Warning! Major spoilers ahead forPower Rangers Prime#9!
Power Rangersjust threw a major curveball at fans, as Rita Repulsa was officiallyconfirmed as the Green Rangerin the newPrimecontinuity, which offers a radical reboot of the familiarMighty Morphin' Power Rangersorigin story.Rita’s role in the updated canonhas already been a huge divergence from her usual villainy, but this escalates things even further.
Power Rangers Prime#9, by the creative team of Melissa Flores and Michael YG, completely changes Rita’s dynamic with the newly founded Rangers team.
While she was already serving as a morally ambiguous equivalent to Zordon, now she has become their field leader as well, in a move with major implications.
Rita Repulsa Is Officially The Green Ranger, As The “Prime” Reboot Of Power Rangers Serves Up A Major Swerve
Power Rangers Prime#9, By The Creative Team Of Melissa Flores And Michael YG
Based on variant covers forPower Rangers Prime#9, fans already knew the reveal of Rita as the Green Ranger was coming in advance of the issue’s release, but it still hits like a major shock to the system, given how much it resets fans' expectations for thePrimereboot moving forward.
In the originalMighty Morphin' Power Rangers, original Green Ranger Tommy Oliver started out as the team’s adversary, under Rita’s control, but he eventually overcame her brainwashing, and went on tobecome one of the most stalwart Ranger heroes. Fans are already speculating thatPrimecould be doing this story in reverse.
Meaning, Rita might start out as a member of the team, before an eventual split leads her to take on a more traditionally antagonistic role. Alternatively, some readers believe thatPower Rangers Primecould be committed to converting Rita Repulsa into a protagonist in this continuity. Either way, this is a huge,exciting remix ofRangerslore.
Fans Are Torn On How Rita Repulsa’s Mentorship Of The Power Rangers Is Going To Turn Out
Power Rangers PrimeGives New Meaning To Rita And The Rangers' Relationship
InPower Rangers Prime, Zordon is conspicuously absent, and it is instead Rita Repulsa who empowers a select group of teens from Angel Grove. However, her ultimate goals have remained unclear, and most, though certainly not all, readers believe that she is still anendgame villain for thePrimeseries.
Still, whatever her intentions might be, Rita has been the one to shepherd the young heroes as they form the Power Rangers, andjoining them as a Ranger herself adds a whole new dimension to that relationship.While they might ultimately end up at odds, for now, she is set to become even more of a mentor to the team.
Where exactly that might lead them remains up in the air. It’s possiblePower Rangers Primemight take the team in a dark direction under Rita’s influence, especially as they have other powerful foes to contend with. In any case, fans should expect more major departures from recognizablePower Rangersmythology as the series progresses.
