Power Rangers Prime #11 is written by Melissa Flores and published by BOOM! Studios. Illustration is by Michael Yg, colours by Joana Lafuente and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Main cover art (left) is by Taurin Clarke.
Power Rangers Prime #11 is available from today, in comic book stores and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your physical copy from Forbidden Planet or digitally from Amazon Comixology UK.
Synopsis
Past and present collide as the Prime Rangers prepare to face their toughest fight yet!
Red Ranger Lauren finally discovers a lead on her missing family – but will they accept who she’s become? Meanwhile Volar’s forces close in, and the Prime Rangers brace for all-out war. But can they stand up to the Black Prime Ranger’s father!
Plus, sparks fly when Rita Repulsa and Janessa face off in an epic battle to cap this explosive penultimate issue for the groundbreaking first arc!
Review
The first arc of BOOM! Studios’ Power Rangers Prime is rapidly approaching its finale. This week, as the book returns to digital platforms, Melissa Flores is making it all about family. As connections to the past haunt the present, issue #11 reminds us the stakes have never been higher ahead of the series’ first birthday.
As philosopher Vin Diesel once said “It’s all about family” and that ethos is currently underpinning everything Power Rangers Prime is trying to say. Having introduced Volar – father of Black Ranger Jun – as the main antagonist Melissa Flores is now reaching out for further connection. Power Rangers Prime #11 opens with a flashback to New Zealand where Red Ranger Lauren and her brother Jayden are joined by their father. Their legacy as a family of Red Rangers completely underpins this issue. Flores uses this to further illustrate how callous Volar is. But also to circle the story back to where we began in issue #1 with Lauren.
Volar’s actions and their impact on Lauren becomes the perfect plot device on which to hang a major twist. We’ve seen several of the Rangers grappling with family issues across the first year of the book. But now the fate of all our heroes lies solely in her hands. It’s a huge decision for anyone to make. But the analogy of choosing between blood relatives and friends will ring true for many. Such is the nature of Power Rangers Prime that we can leave Lauren with that cataclysmic decision at the halfway mark of issue #11 and still have plenty left in the tank.
Elsewhere Rita Repulsa continues to hold on to control of the Rangers’ powers. Finally Flores is digging more in to the lore of the Prime team, exploring their Zords and animal connections. The idea of combining animals with precious elements could add new powers and abilities setting up plenty more story to come. Most importantly this feels like the right time to dig in to all of this. The focus so far has been on setting up the team themselves. Only now, with personal dynamics in place, does it feel like the series has the breathing space to dive in to that lore. It widens the already impressive scope of what Flores is doing. It also offers up more opportunity to onboard fans of franchise questioning BOOM!’s decision to tell a completely original story.
Michael Yg is back on illustrative duties this issue. There’s a much heavier character focus as the action briefly dials back. Yg taps in to the emotion in Flores’ story, expertly bringing all of the angst to the page. As the penultimate chapter to this arc this issue is crucial in selling the idea that all these storylines are about to implode. Yg is able to encapsulate those stakes and the scale of the story within a more intimate, tightly framed issue. Something about Power Rangers Prime #11 feels more experimental than previous issues. The variation in the background design of panels feels more pronounced. It pushes the eye towards key details but can leave some moments feeling more clinical.
Heading in to the finale of its first arc Power Rangers Prime #11 leaves much of its cast with decisions to make. As the story neatly grapples with family and abuse of power it also raises poignant questions about freedom of choice and destiny. There’s no denying the stakes are at their highest going in to December’s first anniversary issue…
Verdict
Melissa Flores continues to spearhead the outstanding first arc of Power Rangers Prime with an issue laser-focussed on its concluding chapter. Power Rangers Prime #11 is courageous in its challenge of each character to make decisions about who they are and what they stand for.
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