Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Season 3, Episode 4: Ninja Quest, Part I

When we last left off with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the team had travelled to Edenoi to save the planet from Count Dregon.  They then hurried back to Earth to protect it from Lord Zedd’s newest attack.  Dex, The Masked Rider, was then sent from Edenoi to Earth to protect it from Count Dregon, who had found a new target.  It was a three episode story of changes that wouldn’t matter to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers whatsoever.  Dex would never be on the show again, and the Power Rangers would never be on his.  That’s just how it went.  Things moved on.

We’re now getting into the main section of season 3.  This is where the real beginning will be.  The Power Rangers are about to go into a transitional period where they get new powers to help defend against an even stronger foe than they’re used to.  Rito Revolto will be introduced.  The ninja powers will be introduced.  Change will come in the next four episodes.  This is where it begins.

Season 3, Episode 4: Ninja Quest, Part I

There’s a new hangout in town.  Ernie opened an outdoor area for people to hang out as his juice bar.  In honor of this momentous occasion, a volleyball match was held between Angel Grove and Stone Canyon, with Adam, Rocky, and Aisha going up against their old schoolmates.  Angel Grove won.

At the outdoor juice bar, Bulk and Skull announced something.  They had overheard two girls (possibly the ones from A Friend in Need?) saying that they liked men in uniform.  Bulk let everyone know that he and Skull were joining the Junior Police Patrol.

There was also reason to celebrate on the moon.  Rito Revolto showed up and began helping his sister, Rita, and brother-in-law, Lord Zedd.  He planted some eggs on the moon, and then hatched up a plan to trap the Power Rangers.

Rito Revolto went to Earth with four monsters.  He worked as a decoy to bring out the Power Rangers.  He grew in size and battled their Megazords.  As he was about to be defeated, the four other monsters grew.  They worked together and overpowered the Megazords.  The Power Rangers were defeated.  A surge of power destroyed the Zords and took away their powers.

There was only one big fight in the episode as the Power Rangers tried to defeat Rito.  It was a mixture of footage from three different Sentai series as well as some original footage to show the different series’ characters in the same location.  The editing was fairly good, minus some shots being reused within the fight.  It never felt like the footage was from different seasons.  It seamlessly flowed from one thing to another without seeming out of place.  The editors always did a good job.  The end of the fight was as dark as the end could get.  The Power Rangers were powerless.  Their Zords were destroyed.  Evil had won.

This was a big step forward for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  After opening the season with a three episode backdoor pilot for The Masked Rider, they got right down to business.  They immediately began throwing changes into the series, altering what it would be.  The characters would be changed forever.  Their lives as Power Rangers would never be the same.  That was the power of Ninja Quest.

The biggest change in the first part of Ninja Quest was the addition of Rito Revolto to the moon base.  He was Rita Repulsa’s long lost brother who had returned to help his sister conquer Earth with Lord Zedd.  He brought eggs that would hatch into something diabolical to help with the new plans.  He led a team of monsters to defeat the Power Rangers and destroy their Zords.  He was a formidable foe who would change the series as the third season moved forward.  Goldar found Rito to be his own foil as well, growing jealous of the attention that Rito got.  Rito was able to defeat the Power Rangers in his first outing, while Goldar was continuously losing.  This dynamic might lead to some interesting things in the future.

One of the ways that Rito Revolto changed the series was to destroy the Thunderzords and take away the powers of the Rangers.  When Lord Zedd came into the show at the beginning of season 2, the Power Rangers had their original powers upgraded with the Thunder Powers.  Now those powers were taken away completely, due to the loss against Rito Revolto, and the teenagers were powerless.  They would go on a quest to find Ninjor and get the Ninja Powers.  It would mark the end of the original suits (though not really), original powers, thunder powers, and the Zords that viewers had come to know and love.  The show was overturned and the Power Rangers would be different from this point forward.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers had transitioned between each season and during both seasons 2 and 3.  Season 2 brought about the Thunder Powers and The Power Transfer.  Season 3 would basically match that with Ninja Quest having the characters find their Ninja Powers and Kimberly leaving partway through the season.  We’re not at that Kimberly point yet, though.  For now, we’re working our way to the Ninja Powers.  There are three more episodes in this story, and soon, I’ll be back with a post about Part 2.  See you then.