Great Power, Many Eras, and Shattered Grids: Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Annual #1

The following is my review of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

When it comes to world-building, patience is important, but not as much as opportunity. There are some stories that simply lack the scope, substance, and circumstances to build the kinds of worlds that lend themselves to the epic domains of trilogies, sagas, and cinematic universes. The Power Rangers do not fall in this category. With over 20 years of content, complete with a lengthy cast of characters and a diverse blend of colorful monsters, they have the resources. They've only lacked the opportunity.

Boom Studios is finally seizing that opportunity with Shattered Grid, a Power Rangers crossover story that is less about gimmicks and more about connecting the various Ranger worlds under a single, cohesive narrative. It's a massive undertaking, but one that hit the ground running in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #25. Those events, and the circumstances surrounding Lord Drakkon, lay the foundation for a conflict that forges the kinds of connections that help build bigger worlds. Even with worlds that utilize giant robots fighting giant monsters, it's an unprecedented scale.

The threat that begins in Shattered Grid is already spilling over into those worlds and Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Annual #1 offers glimpses into the escalating conflict. It promises to tap familiar names and faces from the Power Rangers mythos, spanning multiple eras and multiple iterations. They're not just unifying to confront a common enemy. It's a fight for survival on a scale that goes beyond any army of giant monsters.

That's a lot of ground to cover, even for a giant-sized annual. With a large cast of writers that include Kyle Higgins, the story attempts to take the world of the Power Rangers that is already so vast and use it to build around Shattered Grid. In terms of establishing a larger scope and higher stakes, it succeeds. In terms of actually furthering the story, though, the results are more mixed and not just because there's only so much ground a story can cover within a mythos that spans two decades.

The structure and purpose of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Annual #1 is fairly simple. It has Lord Drakkon venturing into the various eras and time periods of the Power Rangers to collect the morphers he needs to access the Morphing Grid that all Rangers use to gain their powers. In the context of the events in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers #25, that's a necessary progression of the plot. Having established his ambitious agenda, Drakkon needs the resources to see it through. He just can't have someone make a monster or build a new zord to achieve what he wants.

It creates opportunities to explore Drakkon's ambition and ruthlessness in his quest to tap the Morphing Grid. However, much of the substance within his effort plays out like a clip show, of sorts. The narrative is broken up into multiple parts, each handled by a different artist. In each part, Drakkon enters a particular era of Power Rangers. That includes the Zeo era, the SPD era, Ninja Steel, and even Power Rangers in Space. It's basically a nostalgia trip with an agenda, but one that doesn't take the scenic route.

That's not to say the events within Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual #1 serve no purpose. It still contributes to the overall plot surrounding Shattered Grid. It just doesn't do much to raise the stakes beyond what they already are. It fills in a potential gap in narrative, but not much more. It's just a brief, but necessary journey through the various worlds and timelines of Power Rangers.

That's not to say that every part of the journey is forgettable. There are a few instances where Drakkon's efforts have greater impact beyond just gathering the ingredients he needs to make his plan work. There are even moments where traces of the old Tommy Oliver within Drakkon show themselves. It hints that the extent of Drakkon's evil is not entirely on par with that of Rita Repulsa or Lord Zed. Those hints, though, don't do much to effect the outcomes.

Even so, Drakkon still has plenty of other moments that show just how twisted and evil he has become. Some of those moments are pretty intense. What he does to Alpha during his visit to Power Rangers in Space and the encounter he has with Dr. K in his visit to Power Rangers RPM involves more drama than simply stealing morphers. These moments help reinforce just how twisted this version of Tommy Oliver has become and why battling him is sure to test the Rangers in ways no monster ever has.

Despite these moments, there aren't enough of them to make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual #1 as impactful as the rest of the events surrounding Shattered Grid. Other than giving Drakkon an opportunity to visit more Power Rangers timelines and gather more morphers, the story doesn't elevate itself to a point beyond simply putting the necessary pieces in place for other parts of the story to progress. The issue itself, though, doesn't do too much to move the story forward.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Annual #1 still offers something that other Power Rangers comics under Boom Studios have yet to offer. It acknowledges and integrates the many eras and timelines of Power Rangers into the overall continuity of the series. It doesn't throw it away or rewrite it in the mold of DC Comics' New 52. It makes an effort to capture the breadth of the Power Rangers' world and it succeeds, albeit to a limited extent.

In terms of world-building, it does plenty to reveal the size of the world that Shattered Grid encapsulates, but doesn't do much to build on it. There is still plenty to work with for this ambitious crossover event, both in terms of character drama and in terms of intense battles featuring giant robots. Lord Drakkon continues to prove that he's a unique menace. The fact he's able to achieve this without the aid of zords or monsters further proves that this is a threat that no era of Power Rangers has ever encountered before. It's a bold new world and one that's still worth building on.

Final Score: 5 out of 10

Mightily Morphing Ambitions and Events: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25

The following is my review of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

A great crossover story is only as good as the quality of the tools and the depth of the lore. Great creators from Stan Lee to J. R. R. Tolkien are able to create all those materials from scratch. Not everyone has that level of greatness, nor do they need it in order to make the kind of crossover story that feels both epic and satisfying. With over 25 years of lore and a medium far more flexible than a half-hour TV show on a kids network, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers has everything it needs to create such a crossover event.

Kyle Higgins and Boom Studios have a golden opportunity to create the kind of Power Rangers crossover that no TV show, big budget movie, or triple-A video game can hope to create. As a comic series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers can explore uncharted territory of the Power Rangers mythos, seeking and refining new levels of depth that appeal to older and newer fans alike. Higgins does plenty to explore through the first two dozen issues of the series, going so far as to explore alternate universes and dystopian futures. No comic series is complete without those, after all.

While such efforts have been compelling in their own right, there's never a sense that a major crossover event needs to happen in order to maximize the potential of the series. Instead, Higgins gradually sets up the pieces, establishing smaller conflicts within larger conflicts that play out over the course of multiple issues. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24 finally sets the stage for that big crossover event to occur. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25 is poised to fire the first shot and it need not come from a monster or a giant robot.

That first shot lands and hit hits harder than an army of giant monsters. In one issue, the crossover event deemed Shattered Grid takes some of the key elements that Higgins has been developing over the first two dozen issues of the series and raises to stakes to levels that no children's TV show would ever dare. Shattered Grid isn't just built around a dangerous threat or Rita Repulsa's headache-inducing screeches.

The monster, in this case, is more menacing than anything the Power Rangers have ever faced before. It involves Drakkon, an evil version of Tommy Oliver that Higgins crafted from events inspired directly from the Rangers' most iconic moments. This version of Tommy isn't just some generic evil twin. His persona is born from a fateful choice he made at the end of the story that first introduced the Green Ranger. Most kids growing up in the 1990s know how that story ends, but what makes Drakkon so menacing is how his choice subverts that story.

In his world, Drakkon never chooses to join the Power Rangers. He remains loyal to Rita. He doesn't run from the corruption. He runs towards it. That doesn't just make him an enemy of the Power Rangers. It makes him an affront to their core values. Rangers aren't supposed to use their powers for personal gain. Drakkon's entire agenda is built around personal gain. His previous defeat at the hands of his alternate self only makes him more ambitious.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25 puts Drakkon in a position to do more than regain what he lost. He crosses paths with other familiar figures from Power Rangers lore, learning more about that lore in the process and uncovering new ways to further his ambitions. In some respects, Drakkon establishes that he's even bolder than Rita. He doesn't just want to take over the world and destroy the Power Rangers. He wants to attack the very foundation of the Rangers' power.

As Drakkon's ambitions unfolds, Higgins still manages to further the story for the rest of the Rangers. That story is directly linked to how Drakkon escapes and other ongoing tensions that have nothing to do with giant monsters. There's an underlying sentiment within the team that the Power Rangers aren't doing enough to fight back against Rita. However, their efforts to improve their effectiveness through ways other than stronger zords aren't producing results.

That tension, along with the drama it evokes, provides an important context to the overall narrative of Shattered Grid. Lord Drakkon embodies the ultimate extreme of utilizing his powers for personal gain. He shows just how dangerous it can get when a Ranger becomes corrupt. Threats like Rita, Goldar, Lord Zedd, or the Machine Empire are basic in their sinister pursuits. They aren't necessarily corrupt. Their nature is evil, by default.

Lord Drakkon's nature is the product of a choice, one that he doubles down on at every chance he gets. He's so far gone that there are no heart-felt pleas from Kimberly or impassioned speeches from Zordon that can save him. Given the way Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25 ends, Higgins leaves no room for doubt as to just how corrupt Drakkon has become.

It makes for a powerful, provocative start to an event that promises to impact over two decades worth of Power Rangers mythos. It embodies the kind of ambition that Lord Drakkon himself would respect. It takes everything Higgins and Boom Studios has been developing with this series and runs with it. At the rate its going, no army of monsters or zords can hope to keep up.

Final Score: 8 out of 10

Mighty New Worlds and Mightier Complications: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24

The following is my review of Might Morphin Power Rangers #24, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

Some things just don't translate well across mediums. The lack of quality movies based on video games is proof of that. Whenever story is told, the nature of that story is often affected or dependent on the medium through which it's told. For a narrative as iconic and well-known as Power Rangers, it's somewhat hard to imagine its story playing out on anything other than a Saturday morning TV show with poor graphics, goofy costumes, and recycled footage from Japan.

Hard or not, Kyle Higgins and Boom Studios make clear that it isn't just possible for a story to maintain its appeal through a different medium. It can actually do so in a way that improves the story on multiple levels. Under Higgins, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers grows in ways that just aren't possible with a Saturday morning TV show and not just because some of the themes may not sit well with network censors. In the medium of comics, the story of the Power Rangers has opportunities to grow in a myriad of ways that aren't just restricted to Zords destroying giant monsters.

Higgins doesn't try to reinvent the overall themes of the Power Rangers, nor does he try to make them too mature for fans of the old TV show. The approach he takes to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers involves adding new layers and complexities that just can't fit into a half-hour TV show. In this story, Rita Repulsa isn't just some screeching witch who just keeps throwing monsters at the Power Rangers in hopes of destroying them. She's more devious and tactical, showing a more refined level of villainy that requires more than just zords to defeat.

That makes stakes much higher and the tension much greater in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24 because the complexities of the plot have long since exceeded the boundaries of a kids show. The conflicts here don't just involve monsters, putty attacks, and teen drama that's save for everyone under the age of 10. They also involve new allies, new enemies, and alternate universe versions of beloved characters. There's a lot of potential, as well as many complications, at work here.

As a prelude to the upcoming Shattered Grid event, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24 establishes takes full advantage of a world not bound by the half-hour time constraints of a TV show or network censors who need every second of air time to cater to younger demographics. That's not to say the plot is so mature that it would confuse most kids and terrify their parents. It just brings some added complexity that requires more than just a grade school mentality to appreciate.

The world that Higgins creates for the Power Rangers is no kids show. It's not just about balancing life as superheroes and melodramatic teenagers. There are nuance challenges for the Power Rangers that cannot be resolved with a zord battle or a heartfelt talk at the end. It's a world in which the right course of action isn't restricted to whatever Zordon says. There are vast gray areas and having to navigate those areas tests the Rangers in ways no network censor would ever allow.

The primary test leading up to Shattered Grid involves just how much the Power Rangers can trust Grace, a character unique to the series with a role that's unique to the narrative Higgins crafts. She carries herself as someone with good intentions, but questionable methods. She's someone who could end up being a hero or a villain, depending on which methods she utilizes more.

Since the revelation several issues back that she was part of a previous Power Rangers team in 1969 that suffered too many losses for Zordon's comfort, she is very much a wild card. Her efforts to help the team are very much a divisive issue among the team, especially for Jason, whose added burden of being a leader adds more tension. It's easy to forget that, despite being the headstrong leader, he's still a teenager. Even with superpowers, there's only so much burden a teenager can endure.

That strain is part of what allows Grace to establish trust with the team. She also brings resources to the table, some of which are even more useful than zords. Being an adult and the head of a corporation that thrives because of her experience as a Power Ranger, she gives them plenty of incentives to trust them. Some of those incentives play out in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24.

The Power Rangers find themselves in a situation where it's not just one monster or one life lesson they have to learn. It's multiple monsters on multiple fronts, not just at Angel Grove, that force the Rangers to stretch themselves farther than usual. It's not the first time Higgins has taken the team to new places with familiar battles, but beyond taking the narrative beyond the old TV show, it gives the impression that the scale of the conflicts in this world are bigger and bolder.

Even with that scale, the monster battles still play out like many classic Power Rangers battles. These monsters, despite the exotic locations, still have that distinct cartoonish charm that ensures the narrative never become too serious. They never take the form of something that feels out of place for a Power Rangers story. Even with all the complexities that Higgins uses, it still comes off as something that appeals to older fans who fondly remember begging their parents for the latest toys.

That's not to say that all those appeals fit together. The battles have an epic scale, but the way in which they're resolved come off as overly convenient. There are also moments when Grace sheds her complexity and just sets herself up to be someone the Rangers will regret trusting. She's still a compelling character, but there's a sense that she's destined to make things harder for the Power Rangers in the long run.

Even so, the action is familiar and quick-paced. It's also not random, either. It's very much a culmination of an ongoing side-plot with Finster, Rita's resident monster maker. That side-plot adds even more layers to the Power Rangers' enemies and that's critical because it gives weight to the revelation at the end, which effectively establishes the Shattered Grid as a conflict that won't just further raise the stakes. It may very well break the hearts of everyone on the team.

The impact of that revelation, as well as Grace's role in it, make Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #24 a new standard-bearer for a more refined Power Rangers story. It's reflects an evolving story and an evolving world that takes full advantage of the medium it uses, unbound by network censors and commercial breaks. However, it never goes past a point where it doesn't feel like Power Rangers. It never tries to give the franchise the Batman Begins treatment. It just mixes in a little nuance to go along with the giant robots and monsters. It's still absurdly fun, but in a way that kids and adults alike can appreciate.


Final Score: 7 out of 10

Morphing Into A New Era: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1

The following is my review of Mighty Morphin power Rangers #1, which was posted on PopMatters.com.

It seems so long ago that Power Rangers and its annoyingly catchy opening theme song were stuck in the minds of kids and parents alike. It’s easy to forget that there’s an entire generation of kids who structured their afternoons around when Power Rangers came on TV, when they would put on their Power Rangers pajamas, and when they would beg mom and dad for the latest toys. That generation might now base their afternoons on second jobs, yoga classes, and overpriced lattes, but they haven’t forgotten the craze that was Power Rangers.

Kyle Higgins and Boom Studios are now looking to remind this generation of that craze while creating a new generation that will beg their parents for toys, games, apps, and whatever Haim Saban can slap a logo on. This not as easy as it sounds though. This is an era where stories about superheroes, giant robots, and monsters cannot be substituted with reused stock footage from Japanese TV shows. Kids and adults today demand a more refined approach to the superhero/giant robot mythos and, as Michael Bay has proven with Transformers, it’s not enough to build that approach around successive explosions.

In many respects, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 is behind the curve because it’s late to the party. It’s arriving long after the Avengers, the X-men, the Justice League, and every other superhero franchise in between has been rebooted, retconned, or re-launched at least once. However, Higgins doesn’t try to put the Power Rangers on a similar path. There’s no Batman Begins type origin or Avengers type build-up. The story begins mid-season in a sense, taking place right after the iconic Green Ranger saga. It’s a story with many unexplored themes and unlike the TV show, it isn’t bound by how many commercials for Happy Meals it can fit in.

Being a comic book in an era where comics aren’t bound by newsstands or the postal service, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 has every opportunity to succeed and it seizes on those opportunities with the force of an army of Megazords.

It dares to be a little more mature than a typical episode built around destroying a monster and 90s-era anti-drug messages. It also dares to make the characters more serious now that they’re no longer bound by the heavily-censored scripts of late-afternoon kids shows. Most importantly, it does all of this while retaining the spirit of the Power Rangers. Those hoping for a gritty reboot will be disappointed, but they’ll be the only ones disappointed.

Beyond the daring new dimensions that Higgins explores, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 builds a story that feels entirely appropriate within the timeline of the show. The Power Rangers just helped the Green Ranger break free of Rita Repulsa’s control. They’ve willingly accepted him into the team. However, this is not as smooth a transition as a kids show would have anyone believe.

Tommy Oliver just endured being mind-controlled and manipulated by an evil, witch-like woman whose voice sounds like the screech of every vindictive math teacher who ever lived. He also happens to be new to Angel Grove, a town that acts as ground zero for every monster attack and zord battle. Can anyone reasonably expect a teenage boy to just shrug that off? High school is almost as stressful as any monster attack. Such expectations are simply not reasonable.

Higgins doesn’t place those kinds of expectations on Tommy. He allows him to struggle somewhat with the aftermath of this transition. That struggle includes hearing voices and crippling self-doubt, which are already outstanding symptoms for some teenage boys. It doesn’t completely overwhelm him, but he does struggle with it and that struggle helps make the story engaging. Kids might still skip to the parts that involve putty attacks, but there’s plenty to like for all ages.

Tommy isn’t the only one who struggles somewhat with being a Power Ranger in addition to being a teenager. Zach and Jason also take part in another side-plot that. Granted, that plot is vague and lacking in detail, but it’s enough to establish that the plot revolves around more than just Tommy, despite what a sizable segment of Power Rangers fans might prefer. This team has six teenagers in it. There are bound to be more than a few personal issues outside the Zord battles.

These issues don’t necessarily lead to any major Zord battles, but it does give dramatic weight to any future battles that unfold. It’s a weight that can’t often be fit into a half-hour time slot on a Saturday morning. Kyle Higgins does not try to structure this story around the same formula that made Power Rangers a successful TV show. He works within the added flexibility that the medium has given him and makes good use of it. If there was any temptation to go overboard, he managed to resist and for a brand that’s best known for giant monster battles, that’s saying something.

Overall, the most important accomplishment of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 is that it establishes the Power Rangers within a modern context. It doesn’t try to create the same world that defined the 90s almost as much as grunge rock and boy bands. It puts the Power Rangers in a world of the internet, podcasts, and social media without feeling forced. It’s not a reboot, nor is it a Star Trek style re-launch. It’s just Power Rangers in a more updated form.

While it might be updated, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 does lack detail in certain areas and not just because there aren’t any giant monsters that show up. There are a lot of new dynamics in this story and get a chance to be fleshed out, but the potential is definitely there. For a generation of fans who may have outgrown their Power Rangers costumes, it’s still more than enough to make this issue a satisfying start to a new era. It might mean getting that annoyingly catchy theme song stuck in your head again, but it’s worth it.

Final Score: 8 out of 10