Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Ranger Slayer

Release Date: June 2020

RRP: $19.99/£19.99

While the Power Rangers Lightning Collection might have over 25 years' worth of television content to draw from, in the last few years the Boom! Studios comic universe has also developed quite the repertoire of original characters. Hasbro quickly showed an interest with the release of Lord Drakkon in wave three, but given Tommy's popularity (not to mention the need to truly stick it to Bandai of America) that seemed a given. It was where the line went next in regards to the comics that was really going to show how dedicated Hasbro are, and collectors didn't have too long to wait for the release of the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ranger Slayer in wave five. Another denizen of the World of the Coinless introduced in Shattered Grid, the Ranger Slayer is an alternate version of Pink Ranger Kimberly Hart – brainwashed to serve as Drakkon's enforcer. After breaking free of Drakkon's control, the Ranger Slayer has since gone on to lead a ground of time-displaced Rangers in Beyond the Grid, as well as most recently returning to her home dimension in an attempt to finally restore peace.

Ranger Slayer's packaging features the ever wonderful character art of Tom Whalen, with her pink and black colour scheme working beautifully against the glossy white backgrounds the retail release Lightning Collection figures have. Like Drakkon the box simply uses "Mighty Morphin" along with the series logo, making no reference to them being comic-specific characters. Makes sense when it comes to keeping it simple, but makes me wonder if more tangential things like the Omega Rangers will be treated the same way if they're ever produced. As usual the back features a single CGI render of the figure, which looks pretty much dead-on to the actual figure for once. It's one of the rare times Hasbro haven't been able to get all the weapons into the render though, since Ranger Slayer comes with interchangeable arrow parts. Inside the figure and accessories are stored on a moulded plastic tray, with the cape threaded through a hole in the back. Rather than attempt to pull the cape through from the front, it's much easier to detach it the figure and then pull it out from the back (same goes for putting the figure back in the box as well).

Women in the Lightning Collection are sadly few and far between at this current point in time (only three figures in five waves is pretty poor show Hasbro), and having skipped both the Pink and Yellow MMPR Rangers (no need to double dip when I have the Figuarts), this is my first experience with the female body. As you'd expect the Ranger Slayer is a reworking of the MMPR Pink figure, but it's a much heavier one than many people will give it credit for. In fact most of the details of this figure are COMPLETELY different to the original suit, replacing the smooth spandex for a skirt-less armoured look. The belt now sits around the hips at an angle, and the right arm features raised patterning omitted from the left. Even the helmet is different, extending the raised pterodactyl head further back and as well as adding further raised areas on either side. Then of course there's also the cape (with built-in shoulder pad), realised here in soft plastic. So there's a lot more going on with Ranger Slayer than just a simple palette swap to pink and black. That colour scheme alone is enough to make a really attractive figure but there's some really nice detailing on this figure as well, especially little touches like the dents and scratches on the armour pads. As previously mentioned the cape is a soft plastic, which is to be expected since that's the precedent the line previously set for them with Magna Defender. Not to mention that it'd be difficult to convey the holes and torn feel of it on soft goods without making something that could genuinely rip more. The cape simply clips around the neck of the figure, so can be removed very easily if need be. While it can't be posed, the windswept look makes it look suitably dramatic regardless. It's a striking design that made a lot of impact when it debuted in the comics (and the fact she's outlasted Drakkon is a testament to her popularity), and the figure certainly doesn't disappoint in the looks department.

While this might be my first hands-on experience with the female Lightning Collection body I was already aware of some of its shortcomings – most notably that the figures often suffer from bow legs, the lack of a bicep swivel and that the elbows are a single hinge rather than the double joint that the male body has. While the Ranger Slayer doesn't seem to suffer from the first point, the latter two are definitely an annoyance when there's no real reason Hasbro have done it. The smaller body type might feel a bit less sturdy than the male one (which is another problem in itself), but then in that case Hasbro should have come up with articulation that works across the board rather than short-changing the characters they were already short-changing. Other than that the articulation is fairly identical across the board, and altogether she has; 

- A ball jointed head, torso and hips 
- Swivel hinge neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles 
- Butterfly joint shoulders/pecs 
- Hinged ab crunch 
- Double jointed knees 
- Thigh swivels 
The cape does get in the way somewhat, especially in regards to the shoulder pad-covered right arm, but overall the figure's reasonably good at holding poses without significant balance issues.

Ranger Slayer's accessories include an additional pair of hands (giving her a pair of weapon holding hands, a closed fist left hand and knifehand pose right hand), a black Blade Blaster in its folded/holstered form, the Bow of Darkness, three arrows moulded into one piece and an additional effect piece arrow moulded in translucent pink plastic. While the hands included are a fairly basic assortment (and the fact they're also black severely limits any cross-compatibility with other figures), there's a fair bit to talk about here in regards to the other pieces. The Blade Blaster is a particularly interesting inclusion, not just because it's black (as opposed to the standard Rangers' red) but also because it's the holstered version – something previously only included with the convention exclusive Armoured Red Ranger figure. Since the weapon isn't something you'd immediately associate with the Ranger Slayer, keeping it to a sidearm makes sense and since the tooling is already there why not use it. Meanwhile the Bow of Darkness is a much more interesting weapon, and as the name suggests based on the Sword of Darkness Rita once used to control Tommy as the Green Ranger. The bow is moulded in basic grey/silver plastic with painted gemstones and handle. While there isn't any issue with the bow itself being mostly unpainted, the little paint it does have is of EXTREMELY poor quality – 75% of the black on the handle rubbed off on mine simply by being held by the figure. It really put a dampener on what's otherwise a pretty cool weapon – especially with the added clips moulded on that are able to hold either of the arrow pieces. Convincing archer poses can be tricky to do at the best of times, so it's nice that Hasbro came up with a way to make good mid-fire poses easier. 

However there is one notable omission with this release – the alternate head that every ranger figure sans Magna Defender has included thus far. Admittedly it was pretty up in air just how Hasbro were going to handle comic-character heads, the inclusion of one with Lord Drakkon did give fans some glimmer of hope. Unfortunately that might have simply been down to the fact that a) it's Tommy and b) Jason David Frank portrayed Drakkon in a live-action trailer for Shattered Grid. While the alternate universe Kim might sport ear piercings and shorter hair, the comic aesthetic gives Hasbro much more leeway to go their own way with the face sculpt without having to use Amy Jo Johnson's likeness. Or maybe that was the problem? Whether it's down to that or just that there wasn't any room in the budget on this particular figure, it's still rather disappointing given just how much we see AU Kim's face in the comics. As poor as an excuse it may have been, not giving the Magna Defender a second head "because it's meant to be the original and not Mike" does make some sense – here it's just because Hasbro chose not to do it. Based on this figure, I'd expect any other comic-originating rangers released in the line to be treated exactly the same way.

The Lightning Collection Ranger Slayer is an interesting addition to the line and her inclusion this early on bodes well for future comic-inspired releases, but unfortunately the figure itself leaves a fair bit to be desired. Even if you want to justify it as being a cost issue, it’s a huge shame that no civilian head was included here, and I’m sure many fans would happily give up one of the arrow parts for its inclusion. Issues like the horrific paint rub this figure (or rather its accessories) suffer from are much harder to forgive though. But above all else the most pressing concern of all is that it feels like Hasbro just isn’t putting as much effort into these female body figures as they are the male ones. While a smaller/thinner body is justified, they can almost certainly do it without sacrificing articulation or making the figure feel noticeably flimsier. While I’m certainly happy to see the Ranger Slayer as part of the Lightning Collection, she certainly could have been a lot better as well.