Power Rangers Showcases Original Red Ranger’s Vigilante Redesign in Jaw-Dropping Art

The Red Ranger‘s jaw-dropping costume showcases how the Power Rangers can be treated like actual, vigilante superheroes. Amy Jo Johnson’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #1 reveals that in a dark future where the original teenagers with attitude have grown up and moved on with their lives, Jason remains the world’s only rogue Power Ranger, equipped with his best costume yet.

Jason’s vigilante outfit is given a larger-than-life spotlight by InHyuk Lee’s variant cover of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2, which will be released on March 13. The cover gives readers their closest look at the Red Ranger’s updated uniform yet, this time featuring his signature sword coated in blood.

The cover art communicates two things to audiences. One is that this is truly a more mature, bloody version of Mighty Morphin than what kids grew up with. The other highlights how Power Rangers can be portrayed as superheroes in the vein of comic book staples like Batman.

A Bloodier Depiction of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return #2 by Amy Jo Johnson, Matt Hotson, Nico Leon, Francesco Segala, Gloria Martinelli, and Ed Dukeshire

Amy Jo Johnson has spoken in-depth previously about how she intended to use The Return to craft a love letter to the adults who grew up watching Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as children. Naturally, to do that, The Return can’t have the same kid-friendly tone that was a trademark of the original Mighty Morphin series. The Rangers are adults now, and so are the readers who grew up watching them. As such, the material must grow with its fanbase. That’s where the more mature tone comes in, exemplified by Jason’s bloody sword.

The stakes in this series are arguably among the highest the franchise has ever taken itself, largely because it’s so rooted in realism. In this world, Rangers aren’t merely injured during their battles, but are actually capable of serious harm and death. Readers have seen this previously in the reveal that Jason is hiding the scars of being a vigilante under his helmet. Every cut, bruise, and blood splattered matters, and in a book geared towards older audiences, that blood will be on full display.

The Red Ranger is Practically Batman

In addition to being bloodier, the Power Rangers is becoming more deeply rooted in superhero culture than it has ever been before. The Rangers were always superheroes – the secret identities, balancing high school life with fighting monsters, etc. – but the connection rarely felt as overt without the pomp and circumstances typical of, say, a Superman or a Batman. This is the closest that Power Rangers have come to focusing on the titular heroes as full-blown vigilantes. The Rangers’ adventures were more organized on a global scale, overseen by a corporation or floating blue head, while receiving every city’s approval.

What Jason is doing makes him a full-blown outlaw, particularly to his own teammates. When the Rangers agree to disband following the defeat of Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa, Jason continues active duty, defying his childhood friends. He’s doing good, yes, based on worldwide reports of Jason fighting local crime to counter-terrorism. However, in Zack’s own words in The Return‘s first issue, “[Jason] went completely rogue.” The Red Ranger is the very definition of a vigilante, making Jason no different from Batman and putting a new twist on the Power Rangers philosophy.