Unleashing The Bold New Power — Reviewing ‘Power Rangers Prime’ #4

The Eltarians have kept an iron grip upon the Earth ever since they “saved” the planet long ago. Resistance has been minimal against the space-faring group of colonizers.

Until now, that is.

At long last, the moment has arrived. Melissa Flores, Michael Yg, Fabi Marques, and Ed Dukeshire usher in the biggest moment of the Power Rangers Prime relaunch. That’s right, the actual Power Rangers have arrived.

One of the things that I’ve enjoyed about Flores’ time writing Power Rangers, both the old volume and this one, is the clear franchise love. She exhibits a deep knowledge and care for the universe and its possibilities. This series finds ways to pay respect to what came before but remix them in fitting ways for this brand-new universe.

The slow burn of this moment also really works. Spending three issues setting up the pieces, letting us get to know the characters, and putting them into this precise spot really works. It allows the new versions of Rita, Bulk, the VR Troopers, and other things really sink in, leading to the climactic moment when the new Ranger squad embraces the power and leaps into action.

This is pretty much an all-action issue, save a few moments of characters having quick monumental discussion in the heat of action.

Yg has plenty of room to really cut loose. He gets to go wild with the paneling choices, really highlighting the moments of the Red Ranger (Lauren) and Rita vs the Eltarians and VR Troopers. This keeps up the dense, deep aspect that really helps the artwork pop even more. At times the artwork and framing became truly hectic and a bit hard to follow. Something about that frenzied nature sat better with me than I expected.

That may be that it adds an air of authenticity. Fights, especially these types of fights, are not carefully choreographed affairs. They are chaotic and truly hard to follow as people just go at it. Yg creates that sort of feeling here, and I’m kind of really here for it.

Colors get even flashier as the Rangers debut and clash with the blue aliens and similarly multicolored Troopers. Marques blends them well with the heavier and darker tones that bring some of the overall spatial depth. This allows some of the establishing colors to be toned down in order to achieve a baseline which to bounce the wilder stuff off of.

Even with the action, characters still have much to say. Dukeshire continues to let the character voices shine through. Their personalities and vocal ranges ring clear with every word. Giving modifiers to precise words makes things sink in even more. There is no mixing up certain voices here as they begin to truly feel distinct and powerful.

Power Rangers Prime #4 is now available from BOOM! Studios.