Giving MMPR the Ultimate Marvel treatment!

[DigificWriter]

Hi. I just had an idea. I don't know how many of you are familiar with Marvel's Ultimate Project, but, if you're not, let me explain what it is: with the Ultimate Project, Marvel is taking some of its more popular characters and re-interpreting them for a new generation, giving the characters, origins, and stories a 21st Century touch. I have decided to do a similar thing with Power Rangers. For the next week, I will be accepting suggestions from people on this board about what changes they feel should or could be made to update the original 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers' for the 21st Century.

Please try to keep your suggestions realistic, and please try to be civil.

[RangerFan]

Not to put your hopes down or anything, but...

Ryuranger has been doing this for a few years now and is still doing this. It's called "Ultimate Power Rangers". Definitly check out.

So simply put: it's been done (and done very well).

[Sparky Ranger]

Originally posted by RangerFan
Not to put your hopes down or anything, but...

Ryuranger has been doing this for a few years now and is still doing this. It's called "Ultimate Power Rangers". Definitly check out.

So simply put: it's been done (and done very well). True enough, that said don't be afraid to try it anyway.

[ShadowRanger]

Yeah that's true, a lot of things have been done. (insert show book or comic)/MMPR crossovers have been done, fanfictions placing ranger against ranger in tounaments have been done, teamups of all the (pick a colour) rangers since day one has been done and forever red continuatiosn have been done. Alternate Universe fics have been done, fics set about the offspring of rangers in the year xxxx have been done, fics that take jetman and call it something else have been done, Zedd/Rita/Goldar having sex with (insert name of Ranger) have been done. That certainly doesn't stop people from trying it.

So while it's nothing new and Ryu has done a great job with Ulitmate PR, there is no reason for someone else not to have a stab at it.

[DigificWriter]

I knew about the 'Ultimate Power Rangers' series, but this idea is slightly different in that it does nothing whatsoever to change PR except to update it and its various incarnations. From what I have seen from the UPR idea, there are certain things about each incarnation of the existing PR that are altered. I'm not looking to alter, but to update. IOW, everything that happened in each series will happen, albeit in a way that is consistent with the world we currently live in. Another difference is that I'm looking to actively involve other fans in the creation process.

[Mythical Master]

What he is really saying is MMPR will be set in 2003 not 1993.

[DigificWriter]

Originally posted by Mythical Master
What he is really saying is MMPR will be set in 2003 not 1993.

It's a little more complicated than that, but that's part of the general idea. I want to slightly re-invent the characters as well, updating them so that they seem real and that the events of MMPR seem plausible (or as plausible as you can get when you're dealing with Sci-F/Fantasy).

[RangerFan]

Well it sounds interesting and if it's going to be different from UPR, then I say go for it!

[Samurai Ranger]

I'm familiar with Ultimate Marvel. I have Ultimate X-Men Issue #1, heh, Wolverine working for Magneto, that's funny. Anyways.....If you got something different from Ultimate Power Rangers, I say, go for it!

[DigificWriter]

Doesn't anyone have any suggestions for me on possible ways to update MMPR?

[Techni]

I believe there was a thread about this in the General Discussion forum back a few months ago. If you were to go and search for that, it might give you some ideas.

EDIT: Here's the link--> Ultimate Power Rangers (http://www.rangerboard.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23143&highlight=Ultimate)

[DigificWriter]

Wow. Thanks for the link.

[PRangerX]

I was thinking abiout doing something similar mmpr 2004 but I plan on changing a lot of things.

[TheOneRJS200]

I've followed the Ultimate Spider-Man comics a little bit. And based on that Ultimates thread, it sounds like it was on the right track, but kind of swerved a bit.

With the exception of making the Command Center a pathway between dimensions, and having Rita wear tight leather (personally, I prefer classic Rita), I like the idea of developing the personalities of the Rangers more. It seemed like Titanium had the right idea in that aspect.

I just get a little touchy when people start talking about changing storylines. What's all this about Angel Grove being destroyed? I mean, despite being given this makeover, MMPR is essentially the same story, but updated to fit into 2003.

Although, the thing about the success of the "Ultimate" genre, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man, was that most of these characters were 30-40 years old. Spider-Man had been around since the 1960s. Thus, Peter Parker in 1960-something, and Peter Parker in 2003, are very different people.

Now, place that same magnifying glass on the original MMPRs, where you only have a ten year difference. What sort of updates can you make?

I can see the whole school shooting thing, terrorism, the racier clothes that high school kids wear these days, gays, these are all issues that have changed since 1993.

But you have to wonder, how much of the development that you give the characters is "updating", and how much of it is just taking a character from a 22 minute kids show, and giving it some more depth? In the case of the latter, that can be done in just any regular fanfic. And thus, the whole "ultimate" treatment is kind of worthless.

Personally, I like to keep the Rangers in their respective years. For example, in my current Lightspeed story that's coming along at the speed of a snail lol, the story takes place in 2000, NOT 2003. Thus, the music, the television, the entire environment, is different from the environment that say, the Dino Thunder Rangers will exist in. In fact, that was one of the appeals of the MMPR/PRTF team up.

But in any event, I'm interested in this project, and I'd like to see how it turns out. If it's anything like Ultimate Spider-man, then it'll definetly worth a read!

[ShadowRanger]

The question I had been wondering about: how much would the characters need updating to be realistic to today's world. The thing in my mind that changes the most between x-comic and ultimate version of x-comic is the way they can tell a story. There were some things in the ultimate series that the original comic writers wouldn't touch on.

For example: the ultimate version of Captain America is a man from the 40's adapting to the modern world. They couldn't show it when the original comics were done, but Cap is a product of that age. His has been raised with a viewpoint about women and I would assume other races that shows through in the modern day. Reading Cap trying to deal with Wasp is damn funny. And the character is easier to sympathise with because he has these flaws.

But I don't think the children's tv medium has changed that much in 10 years. I think they still have the same limitations as they had in 1993.

[legacyranger]

would there bee some sex between the characters and with whom. but it sounds pretty awesome go for it.

[DigificWriter]

Thanks to a very creative friend, I finally settled on the idea of taking an approach similar to the one done with Ultimate X-Men (in which almost all of the characters were given new personalities and character traits while still retaining some of their original traits and personalities). I also settled on the idea of giving PR an 'Ultimized' look by transforming it from a children's series into a series intended more for teenagers and young adults, with a feel, style, and structure similar to Season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. What follows is the backstory that my friend and I created for my 'ultimized' version of PR (Please note that I did borrow some ideas which were presented in both this thread and the Ultimate Power Rangers thread that was linked to from this thread, and that I give the creators of said ideas credit for inspiring me):

10,000 years ago, a great intergalactic war is fought between the forces of good and evil. The good army is led by a great Eltarian wizard/warrior/scientist named Zordon; the forces of evil are led by the sorcerer Zedd and sorceress Rita. The war lasts a long time and spans most of the known universe.

Finally, after many victories and defeats for both sides, including one in which Zedd was believed to have been destroyed, Rita and Zordon's armies meet for the last time. Led by five warriors known as Power Rangers, Zordon's army hands Rita's army its final defeat, and Rita surrenders, offering to swear fealty to Zordon. However, she tricks him and uses her magics to nearly kill him.

Believing Zordon to be dead, Rita and her minions celebrate. However, her victory is not quite as complete as she believes, for Zordon uses the remainder of his strength to cast a spell that traps her and her minions within the confines of a metal stasis pod.

With Zordon near death, his Power Rangers take him to the planet of Edenoi to enlist the help of a scientist named Lexion. To save Zordon's life, Lexion implants the wise sage's consciousness into the mind of a sentient hologram.

When Zordon learns that Rita's stasis pod has mysteriously crashed on Earth’s moon, he arranges for his transportation to Earth, from where he can better monitor the condition of the stasis pod to ensure that Rita and her soldiers are never released. To aid and assist him, Lexion presents him with a sentient robot named Alpha 5.

10,000 years later, the stasis pod, which was imbedded in a crater upon crashing on the moon, is uncovered and opened by an alien bounty hunter named Scorpina. When Zordon discovers that the pod has been found and opened, he takes immediate action to ensure Earth’s safety, choosing five teenagers and giving them the power to protect Earth as the Power Rangers.

[TheOneRJS200]

Originally posted by legacyranger
would there bee some sex between the characters and with whom. but it sounds pretty awesome go for it.

Pervert.

I'll tell ya kid, not to sound snobby or upbeat, but it takes a lot to impress me. And this outlook impresses me.

I especially like the idea of Scorpina being a mercenary, as opposed to just another servant of Rita's. That could definetly make for some interesting storylines along the way, as far as her relationship with Goldar, the Rangers, and Rita. Kudos to whoever came up with that one.

[DigificWriter]

Originally posted by TheOneRJS200
I'll tell ya kid, not to sound snobby or upbeat, but it takes a lot to impress me. And this outlook impresses me.

I especially like the idea of Scorpina being a mercenary, as opposed to just another servant of Rita's. That could definetly make for some interesting storylines along the way, as far as her relationship with Goldar, the Rangers, and Rita. Kudos to whoever came up with that one.

Thanks for the positive comments about my backstory. The 'Scorpina as a mercenary' idea wasn't an original idea of mine, but I felt that it fit with my 'ultimized' version of the PR backstory and was a great way to explain how Rita and her soldiers escaped, and so I included it.

P.S.: As soon as I get them completed, I'll post Ranger profiles.