Power Rangers: 10 Best Moments From ‘Go Go Power Rangers’ #13 With Ryan Parrott

This week’s issue of Go Go Power Rangers kicks off the post-Shattered Grid era, and we’ve assembled some of our favorite moments from the book with some bonus commentary from writer Ryan Parrott.

Warning, spoilers are for Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers #13 are incoming, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.

Despite Shattered Grid being over, there are still some big ripples from that epic event, especially in regards to Matthew. It’s not all heavy themes though, as fans will get a kick out of several beloved elements from the original television series making their debuts in the comics, ones that you’ll immediately recognize.

To recap, last time we saw the Rangers in Go Go they were dealing with two huge monsters, who gave the Rangers a run for their money. Thankfully the Ranger Slayer (Kimberly from Drakkon’s timeline) helped them out a bit with some assistance from the Gravezord, even forming a new Megazord in the process.

Ranger Slayer would eventually be discovered by Grace Sterling and Promethea, and as we saw in Shattered Grid #1 she stayed with her to help end Drakkon’s plan.

As for Rita, it was previously teased that she would start hunting for the sixth Power Coin, and we do get some movement in regards to that journey in this issue as well. If you were around for Power Morphicon, you also know that the Rangers are switching their colors up soon, and that storyline finds itself rooted in this issue as well.

Before we get started, Go Go Power Rangers #13 is written by Ryan Parrott with art by Eleonora Carlini, and you can check out the official description below.

“After the shocking conclusion of Shattered Grid , the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are still picking up the pieces. Meanwhile, Rita Repulsa sets into motion a plan to retrieve an artifact that might be the key to besting Zordon and the Rangers once and for all…”

Alright, without further ado let’s check out our favorite moments from Go Go Power Rangers #13 with writer Ryan Parrott!

Fighting Pudgy

The issue kicks off with a treat for longtime Ranger fans, as the Rangers take on one of the more memorable villains of the Mighty Morphin era in Pudgy Pig. Thankfully he’s just as disturbing as ever, but in addition to a delightful homage Pudgy also helped establish a timeline.

“Coming out of Shattered Grid, I thought it was important to find an iconic moment that would immediately help orient the reader as to where Go Go was in the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger timeline, similar to the way the first issue showed the final Goldar battle from “Day of the Dumpster”. And is there a more iconic monster than Pudgy Pig? I think not,” Parrott said.

The Power Blaster

Fans will also appreciate the introduction of the Power Blaster, which manifests when the Rangers combine each of their Power Weapons into one powerful cannon. New series artist Eleonora Carlini makes this sequence feel right out of the show, even including the Rangers calling out their individual weapons.

Billy also makes a quick aside that they should use it more often, and Parrott reveals that is sort of a reference to himself.

“Yeah, after I decided on Pudgy Pig, I rewatched the episode and realized the Rangers defeat the monster with the Power Blaster… and I hadn’t even shown them use it yet! That’s just bad form on my part,” Parrott said. “And if you’ve read any of Go Go, you know I love my Ranger morphin sequences. So Billy’s line about “using it more often” is really just a dig at myself for taking thirteen issues to finally get around to it.”

A Mother’s Intuition

Go Go always builds its characters not only in regards to their Ranger lives but also their personal ones, and Trini’s conversation with her mother is a perfect example.

Her mother picks up on the fact that Trini is very focused on finding the right sweater, and correctly guesses it’s because of a guy. Granted, she doesn’t know it’s Jason, but she’s pretty on the money about everything else, and it was great to see more of Trini interacting with her family in this way.

“This scene was actually in the first pages I saw from Eleonora… and I think they’re flawless,” Parrott said. “I love the vulnerability in Trini’s “Maybe” and the sweet display of a mother’s patience. I enjoyed the way this scene came together because I got to sorta make a joke about how the Rangers always wear the same colors… and yet tie it into how self-conscious we all are in our teens, especially around those we’re crushing on.”

The Rad Bug Revealed

Another stalwart of Mighty Morphin makes its debut in Go Go this month, and that would be Billy’s Rad Bug! The VW Beetle turned flying car is instantly recognizable here, though it will still need some work before it can actually fly to the Command Center. You can also see exactly where Billy gets the name for it too, which is a nice bonus.

“I’ve heard fans have a “love/hate” relationship with the Rad Bug… but I knew, if Go Go’s job is to add texture to the lives of the original Rangers, there’s no way I was gonna miss telling the origin of Billy’s flying car,” Parrott said. “In a weird way, I see it as sort of a representation of Billy: It may not appear too special on the outside, but there’s a lot going on under the hood.”

Jason New Role

Last issue Jason confronted his father about letting him help with his illness, and we get to see how that new role is going here. It’s only really a few panels but it’s amazing what comes across in so little space, and for Parrott this part of the story held some additional meaning.

“I had a friend in high school whose mother needed constant medical care… and I didn’t know about it for years,” Parrott said. “He never lied, but he also didn’t directly tell anyone because he didn’t want to be pitied. In hindsight, I remember feeling horrible about complaining about all of my stupid problems while he was dealing with that. So, this was an attempt to tap into that feeling… plus, I love how comics allow you to show lies, with captions contrasting images. I really should do that more often too.”

Rita Unleashed

Carlini really hit it out of the park in this issue, but one of her best moments was this Rita Repulsa panel, with the evil empress cloaked in shadow and reining destruction on Angel Grove with her henchmen at her side. The more we see of this Rita the better.

“One of my goals for the series going forward was to finally get Rita out of the Moon Palace and let her wreck a little havoc herself,” Parrott said. “Eleonora did an amazing job with her arrival on Earth. To me, it feels like Rita literally brought a hurricane with her. I love it.”

The Ripples Of Shattered Grid

One of the bigger ripples from Shattered Grid is the crew’s relationship with Matt, who asked them to tell him the truth about their lives as Rangers in the last issue. They didn’t, and thus he seemingly left them behind, and as seen here is giving them the cold shoulder three weeks later. That is starting to take a toll on the team, especially Kimberly, and her reaction paints a perfect picture of what she’s feeling.

“In my eyes, Shattered Grid’s consequences in Go Go are entirely emotional. Sure, the Rangers won… but it cost them Matthew,” Parrott said. “And that goes double for Zack and Kimberly. In the next few issues, we’ll see if Kim’s statement about “everybody winning” is true or just an expression of her own resigned frustration.”

Megaputty!

While the Rangers faced Pudgy Pig in the opening moments, they do get a new enemy to face off against as well in the form of a Megaputty, and these things are going to take a lot more punishment than your average Putty. It again shows how the comics can pull from the original series while also adding new elements to keep things lively, plus it looks pretty dope.

“I mean, it’s probably been done before and I just missed it, but I figured… if the Putties are made out of clay, why not make them BIGGER than a normal person? In all honesty, it was just an excuse for me to use the name “MEGAPUTTY”, which I yelled every time I wrote it in the script,” Parrott said.

Baboo’s Changing His Tune?

Few are more loyal to Rita than Squatt and Baboo, and we’ve seen a bit of their backstories revealed in this series to explain part of why. Still, that doesn’t mean their loyalty will always be unwavering, and it’s interesting to see a bit of doubt in the way Baboo refers to Rita in this issue.

“Loyalty is something that’s very important to Rita Repulsa,” Parrott said. “So, what would happen if one of her servants began to question her leadership skills? It’s like in sports, you can only lose so many games before people start looking at the coach. Baboo is arguably my favorite characters in this arc for just that reason.”

Changing Of The Guard

As previously announced at Power Morphicon, the Rangers in Go Go are changing their colors, and it’s much more than just a simple color swap. That storyline kicks off in this issue, as Jason and Trini are the first ones to switch colors, with Trini taking on the Red Ranger role and Jason taking on the Yellow Ranger role.

“I was genuinely surprised by the reaction the color swapping element received when it was first announced,” Parrott said. “I’ve seen people praise me for my dedication to inclusivity and others berate me for shoving a social agenda into the series… all before a single page of the comic saw print. For me, I did it entirely to service the characters. This is a story about two people on a journey of discovery, not just of a dangerous alien planet, but also of one another.”

Well, that’s our list, but let us know your favorite moments of the issue in the comments!