Ever since they burst onto the small screen nearly thirty years ago, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have stood tall as pop culture's preeminent color-coded team of superheroes. In the years since, they have morphed through dozens of different iterations and showcased even more stellar lineups, though few if any have left behind so little of a legacy as Bulk and Skull. Of course, it doesn't help that nearly the entire world was left completely unaware that they were ever Power Rangers, to begin with, even if it was for good reason.
"Unlockly Heroes" by Ross Thibodeaux and Rob Guillory from the pages of BOOM! Studios' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2016 Annual found the eponymous team facing off against yet another of Rita Repulsa's menacing monstrosities, this time in the form of Sir Locks-A-Lot. This magician may not have seemed like much upon his initial encounter with the Rangers, but after trapping them within himself it became clear that he was no ordinary villain. As such, it would take no ordinary Rangers to defeat him, which is exactly where Farkas Bulkmeier and Eugene Skullovitch came into play.
Bulk and Skull as the Purple and Orange Power Rangers
Better known by fans simply as Bulk and Skull, this typically dimwitted duo is as indelible to the Power Rangers franchise as any of its color-coded heroes. When the two first appeared in the original series' very first episode, they set the standard for what the franchise's comedic relief would look like across nearly every single season to date. Though they were often antagonistic toward their classmates, Bulk and Skull quickly developed a fascination with their alter-egos. This effectively made them the very first Ranger super fans, which in turn made it all the more cathartic that they finally got to wield their own Morphers after years of idolizing those who do.
According to the team's original mentor, Zordon, the Purple Baconodon and Orange Featherdactyl Power Coins he bestowed upon the duo were "extremely rare," although that doesn't necessarily mean that they were particularly powerful. In fact, the two were all but useless upon first confronting the villains for themselves, only managing to take out some Putty Patrollers by sheer accident. Once Sir Locks-A-Lot entered the fray, however, Bulk and Skull managed to dig deep and come up with a winning attack that incapacitated their foe long enough for someone else to come and rescue the original Mighty Morphin team.
Bulk and Skull are the Most Unlikely Power Rangers
Unfortunately, neither of the unlikely heroes was able to hang on to their memories of the experience once Alpha 5 wiped them out. Still, that doesn't take away from what they accomplished in their one and only mission as Power Rangers, nor does it make the blatant fan service any less obvious. If anything, "Unlockly Heroes" gives readers something of an unexpectedly poignant tale that encapsulates everything that Bulk and Skull have embodied for the last 29 years.
Bulk and Skull certainly aren't the brightest, and they haven't always been the most well-meaning, either, but they are absolutely the kind of people who will put themselves on the line when there isn't anyone else to do the same. That might not be the most beaming endorsement of the characters as heroes, yet that was never the role they were meant to fill. Thankfully, they rose to the occasion when the world needed them most.