Justice League/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 Review
Friends, this is real, this is happening, and this is awesome. The Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers and The Justice League are crossing over. I don’t know if this is a crossover people have been asking for, but me personally, as a fan of both teams since the age of three, I was over the moon when this baby was announced. On that note, I apologize that this review has been delayed. My local comic book store was sold out of this issue so I had to special order it. Anywho, I’ve been looking forward to this for a while, so let us dawdle no more, It’s Morphin’ Time!
We open with narration describing the city of Angel Grove California, home of the Power Rangers and known for its historic abandoned buildings district. However, on the next page we learn that Angel Grove has been completely destroyed. The Rangers can only look on in horror at the crater that was once their home. Zack, the black ranger seems to be taking it the hardest and apparently blames himself for whatever happened. Superman flies up and tries to reassure Zack that this was not his fault, but Zack is still distraught, especially considering the last time he saw his parents, they were having an argument. Superman tells Zack that this isn’t on him and tells him to stand up so they can fight the one who’s really responsible.
Cut to the command center, thirty six hours earlier where Zack is the last of the Rangers to arrive at the command center, evidently due to an argument with his mom and dad about how he’s always disappearing, more on that later. Right now, Alpha-5, the robot that aides the Rangers’ mentor, Zordon, is missing and Zordon needs them to search for him. Zack is the first to find Alpha, but the poor robot seems to be in serious disrepair. Zack teleports him back to the command center right away. However, Zordon notices that something is wrong and tells Zack to teleport Alpha out of the command center immediately. But it’s too late, Alpha, or rather, what the rangers were supposed to think was Alpha, explodes revealing that this was all part of a sinister plot by Lord Zedd, galactic tyrant and nemesis of the rangers, to enter the command center. Even at full strength, Zack is no match for the evil emperor one-on-one. Now that he’s injured from the explosion, Zedd is easily able to smack Zack around like he’s nothing Fortunately, Zack knows that he doesn’t have to defeat Zedd, he just has teleport him out of the command center. Ordinarily, this would be a sound strategy, but the teleporters were severely damaged in the explosion, meaning that Zack and Zedd could literally end up anywhere. The other Rangers enter the command center and fight off the remaining putties that Zedd brought with him. They soon learn that Zack wasn’t just teleported to another location, but to an entirely different reality.
Meanwhile Zack lands in pretty much the same place anyone who crosses over into the DC Universe from an alternate reality invariably ends up, Gotham City. Seriously, Scorpion ended up there, The Ninja Turtles ended up there, Spider-Man ended up there. I’m even willing to bet if that Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover had entered the DCU, the Enterprise would probably have landed on Bruce Wayne’s front lawn. Anywho, an axe wielding teenager in black spandex and a motorcycle helmet that looks like an elephant is actually pretty normal by Gotham standards, but it’s still enough to warrant the attention of Batman. Zack, still disoriented from the blast, thinks Batman is one of Zedd’s monsters and attacks. Batman recognizes that Zack is clearly confused and possibly concussed, but he’s still going to make sure he’s no longer a threat and takes him down. Fortunately for Zack, the cavalry has arrived as the other rangers have finally caught up with Zack. In what is immediately a point for this crossover over the Batman/Ninja Turtles crossover from last year, when fighting as a team, the Rangers are easily able to fight off Batman. However, Batman has some reinforcements of his own in the form of The Flash who manages to disarm the rangers before they even know what’s happening. The Rangers try and take Zack home, but Zack refuses. Zack says that Zedd is somewhere in this world and it’s his fault he’s here in the first place, and he’s not leaving until they deal with that, meaning that first they have to deal with Batman and The Flash. Kimberly summons the Pterodactyl Zord (not quite sure how given that they’re in an alternate reality, but I’m sure Zordon gave them some kind of contingency in case they ran into trouble) and flies off with the Batmobile, while Batman is inside it. By this point, Flash has officially decided that Batman getting abucted by a flying pink dinosaur robot is too weird even for a guy who regularly deals with talking Gorillas, time travel and a man with an unhealthy obsession with boomerangs and decides to call in the Justice League. What Works:
I wasn’t really expecting the spotlight to be on Zack in this story, but it’s not exactly unwelcome. I particularly like the mentions of his parents as the Rangers’ families were rarely, if ever, seen in the show, something we’ll discuss more in our next review of Kyle Higgins’ Power Rangers book. As I said, I liked how the Power Rangers were able to overpower Batman, but only when fighting together. To once again use the Ninja Turtles crossover comparison, in that Crossover, Batman was able to fight off all four of the Turtles with ease, which only served to make the turtles look like a complete joke. Here, it’s clear that despite their enhanced strength and speed, Batman is skilled enough to take on any of the rangers one-on-one, but when they fight together, the Rangers have the upper hand. It’s how to do a crossover battle properly.
What Doesn’t: I liked this comic a lot, but I do hate a few nitpicks here and there. First, I don’t really like it when a story shows a flash-forward. Sometimes it can be used to great effect, but in a story like this, particularly one that’s presumably intended as a self-contained mini-series, it can feel like an inevitable cop out as you know that the destruction of Angel Grove will likely be undone by the end.
The second has less to do with this particular comic but is instead a complaint I have with Power Rangers itself. Early in the comic, it mentions that Zack is unable to tell his parents he’s a Power Ranger. This is because there are three rules to being a Power Ranger established by Zordon. 1. Never use your power for personal gain. 2. Never escalate a battle unless Rita (or whomever the villain happens to be at the time) forces you. 3. Always keep your identity as a Power Ranger a secret. The first rule is self-explanatory. Always use your powers to help others. That’s pretty basic superhero stuff. The second rule essentially means that you shouldn’t call out your zords unless it’s absolutely necessary, which is likely intended to both prevent unnecessary collateral damage as well as conserve the zords’ energy. However, the third rule always bugged me. Typically, a superhero hides their identity in order to protect their loved one’s from their enemies or operate outside the law without fear of the authorities It’s made clear in the show that both Rita and Zedd know exactly who the Rangers are and are, in fact, able to observe them any time they want, provided their not in the safety of the command center, meaning they can go after the Rangers’ loved ones any time they so choose, so that reason is out. It’s also established that the Power Rangers, despite their identities being unknown, are well known and beloved public figures in Angel Grove and the police, what little we see of them in the early seasons, seem perfectly okay with letting them take care of the giant monsters, so that’s also out. So, that begs the question, why is that even a rule to begin with? I mean, I can understand the rangers not wanting to tell anyone who they are so they can lead a normal life, but I see no reason it’s one of the sacred rules of being a ranger.
Third, while I appreciate Zack getting the spotlight in this issue, it sadly didn’t really give the other rangers much time. On that note, the only two prominently featured members of the Justice league featured in the comic were Batman and The Flash, with Superman and Cyborg only getting cameos and Wonder Woman and Green Lantern neither seen nor mentioned.
Overall:
4/5
Despite my nitpicking, I was very satisfied with the opening of this crossover. I look forward to more