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Preface
The final issue for the second MMPR / TMNT crossover! This was supposed to come out last week, but obviously, we needed more time to recover from the Once and Always special. We all saw what happened to MMPR #107.
The Cover
I like it. Good wraparound issue, very colorful with a lot of elements for all of our Rangers.
The Story
The Dimension X Rangers arrive back on Earth and in the Command Center. They intend on putting the Power Node back so that the Rangers can morph properly again, but Rita is waiting for them. Only now, Casey is brainwashed for realsies now.
Back in Angel Grove, the Krang-a-zord is going on a rampage. The only Zord the Rangers have is the Dragonzord, but Tommy can’t summon it since his Dragon Dagger requires human digits. So, Shredder and Karai arrive to help out. Shredder uses a Shadow Morpher to morph into his Green Ranger form and control the Dragonzord. And, also, helping out is a giant Metalhead piloted by Alpha and Zordon, who heard about how dire the situation was from Bulk and Skull’s video before.
Rita manages to take down the Dimension X Rangers all on her own, planning on mind-controlling all of them. But, then, Casey frees himself from Rita’s control and knocks her out with one punch.
As the Krang-a-zord beats up the combined forces of the Dragonzord and Metalhead, the Dino Rangers work together to distract the villain long enough for the Dragonzord and Metalhead to combine into the Dragon Turtlezord!
With that combination, the day is saved and one week later, everything goes back to normal, relatively speaking. The Mutant Rangers took care of the remaining TMNT villains while Bulk and Skull have become the newest interns for April’s news place.
At the Command Center, Zordon, Alpha, Shredder, and Splinter see off Rita and Krang as they’re both sucked into Space Dumpsters. Although Splinter hopes that he and Shredder can continue to be friends, Shredder acknowledges that he plans on destroying them all and getting his big shiny statue.
At the Juice Bar, the Turtles, in their human disguises, hang out with the Rangers. While Billy teases the possibility of Dimension X Zords, Raphael says Casey’s off doing something dangerous… again. The rest of the Rangers feel a little disappointed now that they’re back to normal again, but, still, they’re all able to have some turtle-styled fun.
In New York City, April, now rocking her own Dimension X gear… for some reason, heads with Casey back to Dimension X to give the Morphers to the Neutrinos so that a new team of heroes can protect the people of Dimension X.
And, so, our story ends with Shredder up on the Moon Palace, talking about conquering the planet with his newest partner…
So… Lord Ed and Shredd?
Ending Thoughts
We have now finished the conclusion to the sequel of the crossover people absolutely adored between their two favorite franchises, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Looking at all of this, does this finale (and this series) live up to the hype?
This final issue, this ending, is a great one and in my opinion, better than the original crossover’s ending.
Looking back on it, MMPR / TMNT II #5 felt a little rushed with the issue starting off with the Megazord fight and then heading off for their mission to fight Rita in the Moon Palace and then abruptly ends at a point where we are wondering what happens next. Here, this issue took its time, weaving both (great) fight sequences seamlessly while taking time with this ending, wrapping up all of the individual threads this sequel has made, and teasing some future plot points for another team-up. I quite enjoyed this issue.
Now, is this sequel overall better than the original…?
Looking at both series, they do share the same core premise. Both crossovers are about the heroes dealing with the disappearance of one of their closest allies who later discover that their friend is working with the bad guys but for a ‘good reason’. Later, the Rangers’ powers are stolen and both teams are forced to swap different kinds of gear in order to save the world and learn what’s really going on with their friends. (And, for some reason, Shredder really wants to move to the Moon Palace.)
Of course, there are differences. This would have been boring if there weren’t any. For example, in the original, we were trying to save Tommy, diving a bit into his backstory in trying to help others. Here, we were trying to save Casey… Which, after all this time, I still don’t care for. It’s a personal bias, which is a shame because I wanted to connect with Casey. I really wanted to, but I just couldn’t.
Getting back on track, the true difference is both surprising and not when you think about it, but it’s the overall tone. The first crossover was essentially a TMNT story. It was primarily set in New York, focused on more relatable down-to-earth problems with its focus on Tommy and his friend, effectively used its mystery elements to slowly figure out Shredder’s plot, and felt naturally impromptu when it came to the overall pacing. This crossover is essentially an MMPR story. It’s primarily set in Angel Grove, focused on the overall problem of the villain’s alien invasion, balances a full cast of characters and their motivations while ‘selling’ potential toys that Hasbro would be fools not to sell, and is more traditionally predictable when it came to the overall arc of the story. It’s going to be interesting to see if fans of TMNT gravitate toward the original more than this one or vice versa. In my personal opinion, as a PR fan, I feel like I’ll be rereading this more than the original.
MMPR / TMNT II #5, and MMPR / TMNT II as a whole, deliver the same energy as the original with fun and cheeky dialogue, thrilling action sequences, and colorful action sequences while having an excellent tease for a future sequel.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Great, now I’m thinking about Shredder’s bathroom habits. Thanks a lot. (He was the Green Ranger for a good few hours in the original crossover. Is it just normal ninja training not to pee in that amount of time?)
- Wait, Rita tried to kill her father? When?
- Who are the Neutrinos…? One Google search later… What the heck are these things?!
- I like the Dragon Turtlezord more than the Turtle Megazord. This feels like a fun fusion of two aquatic Zords than the combination of a single Zord with the five Zords.
- It’s the end of the series and now I can confidently say this was all Casey’s fault.
- Now, seeing the whole picture, Casey only contributed the gateway to Dimension X, which there could have been some other way for the Turtles to get there and knocked Rita out, which he easily could have done with a hockey puck to the back of her head and not needed all of the Ranger X gear. You know, the stuff he used to help hurt his friends.
