So you're a Power Ranger... now what?

[icon_uk]

I've got something of a soft spot for Power Rangers, and Sentai in general. Sometimes it's for some looney-tunes idead well executed, sometimes it's just for the pretty people... I can be flexible.

But consider it from the Power Rangers point of view



You've got the costume (Neat), you've got the mentor (He's an ancient face in a jar, but it's something I gues), you've got the giant robot (VERY cool) and you've got moves like a wannabe Jackie Chan (Where did THOSE come from?)

But, in most cases, Power Rangers civilian ID's don't actually have any fighting experience prior to being chosen.

The Mighty Morphin' line up had Jason and Zack being martial arts enthusiasts, Trini had had some kung-fu training and Kimberly was a gymnast, and only Billy had no athletic training (he was shown as being interested in learning some martial arts before he even became a Ranger, but wasn't that good).

But other than the likes of Ninja Storm (martial arts academy), SPD (Police training cemtre) a couple of members of RPM and arguably Lightspeed Rescue (Emergency repsonse team training) the majority have no training, and yet suddenly move and fight like highly skilled stuntmen fighters. Weird, no? :)

And as seen in this issue, a couple of the Rangers are wondering about that too.



Well, that's certainly direct of you Trini...





Have to say, I like them being interested in knowing what had happened to them, which the TV Rangers just seemed to accept as a matter of course (A bit like most companions of the Doctor not noticing the translation ability the TARDIS puts into their head (Sarah-Jane Smith was the first one to notice, and Rose the second one)). The idea that the transformation builds some fighting skills into the Ranger is a slightly weird one, but makes a lot of sense.

Comments

[janegray]

This is smart. You should investigate your new abilities and limits if you are suddenly turned into a superhero.

Btw, is this the continuity of the old show or the new movie?

[icon_uk]

Based on the costumes, the old show, but somewhat updated. (I sort of enjoyed the new movie, but I do NOT like those costume designs)

[long_silence]

I think it's the continuity of the other Boom comic, which is like the old show but updated to 2017. The kids have smart phones, different fashions, etc.

And they encountered an evil alternate future version of Tommy who used the White Tiger power coin and their exposure to the Thunderzords, Falcon Zord and Saba has to be polluting the timeline.

[skjam]

Hal Jordan did quite a bit of testing in his first issues of Green Lantern (Silv er Age edition.) In that continuity, the GLC didn't have trainers for newbies, so when Hal met other Lanterns, he impressed them by knowing so much about the ring's capabilities.

[deepspaceartist]

The Boom comics are their own continuity, but they are 100% based on the show version and not the movie. This book is a prequel of sorts, starring the original 5 soon after they got their powers. The main book starts soon after Tommy

[michaelsaint]

This is pretty cool. I am definitely gonna start shipping Jason and Trini now.

[icon_uk]

My shipping tended more towards Jason (beefcake but a pretty swell guy) and Billy (cute nerdy blond who also worked out) but I won't get in your way! :)

[sarahnewlin]

Remember when they thought Red Ranger did adult films

[thenicochan]

Woot, fellow Jason/Billy shipper.

[icon_uk]

They'd just look so cute as a couple! (Thought Trini might have to chaperone the first few dates to translate Billy's attempt at chat up lines for Jason)

And David Yost's Billy moving like the gymnast he was always made for some interesting mental images. (His unmorphed fight scenes, especially with Amy Jo Johnson's Kimberley did play to their strengths)

[full_metal_ox]

(A bit like most companions of the Doctor not noticing the translation ability the TARDIS puts into their head (Sarah-Jane Smith was the first one to notice, and Rose the second one)).

That was one of Bill Potts' most endearing qualities: she asked all the questions.

[zachbeacon]

I actually just finished Pink today (hey, my favorite ship is canon). I only vaguely remember the show but it was the first time I can remember them making a big deal about the Rangers getting physical enhancements (mostly because Kim kept talking about how she wasn't at full power but still forgot how great it feels to be a PR)

[scorntx]

-Weird, no?-

Y'know, I always just assumed the suits automatically downloaded some sort of generic martial arts the first time the owner morphed, along with any special techniques they might have, because hey, why not?
How else does a "teenager" from the Middle of Nowhere, Africa gain martial arts skills five seconds after being given the job, just to name one example?

(Okay, RPM and Ziggy throw a mild monkey wrench in there, but easy enough to explain as that as just a side-effect of Ziggy being Ziggy. Even automatic downloads can only go so far.)

[long_silence]

To be fair RPM took place in another universe and the connection Dr. K set up to the Morphin Grid wasn't very strong, the RPM rangers would run out of power during battles if they used their special abilities too much and so they needed to have their morphers regularly recharged. As far as I know most other ranger teams didn't have that problem.

[deepspaceartist]

Well, in RPM the only first morph we see other than Ziggy is Dillon, who can definitely fight before he got the powers. So who's to say that the other five rangers didn't have to train to get good at fighting? Could be that the 'fighting skills' brain download has to be intentionally designed into the powers, and Dr. K never figured that out before having to put the powers into action. All the other teams' tech developers had plenty of time to refine their power sets, while K had to build them from scratch mid-robot apocalypse.

[jlbarnett]

I've skimmed this online. It's not terrible writing but it answers questions I never asked and adds a lot of unnecessary details. It also seems to be screwing up the Green Ranger stuff

[icon_uk]

I don't see that anwering questions I never asked is a bad thing, it just means someone else thought more about it than I did and I can find that interesting.

[jlbarnett]

most of the time if I don't ask, I'm not interested or don't think it's really a question. For example, if you instinctively know something, I can believe you instinctively know what you know

[icon_uk]

But there would be a recognition that they now know something instinctively they did not before.

The case in point would be Billy, who had no martial arts training but was fighting on a par with Jason as soon as he morphed, for someone who values their mind as much as he does, you'd think he'd at least mention tha he now knows things he never learned.

[mastermahan]

I see this version of Trini does *not* morph into a man. I'm disappointed.

[icon_uk]

Or even into a Boi!

Sorry, Zyuranger humour.

[indy2012]

I really love the treatment this iteration of the team has been getting the last couple of years.

My only "complaint" about this particular issue is that Trini looks more like Amy Jo Johnston than Thuy Thrang.

[bj_l]

It is pretty good to have a 25 year franchise constantly boiled down to the cast and set-up that was around for the least time at the very beginning, isn't it?

[indy2012]

I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic, but yes, for purely selfish reasons.

I religiously watched MMPR. It was the first show that I followed as a kid, and my first heroes ever even before Batman (not to mention my first crush Billy. I still have my holographic Billy watch from Kindergarten in my keepsake box XD). Power Ranger was my grandfather's nickname for me before he passed away.

I immediately stopped watching when the Zeo iteration debuted and have never looked back. I'm sure that there were probably better graphics, acting, and storytelling in all of the subsequent iterations, but MMPR were my heroes, and I am delighted that creators still take an interest in Zack, Kimberly, Billy, Trini, and Jason, because I sure as heck still do.

I'm sorry, though, that your favorite iterations haven't gotten the same nostalgic treatment (yet).

[q99]

This is pretty fun!