This article is about a/an comic book issue in the Power Rangers comic sub-franchise by Boom! Studios. |
Go Go Power Rangers #4 is the fourth issue of the Go Go Power Rangers comic by Boom! Studios that focuses on the daily lives of the Power Rangers. It features the in-universe debut of the Blade Blasters.
Synopsis[]
The Rangers go head-to-head with Rita's monster, Flog, and finally start to settle into their roles as Earth's protectors. But all the while, Rita is plotting a new attack that the Rangers will never see coming…because it involves Kim's boyfriend, Matthew.[2]
Plot[]
Four months before Arrival Day, Kimberly's parents are at a fancy restaurant arguing about what school their daughter should go to. Helen wants her daughter to go to Angel Grove High so she will grow up normal and not become an entitled private school brat who then becomes a rich layabout. Roger, a practicing Catholic, is repulsed by the idea and wants his daughter to go to a private Catholic school, snarking that she will grow up to be a "dumb, sexual deviant" in a public school. Kimberly is embarrassed as they argue in public and tries to tell them to stop. Helen is angry as she didn't want to move to Angel Grove, as Kimberly had friends and a good school in Los Angeles but both were forced to move due to Roger's new job.
Roger and Helen Hart continue to argue as Kimberly buries her face in her hands in shame. She then notices that the nicoise salad she ordered is all wrong and yells at someone she thinks is the waiter about it, Zack, who tries to explain that he is just the busboy and he is sure that the salads do not have green olives. Roger stops arguing and thinks Zack is being insolent and refusing to provide service to his daughter. This catches the attention of the restaurant's manager, who asks what the problem is and Helen explains their side of the story without letting Zack try to defend himself. Zack tries to explain what really happened to his boss, but he is having none of it and views Zack's supposed "behavior" as unacceptable. Kimberly tries to defuse the situation by apologizing and saying it is no big deal, but her previous actions get Zack fired from his job. Roger demands a complimentary bottle of red wine for the "bad service" and hopes things don't get any worse tonight.
Back in the present, Kimberly is holding an injured Matt, who passes out. Angry, Kimberly attempts to morph to fight Flog, only for Zack to step in and save her (as there are people watching). Trini and Billy get to use their new Blade Blasters on Flog or "Captain Cannibal" as Billy briefly calls him. Zack goes in and puts on a ruse in case Matt is listening, addressing Kimberly as if he doesn't know her. He asks her to get to safety, but Kimberly refuses to leave Matt's side until she gets him to a hospital, which complicates things as Flog begins charging at the two.
At the convenience store, Jason is still trying to find a reason to sneak off to morph into the Red Ranger, but Caplan is still refusing to let anyone leave. Bulk is worried about Skull and wants to go find him. Ernie, who is more sympathetic than Caplan, tries to comfort the two, saying that the Power Rangers are out there and they will find their friends.
Outside, Trini and Zack are trying to keep Flog busy by throwing a car at him, but worry they need the Red Ranger to get things under control. Zack says wherever Jason is there are people there and they risk exposing his identity. Billy is almost done handling the Putties, but then hears a cry for help. He heads in the direction of the voice, only to discover it is Skull upon lifting up the debris that buried him. Skull has a fanboy moment and tells the Blue Ranger that if he ever wants to hang out with him and Skull, he can, and that they are alike. Billy loses composure of his superhero persona and disagrees, saying that the Power Rangers see everything Bulk and Skull do.
Kimberly stands next to Matt and apologizes for leaving him, but she is needed by their friends. She thanks a strange woman for offering to take him to the hospital, unaware that it is Rita's monster, who then abducts Matt. On the Moon, Finster congratulates Rita on a job well done, asking if Flog can be recalled. Rita disagrees, as he has served his purpose, making the monster grow with her magic wand. Finster doesn't understand her intentions, but Rita says that even in defeat there is a possible victory, as the damage sustained will weaken her enemies slowly and one good deception or strike will finish the job if she bides her time long enough to find an opening.
Flog grows and begins terrorizing the city, then heads for the West Hills Power Station. The Rangers call their Dinozords and try to restrain Flog, but this turns out to be a trap as it uses the energy from the power lines to short out the Rangers controls on their Zords. Kimberly tries to dive down to attack, but gets hit after being blinded by Flog's smoke screen. Her Zord has a damaged wing and she flies off, struggling to keep it in the air. Zordon orders the Rangers to retreat as Alpha cannot reboot the controls and they need the Megazord for this battle. Billy objects as the power station getting knocked out by Flog will cause a partial city wide blackout. Zack gets an idea hearing this and says they should cause a power failure, targeting one of the pylons to shut off a specific part of the electrical grid. Billy uses the Triceratops Dinozord's cannons to knock out power where Jason is, giving him the chance to slip out of the convenience store unnoticed by teleporting.
Flog chases the Triceratops Dinozord and captures it, only for the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord to appear. Jason asks Billy to "play dead", so he lowers the head of the Triceratops Dinozord and Jason uses his T-Rex to smack Flog away with its tail. While Flog is down, the Dinozords become the Megazord and slice up Flog's tentacles. Flog tries to use his smokescreen again while closing in, but Jason simply listens for its movements and orders his team to strike with the Power Sword. This results in a lucky break as Flog is killed and the Rangers stand victorious. Billy wonders if Rita's attacks are more organized than they think as there seems to be a pattern as she attacked Angel Grove twice.
As Zack, Billy and Trini head to the Youth Center, they decide to put on "big smiles and lie" and come thinking that people will be freaked out about the attack like last time. Much to their surprise, the people inside are happy and laughing. Jason explains that is because of the Power Rangers, the kids and parents feel safer knowing they have heroes protecting them. Jason also adds that they are the new staff of the Youth Center, so Ernie won't have to close it down. Trini is reluctant to take on this responsibility at first, but Jason explains that it is perfect as it gives the gang an alibi when they are training, keeps Ernie in business and keeps those that they love happy.
At the Kwan residence, Trini is giving her mother a belated birthday gift. Mrs. Kwan tries to be understanding, telling her daughter that she isn't mad that she forgot her birthday as she knows she is busy. Trini says she is never too busy to be with her mother. Mrs. Kwan opens the box and finds a garden rock with the Korean character for "family" on it, something that was from her home in Korea and a cherished treasure from her time as a child with Trini's grandma. Overjoyed, Mrs. Kwan tightly hugs her daughter and thanks her, thinking that the reason the birthday present was late was because of international shipping and Trini must have planned this months in advance. She is unaware that Trini used the Command Center's teleporters to beam to Korea to get it from her grandma's rock garden and then came back to Angel Grove.
In the Command Center, Zack is troubled by something and asks Zordon: Why wasn't he chosen to be the Red Ranger or the leader? He says that he loves Jason as a friend, but his reckless actions on the Moon rescue of the astronauts nearly got them all killed and when Jason was absent during the Flog incident, he stepped up as leader to fill in.
Zordon feels he is betraying Jason's trust by telling Zack why, but his actions and courage have earned him the right to know. Zordon explains that Jason was once exactly like Rita Repulsa, a person who abused power to take what they wanted. The major difference is that Jason saw the error of his ways and strives to be a better person. Jason would rather die than let a Ranger go down the dark path he did as a kid. Alpha helped Zordon choose each of them based on one thing: they are brave but seemingly flawed when apart, but bring out the best in each other to create a team that is inseparable and unstoppable. Just because Zack isn't what he wanted to be means he isn't a valued team member, truly good teamwork is when all of them step in to be leaders and make decisions when the situation calls for it, especially when it is in unexpected circumstances.
At Angel Grove Hospital, Kimberly is sleeping next to Matt's bed in a chair. Zack comes in to check on both of them, only to be surprised that Matt is now wide awake despite Kimberly saying the doctors thought there was "something weird" about him upon examination. Matt is relieved everything is normal again and the world didn't end, only for it to be revealed that it is a dummy Matt operated by Rita. Rita speaks through him as the real Matt is held prisoner and bound by a wall of Putties as the evil witch observes his friends from her crystal ball, planning her next move.
To Be Continued....
Appearing[]
Featured Characters:
Red Ranger | Jason Lee Scott |
Blue Ranger | Billy Cranston |
Pink Ranger | Kimberly Hart |
Yellow Ranger | Trini Kwan |
Black Ranger | Zack Taylor |
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Planet Earth
- Angel Grove
- Fancy Restaurant (flashback)
- Convenience Store
- Command Center
- Angel Grove Youth Center
- Trini's House
- Jason's House
- Angel Grove High School
- Hospital
- Angel Grove
- Earth's Moon
Covers[]
Reprints[]
- Go Go Power Rangers Volume One
- Go Go Power Rangers Volume One Deluxe Edition
Errors[]
- to be added
Notes[]
- Movie homage variant cover: Back to the Future
- During the Moon scene, Neil Armstrong's footprint is briefly shown in a panel. This foreshadows the 1969 adventure in Issue 20 of the main comic series, which is about a Power Rangers mission during the Apollo space program.
- Caplan once again shows his negative, overzealous and strict attitude by refusing to let any civilians leave the convenience store.
- It's revealed that Kimberly's father is Catholic, and that he doesn't want his daughter to become a sexual deviant in public school. Her mother, Helen, is shown to be revolted by the elitism that she finds is fostered in private schools, fearing that her daughter would become an irresponsible and reckless snob.
- The "Salad Girl" incident in Issue 2 is explained in this issue, Kimberly got upset over a salad which led to Zack losing his job, thus explaining his initial hostility towards her when she started going to his school.
- The comic series would go on a brief hiatus for November, thus the next issue would be published on the last week of December 2017.
References[]
Footnotes[]