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Preface
Yep, you looked at the title correctly. And before you ask, no. This has literally nothing to do with Shattered Grid.
On top of everything Boom! Studios has been doing for Shattered Grid, we have a special one-shot issue for the Mighty Morphin’ 25th anniversary, filled with stories from the Power Ranger universe. I honestly have no words. Boom! Studios has been making such an effort for the 25th anniversary, it’s unbelievable.
The Cover
Jason: “I HAVE THE POWAH!”
It’s a pretty standard cover with a bunch of Rangers just standing around, but the “painting” effect makes it look more aesthetically pleasing.
The Story
Pet Project – Tommy plays with a dog.
Yeah, this wasn’t that interesting. I’ll explain more about it later, but this story, compared to the other stories here, doesn’t fit with the others. It’s a pretty lackluster story, the weakest story overall. On its own, its what I’d expect the old school Power Rangers comics to be like (except this doesn’t have a PSA telling me where I can save a dog today at my local animal shelter). The only interesting aspect of it was Bulk’s connection to the pet, but we already saw that in-show with “A Pig Surprise” so it doesn’t add anything new. With decent art, “Pet Project” isn’t bad, but it’s not good, either.
Golden Ideas – After the events of “The Power Transfer”, Aisha struggles with possibly not living up to being one of the newest Power Rangers
This is the better MMPR story, obviously. It focuses on a character that got the least amount of focus during her time. And the giant battle with Goldar felt like an actual battle from the show. Plus, we do get to see some ties with continuity, with a fun use of the Radbug. “Golden Ideas” is a pretty decent story (although that final panel of the Rangers with the Viewing Globe made the ending looked creepier than it should’ve been)
The Sweetest of Dreams – Set after the “Great Battle” (which took place before the events of Power Rangers Mystic Force), Udonna is intent on saving her husband, Leanbow, after having visions of him trapped by a man in armor.
This essentially acts as a prequel to Power Rangers Mystic Force. So, it’s not really necessary to know a lot about it before going in, but it does add to the story. For example, the only way you’d know how exactly this ties into MMPR is if you saw the season and saw who exactly Mystic Mother is. It’s themes of moving from the past and living in the present work not just for Udonna, but for Mystic Mother and her backstory. Also, for people getting into this now because of Shattered Grid, this does add intrigue and mystery as to who exactly Koragg is. Not to mention, it’s just nice to have a story about Udonna again. The art for this story is the most stylized, matching the setting and working to its advantage. “The Sweetest of Dreams” is an amazing story with great artwork and a clever connection to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.
Sealed – Alpha 5 (Yes, that Alpha 5) arrives from Eltar and asks the Ninja Steel Rangers for assistance in a battle across time and space.
Art-wise, this is definitely the most colorful, especially during the battle with a lot to look at. The premise for this is pretty typical: one old and one young team fight the same villain throughout time, comparing and contrasting them with each other. The main battle scene work to that effect, having multiple panels and characters parallel each other. What makes this a little more interesting was that in a way the villain was ultimately defeated by the past (Alpha), the present (Brody), and the future (maybe Beast Morphers). It adds another layer to it, making Brody’s initial conflict and speech at the end more compelling. “Sealed” combines the past, present, and future and is the perfect short story for the 25th anniversary.
The Trial of Astronema – After the events of “Power Rangers Lost Galaxy”, Karone is on trial for her crimes against practically the whole universe.
When I heard about this story, I thought the ghost of Zordon or Ecliptor would come in, be like “Don’t worry. It’s okay, she’s good, tho”, and all would be forgiven. Instead, the ending to this is bittersweet, just like the trial itself. There was no easy answer for both sides of the argument and the ultimate solution to this was definitely for the right reasons but was done the wrong way. This story is probably your favorite and I completely understand why. “The Trial of Astronema” is a well-written story with a beautiful realistic art style, already adding to the complexity of one of PR’s most complex characters.
Ending Thoughts
I believe I understand what this was supposed to be.
The first story, “Pet Project”, was meant to be reminiscent of what Power Rangers originally was. Then, each story after that, which not only got better with storytelling and characters, was meant to showcase how much Power Rangers has grown since then. And, in a way, it does work. However, that first story is the misstep of it all. It tried to use the fun cheesiness of MMPR but ended up using the bland and generic parts MMPR is also known for. If that first story used that instead, it would’ve made the whole product a lot stronger as a result. And if it didn’t go that route, then there was another option.
When I first saw the previews to this issue, I thought this was going to be more about the exploration of the PR universe and some of its characters. What would make it appropriate for this special though is that it is through those characters, we get to see what happens to particular MMPR characters? We could see how despite it happening 25 years ago, MMPR and its characters are still a huge impact on people’s lives (which is something you’d think an anniversary would celebrate). We see that in this, but again, with the first story, it makes for a more mixed experience rather than cohesive. If we had another story exploring this concept instead like a story about Gosei’s relationship with Zordon or maybe a constructed relationship like Super Ninja Steel’s, again, it would’ve made for a much stronger comic.
Regardless of all of that, I’d still recommend this. You’d get colorful artwork, amazing action setpieces, heartfelt writing and strong character moments. Most importantly, it celebrates Power Rangers and is a welcome extra for the 25th anniversary, telling us to appreciate both the legacy and the future of the franchise.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
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- Pet Project – Continuity error here. Tommy is the White Ranger, but Billy’s wearing Season 1 clothing. Not to mention, they’re also using Season 1 Putties. Timeline for this is a little weird.
- Also, I think this story was also to highlight Scorpina and make her a little more sympathetic with her connection to her pet. But, here’s the thing. I don’t care about Scorpina so I don’t really care about this story.
- Tommy: “What dog can resist a tug-o-war?” I don’t know. I don’t own a dog. But even if that is true, that line is terrible.
- Golden Ideas – Also, minor continuity error, but the monster the Thunder Megazord destroys, in the beginning, looks to be a frog creature. Most of Zedd’s monsters were made from inanimate objects so unless this is from a flog plushie… (and honestly, did Zedd really think something like that would destroy the Rangers?)
- Kim: “Remember when she sent Goldar and a bunch of Putties while Trini and I were cleaning the dump?” Who could forget? That was the day that Zack taught Alpha how to do the hip-hop-kido.
- …Where’s the antidote to that growth serum? They’re going to need it.
- I’ll be honest. I think this story would’ve made more sense if it was Rocky and Aisha fighting Goldar at the end. Adam, in my opinion, was the second best in terms of marital arts and fighting prowess. (Also, he had a lot of focus episodes on him.) Rocky, on the other hand, didn’t really have that much character and personality until Zeo.
- The Sweetest of Dreams – I would say that there’s a continuity error since Rita is Mystic Mother at a time period 10 years before the events of Mystic Force, which would’ve been around at the most Zeo’s time when she was still evil. However, I’m going to go with the “She used magic to establish herself throughout space and time” explanation, which could be justified by the fact she only shows up here in spirit form. It’s either that or the classic “It’s magic. Shut Up.”
- This is actually a great mirror to the Astronema story. In both stories, they were both struggling with how exactly to live in the present. However, Udonna’s arc was more about letting go of something dear to her while Karone’s arc was about trying to own up for her past.
- I just realized that Leanbow actually looked younger than his actor was in-show.
- Man… Plan Xander definitely could’ve worked here.
- Sealed – I would like to know more about how Mick and Alpha were basically spelunking buddies. And why Alpha was wearing that fake mustache instead of Mick, the actual shapeshifter.
- They mentioned Edenoi… the planet from Masked Rider. Do what I’m doing and block it from your memory.
- Alpha, you told these guys two hours before it actually shows up? They have an actual UFO zord. They can just fly in space and shoot it before the portal opens up. Problem solved.
- Trini: “Why are you wet?” Trini, you don’t ask a guy why he’s wet. You just assume that he had some business to take care of…
- Also, I just realized that this story is the only one that doesn’t have any female focus to it. Huh.
- I do have to admit how this villain showed up is a bit weird. The story implies that Rita used the energy of the comet to open up the portal, but in the present, it’s just the comet itself that opens it up?
- Also, even though I think the solution to this problem is actually ingenious and showcases that even years later Alpha is still helping the Power Rangers, I do have to think it’s a little iffy. What is Alpha supposed to do in the future? “Rangers! There’s a creature arriving soon, but don’t worry! It can be defeated by dragonfire!” “Ok…how do we make dragonfire?” “Uh… I’ll get back to you on that.” Basically, if the team fighting it is Beast Morphers, we’re screwed.
- The Trial of Astronema – I’m seriously wondering what was the song that those aliens made up for her. Was it something like this? “Ding dong, the witch is here…”
- I have to give a hand for putting in that SPD cameo. Its inclusion here is brilliant, not just for world-building, but also allows readers to sympathize more for the victims of Astronema’s reign because we can actually identify with this one.
- You know what? If Maya mentioned that Kendrix is alive. If Kendrix showed up to testify if one of her “victims” forgave her… It probably wouldn’t have helped either way, but still…
- Boy, the people of that court are not thinking nice things about the Rangers right now. Think about it. The Empress of Evil shows up and three Rangers (morphers confirmed) are basically like “Peace out, suckas!”
- Andros: “…And you gets to walk away free”. Andros spent too much time on Earth. He’s learned gangsta talk.
- I would like to point out why I think this one was the last story instead of the Ninja Steel story since that one had a perfect ending on how to end this special. The final page of this story was about Karone venturing off into the unknown. This not only works as a common theme for space-themed stories, but actually works as a great metaphor for what’s happening with the franchise right now.