#the eltarian war

[augment-techs]

The Ranger Wikia Billy/Skull Introduction:

Skull and Bones is the queer ship between Billy Cranston and Eugene "Skull" Skullovitch from Boom! Comics Power Rangers and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, etc.

Canon:

In the original live action series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers they were often at odds with each other as bully vs nerd, natural enemies; but as the series progressed they developed a sort of mutual worry/tolerance for each other. Throughout the original series and carrying on through over thirty years they were known to constantly be within each other's orbit, albeit often only in passing. During the Alien Rangers series, it was implied that they were friends before reaching middle school, but scholastic and personal differences took them in different directions.

In the Comic series, they were shown in Go Go Power Rangers issue #3 to have been best friends in grade school with the implications being that something went wrong due to Billy developing some sort of superiority complex that Skull wasn't willing to tolerate. Bulk and Skull were prone to throwing water balloons at Billy--but he was not special in this, as they also did it to other Angel Grove students. Billy was a target of other such annoyances, but never absolute violence and Skull was seen on multiple occasions trying to lessen Bulk's provocations and aggressions--even outright trying to talk Bulk out of his targeting Billy so often in the aftermath of the Blue Ranger saving Skull from being crushed under fallen construction debris and commenting that Skull was not "just like a Ranger" when Skull tried to ingratiate Bulk and himself to him, claiming, "Rangers see everything." Which lead to Skull making an effort to change for the better moving forward.

In the World of the Coinless Universe, Billy was taken out by Drakkon very quickly in the aftermath of taking over the world and it was implied that Skull took up his duties as a spy soon after.

Moments:

Skull trying to apologize/excuse his and Bulk's behavior towards Billy after a fight where Billy yells at him about the reasons why Bulk and Skull seem to enjoy humiliating him, with the belief it's because he's smarter than them. Skull rebukes this by claiming it was only because he acted like he was smarter than them.

The Blue Ranger saving Skull from being crushed under debris and the subsequent conversation that leaves the both of them somewhat changed in little ways moving forward.

Coinless Skull being at the old abandoned Juice Bar with the other Coinless to greet the Prime Universe Billy, Trini, and Zack to get them up to speed on what was happening in their dimension after having gotten Coinless Zack out of the palace (possibly) without blowing his cover. He made it possible for the Rangers to rescue Ninjor, despite it leading to his own sacrifice.

Billy observing Skull's introducing Candice Clark (aka Zelya of Eltar) to Bulk as "Kinda my girlfriend...Kinda." With Kim being curious as to what was happening with Billy calling the situation "mutually assured destruction".

Skull performing 'bunny ears' behind Billy's head during a photoshoot for the homecoming dance.

Skull and Billy both being in attendance for Tommy's funeral; both brought to tears.

Billy not at all being surprised when Skull's first canonical girlfriend in the comic series turned out to be an alien spy. Disconcerted, but not surprised.

Children:

In the original series canon, Skull was father to son Spike Skullovitch, mother unknown.

Billy Cranston in the Once & Always special became guardian to Trini's daughter Minh alongside Zack Taylor.

Quotes:

"You're, like, my best friend. And besides...Skull And Bones protect the galaxy, right?" -Pre-Teen Billy Cranston, Go Go Power Rangers #3.

Skull: "Billy, all the stuff we do, we're just...ya know, messing around..." Billy: "Messing around? You make every day of my life a living hell. And why, because I'm smarter than you?" Skull: "...No, it's because you've always acted like you are." -Go Go Power Rangers #3

Skull: "My buddy Bulk and I, we're a lot like you..." Blue Ranger: "Are you? Because Power Rangers see everything." Skull: "Um..." Blue Ranger: "Everything." Skull: "...Oh." -Go Go Power Rangers #4

"Everyone always tells me how smart I am. But you know what comes with being smart? Fear. If there's an undesirable outcome--no matter how minor--trust me, I find it." -Billy Cranston, Go Go Power Rangers #6

Skull: "Hey, Bulk, maybe we lay off of Billy for once?" Bulk: "Is it my fault he makes it so easy? Buddy, if we don't challenge him, who will?" -Go Go Power Rangers #10

Behind the Scenes:

"I wanted to be Billy!! I just wanted to be Billy, that's all I wanted!!" -Jason Narvy, Power Rangers Q&A at ConnectiCon 2015.

Songs:

"The Next Time I Fall" by Peter Cetera and Amy Grant.

Fanon:

It is considered a rarepair by the general fandom that simply coasts by while looking through the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers fanfiction or fanart. However, in the comic fandom, it is the pairing with the highest number of fics and does fairly well among fanartists.

Oftentimes, the fandom ships the pair in a fix-it fic, hurt/comfort, angst and fluff capacity. Childhood friends to Enemies to Lovers is a common trope, and when it comes to the Coinless Universe, there is the exploration of the What If scenario of Billy surviving, Haunting as a Grid Ghost, or Resurrection.

People most often claim to have started shipping for them very late into the third season of the original MMPRs or the third issue of the GGPR comic.

-Romantic: Nine times out of ten the relationship is walked into with a slow burn or excited utterance on the part of either Billy or Skull. Consistently is not often found in the fandom at large, except among the writers who advocate for them most often. -Friendship or Family: There have been no family centric works for them, but friendship is sometimes touched down on in Skull making an effort to change from being a bully or Billy finding himself feeling somewhat abandoned by his Ranger friends or out of sorts from his time on Aquitar.

Fandom Fic Recs:

You Stick To Me Like Glue (You Leave Your Residue) by crawfishing

Blow A Kiss (Fire A Gun) You Just Need Someone To Lean On by Twilight_Shadow_Songs 

chill me, thrill me, fulfill me by CampionSayn 

Petals Dipped in Ink by Skyland2704

I Had To Shake It Off, But I Got Stuck! (oh my god) by crawfishing

Considerations and Wishes and Misses by Twilight_Shadow_Songs

(let's keep dancing on the) broken glass by CampionSayn 

Skull and Bones by Danni221B

In the Moment/It's All That Matters by Ajgrey9647

Wingmanning Himself Into A Locker by Twilight_Shadow_Songs

younger in October // sadness comes in May by CampionSayn

The Colour Palette for our Bond by Skyland2704

I Missed You, And Almost Missed You Again by Twilight_Shadow_Songs 

i put that record on just to make a sound by sapoeysap 

Connecting Touches by Ajgrey9647

@skyland2703 on tumblr/AO3

@lordkingsmithlordkingsmith on tumblr/Twilight_Shadow_Songs on AO3

@ajgrey9647ajgrey9647 on tumblr/AO3

@sunflowerpirateart on tumblr

@felonius-glitch on tumblr

@augment-techs on tumblr/campionsayn on AO3

Trivia:

Billy Cranston started working for Promethea behind his Ranger friends' backs and at one point was almost kicked out of being a Ranger during the events just before the Eltarian War Arc in the comics, which gave off the impression that he was both depressed and willing to take his punishment without much of a fight. This ran parallel with Skull's desperation to find his kind-of-girlfriend, looking into every nook and cranny throughout Angel Grove, despite her actually being perfectly safe and merely bailing on him without any kind of explanation for her actions. Both of them were undergoing new changes and revealing deeper parts of themselves the further into the Arc the comic went.

Skull can play piano and a couple other instruments in both the original series and in the comics. However, in the original series he was ashamed to be known for specializing in classical piano until Adam Park talked him into playing in the school talent show; in the comics it was revealed through the Instagram Alternative Covers that he openly plays where people can see him and appreciated immensely.

Billy created a backup system in the Command Center in the event that Zordon's tube was ever destroyed, which then had him transferred to a robot body he created within Promethea without Grace Sterling's knowledge. This allowed him to fight during the ending of the Eltarian War Arc and confront Lord Zedd (aka Zophram of Eltar) and Zartus of Eltar about a ruse that was the reason the two had become mortal enemies.

In an Annual for the MMPR comics, Bulk and Skull were both given never-before-seen Power Coins by Zordon due to the sage having no other choice but to recruit them to save the other Rangers from a monster that had devoured the entire group. Bulk became the Purple Mighty Morphin Ranger and Skull became the Orange Mighty Morphin Ranger. Their memories were erased without any thanks at all, despite their getting the job done, with the implication that this was not part of canon events for the timeline. However, in the Charge to 100 comic event, the artist Dan Mora featured them in a massive poster of all canon Rangers throughout the television and comic series, which gives alternative implications for many of the Rangers featured.

In the comics, Bulk and Skull are merely interested in maintaining a journalistic podcast of the Rangers in their battles against Rita and have thus far given no implication of wanting to unmask them.

The Coinless Universe version of Billy Cranston died before the age of twenty-one, with Lord Drakkon having either shot or stabbed him right through the heart while Billy was defending the Coinless Trini. Among the Coinless Rangers, only Billy's coin never fell into Drakkon's hands.

Billy lobbied for Matthew Cook to be the Blue Ranger during the Go Go Power Ranger's Infiltrator Putty Arc, and lobbied for Matthew again when he obtained the Green Dragon Coin for Grace Sterling's New Green Ranger.

In the World of the Coinless, Skull was the only spy working espionage within the Red Sentry ranks of Drakkon's army. When Drakkon was banished to a prison dimension, he was moved up the ranks to Brigade Commander, which made him 8th in Command of the entire sentry army.

In the Darkest Hour Arc, Bulk and Skull--as well as Ernie--were some of the few human individuals to sign up for Promethea training to protect Earth in the even that the Rangers failed/were possessed by Dark Specter. They were also allowed into the Command Center, though were never let in on the Ranger's identities in spite of already being involved in fights against invading forces with Jason vouching for them.

I totally forgot I had this on the backburner for @skyland2703 and had it here in drafts the whole time.

[augment-techs]

Two sides of my brain are duking it out over this, because I am a contrary little thing that can never stick to one favorite for very long.

HOWEVER, I can absolutely post recommendations for the long haul.

My standing favorites from the live action series over the last 30 years are very rarely Rangers proper. I have affection pointed towards their aids and comedy holders more often than not.

In MMPR it was Bulk and Skull, but I had affection in spades for Billy. In Turbo and In Space, I still prefer the duo, but T.J., Zhane, and the Psycho Rangers all hold my interest for prolonged periods due to giving off bi, gay, and monster vibes. Interestingly, Lost Galaxy provided a lot of references to the human form, given how many times Leo ripped off his shirt. I still liked Kai more, but I think that was just because Archie Kao is a better actor.

Lightspeed Rescue was a fun time to exhaust yourself with conventionally attractive people that were largely bland as paint; though Kelsey did awaken a lot of sapphics.

If you watch Time Force, do it for no other reason than to watch Eric pine for Wes from a distance while Wes throws puppy eyes at Jen the entire time--and Wes and Eric still basically end up together.

Wild Force is for the Jindrax/Toxica, Danny/Max, and laughing as hard as you can watching the writers push SO HARD for the Princess Shayla and Merrick, only for her to fuck off back into sleep and Merrick ending up with a wolf furry he was stuck inside for the better part of a century.

Ninja Storm is...a sausage fest, but I stood firm and pleased with every interaction between Marah and Kapri with literally everyone else. Also Cam is basically perfect for his role.

Dino Thunder was is...interesting. I think my favorite Ranger is temporarily evil Trent, but only because it's fun to watch him suffer. Also Devin and Cassidy and the writers TEASING ABOUT THEM for half the season.

I think we can all agree that SPD really hasn't aged well, but that's okay, because I still really like Piggy and Kat; the borderline mafia adjacent and the team mom.

Mystic Force is interesting in so many different ways, as mentioned above about Nick, but also because the adult mentors here weren't entirely worthless. Udonna was very much doing her best with what she had, Daggeron was a little off putting, but a good teacher; Koragg was fucking awesome as an antagonist--but again, my favorites are the non-rangers in Clare, Leelee, and Phineas.

I still don't like Overdrive. I put in the discs to play them and the theme song turns on and everything after that irritates me. But Spencer and Rose are nice.

Jungle Fury might have the most well balanced team, which is why I actually liked the Red Ranger Casey Rhodes. But Fran has all of my heart; especially since she's left holding the bag SO MUCH. Also Camille and Jarrod *kisses them on their dumb little heads*

RPM is not a competition, because everyone here (that isn't Colonel Truman) has a reason for being what they are and doing what they do and growing from that. And because I am a basic bitch, Dillon and Ziggy are my favorites.

Samurai had...complicated bullshit. Like, do I really have to bring this up? They gave a purely Japanese history to a pair of blond, blue eyed, white teens, the only Asian on the team was the Pink Ranger and had a running gag of being a terrible cook, the Yellow Ranger was picked on for being a girl WAY too much, the Green Ranger is the culmination of obnoxious stereotypes reaching backwards from previous Green Rangers, the Blue Ranger's only endearing quality is probably being very gay underneath the obvious trauma of growing up in one of the most controlling environments that espouses loyalty as obedience... But Antonio is fine. We LIKE Antonio. (And Spike~)

Dino Charge has Shelby and Kendall, Ivan and Koda, Tyler and Riley and Chase. This was basically a perfect season.

Ninja Steel was so boring. It had potential, but they NEVER got into the human trafficking, the slavery, the childhood trauma, or veered away from the fart jokes with Victor and Monty. But Hayley is gorgeous?

Beast Morpers had Devon Daniels 💖💖 and Betty and Ben Burke. Also the Blaze and Roxy avatars look good in leather.

Dino Fury/Cosmic Fury. Go in for the Javelia and Ollaiyon, stay for the Fizzy. Ignore canon, but relax when Ollie goes evil and Fern is assigned as first canon live action Orange.

And if you don't want any of that: READ THE COMICS!!! Read Go Go Power Rangers, read Shattered Grid, read the Annuals, read Beyond the Grid, read Necessary Evil, read Return of the Ranger Slayer, read the Eltarian War!!! Do it for the ACTUAL character development, the art, the writing, the new characters, the lore, the branching of timelines and alternative history!! Everyone is a winner at least ONCE.

of all of the Power Rangers, who is your fave and why?

THAT,,, is an excellent question

I must admit something now:

I haven't watched the Power Rangers and I don't know who most of them are :3

I wish I did, but I guess I just never liked them as a kid? and I've never thought to watch it nowadays- I probably should watch it tbh

I wish I could answer your ask ;-; In lieu of that, I extend this to all of my followers: Who's your favourite Power Ranger and why?

Thanks for the great ask, and I'm sorry I couldn't answer it!! I hope you have a lovely night/day!!

[kimberlyannharts]

Yeah. Remember when the Omegas first took down Zedd and Zordon said “hey you may have opened up Earth to attacks my rangers cannot handle” and for some reason he was unreasonable for that

My future Omega Ranger video's thesis is going to be that the scene where they beat Zedd changed the entire trajectory of the comics because that really is where things shifted from "Zordon's made mistakes in the past and sticks to his moral code but ultimately only looks out for the good of Earth and the well-being of the MMPRs" to "Actually Zordon's a tyrant who never listens to his Rangers and his rules of 'don't abuse the power I've granted to you' are the worst things he could ask of them. Our new Rangers are way more powerful and doing way more important missions than those silly little Earth MMPRs because they don't follow Zordon's dumb rules"

[skyland2703]

Just gonna toss some random PR at you and see what sticks now that you're out of hibernation:

MMPR #121 is out and I....hate it:

I really, really, really want to be happy that we get to see Adam and Rocky and some character development in the wake of their possession, and get an entire issue based around Billy, but it all really just goes downhill from here. The only nice thing I can say is that Hendry Prasetya's art has gotten very smooth and I quite like it compared to previous chapters.

However, revisiting old Dual MM and PR chapters has made me happy finding little gold nuggets around that actually speak to true personality:

Next to Dan Mora, Marco Renna mighty be my favorite artist for this series. At least I can stand to look at Zedd with this style.

And also: THIS ☝🏿☝🏿 I miss this kind of thing.

I know we've all had fun throwing rocks at the Eltarian War Arc, but I cannot be the only one that sees the VERY EASILY streamlined version of events where this would have been perfect for Identity Reveal, Action Survivor, Big Damn Heroes, Big Ego/Hidden Depths, The Chosen Zero, Karmic Jackpot, Kleptomaniac Hero, Chekhov's Gun, Everything is Trying to Kill You, Strolling Through the Chaos, and an Establishing Character Moment tropes for...our babies Q_Q Honestly, so much fanfic possibility. Wish I could figure out how to make it work...

Also, just random pics of the minions being CUTE.

AYIYIYIYIYIHFRBHJTFBRVDCENDFR

This is the best thing i could've gotten coming out of hibernation, tbh. THANK YOU.

what the FUCK have they done with Billy's HAIR. Why do they look like THAT. (They've drawn Adam and Rocky beautifully but wtf billy.)

Feeling SO bad for adam and rocky they look BROKEN 🥺

Who's the lady in red?? Is she a ghost?? Can nobody else see her??

Zedd looks very overconfident, and is talking about how overconfidence will be the end of them... hmmmmmmmmm

i really like Zedd's art style! Marco Renna does a GOOD JOB O.O

But seriously wtf was that with Billy's hair.

i think i screamed at this. THIS IS CHARACTER <3

7. THEY HAVE AN EXECUTION ORDER TO MELT ALPHA???? i know it's supposed to be a serious scene but THAT many eltarian soldiers for one alpha, it's making me laugh awdhydfsvfadwfrgt 8. BULK AND SKULL BULK AND SKULLLLLLL!!!!!!!! HELLO BABIES!!! I love this style for them, they look so CUTE and smushable and cheek-pullable. Skull being depressed about Candace and bulk distracting him and cheering him up AND THE WAY THEY RUUUUNNNNN *wipes stray tear from eye* BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN <3

9. who is this man. why does he look like that girl from hinger games. 10. did they melt the alpha yet??

11. THIS ART STYLE. FOR THEM. YOUR HONOR I LOVE THIS PANEL (and they're shooting Matt. Lol i love that) 12. The empyreals?? IS THAT A BLUE KATAPPA 13. Jailbreak blue lady is Candace, I assume?? (She'd have looked prettier with blue hair, tbh. Why couldn't they just make zordon the bald eltarian. Why'd they have to make ALL ELTARIANS bald????) 14. Bulk and Skull are literally interviewing aliens. I don’t know how amazing THAT is, but also i cant stop laughing at the image of Mr. Blue katappa in my head.

For reference, this is Katappa.

Angry old general man who is one of the biggest memes here.

15. ERNIEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 16. "Honestly, so much fanfic possibility. Wish I could figure out how to make it work..." <- you say, let me read this arc. Then I'll yell at you about it.

17. WAS THIS YOUR TRAP TO MAKE ME FALL INTO THE ENDLESS PUDDLE OF THE ELTARIAN WAR????? because i think it worked 18. GOLDAR!!!!!! Kim going "saved by gOlDaR?? I’m gonna need a minute" *cackles*

19. Taking a minute to appreciate THIS. How CUTE. AUGH. 20. and Goldar in that veryyyy last panel. BRO. GOLDIEBRO. I FEEL YOU. it's the downfall era for ALL of us. WHY MUST WE SUUUFFFERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

i have so many thoughts here awdsfghbdfjsvns I NEED TO READ THIS ARC!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU AUGMENTT ASDNRGHJFDSCSEJDFG

[strangeduckpaper]

Power Rangers Rewrite Ideas/HCs

The Capital P-Power is sort of similar to the Force, basically the culmination of people’s idea of good, our best intentions given force and form through the power of the Morphin Grid, also called the Bio-Electric Field

That’s why the Morphin Grid is so (comparatively) rarely used for evil ends, and why the Rangers are fundamentally defensive guardians. It’s against its fundamental nature to be aggressive and cause knowing harm, and you can only twist it so hard for so long. They can be misled, though. 

The force that the Masked Riders draw their powers from is technically a different expression of the Morphin Grid.

Dark Spector, meanwhile, similar to his BOOM Comics incarnation, is the inverse, a conscious manifestation of the collective idea of evil.

The Eltarians, at some point in the past, ascended to energy beings. I feel as if it was an accident. That’s why the Phantom Ranger is always wearing armor, and partially why Zordon is in a tube.

Zordon was explicitly a cultivator of Ranger Powers, stockpiling different Morphers and Zords to distribute to different Ranger teams as the war against Dark Specter that occurred 10,000 years ago raged on. 

Older Ranger teams had humanoid Zords (The Omega Zords, the Aquitar Rangers’ Battle Borgs and Shogunzords, the Super Zeo Zords, the Turbo Ranger Rescue Megazord)

One unique feature I might incorporate is the ability of the Megazords to draw giant monsters into the Empty Space from Dandadan, allowing for harm mitigation and to keep monsters from escaping.

This is technically a multiversal story. I’m not sure how many dimensions there are, but there is the Mighty Morphin Dimension, the RPM Dimension, the more Japanese Sentai verse, a few different Kamen Rider Universes, a universe where the MM Rangers never existed and Tommy Oliver was only the Dino Thunder Black Ranger, and some universes with different Ranger teams.

Earth is slightly more advanced due to the discovery of Alien tech, including certain artifacts on the moon…

Next->

[morninkim]

Season 2 Arc: Rita & Tommy Breakdown

ANOTHER STORY BREAKDOWN. WOO.

Most of RotMMPR's second season would focus on the Rangers' struggle against a resurfaced Rita Repulsa, now in possession of Tommy. A big motif, like with the rest of the series, would be Control over others vs. Freedom of Expression, especially in regards to Tommy's past and present contrasted with Rita's, as well as how that shapes their attitudes toward Individuality.

Leaving the full under the cut, but if you wanna take a read, please do! (it is... very long.)

Pre-series Background: Rita

Zedd, and by extension Rita, represent exertion of control over others and bending their wills to suit your own needs. Through manipulation, through coercion, through possession.

Rita's backstory involves her beginning life as a construct created from Zedd's seventh shard of the Zeo Crystal. Throughout the old war era with the Original Rangers, she takes several bodies, accumulating their abilities as time goes on and with each new body, growing stronger. During this time, she goes by the name Atir, an archaic word from the Eltarian language meaning "zero" or "empty". Initially this name is given to her by Zordon as a descriptor when she first appears on a battlefield, taking bodies from both armies and discarding them when they get too damaged, she claims it for herself as an act of spite.

Her longest sustained body was Bandora, a witch from an outer world who by far provided her the most abilities of any of her bodies. Bandora was a sweet older woman, who was able to maintain her consciousness within Atir's possession thanks to her own abilities. Over time, Bandora would wear Atir down, showing the shadow kindness despite her use of her body, exploiting and cultivating a need for self expression in it. Bandora would then exploit this need, using it to exorcise Atir from her body and help Zordon and the Power Rangers trap the shadow in an Eltarian urn. However, Bandora's advanced age and weakened form led to her death immediately following the exorcism.

The urn would be jettisoned and left on what would eventually become Earth's moon, with the crippled Power Rangers' spaceship crash landing in what would be the Mojave desert.

Atir would lay dormant in the urn for 10,000 years, until it is uncovered by one of the last Apollo missions in the early 70s and comes under ownership and study of Dr. Sean Finster, a xenobiologist and linguistics enthusiast. He translates the writing on the urn as "Rita Repulsa", unaware that he has translated it backwards, with the the text reading "Atir Asluper" in old Eltarian. A rough translation to English would be "Empty Vessel", the Eltarian equivalent of Earth's "This is not a place of honor" warnings placed near nuclear waste sites.

Atir, having had no life to latch onto or communicate with for 10,000 years, immediately started to feed off of the good doctor's insecurities, projecting thoughts into his head and manipulating him into eventually releasing her again to destroy the newly emerged Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

She takes possession of Tommy at this point, who had just moved to Angel Grove a few months prior and continued to have trouble fitting in.

Pre-series Background: Tommy

Tommy grew up an orphan, adrift either on the streets or the foster system. She'd not had an easy life and to an extent had grown used to moving around, never staying in one place for too long. When she was eventually adopted by Grace Oliver two years ago, she finally felt like she could stay somewhere and never have to leave again. But that only lasted just over a year before they had to leave Reefside and move to Angel Grove, due to Grace's new job that she could never be super clear or honest about to her daughter.

The dishonesty frustrated Tommy, which made it difficult for her to feel like she could really put down roots, start to make friends and build a life. She became friendly with a few of the other kids at school, like Zack and Curtis Taylor, and Richie Mendoza, even getting a little cozy with Kimberly Hart, but she never felt like she could open up to them, not really.

On the day Rita's shadow takes her body, she'd just been stood up by Kimberly after she finally worked up the courage to ask her out on a date (Kim got called away for Ranger business which would end up resulting in Rita's release, go figure). She feels isolated, bummed out and her anxiety gets to her hard. Which gives the shadow an opening to take hold and enter her mind.

Rita then uses Tommy's body to visit Dr. Finster in secret at his home and coerce him into using his knowledge of xenobiology and study of the Putty Patrollers to create monsters to attack Angel Grove and kill the Power Rangers so she can conquer the Earth unopposed. All this in the name of her Lord, the Dark Specter, Zedd. It's then she takes the name Rita Repulsa, once again claiming a name given to her for herself.

Green with Evil and Tommy's Struggle

Rita doesn't have full control at first, she's been dormant in the urn for 10,000 years and her power isn't at the fullest yet. She soon hears word of the missing Green Power Coin from Dr. Finster, who was present at the Rangers' first meeting with Zordon and Alpha V due to passing out during the devastating Rangers vs. Shadow Rita fight.

Rita decides that the best way to regain her previous strength would be to claim the missing Power Coin and use it to regenerate herself, at the cost of her host over time. Tommy remains unaware of her body being under Rita's control for a time, slowly becoming more and more agitated and unwell, as she gets little sleep while Rita claims her body almost every night. She starts becoming aware of it as Rita slowly takes more of a hold on her, pushing her to sabotage herself and her social life so she'll let go and surrender to Rita's control.

On the flipside, Rita also remains dormant in Tommy's mind as she goes about her day.

She makes up with Kimberly, going on a few dates that are actually successful, despite the Pink Ranger's duties and Tommy's increasing restlessness.

Grace opens up just a little bit, becoming worried for her daughter and not wanting her work to interfere more than it should with being there for her, as Tommy's struggling becomes all the more clear. She starts taking more time off to spend time with Tommy, inspired by Dr. Finster's own increased days off - not aware that he's spending that time creating monsters for the shadow inside her daughter.

Rita sows discord in Tommy's head, but she's able to ignore it for the most part. That is, until Rita claims the Green Power Coin in a battle with the Rangers, and her host's identity is revealed to them.

With Rita at full strength, in bursts, thanks to the Power Coin and her new Dark Green Ranger powers, Tommy now takes a backseat, a prisoner in her own head as Rita goes about her wreaking havoc as much as she is able to, whenever she wants to.

Tommy flip flops between wanting to keep herself afloat and wanting to just give up. She's already so far gone. Rita even attacks her mother, Tommy's face uncovered by her Dark Green helmet, frightening the closest thing she's ever had to family. Grace even manages to discharge a weapon at her assailant, making it hard for Tommy to picture anything else when thinking about her mother for a while.

Dr. Finster, growing weary of the shadow's manipulation and what she's made of him, sees Tommy's disheveled form in Rita's hideout in a rare moment of the shadow's absence and, realising her connection to Grace, appeals to her directly. He tells her of how Grace always wanted to make something of herself, but never truly could until she stopped doing it for other people, for their acceptance, or because they'd told her to. Be and act unapologetically as herself, on her own terms. He urges Tommy not to give up, to keep going for her own sake, anyone telling her different be damned. Including the shadow in her mind.

Rita hears this appeal, taking control for just a moment to push back against his words, but the seed in Tommy's mind had already been planted.

Rita, meanwhile, had found herself thinking about Bandora more and more, how she'd encouraged her individuality, to make decisions on her own terms and not because it was what Zedd had ordered of her. She'd also begun thinking about how she'd been depriving her hosts of that all this time, never considering what they may have wanted to do.

She comes to doubt her place in everything, in the Empire. After all, her master was defeated thousands of years ago, and yet here she is, still carrying out what she thinks would be his will, collecting what remained of him and sending her lackeys to do the same off-planet on the off-chance she could eventually restore his form and his Empire. Still acting on his behalf instead of her own.

The good Doctor's words further stirred these thoughts, perhaps leading to her outburst in opposition. He'd planted a seed in Tommy's head, and that's exactly where Rita lived. Despite these thoughts, she'd think herself too far gone. Nowhere to go now but down. And she'll take everyone and everything she can with her.

Conclusions

Rita launches what she considers her final assault, going all out and drawing all the energy she can from the Green Power Coin to destroy everything, essentially turning herself, and by extension Tommy, into a ticking time bomb. The Dragonzord blasts the city and surrounding areas, only barely fought off by the Rangers' newly formed Megazord, a sight Rita had not seen since her final battle with the previous team.

The Rangers' new Megazord overpowers the Dragonzord, leading to a ground battle where the team wear down the Dark Green Ranger, desperately appealing to their friend, to Tommy, to fight the shadow infecting her. They urge and encourage her self image, tell her to keep going, echoing many of the sentiments Finster had seeded already.

There's a short scene within a liminal space, between Rita and Tommy.

"Your friends seem set on taking you away from me."

"Yeah... They sure do." Tommy stands from her curled up position on the ground.

"Do you truly think you can just stop being mine?" Rita levels her staff at Tommy's throat, preparing to erase her completely.

Tommy shoves the staff away, fire in her eyes. "I've never been yours," she manifests the Dragon Saber in her hands, the weapon taking on a purified, more compact form, the Dragon Dagger. "Now get the hell out of my head!"

With the weapon plunged into Rita's proverbial heart, she is exorcised from Tommy's body, breaking the spell and freeing her.

A weakened, shadowed Rita watches from the rubble as the Rangers comfort their friend and take her back to the Command Center. Rita acts in desperation, mustering what little energy she'd already gathered to take control of Dr. Finster's body and put all the pieces of her Lord back together. She uses her remaining magic to revive what she can of Zedd, hoping for forgiveness for what she perceives as going against his wishes.

The shadow she revives is not whole, but it is enough of the Dark Specter to congratulate her on bringing him back, and in time he'll return to full strength. Now the two of them can continue what they started all those millennia ago-

"The two of us?" The Specter seems puzzled.

"Yes, we'll destroy this world together. Then conquer all that remains in this universe," the shadow responds, an old man's voice obviously unsteady. Whether it's the body she now inhabits, or a sign of her own insecurity, is unclear. "Won't we?"

"My dear, dear shadow. There is no 'we', I will be the one to control all. You will simply listen and follow my command. As you always have."

"No! I deserve to rule! All I've done, I've done for you! I deserve it!"

"Oh? Do you mean to defy me, shadow?"

Rita grits her teeth, glaring into the Specter. "My name is not 'shadow'. My name is Rita Repulsa, and you will listen to me!"

"Ah, so you do," The Specter sighs, "Pity. You were one of my favourites."

Without another word, the newly resurrected Zedd re-consumes the shadow he once created, replenishing his powers with hers and absorbing all the knowledge she'd gathered. Including knowledge of these new Power Rangers and the services Dr. Finster can provide.

While Tommy is rewarded and thrives by striving for her individuality and making her own choices; Rita has never had that and therefore has no clue what to do with it when she has it, which sends her into a panic - only truly coming to terms with it when confronted with having it taken away again, far too late.

That wouldn't be the last of Rita though, she'd make a reappearance in the finale to assist the Rangers by holding Zedd back from the inside, giving them an opening to end him once and for all.

A final act. A final choice that was truly her own, for herself, and for the ultimate good of others. It's not redemption, but she never wanted that.

[skyland2703]

HUUUUUU ABDKSJJEWHJSDBWNEHEBEH YOU GET IT YOU GET IT ALL SOOOOO PERFECTLY OMG AGSJJSHWJDJSJWJ

Ok so I COMPLWTELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID HERE. GGPR is LOVELY. Like the wayyyy it balances the whole “Teenagers with attitude” thing with the “saving the world” thing, as like sooo many comics/movies try and fail to do. GGPR does it SO. SOOOO perfectly. It’s beautiful, it defines everyone’s personalities their relationships the little things that happen in their lives are taken as seriously as the big things— Trini’s mom’s thing where she gets her a stone for her birthday????? The whole promethea internship thing for Billy???? The prom???? Matt???? EVERYTHING. I love it I love it I LOVE IT Q_Q

I’ll admit I haven’t read the books in a while— I have no clue what happened in the Eltarian war and after, BUT I know it’s all perfectly golden and @augment-techs can give inputs on THAT. I, meanwhile, am the resident Shattered Grid expert (Jkjk)

I read shattered grid when it aired. A YouTube video sent me searching into it and boi oh boi was I disappointed when I realised it had just two issues and that I’d have to wait for almost a YEAR to get to the rest. But it was WORTH the wait, every single panel of it is BEAUTY. I’ve read the particular arc at LEAST 8 times. I think I know half of the dialogues by heart. EVERY SINGLE MOMENT. IS. PERFECTION.

I Think, you’re not there yet, but there’s one particular scene that will send you SCREAMING (I think it’s in #29) and I have FICS GALORE about that moment and things before and after it. Favorite moment in SG HANDS DOWN. Just wait for it. It’ll be soo worth it 😭😭

TIME FORCE STAN!!!!! AHAHDJDJSJD grab a box of tissues because OH MY GOD iS MORE ANGST COMING!!!!! It just gets better and better and better. Every single universe every single character, the world of the Coinless, ALL OF THESE THINGS 😭😭😭 I can’t emphasize ENOUGH how beautiful this comic is.

And drakkon. DRAKKON. do we have theses on that guy. There’s SO much messed up with that guy and that makes him SUCH an appealing villain AHDJDJAJSJDJANDJSJS

And now I’ll yeet you to my most favorite video to ever even exist on YouTube: THIS.

HIHIHIIIII wanna geek out abt the comics?? :D

YOU'RE ALL SO KIND HERE........ I ABSOLUTELY DO!!!!! Granted I only started the comics last week and just got to shattered grid yesterday, I am still absolutely insane over it.

I was NOT expecting these comics to be as well written as they are. I love the shows as much as the next person but there are certainly hit or miss seasons and a lot of it is toned down for the kid audience, but the comics have NONE of that. Mmpr especially has a much more serious tone,(granted I haven't gotten that far into ggpr yet bc of the reading order I'm following) and it's so refreshing to see. Like Tommy has Trauma from his time under Rita and having that loss of control and being made to hurt people, that AFFECTED him and it's shown! Rita literally Haunts him and it's so good.

We see so much more of the team dynamics and I LOVE IT!! Don't even get me started on Trini and Billy because they are the best of friends and learn so much from each other, there's so much trust and love there it makes me insane. Zach and Jason's relationship is so sweet too because they care about each other even if it's not said, it's shown through actions. Zach regularly comes to check on Jason while he's at HQ burning himself out and Zach says it's because he was bored, or just wanted to train, but he and Jason know it's because he's worried about him and doesn't want to leave him alone. Neither of them are all that open with their emotions but they're still so There for each other. This team is everything to me because they're just so close.

And now the first shattered grid issue...... dude... DUDE. I was CRYING!!! Time force is my favourite all time team so I got so excited when they showed up and OW.....??????? I don't know what that crack did to the team but I am hoping so hard that at the very least Lucas, Katie and Trip are alive. I also have hope about Wes but that may just be denial....... he's one of my favourite red rangers I'm sure he has plot armour or something. And JEN.... I have that full page panel of her w/ Kimberly and Tommy as my lockscreen because it's so.... everything to me. Jen is an Adult with experience in the field as a time force officer and as a power ranger and she's holding it together because she's the only one who knows what's going on and she has to be strong for these Teenagers looking up to her. They just lost one of their own and the universe is at stake, and they're just Kids. Jen just lost her team and her LOVER but she has to be strong for them right now. I don't know.... Jen and her grief. She's one of the most well written power rangers characters and it shows!!!!

I have a lot more I could say (LORD DRAKKON...?!?!??) but it's pretty late rn and I'm probably forgetting somethings but I'm SO excited to get into the comics more

[graphicpolicy]

Omega Rangers Forge a New Path in Power Rangers #17

Omega Rangers Forge a New Path in Power Rangers #17 #comics #comicbooks #powerrangers #mmpr

[augment-techs]

Matt Cook and Kimberly Hart's relationship Timeline: Part V; Now Including Tommy's addition: Part III

I can't believe it took until the very end of the Eltarian War Arc for these three to even come into SOMETHING like peace.

I'll probably end up coming back to add more of the pieces later, but for now I'm just going to stew over how irritating it was to walk through all of this.

[universalmorphingrid]

Zordon and Lord Zedd are presumed dead. The Eltarian War has started 🔥

[kimberlyannharts]

some notes on PR Prime's previews, since I haven't decided yet if I'll do full recaps for the issues or not -

= So we have some updates on some of the characters - Mark Zhao, who's an alien refugee to Earth; and Jun, who's an Eltarian born on Earth. Mark also mentions Orion, so I guess he'll be the Megaforce character that was teased. I guess not totally unexpected, considering him being an alien and all, but it's funny how they skipped over Gia to the OTHER white person from that cast

= I think as of right now my main thoughts towards this is "this all feels like a story I've read before." The futuristic setting with refugee aliens bringing to mind SPD. The pages of the characters in class bringing to mind Ranger Academy. The apparent good guy Eltarians allying themselves with Earth but very obviously being an oppressive regime bringing to mind Eltarian War but also uhhh many many many sci-fi and fantasy stories. I think the first page is the most intriguing to me because that actually felt the most like....something we haven't seen before? idk

= That being said the hand in the first page better not be Rita I swear to God

= Also it's looking like I'm right that while all the marketing centered around Lauren it'll be a Power Rangers Universe situation where the actual main characters are a new OC team. Which again, how well that will go.......we'll just have to see

= So yeah, overall......it's fine, i guess. The art is pretty good. It's not really grabbing my attention but hey, I said the same thing about the first issue of Ranger Academy, and I ended up enjoying that series. So maybe the same thing will happen here

= I'm gonna have to see some more girls though. We technically don't have a confirmed gender for Jun yet (they look conventionally male, and their name skews more towards male, but they could be non-binary) but not counting Lauren, are we really going to have one girl out of the four new characters....? We already know we have two boys with Mark and Blonde Guy........

[skyland2703]

This might be my favorite Adam picture that wasn't part of the Coinless timeline or the Eltarian War. Dunno why; but so pretty.

The ONLY part of MMPR 117 that I've found the energy to care about...so far. Though some parts offer fandoms theories.

Introduction to tiny T.J. and Cassie in the GGPR Deluxe Edition II~ Isn't it nice to see that they're 13 when the current rangers are 16? Helps tie things up for later down the line ^^

The Dan Mora cover sheet for GGPR: FOREVER RANGERS. Group shots from Mr. Mora are always so SOFT.

.....Which County Fair Date, Kim? WHICH ONE??

This… this is SO perfect.

Adam’s look there is ANNOYED™️ and it SUITS him. Like he is someone whos marshmallow happy like, ALWAYS. so seeing him pissed, it kiNDA FITS. BUT ALSO. SO ADORABLE. Saving saving SAVING.

The ragtag team is THE best. They’re not soldiers, but they’re volunteers!!’ THEY WANNA DO GOOD!!!! And that’s what matters THE. THEEEE MOST. Like someone once said, one guy who WANTS to do good on their own is >>>>> someone whos paid to “do good” (and still doesnt do their job properly). Not exactly fitting here, but I thought it was a VIBE. Bulk and Skull are the ultimate “never selected for it, but would always do their part” duo and I LOVE THEM for it.

TINY TJ AND CASSIE’S INTRO. AND THE LITTLE SNEAK PEEK INTO WHO THEY GROW UP TO BE :3 I’m still kinda glad they didnt make kids THAT SMALL rangers (*ignores tf out of Justin*). And the fact that they introduced them in the EXACT GGPR FASHION!!!!!!!!! That’s a power rangers exclusive and I love that TO BITS.

The Dan mora shots!!!! Actually, ACTUALLY, all the covers of GGPR (ALL. OF. THEM.)

Aldo the movie covers. I need help with this bc i don’t know like half the movies, but buuuut I wanna make a compilation/comparison post of all the GGPR movie cover parody posters with the actual posters. Wouldn’t that be fun??

.

.

And uh… you and I BOTH know which date that was for 😏

This was INSTANT SEROTONIN. Thank you SO SO SOOOO MUCHHHHHH 3

[theotherbackgrounder]

Boom!Power Rangers Reading Order (Pre-100)

Season 1

Go Go Power Rangers #1-4

Annual’16: Only the Strong (Zedd Origin Retcon)

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #10

Go Go Power Rangers #5-8

Go Go Power Rangers #28

Annual’16: Trini’s vacation

Go Go Power Rangers: Back to School

Annual’16: A Spot of Trouble

Annual’16: A Week in the Life

Go Go Power Rangers 13-20

Go Go Power Rangers: Rangers Forever

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #5

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0-4

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #6-9

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #11-15

Annual’17: Search Party

Year One: From Here to Despair

Mighty Mophin Power Rangers #16

Annual’17: Forever Mighty Morphin Black

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #17 and 18

Annual’17: Perfect

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #19-25

Go Go Power rangers # 9-12

Shattered Grid DX: A Promise to Keep

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26

Free Comic Book Day 2018

Annual 2018

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #27-30

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Shattered Grid Finale

Annual’16: What Makes a Ranger

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31-39

Beyond the Grid DX: What’s it worth to you?

Season 2

Go Go Power Rangers #21-27

Go Go Power Rangers #29-32

Power Rangers 25th Special: Golden Ideas

Mighty Morphin Power rangers Cover Stories #40-50

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #40

Necessary Evil Part 1 DX: Old Dogs

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #41-55

Ranger Slayer #1

Drakkon: New Dawn

Mighty Morphin #1

Power Rangers #1

Mighty Morphin #2-12

Power Rangers #2-6

Power Rangers Unlimited: Heir of Darkness

Power Rangers #7-8

Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness

Power Rangers #9-12

Mighty Morphin #13

Power Rangers #13

Mighty Morphin # 14

Power Rangers # 14

Mighty Morphin #15

Power Rangers #15

Mighty Morphin #16

Power Rangers #16

Mighty Morphin #17-20

Power Rangers #17-20

Power Rangers Unlimited: Countdown to Ruin

Season 3

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: PINK

Other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers stories:

The Ongoing Adventures of Bulk and Skull

Annual’16: Unlockly Heroes

The Ongoing Misadventures of Baboo and Squatt

Annual’16: It’s Putty Time

MMPR#0: What Time is It

Annual’17: Sabrina’s Day Out

25th Anniversary Special: Pet Project

Godzilla Vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Justice League

Power Rangers: Soul of the Dragon

BEYOND THE Beyond the Grid

Power Rangers Universe

The New Adventures of Blue Senturian and Ninjor

25th Anniversary Special: The Trials of Astronema

Year Two: Psychotic

Power Rangers: The Psycho Path

Power Rangers: Sins of the Future

25th Anniversary Special: The Sweetest Dreams

25th Anniversary Special: Sealed

Novice reading order (Only the essentials)

Season 1

GoGo Power Rangers #1-8

GoGo Power Rangers 13-20

GoGo Power Rangers: Rangers Forever

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0-15

Annual’17: Search Party

Mighty Mophin Power Rangers #16-25

GoGo Power rangers # 9-12

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26

Free Comic Book Day 2018

Annual 2018

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #27-30

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Shattered Grid Finale

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31-39

Season 2

GoGo Power Rangers #21-32

Mighty Morphin Power rangers Cover Stories #40-50

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #40-55

Ranger Slayer #1

Drakkon: New Dawn

Mighty Morphin #1

Power Rangers #1

Mighty Morphin #2-12

Power Rangers #2-6

Power Rangers Unlimited: Heir of Darkness

Power Rangers #7-8

Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness

Power Rangers #9-12

Mighty Morphin #13

Power Rangers #13

Mighty Morphin # 14

Power Rangers # 14

Mighty Morphin #15

Power Rangers #15

Mighty Morphin #16

Power Rangers #16

Mighty Morphin #17-20

Power Rangers #17-20

Long Story Short

Go Go Power Rangers vol 1, 2, 4, 5, 6

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 1-6

Shattered Grid + Go Go Vol. 3

Beyond the Grid

Go Go Power Rangers 7, 8, 9

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14

Mighty Morphin 1, 2, 3

Power Rangers 1, 2, 3

Eltarian War

Mighty Morphin 5, 6

Power Rangers 5, 6

[inhyuklee]

MIGHTY MORPHIN #14 Main cover. - With the destruction of Zordon's tube, the Mighty Morphin team seeks new allies to help them in the Eltarian War. But with Lord Zedd at their back and the Eltarian Supreme Leader gathering his forces to launch a massive attack on the Earth, can the Rangers survive being surrounded on all sides? • Release Date: Dec 1th, 2021 • My Online art class: Please Click the link at my profile. #boomstudios #Hasbro #PowerRangers #MightyMorphin #jordon #lordzedd #inhyuklee https://www.instagram.com/p/CUtmwW8BjeQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[popculturenet]

Ideologies Clash in Your First Look at MIGHTY MORPHIN #16

Ideologies Clash in Your First Look at MIGHTY MORPHIN #16

Discover the Emotional Resolutions of the ELTARIAN WAR in February 2022 BOOM! Studios, under license by Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS), revealed a first look at MIGHTY MORPHIN #16 from writer Ryan Parrott (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), artist Marco Renna (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), colorist Walter Baiamonte with color assistance by Sara Antonellini and Sharon Marino, and…