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Preface
LAST TIME ON POWER RANGERS PRIME!
While a sweet old lady known as Rita Repulsa decides to adopt a troubled grown orphan known as Bulk, our college students with attitude all crash at Jun’s dorm, which his roommate, Valentina, is not so thrilled with. So not thrilled that she ends up dumping her problems on her boyfriend, who just so happens to be part of –
Countdown Control! 4, 3, 2 –
No!
Now, let’s get back to the show!
The Cover
“As you can see, we have a rare exhibit, a skeleton where worms should live, almost as old as the Earth itself, with a big mouth. And, also, there’s a T-Rex here.”
The Story
Two years ago, in Flashback Land, Mark was part of an internship program at the Angel Grove National History Museum. During the initial tour, he discovered the remnants of a Power Coin. Now, in the present day, he presents the information to everyone, including Valentina, who decided to come back. They plan an elaborate heist to get the coin so that Lauren can have some powers to break her family out of the detention center.
Meanwhile, Rita heads to a building that she believes holds great power. However, as it turns out, the place has undergone extensive renovations. What once was a command center is now a spa run by RJ, a hippie with a brief aroma of pizza. While she decides to burn the abomination to the ground, she learns that the Eltarians are now in control of Earth and decides to get some more power of her own.
So, she breaks into the museum and uses her magic, infusing the energy of a mythical source known as the Morphin’ Grid into various fossils and displays. And, would you look at that? She just happens to run into our five ‘adults with attitude’.
When Lauren discovers that Rita has the remnants of her Samuraizer, she tries to fight her singlehandedly, but she is no match for her without any powers. Valentina wants to run for it, but Mark and Orion try to help Lauren but to no avail. Before Rita can finish them off, a squad of Eltarian guards surround the building with the VR Troopers taking point. Realizing that they’re all trapped, Rita offers a deal to Lauren. A temporary truce between them in exchange for Rita using her magic to create a brand new team of Rangers.
Lauren agrees.
And, then, it’s Morphin Time for our Rangers Prime…
Ending Thoughts
If Power Rangers Prime was a TV show, Issues #1 and #2 were our Episode 0, building up this new continuity, establishing our cast of characters, and how it all blends together.
Power Rangers Prime #3 is the pilot episode, showing the real start of it all.
We have our team (which to be honest, it is very obvious who is going to be what color even if the solicitations didn’t give it away.) And, you know what? Though there’s still more to be desired, I’ve been enjoying seeing this team bounce off each other.
What makes this team unique is that well, they don’t feel like a team. Essentially they’re a bunch of strangers thrown into a room together, not at all on the same page with each other. Lauren, the character with the most experience and backstory, keeps wanting to go on her own, only bringing everyone along as a result as they all get dragged into her mess. While Mark and Orion are sincere in wanting to help her as best as they can, Jun is only here out of his own self-interests, wanting to learn more about the Power Rangers for an unknown reason, while Valentina is only here because she wants to keep an eye on her friend. In fact, we actually learn in this issue that Valentina’s father is in a high position of power, which helps explain how someone like her got close to an Eltarian like Jun and Ryan, leader of the VR Troopers.
Although many character introductions here place us directly in the present plot, not showing too much of their backstories, details like this are being revealed over time as we grow closer to this team. Essentially, we are learning who these people are as any one of these characters does. And, with a team that’s comprised of half alien refugees and half rich people, both of opposing social classes, with their only connection to each other being their involvement with a rogue criminal, the character dynamics that can arise from this is something I’m excited to see in how they form into a true team as the series progresses.
But, it’s not just them. We also have to talk about Rita’s role now.
The moment she was introduced in the story, many fans expected her to be the ultimate villain of the series. And, perhaps that is still the case. She’s still shown to have her share of destruction with how she chose to burn the ‘Command Center’ to the ground. But, the simple twist of her being the one to give our team their Ranger powers not only displays her intelligence, doing whatever it takes to stay alive but in PR terms, it places her in the role of our team’s mentor. That means our team will have to learn from her to use their powers and she’ll have to depend on them to obtain the level of power she once had. It’s something for newcomers to get into, seeing the line between good and evil become even more blurred, and for long-term fans, who have never seen this dynamic before in 30 years of the PR franchise. Altogether, it’s a very exciting dynamic that’s been created and one I hope will be fully dived into.
Power Rangers Prime #3 brings together all of the elements the previous two issues have been setting up, delivering the final page and revealing the first of our new heroes in a glorious execution.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I can’t believe RJ started squatting in Zordon’s place and turned it into a hippie retreat (that may or may not be similar to the actual real-life location of that place…)
- Wait, where did the dog go?! They didn’t bring it with them! Is it going to be safe?! Now, I’m panicking!
