Power Rangers Prime #9 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 #9 is available from today in comic book stores.
Synopsis
[REDACTED] comes to Angel Grove and changes the balance of the Prime Rangers forever! But that’s not the only surprise in store when the VR Troopers come face-to-face with the first Prime Zord. Will the Prime Rangers be able to save Lauren from being taken in by the Eltarians? The electrifying third arc begins here!
Review
It’s back to action as Power Rangers Prime brings one of its most tense chapters to kick off its third story arc today. Melissa Flores is pulling no punches as the series picks up from it’s biggest cliffhanger yet for an issue which will leave fans green with… probably not envy but there is certainly a lot of green to contend with.
Having teased the Green Ranger at the end of last month, Power Rangers Prime #9 utilises one of the best plot points from the 2017 Power Rangers movie. That’s right, if you hadn’t figured it out already, Rita Repulsa is the Green Ranger! Only rather than having her historically connected to the Rangers like in the film. This Rita is more of a reluctant Morpher who feels that she has no choice but to enter the fray as the team faces off with the V.R. Troopers.
Flores eases in to the moment with a brief opening flashback which returns to Rita’s journey in the space dumpster. A neat callback to a key moment in the character’s journey in every version of the Power Rangers origin. You see this version of the character simply wants to survive. Any notion of good or evil has been lost to the centuries trapped in the dumpster. So with the Rangers back in to a corner by the Toopers it trigger Rita to make a life-changing decision which may choose a side for her.
Power Rangers Prime #9 is almost like a bottle episode of a TV series. It feels like events are now happening in real-time as Flores chooses to only inch the story along, ratcheting up the tension at the same time. The series has felt like everything has built towards this moment. We’ve covered so much ground in forming the team and setting up this conflict. So it feels right that it isn’t dispensed with in just a single issue or mere panels. Flores is giving the moment all of the pomp and ceremony it requires. Packing it full with the kind of action Rangers fans crave along with all of the incredible human drama that the Prime series has brought.
Michael Yg and Fabi Marques have a lot to contend with this issue. The parts are all pretty fast moving, particularly when the conflict reaches its peak. There’s barely a moment when any character is stood still in the frame and that calls for some dynamic visuals. Of course Yg and Marques are capable of handling it. We’ve seen it time and time again from this series already. Still something about Power Rangers Prime #9 feels the most alive we’ve seen this series so far. Perhaps the excitement of introducing a new version of the Green Ranger, often cited as a fan-favourite, spurred the team on to bring more than their A-game this month.
As the book looks to its first anniversary we’re beginning to see more of the classic elements from the series come in to play. It’s going to be interesting to see if the series can maintain its dynamite character work when it’s also contending with monsters and Megazords…
Verdict
Power Rangers Prime #9 continues its unbroken run of incredible issues with yet another vibrant and energetic trip around the Morphin Grid.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
