Ranger Academy #12 Review

 

Writer: Maria Ingrande Mora

Artist: Jo Mi-Gyeong

Colorist: Joana Lafuente

Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

Designer: Madison Goyette

Editors: Kenzie Rzonca, Allyson Gronowitz & Matt Gagnon

Special Thanks: Dafna Pleban, Tayla Reo, Linda Lee & Ed Lane

Cover Artists: Miguel Mercado, Jo Mi-Gyeong & Naomi Franq

Publisher: Boom! Studios

Price: $3.99

Release Date: November 6, 2024

 

Like Zordon, the Headmaster of Ranger Academy inhabits a tower of light. But he has let fear drive his actions. Dark Specter stoked his fears until it corrupted him. Now, the Headmaster taunts adults and students, provoking them to morph so it can infect them with its insidious power. One of these corrupted Rangers attacked Tula, forcing Mathis to morph to protect her. Now, Dark Specter drives Mathis' actions. Can Sage and her friends get Zilan's machine working and free Mathis, the Headmaster, and everyone at Ranger Academy from Dark Specter's influence? Let's grab our Power Coins, leap into Ranger Academy #12, and see!

 

Story

Rhianth and Nika attended Ranger Academy with Zilan. Their Green Junior Power Ranger friend built a device to cleanse people of Dark Specter’s influence but died while freeing his younger sister Sage. The Headmaster closed off Green Campus and cloaked the incident beneath a veil of secrecy. Traumatized by Zilan’s death and the resultant coverup, Rhianth took young Sage to Vaela. Nika gave up being a Power Ranger but remained to help students as the Head Archivist. Sage grew up without knowing about her parents, tending animals on a tiny, isolated moon with her adoptive father.

 

In Ranger Academy #12, Tula must fight Mathis to reclaim part of Zilan’s machine. Tula hurt Mathis by keeping secrets from them. Incapacitating her friend feels like compounding the injury. Tula also hurt Sage by using her to gain entrance to her sister Tashi's former campus. But when they need to escape Dark Specter's influence, the Green Campus offers them time to regroup. The Headmaster closed off the campus because that’s where Dark Specter gained entry. But now, being severed from the Morphin Grid gives them time.

 

Entering the Green Campus reminds Tula of her late sister. It reminds Rhianth and Nika of Zilan. Lindy uses the part Mathis stole to get Zilan's machine working again. But they can't hide in the Green Campus forever. They must return to the Morphin Grid to prevent Dark Specter from spreading beyond the school. Sage and her young friends must find a way to combat Dark Specter without letting their fears drive them. Lindy, in many ways the heart and soul of the Junior Cadets, must push through her reliance on her knowledge and ingenuity and believe in herself in Ranger Academy #12.

 

Art

The central room where teachers and students once gathered in Maria Ingrande Mora’s story has become a mockery of its former self. Jo Mi-Gyeong conveys the horror of this overturned world as the disembodied Headmaster gazes down on Rhianth, Sage, and Lindy in triumph. Energy and debris swirl through the Opalescent Dome, forcing Nika to raise a table on its side to protect Maev, Kartyr, and Theo from injury. Rhianth ushers Sage and Lindy behind the table. Yet he stands before it, braving the malignant force he once fled from, as he watches Tula and Mathis battle amid the hurricane-like storm.

 

After Rhianth, Sage, and their friends abandon the pink and lavender Opalescent Dome, Joana Lafuente tinges the air green inside Tashi and Zilan’s former home. The company converges around magenta-haired Lindy. As she explains her plan, pink, red, yellow, green, blue, and gray circuits race down a black field behind her. Sage kneels before the green and blue device while Rhianth, clad in his brown coat, gazes down at his adoptive daughter. Then, white energy fills the room, overexposing characters as Dark Specter invades their sanctuary.

 

Ed Dukeshire fills Ranger Academy #12 with uppercase letters in white and colored dialogue balloons and green narrative boxes. Dark Specter’s voice appears as red letters inside cloudlike balloons, while shouts enlarge letters and deform balloon shapes. Giant colored letters break balloon boundaries in a decisive moment. But banging fills the Green Campus, reminding the friends that the doors cannot protect them indefinitely from the corrupted Power Rangers outside. Thanks to Boom!Studios and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Fear and pain separated Rhianth from his friend Nika and consigned him to an isolated existence on a tiny moon. Now, his daughter leads a team of young heroes to banish Dark Specter from their school. Ranger Academy #12 hums with the importance of hope, confidence, and the power of togetherness.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.