Interview: Ryan Parrott On The Future Of Power Rangers Comics

A new era draws near for BOOM! Studios’ Power Rangers comic books.

The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic book series is set to reveal the fallout of Shattered Grid, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers is set to reach its climax, and a brand new storyline titled ‘Necessary Evil’ is set to finally introduce the White Ranger.

It’s an exciting time for BOOM! Studios, and Power Rangers NOW had a chance to catch up with Writer Ryan Parrott at WonderCon 2019. Check out our full interview below with Ryan Parrott (Writer, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers & Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers).

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What can you tell us about the fallout of Power Rangers: Shattered Grid?

We had conversations about where we would go after Shattered Grid. It wasn’t until I started writing it in which everything changes from the pitch to the execution. But there were tons of ideas. We couldn’t write the ending of Shattered Grid unless we had an idea of where we were going.

Hopefully it’s a story that will deal with Shattered Grid in a way that people want. It’s a way to bring back all the characters fans want to see. After all, I’m a fan just like you guys. But at the same time, I need to make sure the character, emotions, and logic is all real and sound.

But I also know I’m never going to please everyone.

What can you tell us about the upcoming storyline, Power Rangers: Necessary Evil?

I can’t say much about Necessary Evil. The White Ranger is in it. The original Rangers are back. And it will deal with the ramifications of Shattered Grid. How that happens? You’ll just have to read.

Hopefully it’s a story that will deal with Shattered Grid in a way that people want it to.

If you like how both comic book series’ intertwined during Shattered Grid, you can compare it to that – but it’ll be more connected.

What makes Necessary Evil different from Shattered Grid?

Necessary Evil definitely has its own vibe. It’s going back towards the original series. I felt like Beyond The Grid had this really crazy world building, and [Writer] Marguerite Bennett built her own little world. I’m kind of bringing it back more towards the style you knew of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers TV series – with some twists and turns.

The thing I love about the Power Rangers comics is that they’re about super teams. So you can expect me to try and expand on characters – like giving villains different motivations for doing what they do.

But there will be characters you’ll be really excited to see. I’m going to bring in some characters fans really wanted to see, and then of course bring in new ones that can continue to expand that world.

Soon you’ll be taking over the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comic book series, in addition to Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers. What is it like to do two books at the same time?

It’s a lot, but it’s a lot of fun to do. Bless BOOM! Studios for letting me do this, as it’s a dream come true.

Really, I’m trying to stay true to what Kyle Higgins did in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I look at that comic book series as the universe expanding one; the one where you can do things that you couldn’t do on the TV show. And I want to stay true to that with the same speed and pace.

Meanwhile, Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers is about the character stuff, where keeping a friend’s promise is as important as defeating a monster. And you can use both books to play off of each other. I can set up stuff in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers that I can use in Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers to explore in a slower way. That’s the fun thing about having the two books.

Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers took place in a small amount of time, and you had a limited amount of characters to use. But if you look at the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, they had Lord Drakkon and huge additions of characters. So with Necessary Evil, I want to do something similar to where Drakkon brought this whole new energy to the book. I want to do the same and bring in new energy and new threats.

What are your favorite Power Rangers seasons?

I’ll be honest. I haven’t seen all 25 seasons completely. But I’ve at least dabbled in each. I do like Power Rangers S.P.D. and Power Rangers Time Force. But what’s cool is not only that this show has been on so long, but that each season has its own style. So there are elements of every season I like.

For example, I love the A-Squad vs. B-Squad concept, and I’d love to steal that idea down the road.

In taking control of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, do you plan to start touching characters from other seasons?

The thing I always loved about Power Rangers is that each season always felt like its own. Each season is like its own Jenga tower where it has its own support tower.

I still feel like there’s a ton of story left to explore with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, especially with the White Ranger and everything around that. But there’s a lot of characters that come up in mythology later on that I’d love to touch on, but for now, I want to stick to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Some fans have been confused how the comic book stories are connected to the stories they’ve seen on the TV show. Can you explain that?

The original TV show took place in the 1990’s, but our comic book series takes place in the modern day with cell phones and all. But because of that, some people assume they must take place in different worlds.

But if you look at the Free Comic Book Day issue, and more, the dialogue is the same as what’s in the TV show. If you look at where I dropped in the characters, like Pudgy Pig, it fits right in with the TV series. So I’ve always looked at the comic books and the TV show as being in the same timeline, and in the same continuity. I know some fans may argue against that, but that’s the way I look at it. It’s all canon to me.

Will the upcoming origins of the Green Ranger in the Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers comic book series be able to fit in with ‘Green With Evil’?

I look at ‘Green With Evil’ as the high water-mark of the show. Everyone loved that arc. I feel like the comics work best when they’re telling new stories. So if I did a version where I re-told ‘Green With Evil’, I feel I’d be setting myself up for failure. So when you see the new Green Ranger’s origin, and how it lines up with the timeline, I think you’ll feel it pays tribute to the show we all loved without trying to uproot it.

Where did the idea of introducing Rita Repulsa’s mother come from?

I knew the storyline of Alpha 1 was going to come in from the very beginning, but the story of Rita’s mom didn’t come in until very late in the game. So when the Green Power Coin storyline came up, I realized I had a little extra room in the story. And I knew I wanted to dig into Rita’s past. So I figured, why not do both at the same time?

So that’s where the idea of Rita’s mom came from. And thank Hasbro for letting me go there. When I asked Hasbro “Who’s Rita’s mom?” and they said “It was never stated”…I knew we had to go after that.

Did you ever think about bringing in Rita Repulsa’s dad, Master Vile?

Master Vile is just so powerful. I felt like if I brought him in, I wouldn’t be able to do him justice. There was conversation about bringing him in, and exploring what Rita’s mom sees in Master Vile, and also what Rita sees in Master Vile. But I just thought if I brought him in, everything else would stop. If you’re going to do that, you have to dedicate a lot to that.

Can you talk about King Lexian’s appearance in Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers?

I knew if we were going to bring in Alpha 1, I had to explain where he came from. And King Lexian created Alpha 5, so I thought it was only logical he created Alpha 1.

Did you always want to bring in King Lexian because he’s from Masked Rider?

I tend to steer away from Super Sentai stuff. Just because I already have one universe in my head, so I don’t need another. But if the fans like King Lexian’s appearance, that’s awesome. The thing that excites me is that he’s Zordon’s contemporary. I love that someone else can talk to Zordon the way that Lexian does.

But when it comes to Masked Rider, I don’t plan to bring a character in for that reason.

Where did the idea of Alpha 1 come from?

My initial pitch for the series was Alpha 1 coming in as a helper that learns from Zordon. But as he starts to learn who Zordon is, he changes. If you think about it, Zordon is kind of like a God, an oh wise one. Plus there’s elements of Zordon’s credo’s and rules that people don’t always agree with. His rules are very strict and sometimes create bigger problems. So I wanted a character who would challenge Zordon and force the Rangers to look at him in a different way. Plus it forces Zordon to look at himself. If someone were to question your rules, you would question yourself.

Why did you decide to make Alpha 1 evil?

The way I thought about Alpha 1 was like “If Zordon was God, who was his Lucifer?”. The idea of Lucifer was he was God’s prized angel, but he thought he was greater than God. But that’s where the idea of Alpha 1 came from. He thinks he’s the greatest.

The thing I like about Alpha 1 is, I think he has some really interesting points. When you start to see what he feels, and why he feels that.

Can you talk about what Matt meant to the Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers series?

I think he was super important because he was the wildcard. If I put any of the Rangers in danger, you know they’re not going to die. But if I put Matt in danger, everyone was curious. So he brought moments of tension. I also liked the way he was emotionally connected to all of the Rangers, and not just Kimberly.

And I liked to write every issue as if Matt could die. There was something very specific I wanted to do with that character in Saban’s Go Go Power Rangers: Forever Rangers.

Can we expect to see Rocky, Adam, or Aisha in the comics any time soon?

I love those characters. They’re great. I especially love Aisha. All I can say is – they are part of the Power Rangers mythology and I can see there being a point when the comics would explore them. But I won’t say when.

People love them. I think there’s definitely room at some point.