Jason and Trini are trapped on an alien world, and even worse, their powers are on the fritz! Your Major Spoilers review of Go Go Power Rangers #14 awaits!

GO GO POWER RANGERS #14

Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Eleonora Carlini
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
Editor: Dafna Pleban
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: November 14, 2018

Previously in Go Go Power Rangers: Separated for the first time since becoming Power Rangers, the teens must use their wits and inner strength to overcome the odds and distance between them, just as Rita Repulsa comes ever closer to unearthing her ultimate weapon!

LOST ON ANOTHER WORLD

This issue opens several years in the past, as a young Jason Scott approaches a karate instructor in the hopes of finding out how he can join. Their conversation is very revealing, addressing his anger issues and referencing a kid that he beat up, ending with Jason starting his training as a martial artist. Cut to the present as a teenage Jason (wielding the powers of the Yellow Ranger) and Trini (wielding the powers of the Red) fight for their lives on an alien planet after getting teleported away by Rita Repulsa. Back in Angel Grove, Billy, Alpha and Zordon have begun the herculean task of figuring out where in the universe they might have ended up, while Zack and Kimberly try to cover for their absent teammates. They find that SOMEONE is covering for Jason and Trini’s absence, and Kim is so shaken up by the situation (and by seeing her ex-boyfriend Matt) that she actually agrees to a date with Skull! Elsewhere, Rita Repulsa has returned home to her world in search of a power boost that will mean the end of the Power Rangers, once and for all.

RITA IS TERRIFYING IN THIS

It’s interesting to me to see the plot-points of the 2017 Power Rangers film being adopted into this book, like Jason’s anger issues and Trini’s past of moving from school to school, but it really works here. The reactions of the team to being separated for the first time since their assembly also makes for an interesting read, but the real star here is Rita Repulsa in full-on badass mode, fighting off her own people to prove that she is the real deal. It’s terrrifying stuff. Artwise, I really enjoy Go Go Power Rangers #14, especially the sequences of Jason and Trini trying to figure out each other’s weapons and powers. Carlini’s pencils are pretty amazing, and I like the facial expressions throughout the book, such as when Zack tries to take over Jason’s class of young martial arts students and teach them his HipHopKido. The action sequences are really fun, too, featuring whipcord thin, powerful characters in action, reminding me a bit of 50s-era Kirby in all the right ways.

BOTTOM LINE: REALLY GOOD, REALLY CREATIVE

Now that the crossover is behind us, this book is back on track to tell us the stories that we never saw of the earliest days of the Power Rangers back in ’93, and I’m still excited to see what this creative team has up their sleeves. Go Go Power Rangers #14 is well-drawn and innovative, and it’s always nice to see little continuity nods like Trini’s powers belonging to a male Ranger in Japan, plus a scary-scary Rita, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. I’ll be interested in seeing how this all shakes out, and hoping for some center-screen time for Billy, the Blue Ranger.

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