Veteran comic book writer Ryan Parrott explains why he believes that Power Rangers would succeed as an animated show.
Ryan Parrot is one of the most notable figures in the Power Rangers franchise. Parrot is a television and comic book writer known for writing Boom Studios’ Power Rangers comics. He was known for his work on Go Go Power Rangers. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Issues 40 – 55, Mighty Morphin Issues 1 – 16, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.Â
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Ryan Parrott was also the primary writer for Go Go Power Rangers. The veteran comic book writer is also known for writing other successful comic book series such as Dead Day and Rogue Sun. Then the shows that Parrot worked and did writing on were Revolution and Chance.Â
EXCLUSIVE THE ILLUMINERDI INTERVIEW WITH POWER RANGERS COMIC BOOK WRITER RYAN PARROTT
We had the fantastic opportunity to interview the veteran Power Rangers comic book writer. We asked Ryan Parrott about the process of working on multiple comics at the same time, writing about the Omega Rangers, his thoughts on a potential Power Rangers animated show, and his inspiration for creating Lord Drakkon.
Ryan Parrot also shared which character in Power Rangers history he would love to work on, and the amount of creative control he has over the comics. Illuminerdi journalist Jezzer Reyes conducted the interview at Pasadena Comic Con 2022.Â
When we met last time, your Ninja Turtles comic did not come out yet, but I read and loved them. I got the toy set. What’s it feel like seeing your creation come to fruition?
Ryan Parrot: You have? I don’t have ’em yet. I’m waiting. That’s the culmination of everything. It’s all downhill from there.
How are you not on top of the list? When are they shipping them out?
Ryan Parrot: I don’t know. You find out for me.
You’ve taken the helm of multiple comics at the same time. Can you tell me how easy or hard that was for you to do to, jumping back and forth between different stories?
Ryan Parrot: I mean, there was one time. I think I was writing ’cause I got a note from my editor. She was like, “Hey, a note on Kimberly”. And I was like, “Okay, which Kimberly is it? Kimberly in the present? Kimberly in the past? Kimberly from an alternate reality or the Kimberly who fights the ninja turtles?” Sometimes it gets a little crazy, you get a little disoriented. But it’s been fun and big. The nice thing is when they split the series, and I got to do Mighty Morphin and Power Rangers. I didn’t have 57 characters in one comic book anymore, which was really nice.
Lust let me space it out a little bit and give everybody a little more time. But yeah, it’s been really awesome and rewarding. I’m just happy that I get to add to the lore a little bit with the Omega Rangers, bringing in a new green ranger and getting into the history of the characters. That’s fun. That’s the really nice thing, I think, about being on a title for a while that you hopefully earn the trust to be able to do that stuff.
Especially with the Omega Rangers. What was your favorite part about exploring this side of Jason, Trini, and Zach?
Ryan Parrott: I think My favorite part is, in some ways, the meta way of giving them a proper exit. The way that they left, I always thought that’s not fun. I’ve met almost all of them, and it’s just nice to be able to help them a little bit and be like, “I wanna keep telling your story.”
The other thing that’s really nice is, once you do that story, it’s not lined up with the TV show anymore so I can go anywhere and they can meet anyone. So that part has been really cool because they got to meet, they got to interact with us or on and EC clip tour. And you start doing stuff. That’s like – I don’t say fan service, that’s not the right word, but this idea of things you always wanted to see happen. I had that ability now to do that, because they got free of the show, which is really fun.
Power Rangers is under Netflix, which opens up many windows and many doors to more creativity, like you said with the comics. Could you see them doing very well with an animation show?
Ryan Parrot: I think an animation show would be absolutely awesome. I mean, Voltron’s already proven that. Somebody will do it, and when they do, it’ll be perfect. It’s the perfect story and the perfect genre; that perfect medium. They should do it. I hope they do it at some point, and if they ever asked me to be involved, I would do it in a minute.
You would love to be a writer?
Ryan Parrott: Of the series. I would love to, if they gimme a call. They got my number.
How much creative control did they give you? And were there some restrictions that you had going into it that you had to find ways around?
Ryan Parrott: Yeah, I’ve never really had any… They’ve never said no to anything, really. I think they’ve had questions. If you pitch something – like, there’s a big character reveal in the current run, and I don’t wanna spoil that too much, but there’s something that people have been waiting for in the show for years. I pitched it to them, and they were like, “Okay, that’s fine. If you wanna do that, that’s cool. But you just have to tell us why, what it means and how.”
If it’s a good story, they’re on board for it. I’ve never had any real, “You can’t do this, this is off limit stuff.” They pretty much let me do what I want to do. Their goal is to keep the brand strong, to make sure that everything’s done with the right intentions and honors the fans. And also the legacy of the show.
You’ve had a little bit of creative control over Kyle Higgins’ character Drakkon. Were there conversations going on between you where he said, “Please understand this character. Here’s how I want his arc to go,” and things like that?
Ryan Parrot: This is the best question I’ve ever been asked in my entire life. I love it. Yes, he knew I was doing it. I told him I was going to do it. But what I told him was, “This is not gonna be your Drakkon. This is gonna be my Drakkon.” And I just meant it’s not gonna be at all the way that [he expects].
I want to break him down. I don’t want him to be the intergalactic warlord that you created. I want him to be somebody who’s been beaten down, who’s lost everything; who’s lost out there. And in some ways, he’s sort of being dragged around by the people he hates the most in the world. And I was like, “That’s gonna be a very different version.” I think once I told him I wanted to do that, he was a hundred percent on board.
Were there any other characters in other universes or franchises that you built off of, or you felt like he connected a lot to? When reading the comics, I’m seeing a lot of Ben Solo in him and Loki.
Ryan Parrot: Oh, hundred percent. I mean, Loki’s one of my favorite characters. I’m just a huge fan of a character that gets to sit. Anytime you can put your villain with your hero, and they just get to be there and torment them and just talk trash? That’s fun. I mean, that’s what we do. That’s why everybody loves those types of characters. Loki, even when he’s doing the right thing, is bad.
I didn’t want this story to be about redemption for him. That’s not something I think he’s looking for, but I do think he’s a person and he has wants and needs. He’s not a complete monster. At his heart, he’s Tommy. There’s parts that I wanted to honor, so I just tried to find that balancing act of somebody who’s completely self-serving. There’s a consistency to self-serving.
If you know someone’s always gonna do the thing that benefits them, they’re predictable. And therefore, when someone’s predictable, they can be managed and used if people are a little more erratic. Maybe he’s a psychopath, but he’s consistent.
As far as the characters you’re in control of, is there anybody that you haven’t touched yet that you want to expand on or give an interesting arc to?
Ryan Parrot: Yes, there is one. I will not tell you who that character is. Unfortunately, there is one character that I very much wanna bring into Power Rangers. And I have kind of a fun story that I want to take with them. I do have that character. It’s a fan favorite, so that’ll be fun. And the nice thing about the Omega Rangers is I get to do that now.
Ryan Parrott will always be an essential figure in Power Rangers franchise history. Parrott’s current work on the Boom Studios’ Power Rangers comics will always be forever remembered. Parrott’s love for Power Rangers could be seen in many of the unique storylines he has written. Examples of those amazing storylines from the Power Rangers comics are Necessary Evil, Unlimited Power, The Eltarian War, and many more. Hopefully, if Power Rangers has an animated show, it could adapt or inspire Parrott’s work from the comics. Better yet, maybe even a writer for a potential Power Rangers animated show.
Which is your favorite Power Rangers comic from Boom Studios? What significant work from Ryan Parrott do you love? Let us know what you think in the comments below or on Twitter.
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