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Preface
“We will invade their worlds…When they‘re powerless and alone, they will realize the truth. They could’ve been gods.” – Lord Drakkon
It’s finally time. Shattered Grid has officially started.
The first Power Rangers comic event that consists of 6 issues of “Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers”, 4 issues of “Go Go Power Rangers”, an annual issue, a Free Comic Book Day tie-in issue, and a special finale issue. Not to mention a live action-prelude (which you can find here) and two episodes of the show “Power Rangers Hyperforce” (which you can find here). The full comic checklist for this event can be found here.
What’s the most exciting thing about this event is its scale. This event has the potential to use characters, locations, and Zords from multiple PR seasons. The closest in terms of scale that Power Rangers has ever done in comparison to this is the special two-parter “Countdown to Destruction”, an episode that aired about 20 years ago. And there’s been so much more lore added to the Power Rangers universe since then. This is the chance to honor that legacy.
Let’s take a look and see how this event starts.
The Cover
Pretty cool, but simple image of Lord Drakkon holding the Red Ranger’s helmet. If you didn’t know, this cover is of a reverse style for Issue #0’s cover, signifying that this issue is a new grand beginning for the Power Rangers similar to Issue #0.
There are variants to this cover that feature Lord Drakkon holding each one of the Ranger’s helmets. For the people who are planning to collect all of these (especially with it selling out on a distribution level), I wish you good luck and may the Power protect you.
(By the way, I don’t harp on variant covers that much since that’s not what a typical newcomer would see, but I have seen all of the variant covers released for this event already and I do think they’re gorgeous and worth searching for. I guarantee there’s one out there that you’d look for.)
The Story
In space, the Time Force Rangers are traveling in their Megazord, investigating a rift in a distant galaxy that is not only affecting time and space but also other dimensions like RPM’s and Dino Charge’s. However, the force from the rift is too much for their Megazord, engulfing it all. Jen, the Pink Time Force Ranger, realizes the source of the problem is somewhere located in the past and takes an emergency time travel jetpack (because of course, there’s one), but not before giving Wes, the Red Time Force Ranger, a tearful goodbye. As she escapes the Megazord’s destruction and time jumps, she notices a giant-sized Lord Drakkon in the middle of the rift.
In the present, Grace tells the Rangers about Lord Drakkon escaping. She offers again to help out, but Jason promptly declines. Back at the Command Center, Billy and Trini plan on making defenses for Drakkon as well as fixing the Black Dragon armor and the Green Chaos Crystal (crystallized piece of the Morphin’ Grid that’s energized by the Green Ranger’s energy, in case you forgot) to see if they can get in contact with the Coinless again. Tommy and Kim, though, have a moment with each other and realize that now’s a perfect time to go on their first date.
In the distant past, Anti-Tommy tricks Ninjor into believing he’s a good person and gets him to fix his Morpher. Anti-Tommy morphs back into Lord Drakkon and teleports himself back into our present, sneaking into the Command Center and retrieving the Green Chaos Crystal. Tommy and Kim are just finishing their movie date with Tommy awkwardly trying to give Kim a kiss and Kim backing away. Walking away, Kim realizes she wants to kiss him and runs back to see Lord Drakkon “stabbing” Tommy to quickly reenergize the Green Chaos Crystal. She morphs and tries to fight him, along with Jen, who suddenly appears from the timestream. However, Lord Drakkon teleports himself back home, leaving Kim tearing up over a lifeless Tommy.
Ending Thoughts
MMPR #25 is not only a great issue, it’s a great start to “Shattered Grid.”
Character moments in this are fun and compelling, especially Tommy and Kimberly’s. Just seeing that cliffhanger will break your heart a little. Connections to the other PR seasons (like Ninjor or Jen) aren’t random and feel logically placed in the story. Art for the main series has changed from Jonas Scharf to Daniele Di Nicuolo. The art style is now more like a cartoon, with a lot of sharp penciling for the characters. It does work, and the coloring makes the book look a lot more bright and colorful compared to the last arc.
My only real issue with MMPR #25 was the scene at Promethea in the beginning. It didn’t really provide much in terms of story, and the confrontation between Jason and Grace felt like a repeat of the last issue. Any information during this scene easily could’ve been placed in the Command Center briefing. It just felt like padding to me.
Otherwise, I eagerly await the next issue for the event “Shattered Grid” and I’m sure that any other PR fan feels the same way.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- I’ll be honest. This felt like a better prelude to “Shattered Grid” than the actual prelude.
- Similar to the previous issues, we have a new side-story going on in the ending pages of this series. And it seems to be a buddy cop adventure with the Blue Senturion and Ninjor, chasing Putty Rangers through Mesogog’s Invisiportals. This alone is worth reading.
- Besides for dramatic effect, I have no idea how Wes and Jen stayed in the cockpit while everyone else was forced out of it. That point wasn’t conveyed that well. Also, I didn’t pay that much attention to it in the show, but I didn’t know their control panels were just old 90s joysticks.
- We never saw what exactly happened to Saba’s head so I’ll assume the Promethea janitor did his job.
- So, Ninjor apparently had his pupils go through trials, but in Season 3? He’s just like, “Eh, you’re cool. Here you go.”
- You know, casuals are going to be confused why Anti-Tommy calls out “Black Dragon” and becomes a White Ranger… Actually, wait. Why is his zord coin the Black Dragon if he’s white?
- Man, even in comics, we can’t get Power Rangers to kiss anymore.