VR Troopers: BOOM Studios
- Onyx
- Sep 5
- 3 min read
Yes! It's the 5th of this month, so y'all know what that means! It's time to talk about VR Troopers! And, no, not going that route (least not completely), but I just want to say that it's crazy that we have a small revival for this Frankenstein of a show called VR Troopers. From the crafty lore of BOOM Studios, a company that seemed to have taken the Western version of the Sentai series under their wing, it seems like Speilban and Metalder/Sheaider are getting some love, too, so I'm pretty excited to talk about it! Let's get to it, shall we?
Ryan Steele, JB Reese, and Kaitlin Star are all back! Well, they've been back since June of 2025, but I've only been able to really talk about them now. I'm glad that they kept Ryan's Metalder look since it fits him more... and also when they gave him the Shaider gimmick, he kind of was a copy of JB's power sets.
That suit is canon look. Ryan's identity as a Trooper never really got a confirmed name other than 'trooper'. When the three communicate, they always call each other by their names so there's that. Regardless, yeah, Ryan's suit looks like a killer.
The cover arts are pretty awesome. They're very action posed and they look like actual suits and not buckets over their body... (Kaitlin's western suit had such a gigantic head!)
Ah! JB! The one thing I wish they wouldn't shy away from in this comic book is pairing him and Kaitlin together more often. Sure, I'd love to see more of Ryan and Kaitlin, or Ryan and JB on the same panel, fighting with proportioned and nimble-looking suits! JB looks consistent with the others. Sleek and agile-looking. Despite all the changes, it still very well looks like the original Speilban counterpart.
We can actually see more interaction between the three VR Troopers. Kaitlin acting like a complete brat while JB is being the geek of the group--all the while, Ryan to the rescue with coffee and doughnuts!
Another great shot of Kaitlin's VR armor. This art style looks really sick! I haven't seen a whole lot of the pages inside these covers, but I do hope they go off on some off-the-wall anime battles--or something of the sort.
They gave Kaitlin blue eyes. Imagine SJB with blue contacts. Regardless, she looks the part; she has the short blonde hair like her season 2 look. Her amor, though! It's sleek, and looks like she'd be fast. As much as Kaitlin was a total false action girl and in some aspects I prefer that, I do want to see a version of Kaitlin that gets some good moments, handing Skugs their rear ends, or at least be able to kill the mutants or something. Will she have her Red Viper arc? Better yet... is this comic really good and can it stick?
So Kaitlin Star already has a mission. I get this feeling we are going to get a true action-girl Kaitlin, and I just have to respect it for what it is. And this could mean that more people will be aware of VR Troopers, and maybe it will encourage the community to do their thing with artwork!
Not going to hold my breath there, Kaitlin. You're probably just gonna be the main representation of Kaitlin Star's Lois Lane moments.
I honestly might check them out. BOOM Studios looks like they want to take this story somewhere, and I'm all for it. Here's to hoping for great things with this comic run!
Until Next Time!