When BOOM! Studios launched its ongoing Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, the creative team of Kyle Higgins and Hendry Prasyata put a spin on a long-standing Rangers trope by introducing Lord Drakkon – a dark, twisted version of fan-favorite Ranger Tommy Oliver. Drakkon ruled over a dystopian wasteland, where the remaining Power Rangers – dubbed “The Coinless” – sought to topple his reign. The world of the Coinless has made brief reappearances in the MMPR series, most notably during the Shattered Grid storyline as well as the Drakkon: New Dawn miniseries.
Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless #1 returns Drakkon back to his home universe, alongside former Omega Ranger Kiya. There Drakkon learns that the Ranger Slayer – his world’s version of Kimberly Hart/MMPR Pink – and her allies have been struggling to fend off an invasion from the malevolent Dark Spector. The only hope for salvation lies in Drakkon using his old tech to re-empower the rebels and make them Power Rangers. But there’s the matter of placing one’s trust in a bloodthirsty warlord.
The Power Rangers Unlimited one-shots have been a great way for BOOM! to put the spotlight on different corners of the Power Rangers universe. Writer Adam Cesare takes full advantage of this, using Drakkon’s return to the Coinless Universe to explore how it’s changed in his absence. He expects to re-establish his empire, but instead finds himself protecting others. Similarly, the others have to learn to trust Drakkon – which isn’t an easy feat when Kiva keeps trying to kill him and there’s an invasion of monsters from another universe. Cesare even manages to throw in a few surprising twists along the way.
Moises Hidalgo, who previously illustrated Mighty Morphin, returns to give life to the world of the Coinless. Where his version of the apocalypse differs is in the outfits the Coinless wears. Thanks to the color work of Arthur Hesli, there are bright flashes of red yellow and pink among the dark desolate wasteland. It also helps bring Hidalgo’s new designs for the Coinless Rangers to life. Perhaps the most unique design belongs to Drakkon – though he still has his base form, half of his body looks corrupted with fire and black energy as if he’d taken a dip in lava.
However, one would have to be up on their Ranger comics in order to understand the intricacies behind this one-shot. While I’m all for encouraging others to read the Ranger comics, I feel like once again every comic should be one’s first. Especially a one-shot, which is meant to be a contained story. A page or two dedicated to Drakkon’s backstory would have been helpful.
Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless #1 returns to the world of the Coinless, while also giving Lord Drakkon more dimension. The end promises to explore even more about this world, and I hope that it receives a follow up. After all, who wouldn’t want to see the Rangerverse’s deadliest villain back in action?
Join the AIPT Patreon
Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:
- ❌ Remove all ads on the website
- 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
- 📗 Access to our monthly book club
- 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
- 💥 And more!
