Power Rangers Prime #5 is written by Melissa Flores and published by BOOM! Studios. Illustration is by Michael Yg, colours by Fabi Marques and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Main cover art (left) is by Dan Mora.
Power Rangers Prime #5 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology right here.
Synopsis
Relationships are put to the test in this thrilling new issue as members of the VR Troopers and the Power Rangers team go head-to-head in a heated battle! But the VR Troopers attack as a tightly formed unit, revealing the Ranger’s weakness as inexperienced, new heroes… Can they overcome their shaky teamwork to avoid capture? Or will outside intervention be needed to save them from these dangerously skilled opponents?
Review
Now comes a moment that fans of 90s era children’s TV have been waiting for. The Power Rangers go head-to-head with the VR Troopers in a showdown for the ages. But there’s a twist. This is all through the prism of Melissa Flores’ blissfully grounded emotional storytelling in Power Rangers Prime. So all may not be quite you may expect as our fully morphed heroes finally go in to battle…
I’ve spoken before about how this series is a delightful slow burner. The laying of the groundwork with each of our leads has beautifully led up to the moment their powers have been bestowed upon them. Albeit in a rather unconventional way for traditional Power Rangers fans. So coming in to issue #5 the expectations are sky high. Overlay the fact their first battle is with the VR Troopers and really this is nothing short of a battle for the ages.
So I adore the fact that Flores continues to refuse to give in to convention. This issue could easily have been a grandiose battle between the two sides. From start to finish Michael Yg would have drawn the heck out of the weapons in use; the choreography and so on. Those elements do still make an appearance of course. But they’re viewed through the experience of these five new heroes. Only one of whom is actually ready to do any actual fighting.
Flores is and always has been uncompromising in her writing. So all of that painstaking work which has gone in to developing Mark, Jun, Orion and Val is vital to how Power Rangers Prime #5 plays out. Whilst Lauren may be ready to throw up her fists and thrown down with the VR Troopers. Everyone else is reluctant. Mark is scared to death, a factor which plays in to a very surprising cliffhangers. Val is suddenly at odds with her boyfriends and thrown in to a moral vacuum which she is unable to escape from. Whilst Orion has all the might and none of the joie de vivre. They’re too early in their journey. This is Power Rangers 2017 movie approach to character and not MMPR 1993.
But that’s not to say Flores and Yg aren’t having a tonne of fun with this issue. Its centrepiece is still seeing these two groups facing off. Yg does have chance to introduce some unique and original weaponry for the new team. Plus there’s a giant T-Rex so what’s not to love? Similarly, with a spin-off book now announced as on the way, this is a great time to show off just what the VR Troopers are capable of for anyone who missed out of that series between 1994 and 1996.
Overall this issue feels like the moment the foundations are finished and the main construction begins. Everything about what Flores and Yg are doing stands on a strong base and it’s now about building what goes on top. All indications are that Power Rangers Prime is blossoming in to a rich story which expands on the already much-loved franchise with a level of depth that it has always deserved.
Verdict
A crucial moment for Power Rangers Prime and one in which is cements itself as a compelling read for comics fans and Power Rangers fans alike.
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