Power Rangers #14
Clint Theron
Recap
The new Blue Omega Ranger, along with the rest of the Power Rangers, retreat to Safehaven to plan their next steps.
With information gathered from Zordon and the Blue Emissary, our motley crew of heroes and villains set their sights on defeating the minions of their former ally and conducting a rescue mission.
But in a galaxy full of enemies, who... or what... awaits their rescue?
Review
Who knew that the Power Rangers teaming up with the “Evil Space Aliens” would be so successful? I sure didn’t, but I loved seeing the two forces rally against Supreme Guardian Zartus. Seriously, this issue is nonstop action with great feats by all of our favorite Power Rangers characters. It’s so refreshing to see the Rangers get the upper hand in the war with Eltar, and I never would have guessed someone like Squatt would be their secret weapon.
I have to start with Zartus himself, as I wasn’t impressed with his overtly arch-villain characterization presented here. In the past few issues, he’s been a bit nuanced as an antagonist and never straight up mustache-twirling supervillain. Well, that changes in this chapter as he commands his henchman to torture a member of his crew to get answers from Zelya. Unless something big happens in the next few issues, I don’t think Zartus really holds a candle to previous Power Rangers villains.
Moving on, we have Zedd’s band of aliens who have allied themselves with the Rangers in the absence of their leader. Fans of Goldar will be happy to see the lovable villain get a fantastic moment against one of the members of Sentry Force Four. We also get a classic character coming out as queer with Baboo, who “never really cared for labels.” It’s a strange scene that doesn’t feel completely natural. Zag, a member of Sentry Force Four, flirts with Adam and Baboo randomly brings up labels. I love all forms of representation (and Baboo and Squatt always had a sort of Burt and Ernie sort of thing going on), but I do wish Baboo’s comments felt less awkward. It was also slightly reminiscent of old 80’s comics where a character is coded as queer but never flat-out stated as such.
But above it all, the most exciting part of the comic for me was seeing Zordon in action. This is a character who we’ve only ever seen in the TV series as a giant floating head in a tube. The comics, especially under Ryan Parrott, have given such depth to Zordon as a father figure for the Rangers. And next issue seems to be a true test for Zordon as he is greeted by a familiar face…
Final Thoughts
In perhaps the most exciting issue of this epic crossover yet, we see the Power Rangers finally get the upper hand. It's great to see the teenagers with attitudes finally win a battle even if the war isn't over just yet.
Power Rangers #14: Get Off Our Planet
- Writing - 9.5/109.5/10
- Storyline - 9/109/10
- Art - 8.5/108.5/10
- Color - 9/109/10
- Cover Art - 7.5/107.5/10