My mind is reeling. The latest issue of Go Go Power Rangers from BOOM! Studios came out this week and has delivered what might be the greatest Power Rangers retcon of all time. Even bigger than the Omega Rangers reveal from a couple of months ago. This is a perfect retcon. This is “Sinestro Corps” levels of perfection in that this retcon makes perfect sense and fits seamlessly into existing continuity.

And it involves a second Dragonzord that was right under our noses the entire time!

Honestly, toy shots are the best Power Rangers pics on the web

If you don’t want to be spoiled about the latest development — and it is so good to have Power Rangers comics back! — here is your chance to stop reading. But if you want to have your mind blown just as wildly as my own, click on!

Are you ready for this?

Serpentera was a second generation Dragonzord. Complete with its own Dragon Dagger.

Don’t pretend you don’t remember Serpentera

Allow me to explain.

In the last issue of Go Go Power Rangers before the lockdown, Goldar led a team of villains into Promethea, the human science lab/community run by former Power Rangers Grace Sterling. Lord Zedd tasked them with retrieving an important object. At the end of the issue, we saw that the object was a green dagger.

That blade has got some stank on it

Obviously, this wasn’t the dagger we’re already familiar with. The green dagger that we already know and love was the dagger/flute combo used by the Green Ranger to summon the mighty Dragonzord.

So what is this new green dagger? The bad guys don’t seem to recognize it. But Lord Zedd wants it. This all sets up a pretty good mystery. Of course, the mystery was supposed to be answered in the next issue, but the global pandemic pushed that next issue off two months.

Until this week. In Go Go Power Rangers #31, we see the bad guys fail to hold on to the green dagger. They are forced to retreat to Zedd’s palace on the moon, where he berates them for their failure. But even still, Zedd says his plans are moving forward, and Serpentera is almost complete. And for the first time in Power Rangers history, we see the construction of this mighty, evil Zord.

Built by Putties!

And that’s where the pieces fell into place for me. I can’t believe it took me this long to realize.

Serpentera is a dragon Zord. Serpentera is a green dragon Zord.

Serpentera is the second generation of the original Dragonzord. The comics have now made it so, and given the mighty beast its own Dragon Dagger to complete the set up.

It makes perfect sense!

It helps that we know very little about the origins of the Zords and why the Green Power Ranger was unique compared to the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. When the Green Ranger first appeared, he came with his own Zord and a special flute weapon that he used to summon and control the Dragonzord. The regular Power Rangers just summoned their Zords at will and then sat inside to pilot them.

Why was the Dragonzord different? Where did it even come from? Why was the Green Ranger different? Why did that mantle have such a unique Zord?

This kid gets it

The comics have delved a bit deeper into the origins of the Green Ranger, but its true origin has not yet been revealed. All we know is what we saw in the show. Tommy Oliver had the power, he had the Dragonzord, and then one day the bad guys took that power away. And the Dragonzord, per show canon, simply went back to sleep on the bottom of the ocean. At least that’s what the Power Rangers Wiki says.

But the show moved on. The Power Rangers got new Zords, the Thunder Zords, and Tommy eventually became the White Ranger, with his own White Tiger Zord. We all just moved on to new stuff.

Then the villainous Lord Zedd showed up with Serpentera. He revealed his own massive dragon of a Zord. And it was big and mighty — though he didn’t use it very much.

Something about it never having enough power to do anything, if my memory serves

The show never revealed where Serpentera came from. How long had Zedd had this big dragon Zord? Was it always his flagship? Or did he just build it in response to the Power Rangers’ Zords? 

Serpentera made very few appearances in the show, and was eventually destroyed several seasons deep in one of those special crossover episodes. And that was that. We all just moved on to new stuff.

But the Power Rangers comics from BOOM! are exploring the nooks and crannies of those Mighty Morphin Thunder days. And now they have delivered my absolute favorite recton to those nooks and crannies.

Wherever Dragonzords come from, wherever they get their power, it wasn’t just a one-off.

There was a second Dragonzord. And it was right under our noses the entire time.

Oh, also, I’m just realizing this now that I proofread this article…but what if Zedd didn’t use Serpentera much, and what if it didn’t work all the time, because Zedd didn’t get his hands on the new Dragon Dagger? Maybe Serpentera wasn’t complete without the dagger and that’s why it only showed up for a couple of episodes, and was always low on power! Oh man, this retcon just keeps getting better and better!

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