• Writers: Brenden Fletcher and Kelly Thompson
• Illustrator: Daniele Di Nicuolo
• Colors: Sarah Stern
• Letters: Ed Dukeshire
• Publisher: Boom! Studios
• Publication Date: December 14th, 2016

Power Rangers PINK #5: Synopsis

The battle against Verto takes a dramatic turn when he and his monsters equipped with the mighty zord Typhonis approach the Power Rangers and civilians left in the town. They have to think and act quickly to protect the townspeople and put a stop to Verto’s plan once and for all. Goldar is half with the plan, mind still reeling with ideas of killing Verto, while the Power Rangers focus is protecting the people and turning Verto’s monsters back into regular people. It takes a lot of trial and error, and help from Goldar and Alpha 5, but with time they are able to subdue Verto and reclaim Typhonis. With Verto in custody, the townspeople that were changed into monsters finally get turned back into regular people with no recollection of what had happened. Serge, Britt, and Kimberly get a few brief moments to reconnect with their families before another problem arises – the actual Power Rangers are trapped off-world, attacked by Rita and Lord Zedd. With Zordon not around to help them, they’re in crisis mode. So…it’s up to the new team to save the day, with 12 hours to spare before Zordon’s energy is gone for good.

Power Rangers PINK #5: Breakdown

The Power Rangers are having problems fighting Verto’s monsters. Unlike enemies of the past, these monsters are real people, so they need to be careful when confronting them. While they’re dealing with that, Goldar goes after Verto directly, but there’s a large disadvantage – Goldar is his regular self while Verto is in megazord form inside a towering Typhonis. Naturally, Goldar doesn’t stand much chance.

The townspeople begin helping the Rangers to contain the monsters so that the Rangers can focus on Verto and Typhonis. Kimberly tries first with her Firebird zord, but it’s too weak to go up against the Typhonis. Zack and Trini try scaling it, but that’s no good, either. The team begin asking Kimberly what the next plan is. She’s clearly wracking her brain trying to come up with an idea as Verto captures Goldar in a tight grip and begins squeezing with the plan of killing him. Thankfully for all of them, Alpha 5 hasn’t stopped trying to help despite the Command Center having exploded. He sends the shark cycles to them, upgraded with the ability to fly, in order to help their current situation. It’s perfect. 

Kimberly uses hers to free Goldar – crashing her cycle into Typhonis’ hand causing it to explode and release him. In a twist, as Kimberly plummets to the ground, Goldar is the one who saves her. The two head back to the Firebird, planning to have the Typhonis signal the Firebird back to it so they can gain access into the giant zord – with Kimberly’s mom joining them. The remaining Rangers continue attacking with the hopes of distracting Verto from Kim and Goldar’s plan.

It works. Kim, her mom, and Goldar subdue Verto and regain control of the Typhonis after a quick battle. Thankfully, Kim’s mom being a monster gives her greater strength to hold Verto and keep him from escaping. In captivity, Verto changes all the townspeople back from monsters to regular citizens, which gives Kim, Britt, and Serge some time to reconnect with their families. They don’t remember anything that happened, so Kim’s mom knowing her identity? No longer a problem. Whew.

Unfortunately, not everything goes exactly as Kimberly planned. Verto is convinced that Goldar will introduce him to Rita, but Goldar has other plans. He kills Verto with his sword in front of Kim, and flies off, leaving Kimberly the sobering reminder that yes, they worked together and were able to win thanks to that alliance…but Goldar is still evil. He is still not to be trusted.

She walks back to the group to find Zack and Trini kissing. Apparently, Kim has missed a lot while busy with the Pan Global Games and the fight with Verto. All is good and cheery for a moment before Kimberly mentions contacting Alpha 5 since they no longer need to be Power Rangers anymore – the world has Power Rangers, and not one of them are a part of that team anymore. However, when Alpha 5 does contact them, it’s with a hologram of the actual Power Rangers who are calling again in distress. They’re fighting against Rita and Zedd and are running out of power. They can’t even finish sentences before the communication breaks off, leaving Alpha 5 and the team in shock. 

Alpha 5 was thankfully able to gather coordinates before the communication broke off, and provides the new team with two reserve zords from the past – Tor and Titanus – to assist with rescuing the real Power Rangers. It’s morphin’ time…one more time.

The Cover and Art

This second to last cover is once more done by Elsa Charretier. It’s the Pink Ranger in her original suit, aiming her trusty arrow forward at Verto – as his shadow is behind her on the wall. His shadow is much bigger than her, and the dark shadow is a stark contrast to her bright suit, white and pink. Elsa works once again with Hi-Fi who does colors, and they make a perfect team in capturing Kimberly’s spirit in each cover that they’ve done. Kimberly stands out in the cover here, being the bright spark of light in an otherwise dark and dismal setting. It fits the mood of the town they’re currently in, considering the situation Kimberly ends up in the moment she arrives in France to see her mother. Every cover has had Kimberly in her original suit instead of her new one. Is it to not spoil potential new readers? Or is it because no matter what, no matter who is wearing that suit now… when one thinks of the Pink Ranger, their immediate thought is Kimberly? No matter what happens, no matter how much time goes by, that will always be Kimberly and that isn’t something anyone or anything can take away from her. That’s a pretty cool message.

Inside, the illustrations are by Daniele Di Nicuolo with colors by Sarah Stern. I love this team, I know I’ve said it before in other reviews. Even when there’s more happening in the background, the detail and focus never gets taken away from the main characters in each panel. It’s never hard for the reader to follow along and understand what action is happening. It’s never hard for the reader to know who to focus in on. The facial expressions are always one of the best things of each issue, matching their words perfectly.

For Kim, Zack, Trini, and Goldar…since those are well established characters, a reader may already have an idea in mind of what they’d say and what they’d look like, as well as how they’d react. Britt, Serge, and Verto have a little more leeway since they’re new. However, Daniele and Sarah really nail the expressions and colors for our new and old favorites, matching their personalities and speech just right.

Each panel is done with minimal detail, which makes what detail there is stand out more. It’s a great mix that works well, especially with the simple backgrounds. It makes the issue easy to read, panel to panel, and gives the illustrations a good flow to tag along with the story. Great job.

In Conclusion

I’m quite devastated that this is almost over. I’ve been having a great time reading these issues and following along where my favorites left off. After Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: The Movie in 1995, I stopped watching Power Rangers completely. For me, that movie was the finale. So this comic book picks up a few years after the movie, for me. Zack and Trini are still doing their jobs away from Angel Grove, and Kimberly is at the Pan Global Games. They’re still best friends, and they’re still themselves. There’s no change in character, no crazy twist for ratings, nothing. This comic picks the story up perfectly, and it’s a great continuation (so far) to Kim, Trini, and Zack’s stories.

I’m loving seeing Kim’s resourcefulness, and seeing her in charge and thinking, planning, plotting, more than she ever did originally on the show. Her maturity is demonstrated but she isn’t perfect. Her ideas aren’t always the right ones, and she doesn’t always have a plan. That’s important to her character. She’s still the girl I grew up with – just older, wiser. That’s huge for me, as a long time fan. Whenever a reboot of sometimes comes up, one of the concerns is always – do they still know the characters? It’s clear that the team behind PINK knows what they’re doing, and I am very grateful for it.

Zack and Trini was a surprise! Growing up, I always envisioned Trini and Billy because of how often they were paired together in multiple ways. I’m not arguing though; the way it was done was cute and fit their personalities nicely. And I’m happy for them! They’re two old favorites so to see them finding happiness in their new lives together is A+ in my book. I also really found myself amused by Kim’s reaction – it was so in character, so perfectly done. I could hear Amy Jo saying the lines in my head. Very cool.

It was such a thrill seeing some old school items! Tor and Titanus? I was hoping Titanus would show up in BOOM’s MMPR series, and poof – there is is! Incredibly cool. Titanus was a powerful resource used in the ’90s show, and Zordon often made it seem as though the zord had its own mind with how he referred to Titanus as an “old ally and friend.” In the show, once the Power Rangers upgraded to Thunderzords, Tor took over and Titanus wasn’t seen again until later seasons. Both were tremendous zords, large in size, used to double or even triple their power behind what their ultrazord could do for them. Seeing them both at once in a comic years later? Amazing.

Another random little thing, it was nice to see Kim’s parents! I don’t recall ever seeing them in the ’90s, so to actually have faces and snippets of personalities is a really great addition. Knowing them gives more insight into Kimberly’s character, especially with how important they are to her. 

Speaking of important people to her, the real Power Rangers. The connection between Tommy and Kimberly is very obvious, and it amuses me that Tommy is the only one Kimberly really calls out to. Well, naturally – he’s the one communicating. But it really makes me happy. Also, Kat being mentioned really settles in who that team is that’s off world – Tommy, Kat, Billy, Aisha, Adam, and Rocky. It’s interesting because Aisha, Adam, and Rocky are rarely ever used in anything Power Rangers nowadays. They’re almost never even brought up. Personally? I haven’t minded – I prefer Jason, Trini, and Zack even though I was okay with the new trio that replaced them. They weren’t the originals, however, and when I think of the Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers, I thin of Jason, Trini, and Zack respectively, immediately. I knew that’s who it was under the helmets, but somehow giving Kat one line and having Alpha 5 actually say her name really let that fact sink in for me. 

It also made me wonder why they had Jason be totally absent from this series. Maybe because of his focus in BOOM’s other Power Rangers series? One of the obvious reasons – they needed two empty ranger suits for Britt and Serge, and if Jason was around as the Red Ranger, Britt couldn’t have taken his suit to help Kimberly. It’s a lot to think about.

In conclusion: I don’t want this series to end. I’m loving it. It’s perfect, to me. I’m having a great time reading and remembering, and my waves of nostalgia are immense. Issue 6 will be bittersweet, and I’m looking forward to seeing how it all gets wrapped up.

Don’t let me down, BOOM! And readers, be sure to sound off below with your thoughts, too! If you haven’t already checked it out, you can find PINK issue 5 in comic stores December 14th; don’t miss it!