Fans of the Power Rangers shows and films are familiar with the first team of Power Rangers: Billy, Jason, Zack, Kimberly and Trini. As it turns out though, this team of teenagers with attitude isn't the first group of Power Rangers that was assembled on Earth.

The upcoming Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20 from Boom! Comics features a standalone story introducing an earlier group of Rangers. Set in 1969, the tale appears to involve the Space Race and may tie into some of the villains that other Ranger teams will face in the future.

Though little is known about the plot of the standalone story thus far, Boom! has released a few details. The '69 Ranger team will be made up of young adults who fit major themes from the era: 21-year-old Igor is a KGB agent, 24-year-old Jamie is a female singer/songwriter from the UK, 21-year-old Terona is a veteran, 18-year-old Daniel is a protester and 21-year-old Grace is the head secretary at NASA (and wants to be an astronaut). Boom! has also released  a synopsis of the issue as well as a preview of the cover:

An eye-opening new piece of Power Rangers history is revealed! Well before Jason, Zack, Kimberly, Billy, and Trini became Power Rangers, Zordon was forced to recruit Rangers to battle a foe who's downright... psycho.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20 Boom! Comics Promo

IGN speculates that the "psycho" reference could refer to the Psycho Rangers, a villainous group of Rangers who did battle against the Space Rangers in Power Rangers in Space and Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy. The cover preview also shows monstrous footprints on the moon, which is where Rita Repulsa was imprisoned; whoever or whatever made the footprints could be instrumental to her escape. Then again, it's always possible that the comic will feature an original villain and any connections to either the Psycho Rangers or Rita Repulsa will come in the form of easter eggs.

The Boom! comics series has taken the Rangers to some interesting places, focusing on the original team but introducing new characters and plot elements that never appeared in the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show. There's a good chance that Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20 will follow this trend, crafting a tale that could easily fit within the established canon but introducing a number of new elements (such as the all-new team). The comics have been a pretty fun read so far though, so the story will probably be entertaining if nothing else.

Of course, it's unlikely that any elements from the story will ever appear in future Power Rangers installments. If the issue proves popular though, the Rangers of '69 might return for more comic adventures down the line. Who knows, they may eventually even end up with their own comic a la Batman '66.

Next: Every Special Sixth Power Ranger, Ranked Worst To Best

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #20 will be released on October 18, 2017.

Source: Boom! Comics (via IGN)