1. This takes place in main tv continuity after Cosmic Fury.
2. The Striking Tiger Ranger is Trini from the Coinless dimension after she vanished in Darkest Hour.
And hoping we get to see Minh meeting this version of Trini.
Very interesting. I'm not sure I buy that she's Coinless Trini just yet - she establishes being a Ranger for 25 years in the CGD story, and even just going by the show timeline Zedd would have been gone for over 20 years by that point, which would certainly fit the bill of "long gone." But her being Coinless Trini would be a great fix for how Darkest Hour screwed her over and a neat explanation for why a random Trini is doing this higher-power work alone without her friends. (And let's be honest with ourselves Striking Tiger Unlimited is basically Trini's own Ranger Slayer.)
But whether she's Coinless Trini or show Trini or a completely new Trini, it definitely would be missed opportunity of the century to not have her team up with Minh
= Overall pretty fun! Mostly just a big action set piece showing off how any Ranger and villain is on the table for this but hey, that was the main draw of this series in the first place. That and being a spotlight piece for Trini
= Because yeah a) this is a Trini from another universe and b) she's been pulled from the universe into this show-adjacent one post Once and Always. Basically it sounds like rather than her being the only MMPR to DIE, she's the only MMPR to SURVIVE her universe, which is a cool twist
= speaking of cool twists uhhhh oops lol remember when I said "the Operator isn't an older Billy"? Guess what! He is! I mean we kinda figured because of his association with Trini and the Unlimited Command Center being set on Aquitar but still, great bait and switch with his uhhh Eltarian cosplay?
= The main thing that doesn't get revealed is who the Big Bad Guy of this whole operation is but also uhhhh bye Zedd lol I thought you'd be more of a presence here
= Trini's always dealing with rifts. In a way this is kind of a comic adaptation of Mighty Force
= I feel people will be kind of disappointed that the other Rangers don't get much besides popping in and doing cool stuff (and it did kind of confirm to me that this won't be a series dedicated to giving every Ranger deep introspection; it'll probably be Trini plus a few main guys per issue) but like. They're here! It's what you wanted!
Dr. Claw’s ship looks like an evil Astro Megaship a little bit. Oh dear.
an evil Astro Megaship with Justin's helmet replacing the shuttle is basically a giant neon sign telling me ACCEPT THIS IS HAPPENING but i still refuse
Though in regards to waiting on confirming any continuity is what in Unlimited, apparently that applies to Trini too lol because looking at peoples' reactions, they have a much different interpretation of Striking Tiger Trini than what I figured.
What I Thought: Striking Tiger Trini is a Trini from a new universe entirely where she's the only survivor of some disaster pulled to the show universe/2016 universe/wherever Operator is stationed. Think Black Widow from the end of Season One of What If.
What Everyone Else Seems to Think: Striking Tiger Trini is literally Once and Always Trini, somehow back to life, I guess???? Or maybe saved at the last minute by Operator??? pulled into the 2016 universe.
I guess I can understand how people came to that second conclusion; the wording and setup is vague and anything's possible at this point, especially with panels like this.
And I don't hate the idea of Striking Tiger being show!Trini - obviously I don't want Trini to be fated to die in all of her futures, and there is also delicious angst in the idea that show!Trini didn't die but can never go back home. She's still essentially "dead" to the show universe. But...idk, I feel "she's the sole survivor of some new universe" is the simpler option and people are misinterpreting dialogue thanks to the confusing time and space nonsense lol
LAST TIME ON POWER RANGERS COMICS: in the 2016verse there was a whole thing where Rita, renamed and revamped into Mistress Vile, brought Dark Specter into our world via offering him up Zordon's sentient body as a vessel. (Don't worry about it.) In the end, thanks to the help of Rangers across time and space, he was defeated. But in the process, Billy for some reason thought it was a great idea to use Power Eggs to overload and break the Grid. He shattered it, you could say. And I guess....that caused things to happen that we never saw. He grew a beard? Sure, I guess that's a consequence of shattering the Grid.
Why am I bringing up Darkest Hour? Well...
It's Power Rangers Unlimited #1!
= Enjoy this first page spread of Zedd because it's the most aura he'll have all issue
= HOT MILF TRINI IS HERE EVERYONE
= BOOOOOOOO THE PEOPLE WANT TRAKEENA NOT THIS FRAUD i don't CARE if you were the actual main villain of Lost Galaxy's home sentai!!!!!!!
= This issue is really more of a setup for Trini, Operator, and Unlimited HQ's whole deal over the Ranger cameos so unfortunately they don't get much to do outside of more bodies in the fight. But at least it's still cool to see them and hey, isn't "look! Guys who aren't MMPR are here!" the selling point for this series in the first place. We already know from #2's previews that future issues will delve into these cameo Rangers on a more personal level so at least they won't JUST end up being garnish for Trini and Operator's drama
= So obviously the Big Talking Point of this issue has been the strong hints (but not 100% outright confirmation) that Striking Tiger seems to be show!Trini. As in Trini from Once and Always. Who died.
I've already talked about this a lot, and I hesitate to commit to this theory fully before we get more clarification because I do think the wording from the characters is intentionally vague and could be taken in any direction. (Like in a "we'll keep this open for change in the event we're not allowed to make this show!Trini" way.) But I will admit all the talk about Trini having made a "sacrifice" does make more sense as a reference to how she died defending Billy in OaA compared to how I originally figured she was the sole survivor of some random universe that was destroyed by some evil. But we'll have to see! Because it's definitely a concept where I'll need to see how it pays off before I judge it fully. I'll be happy if show!Trini's not dead of course, but if we're being honest, how is being alive but unable to go home to your friends AND TEENAGE DAUGHTER any better
= ........okay, obviously Trini is the main character here, and that's awesome, but Zedd considering her the most annoying over literally anyone he....actually fought? Jason? Kimberly? TOMMY? we don't need to go this far in establishing Trini as the Most Important Character Ever, guys. We already got that from the cool new uniform and designation
= TIGER ON TIGER DAP
= THE BETA UNITS FROM ZORD QUEST ARE BACK THE MOST IMPORTANT CAMEO OUT OF ANYONE
= So you know how I said that first page of Zedd was the most aura he'll get all issue? Yeah, more like the only aura he'll ever get because he's dead now lmao
= In a way I do like the twist of him not actually being relevant and obviously this is intended to establish the stakes and character of the REAL main villain Dr. Claw here, but at the same time........do I need to say how expected it is at this point for Zedd to be PR's jobber on the villains' side. (White Ranger Tommy is on the hero's side.) Especially if this is 2016 Zedd in particular, who's particularly infamous for never getting his time in the spotlight as the proper main villain. That punch in the face from the Red Omega Zord was truly the death knell for his credibility. His most noteworthy time as a villain was in the TMNT crossover. That stings
= And the other big talking point of the issue! The Operator is 2016 Billy (as evidenced by his design and morpher matching how he looked at the end of Darkest Hour's finale issue) so this series appears to be set up as a proper epilogue for the 2016 series versus.....whatever Prime was trying to do. Which is great, since I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who liked the ending or at the very least felt satisfied by it, but also we'll have to wait and see if this closure extends to other members of the 2016 main cast considering obviously we've got other shit going on. (And based on Billy's age I wouldn't be surprised if everyone else has already passed to keep them out of this story. Which. Depressing!)
= Anyway sorry Trini you can't have a sexy spirit alien boyfriend to make up for the loss of your entire life instead it's a variant of your supposed best friend who got you killed. She's stronger than me I'd be PISSED
Striking Tiger Ranger design dropped. Please be Minh
uh-oh, an MMPR redesign!!!! Time to dismiss the entire book as being nothing but MMPR-pandering slop!!!!!!!!!!!!
but for real, interesting! Can definitely say I wasn't expecting MMPR Yellow for this. A grown-up Minh is the most likely outcome, but I guess until then we shouldn't rule out an original character or even an alternate Trini (or even....alternate Aisha.......? haha sure)
Also you know at least Trini fought Zedd a little bit. Justin NEVER fought Zedd. For him to have that line near the end
eh, I can kinda excuse anything in that last convo since clearly whoever Dr. Claw is, he has access to the multiverse and thus can influence seasons he wasn't part of (like he has CAPTAIN MUTINY calling him My Lord - how can you connect Justin to LOST GALAXY?), and that seems to influence his last words to Zedd here. That he saw all the universes and Zedd sucked in every last one
(Funnily enough one of the pieces of evidence raised for Dr. Claw being Justin is that line about being "small", like he's projecting how he felt being the youngest/smallest on the team onto Zedd, which......that's kind of a stretch)
