There is a secret lore to Tommy Oliver’s White Ranger rise that not everyone Power Rangers Fan is aware of. BOOM! studios Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comic book series offers a slight tweak to some story elements in relation to the canon of the TV show. In other instances, however, the comics weave perfectly into the show’s narrative that recontextualizes the original lore and its characters.
The most notable recontextualization of comics comes in between Go to Power Rangers #25 and #27. The issues reinvent how Tommy Oliver gets his White Ranger powers, but in a way that theoretically fits into the narrative of the TV series. Although many of the comics act as a modern update of the original canon using modern technology, this is a rare example where the panels work as a perfect in-between entry that occurred for Tommy between the “White Light” two-parter. .
Whatever details that the television episodes do not offer audiences, the go go Issues provide them for readers.
How does the Power Rangers TV canon relate to the comics?
Power Rangers comics include basic lore
To first understand how the comics world weaves into what is seen in the show, it is important to first briefly remind readers Like the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Handles the power upgrade for Tommy Oliver. It all starts in the second season two “Green No More”. The episode showcases the Rangers’ newest rival, Lord Zedd, making an early impact by formulating a plan to siphon off Tommy’s Green Ranger powers, actually succeeding in the process. With no heroic purpose, Tommy goes on hiatus, prompting a mini-hiatus from Jason David Frank for a few episodes.
Tommy would not return until another two-parter for this season, “White Light.” The ultimate Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston, stumbles upon Alpha-5 and Zordon operating on a mysterious White Ranger. After he tells the Rangers, Zordon and Alpha explain that the Green Ranger’s exit requires a new one in his place. The White Ranger soon reveals himself to be Tommy Oliver to the delight of his friends. however, Zordon and Alpha don’t divulge deeper into how they were able to “create” a new RangerOr where the source of the White Ranger’s powers came from.
How the Power Rangers comics pick up where the show ends
Go to Power Rangers #25-27 by Ryan Parrott, Sina Grace, Francesco Mortarino, Raul Angulo and Ed Dukeshire
Go to Power Rangers #25 plays out pretty much exactly how “White Light Pt. 1” plays out, except it fills in the blanks that are missing from the actual episode. As in the episode, Tommy lives and swims in a remote place for school break, now identified as belonging to his uncle Jack. The episode also shows Tommy mysteriously teleported away, seemingly kidnapped until the second part reveals Zordon’s plan. This issue plays the conversation between Zordon and Tommy, explaining how he can make Tommy a Ranger again and where the power comes from.
Tommy can be a ranger again if he, alone, travels to a distant planet and proves himself worthy of the power source.
Readers learn that Zordon receives this intel from the blue emissary of the Morphin Grid’s God-level emissaries three. The Herald of Morphine Masters explains that Tommy can be a ranger again if he, alone, travels to a distant planet and proves himself worthy of the power source – a white light – by enduring a series of trials.. Meanwhile, as in the episode, they are hidden under the command center to ensure that Lord Zed will not learn about their plans. For the same reason, they don’t tell the Rangers, who are left in the dark because neither Zordon nor Alpha respond to their communication attempts.
As White Ranger Tommy succeeds in the trials and rejoins the Power Rangers
The role of Saba and how it links into another universe
These two issues chronicle Tommy’s journey through the trials and his attempt to get back into the Power Rangers. A giant white tiger leads the team’s greatest 90s member to a giant white temple, where he finds the White Light. The power source is guarded by Saba, the Sword of Light. Readers will remember Saba as the White Ranger’s talking sword and companion on the show, but this Saba is fully aware of Tommy’s alternate universe counterpart, the franchise’s greatest threat, Lord Drakkon.
The World of the Coinless details a world where Tommy stays evil, and redubs himself under the name Drakkon. When all else fails, the world’s Zordon, too, tries to create a new White Ranger, this time it’s Jason. However, Drakkon interrupts the process, taking the White Light for himself and combining it with his Green Ranger powers. Saba, meanwhile, is killed in cold blood by Drakkon’s hands. Fully aware of the danger that could come with the White Light in Tommy’s hands, Saba challenges Tommy both physically and mentally for the right to have this power.
Give context to Tommy becoming the leader of the Power Rangers at the expense of the Red Ranger
Not something Tommy ever wanted or knew about
Tommy gains Saba’s trust through combat and simulations, allowing him to return to the command center with both the Sword of Light and its power. Alpha and Zordon get to work on their White Ranger construct right away. It is then that Tommy learns that with this new power upgrade, Zordon will appoint him as the leader of the Power Rangers, something that Tommy is not comfortable with anyway. Not only does he not want to accept Jason’s leadership role, but he worries if he is even qualified to lead any team.
This small but significant caveat is one of the better additions to the study of the “White Light” episode that the comic offers.. In the actual episode, replacing Tommy with Jason as the leader without explanation never sat right with most fans, almost doing a disservice to Jason’s time as leader. This small moment is enough to showcase the thought process behind Zordon’s decision, the regret Tommy has for his friend, and create foreshadowing for the tension between Tommy and Jason they would have in future comic storylines, a starting point of the tension.
The benefits of remaking the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers episode
Elements that may not be in the show make it into the comics
Finally, the comic ends with a direct remake of Tommy’s unveiling as the White Ranger from “White Light.” When Tommy descends from the heavens, the comic panels even zero in on Jason’s face, offering the aforementioned foreshadowing for the pair’s dynamic. Ultimately, remaking the entire sequence really brings the entire restoration or redux recontextualization of Tommy’s crowning moment full circle. the main thing It showcases the benefits of connecting the comics to the TV show in such a blatant way, even more blatant than the comics usually do.
As much as these Power Rangers Franchise is a franchise worth adoring, the primary demographic of the show has always been children, and as a result, the narrative content has been kept as simplified and straightforward as possible. The most diehard of fans would admit that today, but that’s where the comics come into play. The comics exist for something that older readers can enjoy, but also to add new layers that may not be there in the original show. Now directed to an audience that can understand the deeper dramas behind “White Light,” the Power Rangers Comics perfect an already celebrated television episode.