Splitting up the Power Rangers comics is one of the best things that Boom! Studios has done with the title, allowing Ryan Parrott to be able to spend the time needed to properly concentrate on both the Mighty Morphin team and the Omega Rangers in their own books. Whilst the Earth bound Rangers deal with a new Green Ranger and the newly empowered forces of Lord Zedd in Mighty Morphin #3, the Omega Rangers have their own issues to deal with as we rejoin them as their ship has been overrun with the weird vampire-like Horrid.
I'd heard Ryan talking about his plans for this series on the Ranger Danger Boom Room, a part of the excellent Ranger Danger podcast, where he said that he was planning on telling shorter stories in Power Rangers, that would go on to make part of the longer Empyreal arc that has driven our heroes off into deep space; as such, I wasn't surprised to see this issue wrap up the threat of the Horrid by the time it came to a close.
Instead of this being a bad thing it actually gives the story a lot more punch, and it feels really well paced. Where other comics try to make stories last anywhere from four to six issues Ryan simply allows it to unfold at its natural pace, and conclude before it begins to feel stale and stretched out. It feels a lot more like the faster paced 20 minute episodes the comics are based upon.
Because of this faster pace the story gets back into the action quite quickly following the dramatic cliffhanger that concluded issue two, and we get to see our heroes back together and forming a plan to save their ship within the first few pages. I like how the characters go about trying to win the day as well, and the fact that everyone has a part to play, even Xi and Yale, who could easily have been relegated to the sidelines. It shows pretty early on that every character in this series matters, and brings something to the table.
The issue is also good for showcasing how cunning and duplicitous Lord Drakkon still is, even without his powers. It's pretty clear by the end of the issue that despite helping the team to take back the ship and survive the day he was still hedging his bets, and would have turned against them if it meant that was the best way for him to survive. Rather than allowing this to build unnecessary conflict, however, the characters simply acknowledge that that's what they've come to expect from him, and it shows that these aren't the flat and one dimensional people they were on the show, but smart adults able to understand complexity, and stepping up to handle it in adult ways.
Despite the fast pace and managing to pack a lot of action into the pages Parrott is also able to deliver some good character moments too. There is the fore mentioned stuff with Drakkon, which plays into Trini's development, as well as getting to see Jason becoming a more confident leader, and Zack opening up to and liking Yale. Whilst all of these developments are welcome ones it's Trini's that's the most interesting, and it adds onto conversations she had with Drakkon last issue. It seems like Ryan is doing a lot to showcase how competent and strong she is, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see her stepping into more of a leadership role over time as the series progresses; she's done so in the past before, and there has been examples of Ranger teams where characters other than the Red Ranger have been in command.
Overall this was an entertaining and engaging issue, one that manages to pack a lot of content into its limited page count, and ends off with a cliffhanger ending that makes me hugely excited to find out what's going to happen in the next issue.
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