Warning: Spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108!The secret of Zordon's body that has long eluded Mighty Morphin Power Rangers lore has finally been revealed. Earlier in the current MMPR comic book series, Mistress Vile (formerly known as Rita Repulsa) suddenly acquired the services of Vessel, a mysterious new right-hand man of hers. The previous issue was a shocking reveal in which Vessel was unmasked to reveal none other than Zordon. Considering that Zordon was also helping the Rangers at the Command Center, this raised a lot of questions.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 by Melissa Flores and Marco Renna wastes no time clearing things up by revealing that Vessel is literally Zordon's vessel, his body that Rita recovered herself. Planning ahead and preparing for the future, she ensured that the spell she used to trap his consciousness in the time warp would also guarantee his body could be split from it and salvaged. She had an "old friend" collect it, along with the Dragon Coin, and hid them both away. While the Dragon Coin was taken to Breel, Zordon's body was brought to the planet Bizerk.
We Finally Know What Happened to Zordon's Body
The official canon dating back to the television show has always established that right before she was trapped in a moon dumpster, Rita Repulsa used her magic to trap Zordon's mind and consciousness into the time warp, forcing him to present as a floating head in a tube. There's never been much clarity in regard to what happened to his body. The non-canon Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie from the '90s showed that Zordon's body was basically in his tube the whole time, while the recent reboot movie said his body was destroyed entirely before his consciousness was transferred. Never did the show nor the official canon behind it ever reveal what, if anything, happened to Zordon's corporeal body. It was always just an elephant in the room that never went addressed.
Power Rangers Lore Has Been Changed
This is the closest we ever get to a real explanation about Zordon's body, and it's a plausible one that makes perfect sense. The body would obviously have to go somewhere once Zordon's consciousness left it, and it makes sense for Rita to see value in that body rather than letting it be discarded forever. Now, because a body without a soul or consciousness is easy to manipulate, she is able to use Vessel for her own gain easily.
As of now, the future of Vessel is ambiguous. The issue ends with Zordon's body meeting his mind, using his faithful influence and positive memories to convince Vessel to exercise his free will to carve out a path for himself, outside of Rita or even Zordon. Zordon reminds Vessel that no one is beyond saving, hinting at a redemption arc for the character. What Zordon's former vessel does with that information is up in the air as the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series continues.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #108 is available now from BOOM! Studios.