Warning: contains a preview of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #106!A new trio of villainous Power Rangers is heading to BOOM! Studios’ series very soon, and they’re everything the franchise needs. The past couple of issues of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers have seen the tyrannical return of Rita Repulsa, now going by the name Mistress Vile. After overthrowing Lord Zedd, Mistress Vile has arrived bigger, badder, and stronger than she has ever been before. Her return has left an impact, with her capture of Green Ranger Matthew fracturing the Rangers and leaving them quarreling and off-balance.
Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #104 is set to release to comic book stands on January 18, 2023, meaning that audiences still have a long wait before #106. However, the solicitation and Taurin Clarke’s cover art for #106, revealed via League of Comic Geeks, suggest that Matthew and the Death Ranger will be a part of a new evil Power Rangers squad led by Mistress Vile’s new sidekick, Vessel. This powerful trio are their own dark Rangers team, rather than a single enemy the Power Rangers must unite to stop, and benefit from awesome design twists on the regular Power Rangers. The issue will be written by Melissa Flores with art from Simona Di Gianfelice.
Vessel’s New Team Are the Perfect Mirror to the Power Rangers
Previously, the Death Ranger was a wildly powerful villain able to create what was effectively a zombie army, so if they’re just one member of the team, this will likely be one of the greatest threats in Power Rangers history. While the Teenagers with Attitude are used to facing down kaiju, now they’ll be going up against enemies who will weaponize all their own weapons, armor, and tactics against them. What’s so interesting is that this evil team is being assembled from existing characters, meaning that each has unique abilities and goals already established in the story. The solicitation for the issue states:
The Power Rangers and Omega Rangers join forces in an epic struggle against a friend-turned-foe! Mistress Vile’s diabolical scheme also comes to a head as she possesses an object of immeasurable power – and a sidekick with darker origins than the Rangers thought possible!
Who Is Power Rangers’ Vessel?
Not much is known about Rita Repulsa’s new companion, besides a broken and battered Lord Zedd’s brief descriptions to Zordon in #103 that “he fought with the tenacity of an Eltarian, but with none of our honor.” Having not said a single word yet, it seems as if their purpose is solely to serve Mistress Vile’s command. It appears that more will be revealed about Vessel in Power Rangers #106, but what should be most interesting is how Matthew could be turned to the dark side in his captivity. Mistress Vile has past experience turning Green Rangers into her servants, and she even previously tortured Matthew in the Go Go Power Rangers series, long before he became a Ranger. With the Green Ranger on their team, the trio of Dark Rangers have seemingly recruited the world’s best authority on their heroic enemies to fight alongside them.
The Death Ranger’s Return Is a Shocking Power Rangers Twist
As for the Death Ranger, the last time they were seen was when Jason disconnected them from the Morphin Grid before the Power Rangers finally defeated the Death Ranger with the Dragon Thunderzord. In their apparent death, the Death Rangers’ final words warned, “I have seen what’s coming for you next. I will be watching and laughing.” Perhaps they meant this in a literal sense, as somehow, the Death Ranger will seemingly return to collaborate with Mistress Vile – a collaboration that won’t be good news for anyone in the galaxy. More about this epic new team will be revealed once BOOM! Studios releases Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #103 on January 18, then #106 later in March.
