The Latest Green Ranger is Following Lord Drakkon’s Dark Path – And It Could Kill Him

The latest Green Ranger in Power Rangers comics has just started down a dark path that could make him the next Lord Drakkon - or worse.

When Rita Repulsa returned to the spotlight in her new form as Mistress Vile, it was perfectly clear that things were going to get worse before they ever got better. Unfortunately, "worse" just so happened to include the capture and corruption of the latest Green Ranger, Matthew Cook. Not only did Matthew prove to be a formidable opponent even when up against multiple members of the Mighty Morphin team, he has seemingly returned to Mistress Vile's side despite her hold over him being broken, and this all might be the beginning of the rise of the next Lord Drakkon.

As the eponymous heroes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110 (by Melissa Flores, Simona Di Gianfelice, Raúl Angulo, Jose Enrique Fernández, and Ed Dukeshire) attempt to regroup and figure out where Mistress Vile has gone next in her pursuit of unleashing Dark Specter upon the universe, their friend and ally Matthew Cook is nowhere to be seen. At least, that is the case as far as the Rangers are concerned, as Matt ran from them only shortly after having the spell that compelled the new Green Ranger to follow Mistress Vile's orders was broken. Once freed, Matt wastes no time in catching back up with the Space Witch who turned him into her pawn, though not for any payback. Instead, Matt returns to Mistress Vile's side and continues carrying out her bidding in what is an eerie retreading of the origin of the most famous evil Power Ranger of all time.

Who Is Matthew Cook - And How Did He Become the Latest Evil Green Ranger?

When Matthew Cook first appeared back in 2017's Go Go Power Rangers #1 by Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora, he was the then boyfriend of Kimberly Ann Hart and a close friend to most of the series' eponymous heroes. Despite not being a Ranger for himself, Matt looked up to the heroes and sought to emulate them as best he could. This drove him to fight back against the forces of Rita Repulsa even without any powers of his own, as well as to escape her grasp the first time he was captured by the villain. Although he managed to survive being subjected to near constant torture and torment at Rita's hands, the experience left Matt deeply traumatized.

Making matters worse, Matt eventually deduced that it was his friends who were the Rangers all along, and when they couldn't be honest with him about that fact, he took it as a personal slight that saw him effectively disown them. Of course, this too would be smoothed over with time, especially once Matt was given the opportunity to be a Ranger for himself. At the behest of Billy Cranston, Grace Sterling reached out to Matt to become Promethea's very own Green Ranger. In the months that followed, Matt proved himself to be as capable as any of his predecessors if not more so. And, while this made him a force to be reckoned with when fighting alongside the Mighty Morphin team, it has also made him one of their most formidable foes to date.

Matthew Cook's Green Ranger Journey is Following Lord Drakkon's

Much like Tommy Oliver before him, being struck by Mistress Vile's spell transformed Matt into an unstoppable villain in his own right as the most recent Power Ranger to go "green with evil." It isn't the Tommy fans know best whose story Matt's life is beginning to parallel in truly unsettling ways, however, but the Tommy better known as Lord Drakkon. Since his introduction in 2016's Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #9 (by Kyle Higgins, Steve Orlando, Hendry Prasetya, and Corin Howell), Drakkon has stood as the most iconic character to emerge from BOOM! Studios' Power Rangers Universe, not to mention the most lethal villain they had encountered at the time. Similar to his primary counterpart, he had been bewitched by Rita and freed by the other Rangers, yet instead of becoming a hero, this Tommy returned to Rita without hesitation only to usurp her place in murderous fashion once she was no longer absolutely necessary to his plans.

In killing Rita, Lord Drakkon cleared the way for his own reign to begin, once which was far from confined to the bounds of his own world. Before long, Drakkon had extended his reach throughout the Multiverse by rendering it asunder and remaking reality in his own image. With that, Drakkon cemented his place not just in the comics, but in the wider Power Rangers mythos as a whole. Thankfully, the damage he had done was largely repaired with Drakkon's defeat, yet that hasn't kept him from continuing to play a key role in the years that followed. Even better, Drakkon has seemingly begun to shed his overtly villainous persona, although no matter how much hope that gives for his future, it does nothing for Matthew Cook's current circumstances. If anything, it points toward this being just the beginning of the darkest chapter of Matt's life to date. That is, assuming he really is working for Mistress Vile and not just playing the part.

Has Matthew Cook Really Become Mistress Vile's Evil Green Ranger?

Considering how deeply Matthew's desire to do the right thing runs and how far he has gone in his efforts to protect those who can't protect themselves, it is hard to imagine this isn't all part of some ploy to stab Mistress Vile in the back. He certainly knows what she expects of him at this point, making it easy enough to slide back into her good graces without question. As such, it may only be a matter of time before Matt makes his move and brings Mistress Vile down for good. On the other hand, if he were going to do that, he probably would have before Mistress Vile's plan to bring Dark Specter into their universe came to fruition.

Based on that alone, it really does look like Matthew Cook has chosen the side of evil in the battle at hand. There is always some small chance that he is still biding his time, but after everything that has happened, that just doesn't seem likely. With any luck, someone will get through to Matt before it is too late for him to step back over the lines he has already crossed. If not, the Power Rangers might very well be facing down the next Lord Drakkon without any hope of stopping him.