Go Mighty Morph(in) Power Rangers!

Pose = Look awesome

It’s been over two decades since children young and old sat in front of their bulky TV sets, mesmerised by our favourite spandex suited heroes valiantly fighting wave after wave of evil alien monsters fronted by Rita Repulsa (and later Lord Z). Following the conclusion of Series Two, each of the original five Power Ranger’s found themselves replaced and out of work. With money sparse, Zack, Billy, Trini, Kimberley, & Jason all ventured off into the world they once protected and got standard office hour jobs… (Now THAT, would be an episode of ‘Friends’ that I would like to see!)

A random caption that can’t be deleted – Go figure. Word Press hates me.

Fast forward to the present day and the world was once again in peril, this time from the violent and terrifying zombie outbreak which tore through the streets of London leaving death, photos and blood stains in its wake. With the economy in a double recession, the government soon faced a crisis. Double the wage of the average street cleaner or bring back the original Power Rangers from their retirement. Thankfully, they chose the latter…

It all started with an email from Morphsuit.com – a backwards step from the wrist radio devices available under the leadership of Zordon but a communication method suitable for this day and age and a great way to reach a large group of crime fighting heroes. The aim was simple… meet at the headquarters in Farringdon to reconnect with the other Rangers, before hitting the city (flash mobbing) and restoring law and order while grabbing some publicity for the brand in the process. Each volunteer who agreed to help was offered a free suit to keep… a tantalising offer.

The key to any adventure is to be prepared… at least that’s what I learnt from the movie ‘Zombieland’ and nothing says ‘I’m ready’ than a full, bulging stomach. Unfortunately the amount of choice in this neck of the woods was pretty slim, so Chris, Aurore and myself opted for the awesome looking Yo Sushi, a small Chinese restaurant painted white, a substantial contrast to the grim run down exterior of the buildings around it.

Yo!

Once through the double doors, we were met by a lovely old lady (please don’t tell her I said that) who took us to our futuristic looking tables. From there, we simply collected items from the conveyer belt and devoured the meals. Each ‘bowl’ was colour-coded and the waitress was then able to calculate the final costs based on the number of bowls emptied. A clever method and a great way to work out how much your meal was costing as you chomped away. In this instance, your brain is a valuable friend who can save you many pennies!

With our stomachs full and our wallets empty, it was time to wash off the rust and remember why we were Power Rangers in the first place. The stair climb was a challenge but a state of the art headquarters reminded us of the good we were about to do and the lives we were about to change. (slight exaggeration involved in this paragraph).

Walking into their office was a surreal experience… Hidden away in a darker corner of London was this magnificent open plan office with chirpy staff dressed in gear that wouldn’t look out of place in my favourite London based town, Camden! It didn’t take long to become suited and booted and soon 59 other Rangers joined me in various photo sessions followed by shameless Facebook & Twitter updates.

I reminisce my childhood…

Psyched and limbered up, we made our way down the stairs to the street expecting a quick and easy transfer to our designated destination. However our travel plans soon hit a snag when a telephone call from Alpha confirmed what we had all feared… Our Zords had failed their MOT due to excess fuel emissions. Public transport was our only option and with zombies already on the rampage, the quickest and most convenient option was the London Underground. Things were about to get interesting.

The team say “It’s Morphin Time!”

The tube as it’s often referred is one of the most accessible and frequently used methods of public transport and TFL have a great website to assist those who wish to plan their routes prior to departure. With regular trains and a multitude of ways to move through the stations, anybody with or without disability can freely get from point A to B with little trouble. Of course, this also results in a high volume of folk moving through these ports like cattle to the slaughter, and it became an issue for my fellow valiant Rangers looking to get to Embankment before the zombies overran the population. Despite our potential trials and tribulations, our personal issues were put to one side and we survived being thrown about in full bodied costumes, eyed up by strangers and arrived at our station. The zombies had no idea about the force that was about to be unleashed. I mean, Power Rangers were so awesome that grass exploded just by posing!

These heroes didn’t need any train-ing…

Upon exiting the station, we came face to face with death… much earlier than expected. The living dead had swarmed the area and had taken over much more land than anticipated. It was a revolting sight, with multiple served limbs in every direction with blood stains splashed on clothes.

I doubt Persil would get these clothes whiter than white!

The haunting groans lingered in the cold autumn air sending bone tingling shivers down our spines, but this was no time to panic. We had a public duty and we took on these evil creatures, much to the appreciation of the public We are the Power Rangers, and we are going to win!

The ‘fight’ was an incredible experience and somewhat reminiscent of the clashes found in Braveheart or the Lord of the Rings. Passionate Power Rangers lined up in unison on one side, with moaning zombies scattered across the other side. Crowds gathered to watch the spectacle due to unfold in front of their eyes. It was to be a classic; one which would go down in folk law. With one final war cry, we charged and embraced in an epic struggle between man and reanimated corpse… It was chaos, sheer and utter confusion rained as the Rangers fought for control, not knowing if a life would end. At one point, I saw one of our Pink Rangers fall to the ground, immediately attacked by a particularly ugly creature but thankfully the outfit protected from the bite which surely would have taken his soul to the gates of hell. The battle raged and in the middle, I spotted a baby zombie being carried by his farther. I kid you not… It was terrible to see and a tear swelled in my eye. This poor child would never know what it was to be a kid in a normal world. The adrenaline kicked in and within minutes the fight came to a close… the zombies defeated and wondering off into the distance, accepting their defeat.

This zombie saw Red!

The war was over, the battle exhausted… Despite being heavily outnumbered by the living dead, not a single Ranger was lost and it was a cause for celebration. With no balloons, party poppers or confetti, we did the next best thing… Lined up in single file, the elated and clearly overjoyed team crossed Waterloo Bridge in a conga drawing plenty of attention from kids young and old. It’s hard to imagine what tourists would have made of this sight, especially for their first time in the capital but for each of us; it was a memory which will last a lifetime.

With the undead finally removed from the streets and our party over, each member of the rainbow coloured team returned to their day to day lives, knowing that a good deed had been done and that the world was safe… at least for the time being.

And just because it may be a while before I can shout these famous words again… IT’S MORPHIN TIME!

Publicity Power:

See how the battle went down in glorious SD via the Morphsuit YouTube page.

I would like to thank the following people for making this possible – Follow them on Twitter: Fiona Gales, Camilla Brown, Manifest and Morphsuits. You know it makes sense… unless you don’t have Twitter, in which case you can render this sentence useless.

What local or international emergency would you request the help of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers? Let me know in the comments below…