SYNOPSIS
The New Green Ranger‘s identity has been revealed. Now, for the first time ever, discover their top secret origin… and what comes next.
STAFF REVIEW
For months Power Rangers fans have speculated, wondered, and even been spoiled on the identity of the new Green Ranger. Now we know it’s Matthew Cook, a former friend of the Power Rangers who figured out their secret. Matt was a character created by writer Ryan Parrott during the start of Go Go Power Rangers and has had as much of a journey and focus as some of the other Rangers in the past. Ex-boyfriend to Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart, Matt has popped in and out of the story since the end of Go Go Power Rangers, but is now back in full force.
As seen in the preview, Mighty Morphin Issue 5 fills in the gaps of the story of the new Green Ranger from his debut to his reveal to the citizens of Angel Grove in that month time span. This issue feels like a break from the main story to focus solely on Matt and him handling being a Power Ranger. This technique to fill in the gaps was seen in the earlier issues of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers run from former series writer Kyle Higgins and is picked up again by Ryan Parrott.
I feel like I learned more about Matt as well as Grace from this one issue than in the past couple of years. This starts to turn the new Green Ranger from less of a gimmick into a fully realized Power Ranger.
Matthew Cook has always been writer Ryan Parrott’s creation and with this issue we get to see Matt’s personal life in a way that wasn’t focused on before, giving him new dimension. Artist Marco Renna continues his solid line work and impressive character detail, displaying some flashbacks with new flourish. The colors absolutely pop from Walter Baiamonte, Sara Antonellini and Katia Ranalli. I love the use of orange throughout the issue as a complementary color to green, simple but effective.
For new readers, this issue will give more insight into the character of Matt, turning him from a background character to main focus pretty quickly. I can’t recommend enough that newer readers who are interested, to dive into the trade paperback collections for Go Go Power Rangers. Now, the gloves are off. The secret is out and it’s time to watch the sparks fly…
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Cover images below.
