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Go Go Power Rangers #19 Zeroes In On Relationships
Choosing to focus more on relationships for this issue, this months release is more character focused than full of action and that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it does well to give us further insights into our favorite characters as they navigate the tumultuous waters of teenage/young adult life.
Continuing with the saga of Rita Repulsa’s childhood, we see her mother protecting her from the forces of Master Vile, her’s father. With all of a mother’s love, she tells her not to open her eyes no matter what she hears before using her powers of light to fight off the Tenga Warriors, crow like beasts that seem to overpower and kill her, leaving Rita to her fate.
In adulthood, Rita has become twisted and traps her mother away, telling her how her father taught her how to be strong, to be feared and that she doesn’t care what her mother thinks anymore because she is forgotten and Rita is the most feared woman in the Galaxy. I love the insight that we get into Rita’s current thought process, that the thought of being hidden away is weak or sickening and that her methods work because she is able to overpower her mother easily with her dark magics.
Rita Repulsa’s Past Explored
This sequence also contains the best art in the issue with dynamic action from both Rita and her mother, utilizing the contrasting powers of darkness and light. Rita’s mother has powerful abilities over bright white and pink-ish light, but it gives way to Rita’s more powerful control over darkness and deep reds, especially in the case of the black chains giving off a red hum as they constrict her mother.
Of course a Power Rangers comic isn’t complete without the Rangers themselves.
After not being backed up by Jason when the Rangers were discussing whether or not to trust Alpha-1, Trini storms off during their martial arts training after Jason feels as though he’s owed an apology instead of her. He then later seeks the advice from their guidance counselor, showing a bit of care for someone other than himself as he wants to make things right, knowing that he’s hurt her feelings somehow. This is continuing his great character progression with him opening up to others and his eventual adorable apology.
Meanwhile, Zack, Billy and Alpha-1 experiment with a new armor design that Billy comes up with in hopes of improving the Ranger’s performance on the field. When it malfunctions during a test run, Zordon remarks that while it is great, it could still use some further testing. Here we continue to see the seeds of a possible betrayal being planted as Alpha-1 implants the idea that Zordon still sees the Rangers as kids. Zack picks up on the idea and proposes that they disobey Zordon while Alpha-1 also insists that Zordo says and does what he does in an attempt to protect them, even from themselves. I do not like Alpha-1s manipulations and the closer and closer we get to his inevitable turn, the more my stomach churns at the thought of what it’s capable of.
Even more adjacent to the other Rangers, Kimberly is agitated by the behaviors of her parents talking down about one another while they’re either in the middle of a divorce or having been separated for a while. This story thread hasn’t been presented in a while and it’s good to see that it still weighs heavily on Kimberly’s mind as she tells her mother to grow up, explaining that she’s not going to pick sides in their fight.
Conclusion?
This issue of Go Go Power Rangers was a lot of build up for future stories and character expansion, especially in Rita’s case. I can’t wait to see how much farther things will go and to what ends these thread will lead to. You can pick up your copy directly from BOOM! Studios or at your local comic book shop.
How did we rate Go Go Power Rangers #19?4 Sodas
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