WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Mighty Morphin #12, available now from Boom! Studios.
The Power Rangers have suffered through a series of seemingly unending defeats and betrayals, all while the threat posed by the all-powerful Empyreals casts a dark shadow over already bleak times. Although they do have some impressive new allies in Zordon's people, the Guardians of Eltar, things are far from what they seem on the surface. However, these aliens are hardly the benevolent diplomats they present themselves as, they've masterminded several interstellar genocides.
Since they arrived on Earth, it was only a matter of time before the invasion began, and it has just kicked off with the death of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers mentor Zordon in Mighty Morphin #12 by Ryan Parrott, Marco Renna, Walter Baiamonte, Sara Antonellini, Katia Ranalli and Ed Dukeshire.
When Lord Zedd recently took control of Angel Grove, the alien Bronze Guardian Zelya revealed her presence to the Power Rangers when she offered them her aid. While the heroes were able to free the city together, they did so at the cost of Zelya's freedom. Instead of torturing Zelya or holding her hostage, Lord Zedd merely told her the apparent true secret history of the Guardians of Eltar., which included the revelation that he was once the Supreme Guardian, and his apparent demise was the beginning of the end for the noble Eltar of old.
Since Zedd's downfall, Zartus' reign warped the Guardians' formerly benevolent mission into one of violent conquest, with Earth being but the latest in a long line of worlds targeted by his campaign. It isn't long before Zartus realizes that the truth is out and goes to confront Zordon about the matter. Primarily, Zartus is hoping that Zordon will see things his way, but once it becomes clear how far the Supreme Guardian has already gone, any remaining bond between the Eltarians is permanently broken.
With a single strike of his blade, Zartus shatters the energy tube containing Zordon in his current state, with the only one to bear witness to the crime being a horrified Billy Cranston hiding in the shadows.
While this is a shocking moment, it's not the first time Zordon has died. In 1998, the Power Rangers in Space episode "Countdown to Destruction" marked the end of the Zordon Era with the death of its titular figure. When the forces of Dark Specter had reached the point that they directly threatened the entire universe, Zordon made the ultimate sacrifice to cleanse the cosmos of evil with his energy. Despite the relative camp of the moment, it still stands out as one of the most iconic in franchise history, not to mention a turning point for it as a whole.
In the comic book's world, Zordon was never the Earth's last line of defense, but he was the source of an untold amount of the Mighty Morphin team's resources. They still have their Morphers, and presumably their powers and arsenal, but losing Zordon could very well be a blow that the heroes are unable to come back from. With the loss of Zordon, the Rangers could lose control of the Command Center, assuming Zartus is smart enough to take hold of it, meaning they have also lost their only means of communicating with their interstellar allies. With only former Ranger Grace Sterling to turn to, the future of the Power Rangers looks more uncertain than it has in a very long time.
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