Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review

Following the events of Shattered Grid the two ongoing Power Rangers series, Saban’s Go Go and Mighty Morphin, are going to look different. While the Mighty Morphin series now features a mash-up of Power Rangers from different series Go Go will continue the adventures of the original team. This difference will make Go Go standout more now as it is the only series with the iconic and original Power Rangers. With everything that happened during Shattered Grid there are a lot of ways that this series can go now. Let’s find out what direction Ryan Parrott decides to take the team with Go Go Power Rangers #13.

Writer: Ryan Parrott

Artist: Eleonora Carlini

Colorist: Raul Angulo

Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10

Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10

Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10

Synopsis: Six years ago Zack is dominating a dodgeball game. Zack is eventually eliminated by Matt Cook.

In the present the Power Rangers are able to force Pudgy Pig to throw-up their weapons. The Power Rangers then combine their weapons to create the Power Blaster. They use the Power Blaster to finish Pudgy Pig off.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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At the Rita’s Moon headquarters Baboo, Squatt and Finster argue about who should tell Rita Repulsa about Pudgy Pig’s defeat. Rita walks in and already knows about Pudgy Pig’s defeat. She orders Finster to get the last of the super special Putty mix and for Baboo and Squatt to gather there weapons. She then shows them the key she got that is part of her next project.

At Trini’s house Trini is trying to pick out something to wear to school. Trini’s mom walks into her room and asks who the guy is that she is agonizing over. Trini plays it off that she just likes a specific sweater. Trini’s mom tells Trini to believe in herself as she is already great and that if she allows the guy she likes see that they won’t care about something like a sweater she is wearing.

At Billy’s house Billy’s dad shows him the VW Bug car he just bought with the money he got selling the VR helmet. Billy’s dad wants them to work on restoring the car together even if they don’t know anything about repairing cars.

At school Billy and Trini talk about how Jason isn’t training at Ernie’s anymore. Jason walks into class and reveals he has decided to work out at home, leaving out his recent family problems. Trini reminds Jason that they are there for him if he wants to talk.

At a mini-golf course in Poughkeepsie, New York, Rita, Goldar, Baboo, Squatt and Putties attack the area. Rita orders the others to do everything in their power to occupy the Power Rangers when they show up while she goes to the door the key she just got opens.

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Back at school Zack talks to Kimberly about a special date he wants to set up for a girl he just asked out. They end up running into Matt. Zack tries to talk to him but Matt just walks past them without reacting at all. Kimberly tells Zack not to do anything as Matt is safer not being with her given their Power Rangers lifestyle.

Zordon contacts the Rangers and informs them about Rita’s latest attack. The Power Rangers quickly morph and teleport to Poughkeepsie.

As soon as they get to the mini-golf course the Power Rangers work to save everyone in the area. Finster shows up and creates a new MegaPutty.

While the Power Rangers struggle with the MegaPutty, Rita is finds the door she was looking for and when she uses the key it opens a special portal. As she walks into the portal she leaves Goldar in charge.

As the MegaPutty gets sucked into the portal it ends up grabbing Jason and Trini and taking them through the portal with it.

At the Rita’s Moon headquarters Squatt freaks out about what Rita will do if they fail her. Baboo thinks what will happen if Rita fails them.

On some unknown planet Trini wakes up and is surprised to find that she is wearing the Red Ranger costume. Jason shows up wearing the Yellow Ranger costume. Trini try to use their morphers to go back to their original colors but it does not work. Jason tells Trini that they have bigger problems to worry about then swapping powers as unknown animals show up to attack them. End of issue.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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The Good: Since Go Go Power Rangers only had tie-in issues related to Shattered Grid it is not surprising to find that this issue did not deal with the direct fallout. Series writer Ryan Parrott decided to take the personal note that the last issue of Go Go Power Rangers ended on to further certain character stories. In doing so Parrott keeps the focus on the strength of the series, which is the personal development of original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers team.

Opening up Go Go Power Rangers #13 with the team fighting Pudgy Pig was an effective way to bring in one of the monsters of the week into the series. What made this fight entertaining was the fact that Parrott did not try to rewrite how the fight with Pudgy Pig happened. Instead Parrott puts us at the very end of the fight when the Power Rangers regaining their weapons and defeating Pudgy Pig immediately. This allows the reader to fill in the blanks with the details from the TV show episode that the fight with Pudgy Pig took place in.

The quick fight also worked to show how much stronger are getting with each passing fight. Its something that Parrott continues to emphasize throughout his run. Even if they are struggling with some of the personal aspects of their lives when it comes to being Power Rangers they are all getting more competent. In doing so Parrott is able to further the narrative that the each of the Power Rangers have unlimited potential in terms of how strong they are when morphed.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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The ease of the fight with Pudgy Pig helped set the story with Rita Repulsa’s frustrations about her monsters and minions continued failure even more intriguing. Given that she has gone several weeks without a win Rita’s frustration is understanble. After all she is being constantly defeated by kids. This frustration provides Rita with a greater reason to get directly involved in making sure her latest plan is successful.

What will be interesting about her latest plot is if it is the first step into getting her hands on the Dragon Coin. Given that we saw Tommy Oliver towards the end of the previous issue this wouldn’t be a surprising turn. And since we never actually learned how Rita obtained the Dragon Coin there is plenty of room for Parrott to expand on this aspect of the Power Rangers mythos.

As well done as the Power Rangers was the strength of this issue was how Parrott continues to develop each Ranger outside their powers. Though they got some development on the show, each of the Rangers personalities stuck to specific architypes for each member. As Go Go Power Rangers #13 showed there is much more to each character’s personality than what was shown on the show.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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Trini’s development is a good example of this. On the show Trini was more of a supporting character as she was usually involved with one of the other Rangers storylines. Parrott changes that with this series and Go Go Power Rangers #13 continues to show she has more of personality than what was on the show. The relationship with her mom in particular makes Trini much more of a grounded character as she gets a reality check from her mom in how to deal with her crush on Jason.

The crush she has on Jason is also handled very well. Parrott makes you root for Trini to actually talk to Jason about her feelings since she is trying so hard to impress or make him notice her. It’s a relatable trait that makes Trini come off as the most grounded member on the team. Their power swap in an isolated planet should create some more development for their dynamic that has developed since Go Go Power Rangers started.

Speaking of Jason, it was good to see how Parrott brought in his family problems without making the issue all about that. That is something about Jason’s character that has been spotlighted in recent issues of Go Go Power Rangers. With how things were left off in the previous issue it is smart for Parrott to go back to the slowburn approach as Jason’s home problems isn’t something that can be easily solved with one conversation. And Jason choosing to spend more time at home was another good way to strengthen the character in a subtle way.

Zack is also a good example of how this update to the Power Rangers is working. As Go Go Power Rangers #13 opened with him as a kid we got to see how Zack has always been confident in himself. It is also that confidence that gets the best of him.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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Parrott does a good job taking this development for Zack and integrates it into Kimberly’s break-up with Matt Cook. The relationship with Matt has been one of the key focuses in Go Go Power Rangers. With Parrott ending the previous issue on the note that Matt learned about his friends Power Rangers secret he nailed what this means for the kids. Kimberly and Zack’s respective feelings on Matt showed that this is not a simple thing to tackle. Given how it all went down it’ll be interesting to see how Parrott continues this sub-plot that took place before Tommy Oliver was brought into the fold.

Parrott also did a good job planting the seed to develop Billy’s relationship with his dad. Like Trini’s relationship with her mom, we never saw how close Billy was to his dad. Having them bond over rebuilding the VW Bug that eventually gets transformed into a vehicle to get into the Command Center is a good way to do this. This sub-plot will help further flesh out all the different technical skills Billy has as he now has a reason to get into building things like cars than just him being incredibly smart.

The artwork by Eleonora Carlini help keeping everything moving forward in Go Go Power Rangers #13. Carlini’s style gave this issue an anime aesthetic that fits with the fact that Power Rangers are based on Super Sentai over in Japan. Throughout this issue she does a good job making the action feel impactful and the talking head scenes fitting with the high school setting.

Go Go Power Rangers #13 Review
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The Bad: The one weak part of Go Go Power Rangers #13 is the use of Baboo and Squatt. These two characters getting such a prominent spot in this issue felt out of place with all that was going on. There is zero credibility to believe that anything they say is serious. Even as they voice why they are frustrated with Rita it is tough to believe them since it has not been earned. If they are to take bigger roles in the future Parrott will need to build up some credibility in Baboo and Squatt being competent in some way.

Overall: Go Go Power Rangers #13 was an entertaining start to the new story arc for this series. Ryan Parrott shows a great love and understanding of each of the members of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers squad. Each character is given their own personal storyline, which makes the larger story around their latest Power Rangers adventure stronger. With how Rita is now taking a direct approach to her latest plot and two of the Power Rangers isolated from the others things are about to get even more interesting. If you have ever been a Power Rangers fan I highly recommend giving Go Go Power Rangers a try if you haven’t already.