Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Comic Reveals Tragic Origin of Lord Zed
Warning! Spoilers for Mighty Morphin #10 ahead!
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first became a world-wide phenomenon with the hit live action TV show of the same name, and the lore has only deepened since its initial release. While the show has evolved, and continues to evolve, past the original storyline, the gaps are being filled in the form of comic books with one of the latest adventures revealing the tragic origin of Lord Zed, the arch enemy of the Power Rangers. In the television show, Lord Zed was something of a comedic relief as his schemes never seemed to work out and his reaction to those failures was humorous, but at that point the character was written primarily for a younger fanbase. Now, the disturbing details of how Zed came to be has been revealed.
In Mighty Morphin #10 written by Ryan Parrott with art by Dan Mora and Raul Angulo, Power Rangers fans are taken to the planet Eltar more than one thousand years before the events of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. There, readers are introduced to the Supreme Guardian of the planet named Zophram who is tasked with guarding the all-powerful Zeo Crystal from malevolent forces who wish to use the crystal for their own sinister needs. After an attack on the crystal’s hiding place, Zophram urges his superiors to move the crystal, but they decide to keep it where it is until they come up with a location. Since many of his men will die while the council makes up their minds, Zophram decides to take measures into his own hands.
Zophram and a small team go to where the Zeo Crystal is kept in an attempt to steal it and bring it to their home world of Eltar for protection. When Zophram grabs the crystal, the power of the artifact proves to be too much for him to handle, peeling the skin from his tendons and blasting him back into a pile of rubble. Zophram is found by one of his teammates who works to restore him back to health, giving fans a glimpse at the birth of Lord Zed from the mutilated remains of Zophram. The tragedy behind Zed’s creation comes from the fact that in his previous life, he was heroic and only worked to do what was best for his people and all of the universe. The flippant response from his superiors leads to more lives lost to the dark forces that wanted the Zeo Crystal for themselves, including one guardian who almost meets that fate, Zophram’s protege named Zordon.
Zordon is responsible for forming the Power Rangers team on Earth, acting as their leader and guardian throughout the original series and into the comic book continuations. With this latest reveal, fans now know that not only did Zordon and Lord Zed know each other before the events of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, but they worked together with Zed as Zordon’s immediate superior. Not only was Zordon trained by Zed, but the two were like family and much of Zophram’s actions leading to becoming Zed was because Zordon was injured protecting the Zeo Crystal. Zordon inadvertently caused Zophram’s dark metamorphosis into Lord Zed, thus creating his own future arch enemy.
While fans previously knew that Lord Zed was mutilated by the Zeo Crystal, the whole story wasn’t revealed until the release of Mighty Morphin #10. Zed is revealed to have once been a good man in that he would do anything to protect his comrades and he had the best interests for the universe at heart. Lord Zed’s good intentions were sparked from his love for Zordon, adding another layer of irony to the story of his villainous birth, creating depth for the entire Mighty Morphin Power Rangers lore.