Afterthoughts - Power Rangers Hyperforce: Episode 03

Power Rangers Hyperforce: Tuesdays at 6pm Pacific
on Hyper RPG

Afterthoughts:

Power Rangers Hyperforce - Episode 03

Episode 03 is over. Miss episode 02? Here you go.

First, some links for the cast.

Peter Sudarso - Marv, the Red Ranger

Andre Meadows - Eddie, the Blue Ranger

Meghan Camarena - Chloe, the Pink Ranger

Christina Vee - Vesper, the Black Ranger
Paul Shrier - Jack, the Yellow Ranger
Malika Lim - The Game Master

Hyper RPG Website

And like last time, if you'd like your art removed, shoot me a private message at Mighty Morphin Super Sentai.

Now, a little more info on the character mechanics of the system, since we had character cards shown on this episode.

Jack (+1 Intimidate)
Basic Attack - Strike, Sweep, Kick
Advanced (unmorphed) -
Ram Rush - A full speed body check that launches an enemy into air
Advanced (morphed) -
Ram Rage - A beszerker onslaught, costing 1energy, grants 2 attacks in one turn
Headbutt - Throw an enemy using the horns on his helmet

Vesper (+1 Tech)
Basic Attack - Strike, Sweep, Kick
Advanced (unmorphed) -
Triple Threat - A combination attack using all three basic moves, granting +1 damage, has 1 turn cooldown
Advanced (morphed) -
Cerberus Maul - A ground takedown
Hound of Hades - A ground pound, giving advantage over prone enemies

Chloe (+1 Stealth)
Basic Attack - Strike, Sweep, Kick
Advanced (unmorphed) -
Phoenix Burst - Creates distance from the target
Advanced (morphed) -
Eye of phoenix - A targeted one-finder attack
Hurricane Whirlwhind - A spinning sweep which knocks down all enemies within melee distance

Eddie (+1 Teamwork)
Basic Attack - Strike, Sweep, Kick
Advanced (unmorphed) -
Serpent Strike - A precise attack which stuns an enemy for 1 turn, has a 1 turn cooldown
Advanced (morphed) -
Python's ambush - Binds an enemy for 1 turn, deals 2 damage
Cobra HP - A barrage of targeted pressure point attacks, roll 2 attacks,  has a 1 turn cooldown

Marv (+1 Charisma)
Basic Attack - Strike, Sweep, Kick
Advanced (unmorphed) -
Lunging Strike - Grants a +1 attack if attacking from a hidden position
Advanced (morphed) -
Lion's Bite - A two handed open palm strike
Lion's Claw - A barrage of open hand slashes, roll 2 attacks, has a 1 turn cooldown

We don't know how these moves were chosen, if it is an open system and the moves are akin to Stunts in the FATE system, or if there is a more specific list to choose from. And the same with the +1 each character has, we don't know if each Ranger has all the stats, if the +1 is their only stat, if there is a preset list of stats, etc. Still things we don't know, but at least we know more than we did last week.

Spoilers!

Source: @tekitoumei

Another great episode for both individual character growth and great team moments. Eddie and Vesper in particular took the top spots this time around. Starting in dire straights made for a good start, and the villain bailing because they realized maybe the Rangers actually could stop him, made for a good resolution to the scene as well. The Montage was handled very well, and is where most of the character moments really stand out. The way Malika handled Sabrina/Scorpina was perfect, and in general, it her growth as a GM as been very apparent, getting notably better with each episode so far. So now, with the Rangers stuck in 1994, and Scorpina on her way to raid Ritas palace, next episode should prove to be another winner.

Now, if you'd like a summary of the episode, keep reading. If not, you can skip down to the next section.

Episode 03 opens with the Ranger's ship under attack as Jack is flat-lining in the med bay, their shields failing fast. The Rangers try stabilize Jack, finding a future defib device to try and bring him back. They manage to stabilize him as the ship continues to be attacked.

Eddie remembers time ships may have battle stations, and the Ranges man different stations to try and fight back. Marv tries to stay with Jack, but Alpha suggests he is needed to fight. The battle stations have a touch screen display, which doesn't show the target, but rather the effect. They realize the Alliance leader is firing blasts from the ground, and that Alpha had moved the ship out of the city into nearby mountains. Alpha says the ship is designed for ship to ship combat, not ship to person, so Vesper decides to take control of the ship and ram it into the Alliance leader.

The ship ends up getting damaged as Vesper tries to ram the baddie, but the ship ends up damaged instead. The Rangers then try to use the ship to teleport out, but the ships consoles are jammed.

Meanwhile, Alpha is still working on Jack, and he rejoins the waking world.

With the baddie now under the ship, Marv wants to just drop the ship on top of their foe, but the other Rangers stop him. Meanwhile, Jack morphs and gets a sit-rep from the others. Vesper wants to drop the ship as well, while Chloe suggests zords, which they don't have yet. Jack reminds them of some weapons they found earlier, a Vortex Blaster. The team exits and fires on the Alliance leader, wh had been creating a massive branching lightning network which blasts their ships engine while getting hit with the Ranger blast. The team then blasts at the villain again with the Vortex Blaster, but the baddie dodges the blast this time. Seemingly realizing he might lose, the baddie teleports away after threatening the team to not interfere any further.

Then the ship lurches as the damage from the engine causes an explosion. The primary damage seemed to have been to the hyper drive engine which allowed the ship to time jump.

The team is stuck in 1994.

The team finds a toolbox to make repairs, but have no parts to work with. Jack tells Marv he heard his apology, as Vesper and Chloe activate the ship's cloaking device. The Rangers then try and figure out what to do next, when Jack suggests to hide the time ship under Angel Grove Park lake, but the ship cannot be moved due to the damage.

Jack then wanted a burrito.

As they continue discuss what to do, Alpha says there is a strange energy on Jack and Marv  from the attack, and it appears to be magic, not technology. Alpha tries to scan the energy again, but it has faded. Jack suggests the baddie is a time traveller, even before he ever had a time ship. Alpha said the villain had an enormous energy reading. Alpha then reprimands the Rangers for their rash actions.

Jack wants Chloe to steal clothes for the Rangers, while the other Rangers explore the ship.

And then...

Alpha discloses a pocket dimension training. Marv and Chloe train with demons and rainbows.
Jack and Chloe bond over pancakes.
Eddie and Vesper bond over wrenches.
The kitchen explodes with food. Jack finds six brooms.
Eddie and Chloe discuss being time disturbances themselves.

Jack is sweeping while being bothered by their current situation with the Alliance. Creates a conspiracy wall. Jack says, "It's a trap!" and an alarm sounds with a time anomaly.

And now a word from our sponsors.

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And we're back.

The anomaly alert is still going off, and the Rangers learn Scorpina has disappeared from history. Vesper then reveals she made the team weapons, in part from scavenging parts off of Alpha.

Red - Lapetus Flame Gun/Claws
Blue - Oceanus Trident/Blades
Pink - Hyperion Scythe/Bow
Black -  Cerberus Three-bladed axe/disc
Yellow - Crius Hammer/Cannon

After looking over their weapons, the team heads to the library to try and find Scorpina.

In the library they find a woman named Sabrina reading "The Book of Five Rings." Eddie seemed to be smitten with her, while Marv made a fool of himself. The other Rangers think Eddie is being put under a spell. Marv tries to have Alpha scan Eddie, but is having difficulty. They continue to discuss things with Sabrina, and they learn she had been contacted by the Alliance Leader, but she turned him down.

Scorpina then says she will be the one to destroy the Rangers, and not Rita or Zedd. Then suddenly the library goes dark and the library doors bust open with a mighty gust of wind. Marv tries to get the library crowd to leave, but fails. Sabrina/Scorpina ignores the Rangers,and meets an apron clad rock monster at the door which is holding a hammer. Marv makes a little girl cry when he tries to get her to get her friends out of the building. Chloe then offers her candy and gets her to try to get people out of the library. Jack tries to convince the remaining people they're making a music video.

Meanwhile, Scorpina is speaking to the monster, Volcanos, discussing their need to get clay from Finster and then leave in a ship. Scorpina leaves, and is teleported away, leaving the monster. Marv tries to run after, running past Volcanos, but the monster starts causing chaos in the library. Meanwhile, Jack tries to get the last of the librarians out of the building.

Marv morphs and attacks Volcanos, but a book creature gets created in between the Red Ranger and the monster. Volcano then creates weird monsters from books and parts of the library. Marv attacks one of the library golems with a spinning claw strike, tearing through one of the them. Chloe then morphs to attack, but fails. Eddie morphs, and attacks, taking out some of the books. Jack morphs, attacking with his hammer, striking Volcanos directly. And lastly, Vesper morphs and attacks with her axe, however Volcanos creates another protective wall and more golems from the building contents in response.

Volcanos then sends the golems after the remaining librarians as the Rangers move to defend, using their new Ranger weapons to try and stop them. The Ranger start gaining the upper hand, and a frustrated monster rants about wanting to use Rita's magic clay, and tries to leave. Chloe cartwheels after the creature, kicking through the now closed doors, and sees the monster teleport before she can attack.

The Rangers regroup to try and determine their next course of actions, with Jack suggesting the Rangers find allies in 1994. Marv mentions perhaps trying to team up with Rita, since Scorpina is trying to steal from her, but Alpha and Jack suggest otherwise. The Rangers then go back to try and help clean up the library, and Marv reveals to Eddie he was once a Time Force Officer, Jack his partner, but was kicked off when Jack revealed his secret (a secret we weren't privy to, yet).

And the episode ends with the team working to clean up the library.

- Highlights -

Source: @regenesis0

* Jack starting the game with 50 energy.
* Eddie stumbling over his compliment to Vesper.
* "You just rolled a lot of dice!"
* Burritos.
* Magical dust.
* Alpha parts.
* Hugs.
* "Do not press it."

* Gonna need a montage!
* Everything rainbow.

* Skull Five.
* "GIVE ME A MINUTE!"
* Sprinkles everywhere.

* Poor attempt at double speak.
* Marv-splaining.
* Burrito looks.
* Girlfriend drama.
* "I am scary and very mad!"

* Pretty fly for a time guy.

* Marv bum rushing.

* "Screwy decimal system."
* Reading at a fundamental book club.

* Reading rainbow

- The Suspects -

Source: @AminArt90

So, this week we got a little more description of the big bad, and it sounded like he looked a lot like Don Armage from the Kyuranger sentai.

Of course, it could ultimately still be anyone under the robes and bandages, but based on the description of what was going on under the fist bandages the baddie was sporting, I'm still inclined to go with it being Zedd or Thrax for now. Especially with magic apparently being the baddie's jam. That said, any thing could have happened behind the scenes for any character to lead to this, and all we've seen could be a misdirection. There is nothing preventing the baddie from being a past Ranger who, in their time since being a Ranger, went through some serious stuff, resulting in their turning evil, for example.

- Wishful Thinking -

Source: @rangerriffs

 * David J. Fielding appearing as Zordon, by being a face on a computer interacting via Skype.

* Would love to see at least one instance of the Rangers (or the villain) creating a megazord from five completely unrelated zords pulled through time from five different seasons.

*  And finally, the last entry for this post...

CRISIS OF INFINITE HENDERSONS!

Source: @_Morphinominal_

From all across time, both allies and nuisances from the lives of various Ranger teams have been abducted. No one knows for sure why Flit, Boom, Norg, Phineas, and Mick have been stolen from their proper times, but stolen they've been. And now the Hyperforce Rangers must find them, save them, and get them all back home before time is forever altered. And it would be made all the more amazing if Kelson Henderson could actually be involved in some way.

Until next time, may the power protect you.

"What If?" Power Rangers: Legacy

"What If?"

Power Rangers: Legacy

A concept for a season to expand on the Power Ranger universe I came up with a while back on the Mighty Morphin Super Sentai Facebook page as part of a 30-Day Ranger Challenge. It's main, behind-the-scenes purpose would be to fill plot-holes, for which there are many in Power Rangers.

- Episode Count -

50 episodes, with three movie specials.
The 900 Year War (prequel movie)
Invasion Earth (movie roughly half way through the series)
End of Time (epilogue movie)

- The Synopsis -

When the offspring of two great evils emerges as a player in the galaxy, the forces of good begin to crumble under his power. The forces of evil continue to grow, becoming an even bigger threat once the power to corrupt the time stream is gained. A hero from the future sets out on a mission to gather heroes from various times, to ensure the time line occurs as it is supposed to, and put an end to the evil that plagues all of existence.

- The Rangers -

Quantum Ranger - Eric Myers
Solaris Knight - Daggeron
Green Samurai Ranger - Cam Watanabe
Magna Defender - Mike Corbett
Omega Ranger - Sam
Zeo Gold Ranger - Jason Lee Scott

- Team Info -

When the timeline begins to become corrupted, the Omega Ranger is sent on another mission into the past. He gathers his chosen Ranger team, with the Quantum Ranger serving as field leader while a modified Solar Streak Megazord (outfitted with a time-travel drive) becomes the mode of transportation for the team in their travels through time. Each ranger also has access to their own personal zords, brought with them on the Solar Streak Megazord by being stored in a pocket dimension storage device from the future the Omega Ranger installs.

- The Villain -

Birthed by mixing of the evil energy of Rita and Lord Zedd, Thrax came to be in a timeline one dimension over. After being exiled by the forces of good in his own universe, the end result of a war that raged on for hundreds of years, Thrax entered the Ranger Prime universe seconds after the Z-Wave dissipated. Even in a weakened state, his evil energy was so strong that it allowed evil to take a foot hold in the galaxy again (events detailed in the "The 900 Year War" special). Slowly his strength began returning, and Thrax set out to conquer a universe not his own. His plans kept him off Earth for a few years, arriving around 2001, the time of Time Force. By scanning their time ship he gained the ability to travel the time stream. Splitting his essence through time, Thrax began to alter the timeline at multiple points, creating a temporal storm due to the paradoxes he was unleashing. It was the detection of this storm, before their timeline could be altered, that alerted the SPD of the far future, sending the Omega Ranger on another mission through time.

- Notes -

* The series would have the Rangers travelling through time, through every past season and more, working with characters from each timeline to stop Thrax and his machinations.

* On each stop on the timeline, the Rangers face more than just Thrax, as he generates all sorts of minion and monsters for the Rangers to fight while working on his evil plans, as well as teaming up with past villains.

* This would address various continuity issues (such as the previously mentioned evil surviving the Z-Wave, why the Rangers couldn't keep their Zeo powers, how certain rangers still had [or regained] their powers for crossovers, the origin of Serpenterra and how it came to be on the moon for "Forever Red," etc). Basically, through the telling of a brand new story it would work to resolve as many continuity issues as it could.

* The "Invasion Earth" special would have the Rangers meeting a significantly younger-than-in-MMPR Zordon and his apprentice Gosei as they face off against the evil Space Witch Rita Repulsa during her invasion of Earth. It would also lead to the creation of Robo Knight, and the trapping of Zordon in a time warp and Rita and crew in a space dumpster.

* Thinking Thrax is defeated for good, the series ends with all the Rangers returning to their home times. Thrax survives, however, though severely weakened and lost in time. The series ends with Thrax discovering a great power source, the Corona Aurora, doing battle with Sentinel Knight, and getting trapped in a space dumpster.

* The "End of Time" epilogue movie would have the Ranger team reuniting one last time, taking place in the far, far future, days (so to speak) before time literally ends and the universe with it. After being physically destroyed in Operation Overdrive, the essence of Thrax survived, moving freely through time. Arriving at the end of everything, Thrax sets about a plan to restart the universe moments after it ends, a new universe created by pure evil. The Rangers must stop him one last time, and end his threat forever.


So, that's the rough run down for the season idea. What do you think?

Afterthoughts - Power Rangers Hyperforce: Episode 02

Power Rangers Hyperforce: Tuesdays at 6pm Pacific
Source: @Hyper_RPG

Afterthoughts:

Power Rangers Hyperforce - Episode 02

Episode 02 has come and gone, but before I get into the actual afterthought portion, let's talk about the basics of the game system. Power Rangers Hyperforce uses a d6 system developed by the show's game master, Malika Lim. The exact details haven't been released for general consumption, though word around the water cooler is if Saban sees there is enough demand for it, it may yet be released commercially. And while we haven't seen character sheets yet for stats and the like, the following is what I've gathered about the rest of the system

The system uses a scaled d6 mechanic:
Roll 1d6 when unmorphed.
Roll 2d6 when morphed.
Roll 3d6 when in your zord.
Use all 15d6 player die when in the megazord.

Pretty straight forward there. It seems when perfoming a task or action, the players have to roll over a preset difficulty, while when attacking, they roll against their opponents roll. Before rolling, players can then amp up their rolls or damage (or both) by using either Super (+2 roll), Mega (+2 damage), or Ultra (+1d6 to both roll AND damage) boosts. On the show, these boosts are earned through viewer donations. It is unclear if these boosts would be a normal part of the system in some form, or a mechanic specific to the live show.

There is a team mechanic the players can use, where all the players involved in the team action roll, and the assisting players add a +1 to the main acting character's roll. However, it seems to be an all or nothing mechanic as well, where if one of the players in a team action fails, they all fail. Players also get a +1 to a roll the first time they use a skill or ability they have.

The system makes use of cards to detail different equipment and abilities the characters have, which, again, the exact nature of the cards is unknown, but they appear to have general info on the equipment, in game mechanics for them, and their damage. There is also an energy mechanic involved, which is used for morphing (seems to be a 4 or 5 energy cost to morphing), possibly for some weapon usage, for summoning zords (we haven't seen the zords yet, but it seems likely), etc. The energy, it seems, is given out to players at the whim of the GM, based on the players roleplaying in character well.

If more significant information regarding the system is released, or the game itself gets an official release, I'll be sure to pass that info on.

Also, I'll be posting fan art between article sections. I'll be linking to the source, but if you see your art on here, and would like it removed, you can leave a comment here or send a private message to the Mighty Morphin Super Sentai Facebook page (I'll likely see the private FB message before the comment here).

Spoilers!

Source: @evilspacewhale

This time around, both the players and the GM seem much more comfortable with their roles, and everything flows even better than before. The characters are definitely unique, which says a lot for the creativity behind them, given they are coming after 25 years of other Rangers behind them. There also seemed to be a better grasp on the system by all parties, which also helped things flow even better. These things will likely continue to improve as the show goes on and everyone gains more experience in their roles. There were also a lot of great character moments, and a nice twist in what felt like a typical episode of Power Rangers with a monster of the week taking a sudden, very serious, turn at the end.

I can't say I'm fond of episodes ending earlier than planned, but that is because I want more. As a GM, I understand that sometimes things reach a point where you have to end it, because you can't go on for another few hours to resolve everything in one go as players may like. And sometimes, early or not, a good stopping point has to be grabbed when it shows up. I imagine this is especially true when running a game as scheduled content as part of an entertainment channel, and not just a group of friends meeting in their free time.

If you'd like a summary of the episode, keep reading. If not, you can skip down to the next section.

Episode 02 begins with the Rangers still messing about their time ship, and the team accidentally discovers their Hyper Blade Blaster Ranger weapons. After some time, they realize they never took off, and Alpha and Vesper launch the ship into the time stream. The team soon arrives in 1994 Angel Grove on Halloween night. The team teleports out of the ship, and get caught up and confused briefly by trick or treating, with Chloe learning she absolutely loves candy corn.

Eddie realizes they aren't doing a good job of blending in since they are wearing normal 90's clothes, not costumes, and asks Alpha to synthesize costumes for them. Alpha can't, but the Rangers just happen to have arrived near a Party City, and costume up after some awkward interaction with the past and briefly working as employees to clean up the costumed chaos that is the sales floor.

Marv then has Alpha scan for areas where the enemy time ship could have landed, but there are a lot of possible places. While looking about, the team ends up at the Angel Grove Youth Center and Gym and Juice Bar, where they spend some time doing gymnastics and drinking liquid fruit until a news broadcast shows the rogue time ship is in the park (and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers nowhere to be seen). The team makes a plan, and springs into action, which includes getting a lot of the general public to rush to the Youth Center and out of danger by making up a lie about a costume contest going on.

A lot of the crowd goes to Ernie's, and while they're planning how to take the ship, the team sees a group of 6 Putties attacking a civilian. The Rangers spring into action to save the citizen, but have some trouble stopping the Putties due to the fickle nature of dice rolls determining the outcome of events. Marv calls on his Hyper Blade Blaster to take out a Putty with a well placed shot. Meanwhile, Jack throws Chloe at one of the Putties, but she flies to high overhead and misses. The fight goes on, much longer than anyone would expect from a fight with the Putties, but hey, new Ranger team and all that.

And as the Rangers finish the Puttie fight, a candy corn-themed monster named Candius Cornicus comes out of the enemy time ship, and the Rangers morph for the first time. At this point, it is, as they say, on.

The fight is long and hard, with Candius Cornicus melting candy corn all over the Rangers. Eddie runs off to grab smoothies from the Youth Center to use to try and weaken the candy monster. Back on scene, the Rangers keep fighting the candy beast. Vesper literally takes a bite out of the monster, while Marv fails to maul their foe and gets a candy coating with a burning sensation. The fight continues, Chloe gouging out one of the monster's eyes as it does and the tasting the sugary eye juices.

Jack becomes a whirling dervish of fist and feet and horns, but misses their foe. Around this time, Eddie comes running in with the smoothies, and notices the door to the ship is opening as he tries to cover the monster in sugar-softening liquids. He slips and makes a mess of the juice, getting it all over himself and the monster. An electric blast comes out of the ship, destroying the monster and seriously hurting Eddie as it surges through liquid and hits them both.

The mysterious dark baddie from episode one emerges from the ship, the ship closing behind him as it fades away and takes off. The Rangers all use their Hyper Blade Blasters against the dark figure as he nonchalantly walks towards them, and all five hit their target. Their foe stands their ground and took the blast, seemingly not being phased at all. The foe then says they are the leader of the Alliance, and will continue with their evil mission all through time, and continue to grow their legacy.

Jack tries to use the Time Force badge's capture sequence to feeze the villain, but their foe simply raises their hand to counter it, and grabs the energy from the badge. Manipulating the energy, they pull Jack towards them, and counter with a major energy blast, seriously hurting Jack.

The Rangers run.

Alpha starts teleporting the Rangers, but as they teleport, Jack is blasted yet again by their foe. They arrive on their time ship, Jack on the verge of death. As they get Jack set up in the medbay, their time ship comes under attack from the Alliance, losing power. And as all the Rangers are knocked to the floor, end episode.

- Highlights -

Source: Leanne Hannah

* Samurai Jack
* Burrito Button & BurritNo
* "The 90's would do that"
* "They're roleplaying." "Ooooooh."
* "The currency is force." *cracks knuckles*
* Tubucal, radiclar, Reaganomic
* "He has some value to his face."
* "I do a jump."
* Stone Canyon
* "Between Spring Cove and Fall Cove."
* "That is not how you throw a punch, your thumb should be right here."
* Repartee & Reconnoitre
* Udderly possible & moo-velous
* "Oh no, just Chloe."
* Catball special
* "They're mimicking us, so they should be fighting badly."
* A morphing sequence cutscene for the Hyperforce Rangers
* Eye candy
* "The juice is loose."
* "I try to arrest him."
* "You ain't got no feet, dude."
* And did I mention, a ******* morphing sequence cutscene for the Hyperforce Rangers?

- The Suspects -

Source: @inuitakumi23

If we continue to assume the threat is a known character from Ranger history, with an emphasis on the big bad figure have a white electricity based attack, my mind immedeiately goes to this handsome gentleman.

Lord Zedd

Not only would this fit the energy description, Lord Zedd is a good choice for a character who would have a goal of being evil and evil being their goal. Sure, sure, last we saw he had turned human, but a lot can happen in a few thousand years. And really, if Rita could regain her magic, there is no reason to think Zedd couldn't come back into power of his own.

Of course, my previously mentioned idea of Thrax could potentially still be on the table, as he did have lightning powers, and mentioned trying to restore his parents evil legacy. Again, sure, he appeared to be destroyed, but, you know...

It could of course, be someone else entirely, or an entirely new villain. But until their identity is revealed, I'll keep taking what little tidbits we get and go all over the map with them.

- Wishful Thinking -

Source: @regenesis0

* Taking place some time after the events of Power Rangers in Space, the team runs into The Phantom Ranger, and learn that Phantom Ranger is none other than Billy Cranston, who developed the suit to survive off of Aquitar. Ideally with David Yost being a surprise guest star.

* A trip to the distant past, fighting along side Sentinel Knight, before he became a disembodied spirit.

* The Hyperforce Rangers playing a secret, but important, part in the Legendary Battle.


Story-wise, Power Rangers Hyperforce is already shaping up to be the sort of anniversary season most fans wished they'd have gotten from Super Megaforce, and it shows no sign of stopping. If you missed the live show, you can subscribe to the Hyper RPG Twitch channel and watch the episodes again pretty much immediately after airing. If you'd rather not subscribe (though you totally should, they've a lot of great content beyond Hyperforce), you can catch up the following week when they post the latest episode to Youtube.

In fact, if you haven't seen the first episode yet, or would just like to watch it again, I'll leave you with this:

Afterthoughts - Power Rangers Hyperforce: Episode 01

From Saban Brands and Hyper RPG

Afterthoughts:

Power Rangers Hyperforce - Episode 01

Premiering on October 24, 2017 on the Hyper RPG Twitch Channel, Power Rangers Hyperforce is a 25 episode, weekly, live, tabletop roleplaying game, and a joint venture between Saban Brands and Hyper RPG. Before we get to the point, here is some more information about the game.

Not sure what a tabletop roleplaying game is?

The short explanation, a game in which a group of people play the roles of characters in a world mostly controlled by another player (often called the Game Master), and together they weave a story.

A more complete detailed description can be found from Roll20.net;

"...a Tabletop RPG allows a gaming group much more creative freedom in where they go, who they meet and what they want to do. The barebones essence of a Tabletop RPG is collaborative storytelling. It’s a story co-authored by everyone sitting at the table while playing the game. You and your friends fit themselves into the shoes of a character in the story. The decisions made and the plot twists that occur reflect the characters everyone is pretending to be.There’s no invisible walls to block exploration, no limits to what your character looks like and there’s no programmed restrictions on your character's behavior.

The setting of the game can be familiar, like a favorite TV show, or something entirely alien and new. The only limitations are the rules of the game and the collective creativity of the people playing it."

And what is Hyperforce itself all about?

Set in the year 3016, 16 years after the events of Power Rangers Time Force, a new team of Time Force Cadets will be called upon to be Power Rangers to defeat an ancient evil threatening all of creation.

- The Cast -

 Peter Sudarso as Marv, the Red Ranger

 Andre Meadows as Eddie, the Blue Ranger

 Meghan Camarena as Chloe, the Pink Ranger

 Christina Vee as Vesper, the Black Ranger

Paul Shrier as Jack, the Yellow Ranger

In addition to Peter and Paul, who are both Power Rangers alumni (the Blue Ninja Steel Ranger and Bulk, from multiple seasons, respectively), there will be special guest stars from the show's history showing up as well.

As we move on, it should't have to be said, but I'll say it anyway.

Spoilers!

So, my initial thoughts?

In a word? Amazing.

From the opening scene in a Time Force Academy class room with Erin Cahill reprising her role of Time Force Pink Ranger Jen Scotts, it was obvious this would be great. Each of the cast members absolutely killed it, creating a team of very unique and varied personalities. Outside of Erin, Paul Schrier stole the show. From not only the actions he had his character perform, but also the way he worded everything both in and out of character. When he was talking, the viewers got a real treat.

The story itself is off to a solid start as well. The threat, currently known only as "The Alliance," appears to be a danger rising from within the ranks of the Time Force agency itself. They claim infinite numbers, because time is infinite. And they are quick to tell you their goal is evil, and evil is their goal. Is this the rebirth of the United Alliance of Evil? They appear to be lead by a terribly mysterious cloaked figure who is first seen by the future Ranger team hurling energy blasts as the Pink Time Force Ranger.

In the end, the team saves Jen, the mysterious baddie flees into the time stream, Jen gives the Rangers a time ship and their morphers, and the ship's android follows the mysterious baddie back through to time... the year 1994.

A dark conspiracy from within a government agency?
A mystery figure shrouded in darkness?
1994?

That can only mean one thing for episode 02...

The Rangers want to believe.

- Highlights -

* DOUBLE HAMMER FIST!

* Marv putting his hand to his ear, yelling, "PROFESSOR SCOTTS," despite not having a comm-unit.

* Everything involving Erin Cahill. It was great seeing Jen Scotts back in action.

* Vesper rising to the situation despite her slacker beginning.

* Eddie's impersonation of the dean.

* "There is also a very robust construction industry."

* "Ay yi yi yi yi."

- The Suspects -

We don't have much of anything to go on for who the Alliance leader could be, though if we assume the original press release was truthful, and the ultimate threat is an ancient evil, here are some possible suspects (regardless of how unlikely) if the villain is a pre-existing character. I am looking at possibilities outside of totally possible choices of it being a fan-favorite like Lord Zedd or Rita returned.

Thrax

The time of Thrax's birth is somewhat of a potential plothole in the Power Rangers universe, but the son of Rita and Lord Zedd would have to be ancient to have been trapped by the Sentinel Knight when SK still had a physical body. After his only appearance in the series, Thrax was believed destroyed, but hey, this is Power Rangers. Evil can always return. And Thrax is a villain so under developed that Hyperforce could use him pretty much however they wanted with risking contradictions to established lore or personality.

Ivan Ooze

With absolutely no continuity ties to the Power Rangers TV franchise, this ancient foe of Zordon would be a great choice as the leader of the Alliance. What better way to bring a fan-favorite PR villain crashing into continuity with the TV series?

Another of these guys

Nothing says the cloaked baddies is THE big bad. Perhaps they are just a lackey, and another member of the Dark Spectre and Maligore's race is awake, trying to assert domination of existence as the big bad.

Queen Bansheera

Sure, sure, Queen Bansheera appeared to be taken care of, but ultimately she was dragged back to the demon world. Maybe she was destroyed, or maybe the demon queen simply gave the other demons a reminder of why she was, in fact, called Queen. And in a thousand years, maybe she found her way back out.

If we play a little loose with the definition of ancient, and just go with old (over a thousand years old, say), one other threat comes to mind.

Venjix

Venjix was never defeated by the RPM Rangers, and we know crossover between the primary Ranger dimension and the RPM dimension is possible, as both RPM Red and the Super Megaforce Rangers have crossover before. In fact, RPM Red crossing over would have been the perfect time for Venjix to hop worlds, since he was last seen hiding in a morpher. It would be nothing for him to stay hidden, plotting and planning, until technology reached a level in which his ultimate plans could be enacted.

Now, if the hooded figure is a lackey, and not the big bad, and is directly relevant to the Time Force story, I'd say Alex going rogue seems like a real possibility. Or much less likely, but would be highly entertaining, maybe Circuit, tired of being unappreciated, especially after Time Force moved on to a different style of android, got a killer upgrade.

- Wishful Thinking -

* Jason Narvy guest starring as Skull, and we either have Jack captured and Paul plays Bulk to Narvy's Skull for a episode, or we learn Jack in a descendent of Bulk's, and the Rangers keep having to save Skull who keeps getting himself in trouble trying to prove Jack is really a brainwashed Bulk.

* Yoshi Sudarso guest starring as Koda, if only to see Peter and Yoshi together as Rangers.

* Not only the inclusion of Thrax in some part of the story, but an explanation for how he is the child of Zedd and Rita and be as old as he would be to be trapped by the Sentinel Knight as he had been.

* The entire Time Force Ranger cast returning for a major crossover with the new Hyperforce Rangers.

* Ransik joining the Rangers for an adventure, showing them the power of redemption in action to turn a dangerous villain into a big damn hero.


If you're a Power Ranger fan, and haven't checked out Hyperforce yet, and you aren't subscribed to Hyper RPG's channel, episodes will be uploaded to their Youtube channel a week after airing. I highly suggest if you give Power Rangers Hyperforce a watch, great things are happening on it.

The Mythos - Power Rangers (2017)

The Mythos -

Power Rangers (2017)

     This new heading, "The Mythos," is one concocted to take a look at some of the prevailing background and lore of a movie, season, or series in general. This first entry of the 'Mythos" segment will focus on the new Lionsgate movie, "Power Rangers."

     For those who may not be in the know, this film an a modern re-imagining of the original "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" series, a series in which the evil space witch Rita Repulsa is freed from her space dumpster prison, resulting in the alien wizard Zordon recruiting a team of teenagers to save the world. Armed with an array of sci-fi weaponry and a changing roster of giant mecha known as zords, these teenagers became the Power Rangers. And while the show is currently on its 24th season, "Power Rangers Ninja Steel," the "Mighty Morphin" descriptor was only carried for the first three seasons. Those three seasons, however, were composed of 145 episodes (the franchise as a whole is up to 831 episodes and two films, not counting "Ninja Steel" or the new movie).

     Given the high episode count, there are a lot of ideas and backstory to the Power Rangers mythos, some of them better developed than others, a lot of it only getting mentioned in the season it is introduced. The franchise as a whole is, it seems, focused more on being a 22 minute toy commercial rather than the interconnected sci-fi franchise with deep continuity and imaginative lore that it could be... even with the spandex and rubber monster suits. One of the potential perks of the new movie branch of the franchise is the chance to pick and choose from 24 seasons (and two movies) of mythos to play with and develop. This first movie gives some shining examples of how the writers are not afraid to develop and rework some of those ideas.

     And I feel it succeeds in those re-imagined concepts, and would like to talk about some of them. So, from this point on, there will be...

Mighty Morphin Super Sentai

   

Welcome to the Mighty Morphin Super Sentai blog.

What is Mighty Morphin Super Sentai?

It is a Facebook fan page for all things Power Rangers, Super Sentai, and tokusatsu in general. The purpose of this blog is to allow for better archiving of our, the MMSS admins, thoughts and musings regarding the above topics.

This particular blog has always been the blog of one of the MMSS admins (admin Dr. K), however, it is being transitioned into the official MMSS blog. This is why you may see some posts dated well before this introductory post.

We are still getting things sorted here, but hopefully we'll get things going full bore soon.

Thank you for your patience.

-Mighty Morphin Super Sentai Admin Team