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Preface
LAST TIME ON POWER RANGERS PRIME!
After our villain’s trip to the spa doesn’t go too well, our college students with attitude find her at the local museum where they’re also breaking into. All while the coppers and the Troopers got the place surrounded. None of them want to get caught so the elderly Rita decides to knit for Lauren her own disguise.
A mighty-morphin’ one…
Now, let’s get back to the show!
The Cover
“Here’s Lauren, wearing an outfit we’re never going to see her wear. Oh, and the VR Troopers are here.”
The Story
Ten years ago, in Flashback Land, Junmor AKA Jun heads home to Eltar with his mom, but it’s clear that he’s out of place there. Even though he is Eltarian, he was raised on Earth and doesn’t know much of the Eltar culture like shaving his head like they all do. But, his mother assures her superiors that it’s all necessary because Jun will be placed in an important role on Earth.
In the present, Rita, with a magical T-Rex, and Lauren, now fully morphed, take care of the Eltarian guards while everyone else runs away. But, when the Troopers arrive and kick their butts, the adults with attitude hear the fight going badly. Orion decides to go back and help, pointing out that they’re all a part of this whether they like it or not. Mark follows behind him while Tina drags Jun with her back to the fight, saying that he’ll just end up doing it anyway.
Bulk returns as well, feeling like he is an idiot as he gives Rita what she needs to create more Rangers.
Orion instantly jumps in, reaching for the power, as he encourages Mark that he can do this too. Jun tells Valentina that since his whole life has been decided by others, to be Eltar’s version of a hero, a guardian, he wants to become his own vision of what a hero is. And, with her seeing Ryan, her boyfriend, being so brutal against Lauren, Valentina realizes that she can’t stand by either.
And so…
Ending Thoughts
There’s not too much to say about this issue. It was action-packed, being Lauren’s ‘debut’ as this new Prime Ranger, while also building up to the others choosing to become Rangers.
Because yeah, it’s their choice. All of them choose to become Rangers.
While, yes, other Ranger teams have done this before, all four of them already know exactly what they’re getting into. Unlike other Rangers, these guys know that there’s an actual punishment if they do this. A government that will arrest them all for life and a world that will brand them as criminals, always on the run. But, like Orion said, they’re a part of this now. By accepting the powers, all of them are crossing the point of no return. Especially Bulk, who may not be a Ranger, but still wants to help out, even if he’s doing something that seems completely stupid but right to him. Making him Rita’s sidekick here is such a brilliant move, being the link to both Rangers and ‘villains’.
The main four’s reasoning and motivations for becoming Rangers are mainly motivated by their desire to help Lauren, but because of the series’ structure, we have already seen the character development that has led to this decision.
Orion has been shown from the start to be super helpful from the start, having the personality of what you imagine a superhero would be. That, and that he was the one who connected with Lauren first, made his decision to help a no-brainer. Mark is more hesitant and afraid, expected given what we know of him being a refugee, but he is still willing to stick by his friend’s side, showing him running to protect Orion.
And, though we don’t know more about Jun, the flashback in this issue certainly helped dive more into his character. Someone born in one culture, but not fitting in his native home, with a lot of expectations thrust upon him. Wanting to break free from all of that, he chooses to be what he thinks a hero should be, not society.
As for Valentina, her character is still less defined than the others sadly. After being on unsteady ground with Lauren, they had a small moment in the last issue, where Valentina starts to understand that she’s just trying to survive, but it doesn’t seem like enough reasons for Valentina to want to uproot her whole life. Even after she saw Ryan go against his word and hurt Lauren. There was an odd thing about Valentina being fascinated by ‘power’ also the last issue, which could lead to something. But, even so, I’ll have to wait before I can be more sold on what she’s doing.
Power Rangers Prime #4 assembles the team with one long fantastic action sequence as our heroes all come together to help one another like any real Power Ranger.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- The biggest twist of this issue is that we learned Zordon chose to be bald!
