The ‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers,’ a BOOM! Studios production has been steadily gaining popularity, and the Ranger Slayer appears to have found a place in the hearts of fans. A complicated past with various moral ambiguities allows us to take sides one moment and then alter our minds the next. Ranger Slayer’s presence hasn’t yet stood the test of time, but there’s no doubt that it will in the future.
At least not at first, the Ranger Slayer was not fighting for the forces of evil as her given name suggests. In another dimension, she was the Pink Ranger and a member of the Promethea Rangers.
Her villainous origins were based in the activities of deceitful Lord Drakkon, according to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers crossover stories “Beyond The Grid” and “Shattered Grid.” Lord Drakkon was responsible for the deaths of the Red and Blue Rangers, as well as stealing the Promethea Rangers’ coins in order to further his authority.
Drakkon took possession of the Pink Ranger’s bow, which was infected with black energy. As a result, Kimberley became the Ranger Slayer, serving at Drakkon’s command to help him vandalize Morphin Grid.
THE RANGER SLAYER: Solo Appearance in Comics
Overcoming the challenge that Drakkon had placed before her, Kim eventually returned home, and that is the plot, the one-shot Issue 1 of ‘Power Rangers: Ranger Slayer’ explores. A Ryan Parrott creation illustrated by Dan Mora, Kim came back to nothing she is familiar with. Especially in a situation where she was considered to be a villain, all that surrounded her bore an air of unwelcome.
BOOM! Studios took this track as a continuation of the main Power Ranger comic line, even though that is uncommon for one-shots. In 2018, the Shattered Grid crossover took place, and this spin-off gave some substance to the story being taken forward. In the crossover itself, Tommy Oliver – the White Ranger – had taken on the form of Lord Drakkon and came to be known as the dictator that he was.
Kim survived Drakkon’s attack, and went through a lot of manipulation but managed to see Drakkon’s eventual defeat. Following her acts of violence, she was feared and seen with the same skepticism that the wicked dictator Drakkon was. So, her aim became to change opinions about herself amongst those people by protecting them from forces of harm.
Starting off right where Shattered Grid had closed, Kim awoke to the new reality of the ‘World of Coinless’, after Lord Drakkon had stolen the Power Coins from everyone. Her regret and distaste towards her life as Ranger Slayer were immediate, as she wished she hadn’t woken up. The determined Ranger that she was though, she chose to give her best to the new universe, and somehow manage to repent for a modicum of the suffering she had inflicted as Ranger Slayer.
As she lay in the field of corn where she had opened her eyes, contemplating what she wanted to do next, people nearby were being ushered inside their houses. Lieutenant Sabretooth calling himself a representative of Lord Drakkon, furnished a rifle and opened fire into the air, demanding everyone follow the curfew orders of Lord Drakkon. Failing to follow orders would lead them to “re-education” a.k.a. prison.
Kimberly saw the exchange from her hiding spot in the nearby bushes and prepared herself to fire an arrow at the Lieutenant. Sabretooth was at that point, engaged in a conversation with a ‘Private’ ranked Mastodon Sentry asking him to not question the extreme action. Out of almost nowhere, a group of Rangers launched an attack on the duo, killing the Lieutenant.
Kim’s arrow managed to overpower the group, but one escapee slipped away and informed some mysterious identity acting as their leader, that the Ranger Slayer had made a reappearance. Meanwhile, the Private unmasked himself and said he could take Kim to Drakkon’s hideout, which she refused. They then agreed upon arranging and ensuring the safety of the citizens in the first place. As she walked into the woods, Kim asked the Private to not interfere or come in her way.
In Lord Drakkon’s palace, he snapped cyborg Finster 5’s neck and he was assumed to be dead. However, he came to life having no memory of the incident at all. He was working on a weird invention when Scorpina from the main universe of the Power Ranger comics visited him. According to her perception, after the Shattered Grid events, Drakkon had vanished. In Lord Drakkon’s absence, Spirit Rangers and the Coinless Territory were empowered again. Scorpina finds herself at a loss of words when the Private informs her of Ranger Slayer’s act of saving their group. Finster 5 was unsure of Kim but still believed that they could use her to earn a favorable outcome for their side in the battle.
On the other hand, Kim visited the hideout of the Coinless’ trying to assure them of her loyalty to the good side. They refused to believe her, accusing her of being a spy and an enemy sent to convince them to lower their guards. As much as Kim tried to tell the gathering there that she wanted to help overthrow Drakkon, they reminded her of her brutal nature in the past as Drakkon’s agent and made it clear that in their opinion, it was all an unforgivable mistake. They wanted to strip her of her Power Coin, and use it to make more Ranger Sentries instead.
The only one who came to Kim’s defense was Bulk, who said that her brainwashed self was never her true form and that he would die with her if anyone attacked her for the Coin. According to Bulk, only hypocrisy underlined the fact that they wanted world peace but was unwilling to give another chance to an old friend. He said that Kim had experience fighting the mysterious Rangers of the woods, and they would need her help anyway.
These Rangers were discovered to be an army of the dead, and quite literally, “ghosts in body armor”. Kim was informed that these Rangers were deadly, merciless, and quite a force to be reckoned with; she had been lucky to survive an encounter. Kim realized that she needed to do more to gain their trust, so she further offered her Power Coin, putting herself up for trial.
After some passive-aggressive reactions from others present on the scene, Kim was allowed into the ‘Organisation of the Coinless’ again. She was reminded that scrutiny should not be an alien concept to her and that she must be careful about her actions.
The plot progresses into aggressive war, and several tests for Kim trying to redeem herself from the image of Ranger Slayer. And dare we say that she managed to do so! How you may ask? We will leave that for you to discover. But allow us to tell of the glorious ending – Kimberley’s coronation amidst her having survived the attacks made by an army of the dead. Kim made sure it was mentioned how the Coinless, as well as the Ranger Sentries, had lost loved ones throughout the battle. It was her belief that the common cause of peace was always behind their difference in loyalties and methods of action. Her speech concluded with her desire to “clean the slate”, forgiving any offences of the past, for the greater good of Earth in the future. The final page of the comic has a glorious depiction of her persona, all decked up in full glory.
The release of this comic came at a time when BOOM! marked 25 issues of its main line of comics depicting a contemporary take of the ‘Mighty Morphin’ age, and Power Rangers was celebrating its 25th anniversary too! Ranger Slayer’s story did not end here though, as she managed to make her way to the sequel series ‘Power Rangers: Drakkon New Dawn’. This limited series comprised of three issues and brought forth Ranger Slayer in a whole new light.
RANGER SLAYER: Powers Through Her Transition
The power-Morpher Pink Ranger was by herself, incredibly powerful. She had two Zords to make use of – the Firebird Thunderzord and the Pterodactyl Dinozord. An expert at using the same, she also had a ‘power bow’ that she swore by, to the extent that its manipulation led her to act for Lord Drakkon. When working for Lord Drakkon, that became the Bow or Sword of Darkness. At one point, she was also known to possess a blade blaster.
If Psycho Rangers are considered, Drakkon did a mighty strong job with her and she remains one of his most direct extensions of power, and thus a creation meant to stand against the most brute forces. As Ranger Slayer, Kimberley is a powerful Ranger by all means across all timelines.
When Kim became Ranger Slayer, her Gravezord too, bore the brunt. It became a Megazord put together from what remained of her all the other Rangers Drakkon had slain. She also possessed the Solarix Morphin’ Energy Pterodactyl Zord as Ranger Slayer, which was a replica of the original MMPR Pterodactyl Zord built entirely from Solarix energy. Of Solarix, we shall speak of shortly.
RANGER SLAYER: Closing In
Ranger Slayer was a loyalist. In her service to Lord Drakkon, she never faltered once. When Drakkon was held captive in the main timeline of the Power Rangers, she made sure she had a solid team around herself and brought Drakkon back. Though that led to her being freed from Drakkon’s control when the Kimberley Hart from the main timeline destroyed the Bow of Darkness of her evil equal.
The Ranger Slayer is credited with a lot prior to the happenings of ‘Necessary Evil’ that actually helped Kim prove that she was out to put Morphin Grid – a multiversal energy field for all Power Rangers – together instead of destroying it. Those around had assumed otherwise, but she managed to turn it all around. She brought together and led a team of Power Rangers from different parts of all extents of multiple universes.
This new team was made of Dark Dino Ranger, Heckyl alongside Mike Corbett (the Magna Defender), Cam Watanabe (the Green Samurai Ranger), Tanya Sloan (the Yellow Zeo Ranger), and finally capped by Andros (the Red Space Ranger). This team ensured the protection of a distinct Morpher called Solarix, powered by the sun itself. Solarix was owned by Eallrien, and after they successfully defended the valuables against Praetor, the Ranger Slayer got a special opportunity! She became a Solar Ranger, brandishing the glory of the Solarix as well.
The first comic with Ranger Slayer’s solo appearance is a 32-page FEAST that deserves a continuation on its own. A second issue would probably have been just as excitedly embraced, and it would have made absolute sense. A compelling character with a potentially expansive dark past remains to be explored by BOOM! Studios. The follow-up story to this is widely considered a Power Rangers epic with the center of attention being Lord Drakkon. Even there, Ranger Slayer does not fail to leave her mark.