by Matt Sernaker, Managing Editor

The Power Rangers are back…and it’s time to get cosmic!

That’s right, the Power Rangers are setting controls BACK to outer space now, flying higher than ever before for the 30th anniversary season. Lord Zedd’s master plan has massive implications for the Power Rangers universe as we know it. With Zedd being aided by a new team of evil monsters, the Power Rangers will soon learn that Dino Fury won’t be enough to save the day this time…now they will have to bring the Cosmic Fury!

Thanks to our friends at Hasbro and Netflix, ComicsOnline had the opportunity to watch the entire season of Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury prior to the pending release on September 29th. Out of respect for viewers (and the requested embargo topics), you’ll find that we have kept to minor spoilers so that you can enjoy the full viewing experience later this week.

Minor spoilers ahead!

Zayto and the gang are getting back to action for this new iteration, continuing their mission as revealed at the end of Power Rangers: Dino Fury – Season Two. Lord Zedd is back and badder than ever, and it will take new powers, new zords, new planets, and the surprising return of some old friends in order to save the day.

Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury features the return of all Dino Fury core cast members, including Russell Curry (Zayto), Hunter Deno (Amelia Jones), Kai Moya (Ollie Akana), Tessa Rao (Izzy Garcia), Chance Perez (Javi Garcia), Jordon Fite (Aiyon), and Jacqueline Joe (Fern). Solon the cybernetic dinosaur returns as well, with Dahnu Graham providing the physical suit performance and Jo Davison providing the vocal performance. This is the first time that we have seen a cast return for a third season since the Mighty Morphin era of the franchise, allowing for elevated character development and interesting story opportunities as they take on the Emperor of Evil, Lord Zedd himself (R.I.P. to the original voice of Zedd, our old friend Robert Axelrod). 

Lord Zedd definitely takes his shot at smashing his competition, as voice actor Fred Tatasciore (best known for voicing Hulk in most of the current Avengers animated adaptations) now voices the Emperor of Evil. This season, Zedd is joined by Bajillia (Amanda Billing) and her daughter Squillia (Brooke Williams), along with an army of other upgraded baddies.

From Zayto’s new status to the implications of Ollie’s previous mind control, everything feels more intense as the threat level goes to 11. As we’ve seen in the marketing material and trailers, Amelia is revealed to be team’s new Red Ranger, leading the team as they face surprising challenges and an ultimate invasion that no one saw coming. It was a big deal to learn that Hunter Deno would be taking on the role of the Red Ranger for this series (the first female Red Ranger for the duration of a season), and she clearly displays her engaging leadership skills and abilities. Fans will love her evolution, as her organic progression is handled with care and ease. Don’t worry, we will definitely learn more about what happened to Zayto and why Amelia is now the leader of the team (you just have to hold tight for a bit). Ollie’s story this season was another narrative that worked well, as I felt that this was a fun throwback to mind-control stories of the past (Tommy, Kat, Billy, etc…). His interactions with Zedd were particularly interesting, and felt consistent with the villain’s past characterization. Javi faces a devastating personal challenge of the season, as a split-second choice in the beginning of the season plays out throughout subsequent episodes. This is a shock that we haven’t seen before in the world of Power Rangers, and I appreciated how this decision was handled and the impact that it had for the character. Izzy and Fern’s relationship also gets a lot of time to shine, but we need to leave this story element alone as it reveals too many spoilers. Let’s just say that we loved the character arcs for these two in particular, as their relationship and cosmic story were wonderful additions to the season. The only Ranger that didn’t get much to do this season was Aiyon, who was primarily concerned about the wellbeing of his newly returned friend. I was hoping for a bit more from this character, but I feel like his story got lost in the shorter episode count.

Beyond the core team, we are treated to the return of David Yost (Billy Cranston / Mighty Morphin Power Rangers). Yost recently returned for the Power Rangers: Once & Always 30th Anniversary Special, but this is the first time that he has returned as series regular since Power Rangers ZEO. Billy was the perfect addition to this season, as his unique knowledge and experience from fighting the original Lord Zedd years ago was invaluable to this newer team. As much as I loved the return of Veteran Rangers during previous seasons, I feel like Yost was given the best story that was consistent with his character’s history. His involvement didn’t overshadow the current team, but truly added value to their development and helped to up the excitement for these stories. There are other fantastic returns throughout the season (both heroes and villains), but we will let you experience those surprises for yourself.

Simon Bennett returns as Executive Producer, along with writers Becca Barnes and Alywn Dale who worked to take the franchise into a cosmic direction for the anniversary season. With the returning cast, various plot threads from the previous seasons of Dino Fury were able to come back into play in these new episodes. If you tuned in during the Hasbro PulseCon event last week, you got to see the opening sequence from the season premiere. The cinematography has never looked better, we are treated to some incredible visuals throughout the season. If you liked that shot, wait until you get to the final act of the arc as there are some morphinomenal moments. With the exception of the zord battles (more on that below), all other footage was original to this season, and I feel like the creative team used this to their advantage in many ways. The scale of the stories felt leveled up, similar to the transition from Rita to Lord Zedd at the start of MMPR Season Two. The lack of filler episodes was enjoyable as well, as the serialized (and time sensitive) story made the structure feel stronger than before.

All of the previous television iterations of the Power Rangers franchise have incorporated some Sentai elements into the story, and this season was no exception. In the case of Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury, the creative team stuck to zord battles specifically from the space-centric Uchu Sentai Kyuranger. I understand that many fans were disappointed by the lack of costumes from that Sentai series, but I feel like the original costumes worked out better than expected. The original suits were a surprising twist when the series was announced, and I enjoyed seeing these new weapons and design elements in action (but not the abs…I could have gone entirely without the foam abs). The morpher designs were particularly fun (I loved the orb flip aspect) and something a bit different for this version of the show. As much as I enjoyed the zords designs, I felt like these scenes were used mainly for convenience. This is the first time that I can remember where the Ranger team didn’t have primary zords + ancillary zords, and in this case, control over each of the zords was completely situational based on available footage. Considering Kyuranger had a massively larger team, it made sense that adjustments would be needed for the scenes to work, but the lack of a signature zord for each team member felt like a missed opportunity as that had been a key element for the brand.

There is a lot to love throughout the ten episode arc. The creative team managed to include many amazing callbacks, character returns, developments, and sequential storytelling opportunities that hadn’t been explored in this fashion throughout the 30 year run of Power Rangers. The opening moments of the season premiere demonstrated the intention to include some franchise deep-cuts in the narrative elements for Cosmic Fury. Whether it was Zordnia or other outer space locations (we can’t talk about them because of spoilers), it was interesting to take the battle beyond Earth. An important location in particular felt like it was that it was used in name only, with the choice of telling versus showing being the operating model. Of course costs and timing most likely played a factor, but it would have been cool to have seen more alien inhabitants.

Lastly, I wanted to mention that the Cosmic Fury theme song grew on me with each passing episode. I didn’t connect to it when it was originally released with the trailer. As the story progressed and the opening title sequence evolved (don’t skip the openings!), my appreciation for the music evolved as well. I’ve been humming the theme a lot in the last few weeks.

If this is the end of Power Rangers as we know it (FYI the final episode of Cosmic Fury is fittingly titled “The End”), the creative team put together an explosive finale with some epic surprises. The show does a great job wrapping up all of the pending plot threads in a very satisfying way, BUT one massive character arc is left intentionally unresolved. This choice was shocking to say the least (and will probably be divisive for fans), as was the attention that was drawn to it in particular in the final moments of the show. Was this choice left in place to allow for another standalone story in the future? Who knows… I think it was an interesting element and I truly hope that it does get explored by Hasbro in some fashion in the near future. 

The Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury team (and show as a whole) lives up to the 30 year legacy of the series that started in 1993. I quickly binged these ten episodes, and I think the long-form story worked well for these characters and the constructed story.

The legacy of Power Rangers is in good hands with the Cosmic Fury cast and crew, and I don’t think you will be disappointed with this (final?) adventure. I look forward to seeing where the franchise goes next, even if it will be some time before the next iteration comes to life… May the power protect you all.

Rating:
ComicsOnline gives Power Rangers: Cosmic Fury – 4 out of 5 morphinomenal celebration seasons. 

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