[DreamSword]

Go Go Power Rangers Volume 4

Rita decides it's time to unleash an ancient secret weapon.

When the Rangers attempt to stop her latest attack on Earth, Jason and Trini end up pulled into the warp gate that Rita creates.

This is the (in)famous "color swap" arc of the comics, which caused a bit of a stir, and still has somewhat of a reputation simply for the mere idea that the Rangers would be able to swap power sets in any way.

Eleonora Carlini takes over as head artist now, and her style is pretty similar to Dan Mora's', I feel. Which works for the Rangers brand, though I will say that I feel as though the faces could use some work. Overall it's good art though with some pretty creative shots drawn in.

Anyhow, while the exact mechanics and logistics of the Rangers changing suits is just sort of glossed over, it in itself is a pretty fun idea that the comic does take some nice mileage out of, even if Zack, Billy, and Kim only get to get in on it during the last issue of the arc. It's mainly Jason and Trini who use it, and primarily as a way to further their relationship.

We also get some nice backstory here as usual. Such as how the Rad Bug first came to be, how Jason started to change his mindset into becoming the leader we know him as, a hint as to why Skull ended up going down the path that he did, and arguably most importantly, an answer to an old question many fans have had for a long time. That being: Why didn't Rita ever use the Green Power Coin herself? The answer being, she couldn't.

Now, I've always been of the mindset that the show itself provided enough reasons as to why Rita herself never used it. Though why she had it in the first place is a little dicey. I always inferred that she stole it from Zordon in their previous battle, but the comics offer a slightly different take that I think works out decently enough. That being that she instead stole it from Ninjor, which also works. She then had it locked away until she felt she'd really need it. Makes enough sense, and results in a fun adventure on another planet to boot.

Really though, this volume overall provides a great balance of character development and fun, which is primarily what I look for in Power Rangers. It's simple, it's to the point, and I really couldn't be happier.

I'm sure someone else we'll be meeting in the future certainly could be, though.