Power Rangers Prime has took a bit of a side mission in the previous issue to dedicate time to develop one of the members of the team: Markon Zhao. The development was certainly needed as Mark’s backstory was teased to be important to the narrative of the series. That proved true with the tragic backstory we got for Mark. But now that is out of the way it is time to get us back to seeing what the rest of the cast of the series are up to. We got an early copy of this week’s issue to check out from BOOM! Studios. Find out how it turned out with our advance review of Power Rangers Prime #7.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Michael Yg
Colorist: Fabi Marques
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
POWER RANGERS PRIME #7 SOLICITATION
“The Rangers might finally have their powers, but they still have a long way to go before they’re a real team. They’ll need to learn fast though, as one group delves into a mysterious and potentially dangerous underground labyrinth known as The Belly, while another explores a more… diplomatic solution to rescuing Mark.” – BOOM! Studios
REVIEW
Now that we are on the second half of the series lifespan Power Rangers Prime #7 gets us back to the larger focus on the team. It is a focus that was needed as we are immediately reminded on how complicated things are. Things don’t simply turn around now that the team have their Power Ranger powers like with other new beginnings for the franchise.
The complications that continue throughout Power Rangers #7 is where this series has shined brightest. The Eltarians dictatorial way of ruling the universe has already shown that a Power Rangers team is not enough to stop them. Afterall, that is why Lauren Shiba was the last Samurai Ranger when we found her being hunted by the Eltarian military.
Adding in the fact that several members of the Power Rangers Prime aren’t fully against the Eltarians spotlights the complication. Spotlighting this complication gave a lot of needed character development for Valentina and Junmor, the Yellow and Black Prime Rangers, needed. Melissa Flores does a great job at presenting both of these as possible wild cards.
Especially when it comes to Valentina’s boyfriend being VR Troopers leader Ryan Steele and Junmor’s mother being Eltarian Admiral Janessa. Both these personal relationships create a lot of questions as to the direction Power Rangers Prime could take.
Having these questions around two of the new franchise characters nicely build on how we saw Mark’s character development. Mark, Valentina, and Junmor all represent different aspects of how the new continuity impacts its inhabitants. They give us a fresh perspective on things in comparison to Lauren and Orion, who were known Power Rangers characters from the previous continuity.
Splitting up the team also was a good way to have Lauren, Orion, and Rita learn more about how things work on the Eltarian-ruled Earth. Particularly, the underground as not all are necessarily welcomed in society. This gave way to use the typical Power Rangers fight in a way that further expands the world beyond the surface level we have been shown thus far.
The only element of Power Rangers #7 that doesn’t work mini-T-Rex robot that Orion and Mark found a few months before the series started. Now that we are into the second half of this series this came across as a random plot convenience addition. The problem is that the mini robot is not really needed to progress the story. More than anything, it took away valuable pages that could’ve been used to develop Orion and Lauren’s characters.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Power Rangers Prime #7 is a very good start to the second half of the series life. Melissa Flores and Michael Yg tap into how things aren’t as straightforward as they normally are after the Power Rangers are formed. Each member of the cast is bringing their own baggage to the story, and it is really highlighted here. The complications that arise creates even greater intrigue in finding out where the story will go next.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
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