Shattered TokuNation – Why You Need to Read Go Go Power Rangers

The Shattered Grid event is here and to celebrate we’ve Shattered TokuNation! We’re spending today, the official launch of the Shattered Grid event for the Power Rangers comics from BOOM! Studios, in celebration of all things Power Rangers comics!

This article we’re going to explore what happens to “sister” comics all too often. You know what a “sister” comic is right? It’s the comic that’s technically a spinoff of another comic that always seems to fall to the wayside in terms of readers and popularity. We’re going to spend the next few paragraphs explaining to you why you NEED to be reading Go Go Power Rangers from Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora.

To get started click “Read More”! Beware – SPOILERS AHEAD!

For starters let’s go ahead and clear out a misconception of Go Go Power Rangers. It’s not really a “sister” comic because it’s not technically a spinoff comic of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. While the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic – written by Kyle Higgins – takes place in a canon standpoint from the days after the end of the Green with Evil saga from the television show, Go Go Power Rangers takes place just days after the teenagers become Power Rangers entirely.

The entire focal point of Go Go Power Rangers is to explore the actual teenagers themselves – Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly – and how they deal with their everyday life now that they’re spandex-wearing superheroes. While you still get to see monsters arriving and the Power Rangers morphing to kick some alien butt, it’s not the focal point of the series.

The first main story arch just wrapped up. It dealt with a guy named Matt and his relationship to the rest of the teens and especially to his girlfriend Kimberly. What do you think would happen when four of your friends become your four best friends because you hang out every afternoon battling evil monsters from space? How is that going to effect your relationships with other people or, in this case, a significant other? You can’t tell them who you are outside of school and you don’t dare allow the bad guys to discover the relationship in fear of endangering them.

Well – that’s exactly what happens, as Rita Repulsa discovers that Matt is that 6th friend who wasn’t chosen by Zordon to become a Power Ranger. She kidnaps him and replaces him with a sentient putty with a mission – discover all the secrets of the Power Rangers and then destroy them. The putty does exactly as he is told – he learns some of the closely held secrets of each Ranger, uses it against them or to manipulate them, and awaits his time to reveal himself to destroy the Rangers.

Unfortunately for Rita, the putty (remember, he’s sentient) ends up growing to care about the relationships he’s a part of, begins to care about Kimberly, and has an internal struggle with himself on what to do. Just as he’s about ready to reveal the truth to the Power Rangers at prom, the real Matt escapes his prison on the moon and reveals the putty to the others. Angry and in shock, the putty lashes out at the Power Rangers who have the most emotional and meaningful morph not just of the series, but possibly in the franchise. The evil putty fights Rita’s mind control and eventually the Power Rangers destroy him. But the damage is done to the real Matt – he’s shown to be hiding away in his room, eyes wide-open in the dark, fearful and suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome.

But the Power Rangers won’t get to rest easy – the evil Ranger Slayer, revealed to be the alternate reality’s Kimberly Hart, is about to travel to their time on a mission for her master Lord Drakkon. How will the Power Rangers cope with the fact that they’re going to have to fight the evil version of one of their own teammates who wants to destroy them?

If that sounds exciting – just imagine what others things that were left out! Does Jason have underlying feelings for Trini, and did Trini, trying to think what’s best for the team, lie to Jason when the two finally discussed the miscommunication between them? How does Billy cope with the fact that Zack was ready to give Matt the Triceratops Power Coin because Billy wasn’t strong enough in Zack’s eyes to be a member of the Power Rangers? And Kimberly, who nearly allowed her friends to be destroyed because she couldn’t see through a ploy from Rita Repulsa, how does she live with herself and face her fellow teammates?

These are the questions left to be answered as Shattered Grid takes over Go Go Power Rangers. The book is like taking the best of the old high school drama shows (who remembers The O.C.? Come on, anyone? Welcome to the OC, b*tch!) and happens to make them Power Rangers on the side. And the artwork from Dan Mora is simply stunning. Every turn of the page is a real treat for the eyes and we’re in love with everything he’s doing. You’ve peeped the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual releasing in April, right? That Zeo Gold Ranger cover is hot!

Do yourself a favor and get a subscription to Go Go Power Rangers. It’s new, high school based stories for teenagers who happen to be superheroes, but these are stores centered around what would probably happen to teenage superheroes. You’ve got a test to study for – oops monster attack – didn’t finish studying, fail the test, college scholarships on the line, you go to take a make-up test and BAM another monster attack. What do you do? This is a story about the sacrifices our teenage heroes have to make and their struggle in making them. And that doesn’t even count the incredible characterization for Bulk thus far in the series.

Ryan Parrott does an amazing job at weaving together stories that capture your attention and are full of heart. Dan Mora takes those stories and brings them to life in ways that many comic artists struggle to do. Go Go Power Rangers 08 is out now and Issue 09 releases at the very beginning of May. Get started on this book – you won’t be disappointed!