Knowing that Power Rangers Prime #16 is the final issue in the series is extremely bittersweet, to say the least. On the one hand, I know that there’s enough material in this series to carry it for many more issues, and it seems like it’s ending just as it’s getting to the good stuff. On the other hand, Melissa Flores and Federico Sorressa manage to deliver an ending that stays true to what makes Prime, and the very idea of Power Rangers, special.
It’s also packed with enough moments for at least two or three full issues. The Legion Ravager is about to destroy the Earth, and the Rangers not only have to fight its Triforian emissaries but also two other Rangers in the form of Jayden Shiba and his father. Victory seems like a faint hope, but the Rangers soon find something that can help them turn the tide. That this story is also full of all the karate, giant robots, and life lessons that make Power Rangers what it is is only the cherry on top.
Flores touches on what makes the Power Rangers a force to be reckoned with throughout the issue, especially in Lauren’s confrontation with her family. While her father and Jayden don’t see the point of fighting on in the face of what seems like the end, she tells them that being a Ranger is a choice to do good no matter what. Choice defines us, and Flores shows how the Rangers’ choices affect their lives and the people around them. I also love that Flores touches on every aspect of the universe that Power Rangers Prime has built. The VR Troopers, the tiny zord Teezee, and even Bulk have their parts to play, and they play them well.
BOOM!
Sorressa also plays his own part in bringing Power Rangers Prime #16 to a close, delivering plenty of fight scenes throughout the book. Each fight scene carries a different energy based on who’s fighting who: the battle between Rita, Orion and the Triforians ends up summoning a pair of giant monsters to the battlefield, increasing in scale with every page. In contrast, the fight between Lauren and her family is a smaller, more emotional affair. Sorressa also continues to have a gift for drawing motion to the point where this comic feels like it’s literally moving. Very few artists can pull off that kind of movement, especially with an action-heavy world like Power Rangers.
Finally, Joana LaFuente delivers a tableau of colors that captures the eye. In the very first page, she draws an image of the Prime Rangers that feels like a living painting, with each Ranger’s respective color swirling into the next. The majority of the issue also takes place during the daylight, with the sun’s golden rays highlighting how fierce this battle is. Topping it all off is the swirling light she brings to the speed lines in Sorressa’s work, highlighting the movement in each panel.
Power Rangers Prime #16 is a bittersweet, fitting end to one of the most unique Power Rangers comics under BOOM! Studios. It was willing to push the envelope, but it still remembered what made the Power Rangers the Power Rangers.
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