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Preface
LAST TIME ON POWER RANGERS PRIME!
Mark Zhao goes dumpster diving and ends up fishing up a mysterious woman. She turns out to be a Red Power Ranger! (I know. Crazy, right? A female Red Ranger? Ha!) The Power Rangers are all being hunted down by the government in charge so they come knocking at Mark’s apartment building, trying to find her. But, there seems to be more at work here as a space witch crashes down from the sky, finally announcing she’s free!
Now, let’s get back to the show!
The Cover
Cool shot of Lauren running toward her friends’ giant heads in the sky looking behind her in an alley. Captures the mood and general tone of the story of needing to escape.
The Story
A group of Eltarian soldiers go to investigate the crash site, finding the woman who crawled out of the dumpster. She introduces herself as Rita Repulsa, using magic to create a molten monster from the remains of Lauren’s Samuraizer. The monster dispatches all of the soldiers, except for the last one remaining, a human known as Bulkmeier AKA Bulk. However, although the monster is powerful, it soon becomes clear that it has a mind of its own, attacking Rita. Bulk warns her about the monster attacking from behind and she dodges the attempt, letting the monster crash into the nearest building. For that act of kindness, Rita takes Bulk with her, saying that she’ll need a minion until her magic settles and she has questions about this world.
Meanwhile, after Orion tricks the guards out of the way, he and Lauren meet up with Mark and Jun at Jun’s dorm, where the Eltarian had offered to help harbor the three of them. This doesn’t settle well with Jun’s roommate, Valentina, especially when she learns that Lauren is a Ranger. A small fight breaks out between her and Lauren and she storms out of the apartment. Jun trusts that she’ll be okay and tells the others that they’ll be safe in his apartment since an Eltarian is the unlikeliest place to find a Ranger. However, when Lauren questions why Jun is helping them in the first place, he doesn’t respond. So, instead, Lauren changes the subject by saying that she’s here in Angel Grove because she’s trying to find her family but to do that, she’ll need to be able to morph.
As they all start to figure out how to do that, Valentina calls her boyfriend on the street and tells him about the situation. Her boyfriend who just so happens to be the head of the countdown control, VR Troopers…
Screw you, Ryan! Go back to your temple and miss your dad!
Ending Thoughts
Pretty good issue even if it lacks the momentum of the first issue.
Despite the hook of Rita’s entrance into the series with the last issue, it ended up not driving the plot forward that much. As it stands now, it seems to be a separate storyline with our main characters not knowing and/or caring about it all. Which is fine for the most part, but it leaves the main characters on their own with not much to do except regroup. Even the VR Troopers at the end doesn’t hold much significance to either a casual reader not knowing much about this team that got introduced in one line last issue or a hardcore 90s fan where knowing VR Troopers was even a bit of a stretch back then.
Honestly, what keeps this comic interesting is the same thing from the first issue: its character and world-building.
Seeing all of these little details here and there being in, adding small world-building as it slowly builds up these Rangers allows us to truly dive into their characters and get us involved in what’s being created for us. I love that Mark has a little hydro mask he uses like an inhaler for his Aquitian physiology. That’s such a neat detail I wouldn’t have thought of. Lauren kicking Valentina’s butt shows the level of training she’s dealt with as a samurai even when injured. Orion’s plan of luring the Eltarians away was pretty funny and relatable for those of you who own a pet. (Not me.)
And, even though the re-introduction of Bulk seems like it’s adding more MMPR elements back into the mix just to do it, pairing him with Rita is a dynamic I don’t believe we’ve ever gotten before. It ties into the colonization aspect introduced in the first issue, where the Eltarians have inserted themselves into the lives of humanity, changing their world and enforcing their own culture and ideals. Rita is now serving as an opposing aspect in that regard, creating ‘free will’ with her creating monsters, but at the same time, with a twist, showing that simply being ‘free’ is not enough as the monster that she creates ends up trying to hurt her. I’m very excited to see how this will fit into Bulk’s story for this series, for a character who can struggle to do the right thing at times, but ultimately wants to be a real hero.
Power Rangers Prime #2 may be an even slower follow-up to the first issue, but, with a fiery action scene with bright colors and character moments that should create an interesting team dynamic for down the road, it still deserves a high five for keeping the world its created so engaging.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I didn’t comment on Rita’s new look for this series, but it has been brought up that every attempt to reimagine Rita’s design tries to make you forget that she’s literally millions of years old and make her look more appealing. (I personally don’t mind. Like seeing the excess of white being used and the few faint touches of her original design. And I like her staff being an actual wand this time around.)
- Bulk being a part of this system for the benefits is something that absolutely fits his personality so I approve. Kind of reminiscent of his cop gig.
- If Rita’s monster had been created by Lauren’s Samuraizer, then it would have been a lion of fire. Just sayin’.
- …Do I wanna point out how quick and easy it was for Orion to just immediately think of that plan and take his clothes off for a bunch of soldiers?
- Ok, are all Eltarians addicted to cronuts, or is it just a Jun thing?
- Another thing about the ‘free will’ aspect that I didn’t mention? Using VR Troopers as the enemies of the Rangers might be a brilliant idea, depending on how it’s executed. The VR Troopers was ultimately about using the concept of virtual technology to transform into superheroes. Although dated then, it could be used to show off the illusion aspect of it, how you think you can be in control and be the hero you want to be, but ultimately, you’re becoming a pawn in the system of a simulated and controlled environment. I really hope the FCBD issue that focuses on the Troopers shows this off.
