Go Go Power Rangers has been in an interesting spot since Shattered Grid concluded. This series has filled in the blanks between the events of Shattered Grid and where we find the current Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ongoing series with the Omega Rangers plotline. Over the course of these “Necessary Evil” tie-in issues we have seen how Jason, Trini, and Zack have started to break away from their Power Rangers teammates to set the table for the Omega Rangers formation. In the process we get an in-continuity explanation for why Jason, Trini, and Zack were absent as much as they were during transition period when Tommy Oliver as the White Ranger took over leadership of the Power Rangers. As we get close to Go Go Power Rangers meeting the timeline when Mighty Morphin Power Rangers own “Necessary Evil” storyline started what surprises will Ryan Parrott and Sina Grace have for us? Let’s find out with Go Go Power Rangers #31.
Writers: Ryan Parrott and Sina Grace
Artists: Francesco Mortarino and Simona Di Gianfelice
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: In the present Jason gets back home after his trip and checks on his dad, who is lounging in the living room. Jason’s dad asks how his trip went.
Flashing back to two days ago on the Planet Saard we see Jason, Trini and Zack as the Red, Yellow and Black Rangers, respectively, going to investigate an abandoned house. Inside they find a kid trapped under some rubble. After freeing the kid Trini wonders if the kid is the one responsible for the damage.
Suddenly a monster pops out of nowhere and starts firing electric blasts at the three Rangers.
Back in the present Jason tells his dad he made the most of his trip.
Flashing back to the past, over on Promethea, Goldar, Baboo, and Squatt steal a special dagger. As they do that Grace Sterling contacts the Power Rangers and gives them instructions so that they can utilize the Mechazord. Goldar, Baboo, and Squatt see this and decide to take Grace hostage.
Back in present Kimberly and Trini catch up over coffee. Both reflect on each others behavior as of late, Kimberly specifically bringing up how she was letting her parents divorce affect her. Kimberly then reveals that Saba was able to come up with a merger idea that helped Tommy defeat Hodgepodge Hedgehog, which surprises Trini.
Flashing back to the past, Tommy tells Billy and Kimberly to retreat as their Zords have been badly damaged. While Billy and Kimberly hesitate in leaving him alone Tommy reassures them that he can use the White Tiger Zord time for them to recover.
Saba then tells Tommy reveals he can now load up the Mechazord’s power blaster weapons to the White Tiger Zord, something Tommy suggested earlier. Saba proceeds to attract the Mechazord’s weapons and merge them with the White Tiger Zord to create the White Tiger Mechazord.
By using the White Tiger Mechazord’s new powers Tommy is able to defeat the Hodgepodge Hedgehog, much to Baboo, Goldar, and Squatt’s shock.
Kimberly and Billy use this opening to free Grace from Goldar’s clutches. Now free Grace uses her blaster to destroy the special dagger Squatt stole. Seeing things are getting worse for them Goldar, Squatt and Baboo retreat.
Back in the present Billy and Zack are hanging out watching a monster movies. After hearing the story about how Hodgepodge Hedgehog was defeat Zack wishes he was there to see what Tommy did. Billy compliments Tommy, saying that Zordon may have been right to choose him as the new Power Rangers leader. Zack wonders if the dagger was really destroyed, which Billy confirms.
Flashing back to the past once again Jason, Trini and Zack try to figure out how to defeat the electric-powered monster.
As they are fighting Kiya demands answers from the Blue Emissary about what is going on with her and why her family was suddenly killed. Blue Emissary promises to answer all of Kiya’s question but first needs her to go help the Power Rangers.
Back on Planet Saard, Kiya shows up and uses her new powers to strike the monster Jason, Trini, and Zack are battling. With the monster stunned, Jason and Zack lock it up in a special container.
The kid that was suddenly rescued early suddenly hugs the container while screaming “Yale, Yale.” Trini realizes that the monster’s name is Yale and is close to the kid they saved. Trini promises the kid they are not going to hurt Yale.
A little later Trini thanks Kiya for all her help. Kiya reflects on how the Blue Emissary likely sent her down to help because she is in need of friends.
Zack tells Jason that they should put Kiya on the team they are forming. Jason asks the Blue Emissary how many more Empowered beings there are. Blue Emissary reveals that the number is constantly changing just in the galaxy they are alone. Jason and Zack both realize this mission they are will take a long time to complete. Blue Emissary tells everyone that things will not be easy as they are dealing with people’s lives and it is their duty to save them all.
Back on Earth, Jason and Zack get into an argument if they can actually dedicate their lives to the Blue Emissary’s mission. Jason is especially confused with how many responsibilities they already have as Zordon’s Power Rangers and their personal lives.
Back home, Jason tells his dad he is not taking any trips for a while. Seeing through his son’s façade Jason’s dad tells Jason to stop using his health problems as an excuse to not do what he has to do. He then dares Jason to make him proud, which Jason accepts.
Sometime later Jason, Trini, and Zack tell Zordon that they must leave because they have signed up for a Peace Keeping Conference that is happening in Switzerland. Zordon understands that they are going to do good in the program. He then requests before they leave that they help in finding their replacements on the Power Rangers.
We then see a glimpse of Adam, Aisha, and Rocky hanging out at a park.
Over on the Moon, Lord Zedd reprimands Squatt for failing his mission. Seeing no other choice Lord Zedd finishes getting Serpenter ready for deployment. End of issue.
The Good: Something Go Go Power Rangers has always done a great job with is spotlighting the Rangers home life. This series has always had more of a slice-of-life approach to character development compared to the more traditional big event style storytelling of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. That’s helped Go Go Power Rangers separate itself apart from its sibling title. That strength is once again on full display with the flashback story structure of Go Go Power Rangers #31.
The opening with Jason getting back home after his adventure with Trini and Zack teaming up with the Blue Emissary shows just how well this slice-of-life style storytelling works. Ryan Parrott and Sina Grace know that Go Go Power Rangers has worked to establish this complicated relationship between Jason and his dad. As the series has gone on we’ve seen some antagonism between the two as Jason’s dad’s health has come into play. To Parrott and Grace’s credit they use all the build of this relationship to provide a strong payoff to all that development.
In paying the time we have spent seeing Jason and his dad’s relationship develop Parrott and Grace work that into the origins of the Omega Rangers. Feeding off the discussion if they can leave Earth to become Blue Emissary’s Omega Rangers we see how heavy of a decision that was in these scenes with Jason and his dad. While being part of Zordon’s Power Rangers is a big responsibility they all feel what is equally having as much weight on the decision to leave Earth is the relationships they have. And for Jason that is his relationship with his parents that he has a sense of responsibility for being there for them.
That is where the big payoff comes into play as we see Jason’s dad turn out to be the final catalyst that was needed to push Jason to accept that it is time to move on for something bigger. You could tell that there was a trigger that went off in Jason’s mind when he heard his dad tell him to stop letting things hold him back when making decisions. That moment added weight to the important decision Jason, Trini and Zack made.
Further making the story of Jason, Trini and Zack’s decision was how we saw Trini and Zack interacting with Kimberly and Billy. Being MIA on their mission with Blue Emissary put Tommy, Kimberly and Billy in a position they had to step up even more to defeat the Hodgepodge Hedgehog. That was particularly true for Tommy, who didn’t have Jason there to lean on for leadership advice. This battle with the Hodgepodge Hedgehog was Tommy’s time to step up to make sure he, Kimberly and Billy save Grace Sterling and Promethea.
Parrott and Grace do an excellent job in showing Tommy stepping up by further developing how Saba is also a sentient being. Saba using Tommy’s strategy of combining the White Tigerzord with the MechaZord was a fantastic visual. It further pushes the idea that we are dealing with a modern day continuity of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that we can get new stuff like the White Tiger Mechazord.
Not only was that a fantastic visual but Kimberly and Billy both being left impressed and confident in Tommy’s leadership capabilities further helped push the idea that now is the right time for Jason, Trini and Zack to move on. Being able to defeat Hodgepodge Hedgehog in this way gives the three confidence that their friends can handle bringing up new Power Rangers in their place while they go off with the Blue Emissary. The way all these separate storylines feed one another is just another example of the strong control of the story they are telling that Parrott and Grace have on Go Go Power Rangers.
It was also a nice touch to show us Jason, Trini and Zack speaking with Zordon on their decision to leave the Power Rangers. This scene played in well with how Zordon has been always been developed as a father-figure for the Power Rangers. Parrott and Grace playing into that paternal part of Zordon that you do believe how proud he is that Jason, Trini and Zack have found new ways to help the world. That trust in their decision made his request for them to at least stick around until they can find new Power Rangers to fill their roles worked well to add a connection to the “Power Transfer” storyline.
The story with the Empowered also worked to finalize why when we first learn about the Omega Rangers that Kiya is already part of the team. This “Necessary Evil” storyline for Go Go Power Rangers was just as much Kiya’s origin story in the last few issues. Parrott and Grace do a great job creating a foundation for Kiya not understanding what is going on with her Empowered powers and how that causes anger within her. The interaction between her and Blue Emissary makes the moment when Kiya betrays the Blue Emissary and Omega Rangers in the current “Necessary Evil” story over on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers make even more sense. Having that sense of depth added to Kiya’s character makes Go Go Power Rangers #31 a great companion piece to its sibling title.
Parrott and Grace also did a very good job with presenting Lord Zedd as a scary villain. They fully tap into how Lord Zedd is not someone you should piss off with how he reprimands Squatt for his failure. This made the moment that Serpentera was unveiled make you believe that Lord Zedd is ready to take his war with the Power Rangers to the next level. Lord Zedd has seen his lieutenants fail enough, it is now time for him to take matters into his own hands.
Francesco Mortarino and Simona Di Gianfelice did a great job combining an anime and comic book aesthetic with Go Go Power Rangers #31. Having a combination of both styles works well with the franchise connection to the Super Sentai. Having this type of style makes the moments like White Tiger Mechazord and Serpentera’s appearances pop off the page even more. There is a great surge of energy felt whenever the Power Rangers are in action in two different settings.
The Bad: Nothing.
Overall: Go Go Power Rangers #31 does a fantastic job telling two stories that merge to tell one cohesive storyline. Ryan Parrott and Sina Grace provided great character development for all the Power Rangers to make the big payoff for the big decision Jason, Trini and Zack make be much more satisfying. With only one issue left in this series it’ll be interesting to see how Parrott and Grace connect the ending to the beginning of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ “Necessary Evil” storyline.
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