The Top 10 comic books for 2017
By Alex Widen
Image by DC Comics
Best Random Moment: Alpha-5’s Redemption from Justice League/Power Rangers #5
Sometimes comic books surprise you. At times this is good, others not so much. And sometimes such a moment comes from an unexpected place — an otherwise underwhelming comic. A meeting between the two iconic teams could have been classic, yet Tom Taylor and Stephen Byrne often treated it like a mundane video game. It was a work which was hardly bad, but in little way lived up to its potential. In fact its only memorable moment was due to one unexpected scene.
The alien robot Brainiac had teamed with Lord Zedd to shrink Angel Grove, then destroy Earth. To this end he kidnapped the Power Rangers’ robot sidekick Alpha-5 for his amusement. Alpha-5 is best known for saying the phrase “Ai-Yi-Yi” and being an ineffective comic relief. Yet somehow Alpha-5 found his courage. He spends the entire issue effectively debunking Brainiac’s entire motivation as being illogical and stupid. Alpha-5 subsequently assumes giant size and helps punch out monsters and Zedd!
Next: Compare this list with last year's!
For most people, 2017 was a year when they read or saw the unexpected. I can certainly attest that I did not ever expect, in a million years, a scene like this. Who could have expected Alpha-5 to effectively drop the mic on a classic DC Universe villain and then smack down monsters next to Superman? If any image or sequence symbolizes the randomness of life, it may be this. Happy New Year, and look out for more great comic books in 2018!