trying to steal Bubba. Tommy tells them to get to safety and then tries to contact the other Rangers, but Scorpina destroys his communicator before he can call for backup. Tommy morphs into the White Ranger, but the Putties hold him down while Scorpina uses the dog to try to drain away the White Ranger powers. In an unexpected turn of events, the wax coin with Green Chaos energy supercharges the White Ranger’s power and he releases a green burst of energy that wipes out the Putties and knocks Scorpina back. Deciding to cut her losses, Rita grows the dog into a giant. Using quick thinking, Tommy uses the TigerZord and a spire from a nearby building to play “tug of war” with the giant pup to create a bridge he crosses to destroy the dog tag and return the dog to “normal”. The rest of Power Rangers show up, only to learn they are not needed and Tommy handled everything.

Later that night, Bulk and Skull are happy to get Bubba back, only for a cloaked old woman to exclaim that the boys had found her dog “Charlie”. Tommy tells the two to do the right thing and give back the dog to her, which they agree to. The old woman is actually Scorpina in disguise, who reassures her pet silkworm that she will demand Rita to return it to normal....but admits that her pet is kind of adorable as a dog.

Golden Ideas
After the failure of a rabbit monster (which we see in the middle of the page being slashed apart by the Thunder Megazord), Lord Zedd rants to Goldar about another failure. Goldar suggests using a divide-and-conquer strategy, but Lord Zedd sees this as Goldar questioning his leadership, and orders him down to Earth to go destroy the Rangers himself.

At the Juice Bar, the Rangers celebrate their latest victory, and Kimberly comments that at least with Lord Zedd, they don't have to hear Rita screech "Make my monster grow!" every week. Aisha doesn't know what Kimberly means, and as she explains, the three veteran Rangers start reminiscing about their earlier fights, making her feel left out.

Feeling the need to prove themselves to the veterans, Aisha brings Adam to Billy's garage. She explains that she feels the weight of the Rangers they are replacing. Trini was an amazing engineer, and she calls Zach "the heart and soul" of their team. However, she says that Rocky and Tommy have quickly become close friends, so the isolation doesn't apply to him. Her plan is to finish an experiment of Billy's while the three veteran Rangers are at S.A.T. prep. Adam doesn't see the need to prove themselves, saying that Zordon chose them, and the other Rangers trust Zordon, but Aisha is unconvinced and Adam helps her due to their friendship.

Goldar spots the two and ambushes them. Having the sensitive experiment around, Aisha decides they should flee in the Rad Bug instead of fighting there. They make a plan to land in a nearby clearing and call for help, but Goldar lands on the car, destroying it. The two Rangers morph and teleport to the ground, as Lord Zedd makes Goldar grow.

Feeling that they cannot call their Thunder Zords before Goldar steps on them, they decide to use the results of the experiment, which turns out to be a growth potion of their own. The two of them grow and fight off Goldar, then asking him if he'd like to deal with two Thunder Zords and two zord-sized Rangers. Lord Zedd recalls Goldar, calling him an "oversized cat". Aisha wonders how to explain the Rad Bug being destroyed to Billy, but it turns out the four other Rangers have been watching the situation on the Viewing Globe, Billy saying he was planning to remake the car anyway. Tommy and Kim give their blessing to the new Rangers, saying they'll do just fine, as Rocky is amazed by the Viewing Globe itself.

The Sweetest of Dreams
Udonna awakens from a nightmare about her husband Leanbow being tormented in a Hell-like dimension and bound in chains by the shadow of a sinister knight, with Udonna trying desperately to reach for her beloved. She then cries as she feels her husband is alive somewhere and some evil force has taken him from her. She then consults with her magic teacher, the Mystic Mother, who reads her fortune through Tarot cards to determine the meaning of her apprentice’s dreams. Among her readings, she tells of a Phoenix that represents the future. Udonna incorrectly assumes that the Phoenix is her, to which the Mystic Mother says that it is not. Udonna believes she can be, reading a spellbook she stole to try and find a way to get to her husband. The Mystic Mother says that Udonna cannot do what she thinks she can, but Udonna refuses to give up if the dreams were her husband’s tormented cries for help trying to reach her. The Mystic Mother is hesitant but decides to help Udonna cross the astral plane to where Leanbow could be. At a certain point during the journey, she tells Udonna that whatever happens next she must face alone as she cannot go farther or protect her in this plane.

Udonna finds herself in a dark, eerie cavern with a large gate in front of her. She then sees her husband Leanbow in chains just like in her dreams and tries to comfort him, but he keeps screaming in agony and cannot hear her. The evil knight, Koragg, appears and tells Udonna to leave as the man she sees is nothing of her concern. Enraged, Udonna becomes the White Mystic Ranger and engages in battle with Koragg to try and free Leanbow. However, Koragg proves to be too strong for her as he effortlessly swats her away with his shield and sword. The Wolf Knight is perplexed by Udonna’s stubbornness, telling her that killing her is beneath him but if his patience is tested he will strike her down. Udonna refuses to yield as if there is even a chance of saving her “light and joy”, she will fight, win or die trying. Koragg smashes the visor of her Ranger helmet and Undonna still will not give up, despite being battered and terrified as she thinks she is going to die. However, Koragg gives Udonna a chance to walk away as he is intrigued by her warrior spirit and devotion to Leanbow. He makes it clear that Leanbow is dead and cannot be freed from his chains, so either Udonna leaves and lives her life or she will destroy that life here and now. Udonna reluctantly accepts the offer and returns to Briarwood.

As a side effect of returning to the waking world, Udonna lost her memories of the first encounter with Koragg. But she remembered her husband and realized that with time, patience and faith, she could banish the nightmares and create the “sweetest of dreams” as she continued to study the magic in the Xenotome. During one spell; she sees a vision of the Phoenix and the hope of the future... the Mystic Force Power Rangers!

Sealed
At Summer Cove High School on a school night, Brody has gathered the Ninja Steel Rangers for a meeting. He says Madam Odius has been running Galaxy Warriors for a while now (meaning this story takes place during Super Ninja Steel), and they are no closer to defeating her. He feels they need to be more proactive, rather than reacting to her attacks. But this musing, and the other Rangers' whining, is interrupted by Mick entering with Alpha 5.

He explains who Alpha is, loyal assistant to the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (leading Preston to ask "Oh, the dinosaur ones?" and comment "I love Dinosaurs."). The two met on a caper that involved stealing Great Kahoolian Eggs and Alpha wearing a top hat, bow tie, and mustache. Alpha has come to ask for the Ninja Steel Rangers help. 25 years ago, Rita used a passing comet to weaken the barrier between them and a prison dimension, allowing a Lovecraft-ian creature to start coming through. The Rangers were barely able to hold it off that first time, but the comet is on a 25-year cyclical course, so in 2 hours, the comet will return and allow the creature to try and break through again. Brody says they will travel to Angel Grove and fight the creature, but asks how much better they can be expected to do than the "legends" that were the MMPR. The question goes unanswered.

The portals open, and we see the MMPR fighting the creature 25 years ago, intercut with the Ninja Steel Rangers fighting it present day, using similar tactics. The original team use the Power Blaster, while Preston learns the creature is weak to Dragon Fire, driving it back in both time periods. Jason and Brody simultaneously realize they can't just drive it back to the prison dimension, but must destroy it.

They enter the portals and see the creature, a giant floating eyeball with lots of tentacles. As Alpha (present day) taps into Brody's communicator, Jason wonders who Brody is, while Brody finds meeting the original Red Ranger "Epic". However, he also quickly realizes that Jason has a destiny that can't be disrupted by dying there. He uses his Ninja Element Water Attack to shove Jason back through his portal, deciding to face the monster alone. However, Mick and Alpha quickly talk Brody into not sacrificing himself. Seeing other portals and realizing they are to other increments of 25 years, he gets an idea, telling Alpha to remember that the creature is weak to Dragon Fire. Alpha commits his information to his long-term memory banks, and Brody sees a large plume of Dragon Fire erupt from another portal (presumably, from the year 2043). Jason emerges back in his time after exiting the portal, telling Trini that he had doubts but now he can see that the future is in good hands.

The creature is charred and shrinks down, but as Brody leaps back through the portal, he tells Sarah it hasn't been destroyed. However, he feels okay with this, knowing a team in the future will keep up the fight. Further, this has calmed him from his thoughts of being proactive, as he says evil will always exist, but there will always be Power Rangers there to fight it.

The Trial of Astronema
At a distant corner of the universe, a multitude of alien races, despite their differences, unite and have gathered to bear witness to the fate of Karone, the woman formerly known as Astronema. Karone was abducted from her home on Miranoi to stand before a court for her crimes as the Queen of Evil, including acts of slavery, murder, genocide and conspiracy to usurp and overthrow planetary governments.

The trial is being broadcast across the galaxy so those who lived in fear of Astronema can know that justice has finally been done on this day. The prosecutor goes over the background of Karone’s time as Astronema and then the judge asks how Karone would like to plead. Before she can answer, her brother Andros, as well as Maya and Leo stop the hearing to plead on her behalf.

Andros calls out the court for the abduction of his sister against her will, but a judge dismisses this as he believes that the famed “heroes” of the Power Rangers have lied about the “death” of Astonema and have been harboring a fugitive criminal. This leads to a wild accusation by the judge that potentially other criminals are hidden in their custody. Andros rejects the accusation and tells the court that Astronema died in the final battle and his sister is innocent. Realizing this is possibly a, as Karone was taken against her will, has no legal defense and no one willing to defend her, the three Rangers decide to act as defense witnesses and legal defense representatives. The judges agree to these terms and the trial officially starts with testimonies from the victims of Astronema.

A small green dragon-like alien is the first to testify, he tells the sorrowful tale of how his race used to make beautiful songs with their emotions, but Astronema came with her forces in a brutal act of near-speciocide to conquer his world. The alien laments it is the last of its kind and angrily says that Astronema recorded his race’s loud song of agony in their final moments and then heard from other races that she played it back on loudspeakers whenever she invaded another planet for her own sick amusement.

Andros tells the court that Karone was taken as a child, sold into slavery and later brainwashed into being evil to serve Dark Specter. She had no control over her actions and was just an innocent girl warped by evil into a different person and they had freed her from that evil influence. Karone stands silently and listens to the testimonies with a look of despair on her face. A large headed cycloptic alien tells the court that his race was enslaved by Astronema and her army and their temples and artifacts were ravaged. The invasion force then forced his people to make graven images of Dark Specter and Astronema and destroy their statues and shrines to their deities. His people now have altered their religion, believing Astronema to be the Devil incarnate.

Leo tells the court about the time he lost his powers and how Karone not only helped him get them back but faced her sins by battling a dark double of herself as Astronema created by a vengeful warrior. The warrior saw that Karone had changed and gave up his quest to destroy her.

The next testimony comes from a young Anubis Kruger, the last survivor of the destroyed planet Sirius. He says that while he has nothing but respect and admiration for the Power Rangers and would never speak ill of them, Karone is undeserving of such a title as the Pink Galaxy Ranger for what she has done. He tells the court that when his people refused to ally with Astronema and raised the shield around Sirius, she stole the codes to deactivate the shield. Rather than use it herself, she decided to give the Sirians a slow and painful demise by giving the codes to an alien with a grudge against Sirius named Emperor Grumm. Anubis lost his wife during the fall of his world and still feels bitter over what Astronema did.

Maya tells the court of how Karone stepped up to be the Pink Galaxy Ranger and is worthy as her predecessor’s spirit gave her blessing after her death at the hands of Psycho Pink to wield to Quasar Saber. She considers Karone a good friend and she has seen Karone repent her sins by becoming a hero. The prosecutor quickly points out that Astronema created the Psycho Rangers a year ago to kill the Power Rangers, thus Maya’s assessment that Karone is a friend and hero is hypocritical as the very thing she created killed Kendrix. If Astronema didn’t exist, neither would the Psycho Rangers and Kendrix would still be alive. The prosecutor then calls for a recess and for the jury to deliberate on a verdict.

In a waiting area, Karone is in horror at all of the things she did as Astronema. Maya tries to comfort her while Andros and Leo think that some evil force is setting Karone up. This angers Karone as she knows she is guilty and trying to make excuses for her crimes is pathetic. She thought that by being a Ranger, she could make things better by balancing the scales of karma. After seeing how many lives she has ruined, Karone wants to face her punishment. Andros objects to this as it would mean a death sentence as the court is out for blood and he cannot bear losing his sibling again after just getting her back. Karone says she needs to do this to give those suffering by her hands closure and it should be her own choice to do so.

The recess ends and the head judge has taken into account that the accused has been reformed and the circumstances of her life and how it affected her. However, the weight of her acts of tyranny and cruelty are too vast to lighten the decision of the jury. Before the judge can proclaim the verdict, Astronema appears while Karone is standing in the courtroom. The Queen of Evil mocks the jury, much to the alarm of those observing the trial. Andros claims that the Z-wave in the final battle split Karone and Astronema into two separate beings and the evil half is responsible for all the crimes and thus his sister is innocent. The panicked crowd go into a murderous frenzy and Astronema battles them while the Rangers escape to the Astro Megaship with Karone in tow.

As they leave the star base where the court was, they see Astronema die on the view screen at the hands of a security team and be vaporized. Karone learns that this was her brother’s idea from Leo and demands an explanation. Andros explains he used a hard light hologram program to create a “real” Astonema so the people have their justice and Karone can have her freedom. Karone smacks her brother in furious anger for taking away her choice to accept her punishment for all the pain she caused. Andros thinks she is crazy as those people would have killed her and it wasn’t fair for them to punish her for what Astronema did.

Karone tells her brother that he is living in a fantasy world where she is still an innocent child. She IS Astronema and had been raised to be that way for most of her life, to the point that she has to remind herself to be a kinder and gentler person than she instinctively wants to be. Andros is oblivious to why Karone is angry as he saved her. Karone explains that he took her choices away from her....just like Dark Specter did. Karone refuses to be manipulated or controlled again, not even by her own family, she wants to define herself by her own choices. She needs to figure out who Karone is and ways she can repent for her actions as a villain. She decides that in order to better define who she is as an individual, she needs to spend time away from her overprotective sibling. Karone tells Andros that she loves him but if he doesn’t back off and give her some space, he will find out how much of Astronema is really inside her. She then asks Maya to pilot a shuttle back to Miranoi to pack up her belongings for Terra Venture. A heartbroken Andros is escorted out the bay doors by Leo and the shuttle departs from the Astro Megaship. As they leave, Maya asks if Karone is okay. Karone says she isn’t right now, but she will be someday.

Errors

 * Tommy morphs to his White Ranger powers with the Dragon Coin in his morpher
 * Andros, Maya and Leo have their morphers in the right wrist instead on the left.