Preface
One of the unique things about Power Rangers is the fact that for every season, every character, they are written as brand new characters entirely.
Oh, sure, we have the basis for them some of the time with some of the Sentai seasons, but a majority of the time, the characters are entirely new people with personalities and histories to them. And, one of the things about this is that the actors that play these Rangers get to make it their own. Essentially, they become the main face of that hero. Many actors have embraced this fact and have even been known to contribute what they’ve learned about their characters for others’ enjoyment. MMPR: The Return acts as a great example of this with Amy Jo Johnson, the actor for the Pink Ranger, creating a fantastic story for a different era of her team.
This issue today is meant to give more of these actors their time to shine and contribute.
In a similar vein as the annuals that have sadly died after Shattered Grid, Across the Morphin’ Grid is a special issue composed of five different stories: each one written by a Ranger actor and given life in a comic-book format. Which I wholeheartedly support. Even if you’re not a huge fan of some of these actors, it allows all of them to contribute more to their characters and create something special for their fans.
Now, with all of that said, does this unique comic hold up on its own? Let’s check it out.
The Cover
Yeah, if I’m being honest, this cover gives exactly what I expected. A good but generic shot of each of the Rangers that are participating in this story. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The Story
Billy’s Metamorphosis – Billy’s a starfighter now, working on protecting the Power Eggs from an evil entity, but without his powers, without his friends, how far can he climb before he has to inevitably fall?
Written by David Yost, the actor for MMPR Blue, this story’s premise was unexpected but quite enjoyable. It’s surprising to see the story not having Billy as a Ranger, but rather, focusing on what happens after the fact, whether he can survive going on adventures without either his powers or his friends by his side. Honestly, it’s a huge step for the character in terms of comics. He always doubted himself, and his actions, even when he had his powers. Being the ‘nerd’ of the team made him feel weak at times. Admittedly, the message of this gets muddied with the actual setting itself. Random aliens, random Power Eggs, random space ghosts, that make you want to pause and try to figure out what’s been happening. The art style is also very clean, capturing the sci-fi aesthetics with the alien landscape and imagery.
“Billy’s Metamorphosis” demonstrates why this character is so beloved, demonstrating the courage and bravery he learned from the powers and friends he made along the way.
Tanya’s Heavy-Metal Rescue – When her old friends at Space Patrol Alpha find themselves in trouble, it’s up to Tanya to morph once again and show the remnants of the Machine Empire her greatest hits!
Written by Nakia Burrise, the actor for Zeo Yellow, this story, I will admit, is the most ‘expected’ from the main premise. What I mean is that, if you had the chance to write yourself in a story, you’re going to want to make yourself look as cool as possible. That’s exactly what Nakia did for Tanya here. She gets her own music enterprise, she goes on an epic space adventure all on her own while saving her friends, and then boom instant kiss after a proposal. (I didn’t even know they were dating.) That said I did enjoy the story itself. It’s the only one that actually feels like a complete story, showing the complete plot of Tanya’s fight against a returning villain before saving Adam and ending up with her happily ever after. The only other fault I can find with the story is the artstyle, which I believe is the weakest out of all of the stories. The lines are curvy and wavy with bright and futuristic colors, which matches the music theme, being more adept to change and can be shaped in multiple ways. It’s just not an artstyle I am fond of.
“Tanya’s Heavy-Metal Rescue” overall shows love for the amount of PR lore it managed to integrate, showing a period for one of the oldest Rangers Tanya that she never got to have in modern-day while balancing it out with action and romance.
In the Red – After Rocky’s little sister discovers his Morpher, she ends up taking it for a spin and trying to paint the town red. But, when a monster attacks, her big brother has to step in and show her what the power really means.
Written by Steve Cardenas, AKA Rocky, the second MMPR Red Ranger, this story is, without a doubt, my favorite out of this collection. Which, I feel like I do have to point out, is partly because it doesn’t actually focus on Rocky. What’s interesting about this story is that it wasn’t just Steve writing this. Matthew Groom wrote this with him. He was a writer for the MMPR comics for some time. In fact, he was the one who introduced the concept of Rocky having a big family so it’s cool to see that concept explored more here. And, how it’s used is quite effective, having Rocky show that he’s a leader in his own right without powers, providing coaching and advice to his sister. That, along with the action-detailed artwork, makes this story memorable in my eyes.
“In the Red” shows Rocky from an outsider’s perspective as he gives her the courage and reassurance that it takes more than power to be a Power Ranger.
An Apple A Day – Zack lets kids beat themselves up before he has to deal with a very pumpkin-looking apple.
Written by Walter Jones, the actor for MMPR Black, this story is the one that feels the closest to a classic episode of MMPR… and sadly, that makes it the weakest story in this collection. The story is supposed to be about showing how Zack can be so calm under pressure and teaching that to his neighborhood kids and moving that lesson forward. However, it doesn’t do a proper job of illustrating that lesson to others. You see, this story also deals with a full fight against a monster of the week. It shows Zack as brave, letting the monster focus his attention on him, but it doesn’t do anything different fans of the character have already seen him in. In a way, it makes the story feel divided, with the beginning few pages not connecting to the main fight before we get a final page trying to wrap up the lesson the kids learned. The art style is decent enough, working especially during the fight scene, showing impressive detail in the action and motions of the Rangers. (Also, I got sick of the apple puns by the end of it. It just got rotten all too fast…)
“An Apple A Day” may not be the most cohesive or exciting story for Zack, but it does show that this teenager has the attitude that’s cool, cool, coolio.
Chloe’s Chaos Kitchen – Chloe and Vesper break the fourth wall as they tell you all about their adventure in making the greatest creation lost to history: the candy burrito!
Written by Meghan Camarena, the player for Hyperforce Pink, this story is a joke. That’s basically it. It’s supposed to be a sweet short story, having some fun with Chloe and some other Hyperforce shenanigans. It’s nothing that dives too deep into Hyperforce lore so it won’t confuse any new readers, but at the same time, it lessens the appeal for any Hyperforce fans to want to read it and try and learn more of the story. It’s just a fun Halloween story and the art compliments it, being entirely cute and childish, matching the overall nature of the show. (Or, at least, I think it is?)
“Chloe’s Chaos Kitchen” is a fun adventure for Power Rangers fans, wanting to get into the spirit of Halloween.
Ending Thoughts
I have missed these anthology type stories. Ones that allow an artist or a writer the chance to write whatever they want for a universe so rich of ideas and concepts. And, nothing says that more than allowing a few previous Ranger alumni the chance to expand their legacy. Whether it’s something funny to joke about or something serious to build on what hasn’t gotten the chance to be expanded upon.
Power Rangers: Across the Morphin’ Grid #1 serves as an excellent anthology of various Power Ranger stories, detailing what people love about the characters, as they come from the hearts of those who have lived through them.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- Billy’s Metamorphosis – I don’t know how much David Yost knows about Darkest Hour, but this whole story about him trying to protect the Power Eggs, with someone saying that if they were all destroyed, life wouldn’t exist anymore, is so ironic to read.
- Also, it goes without saying that Billy’s line about what Jason said wasn’t from the first episode, but during the Green Ranger arc.
- I can’t believe how many times we get a reference to that one “Billy, you’re too high!” moment.
- That all said, Billy being proud of Tommy for getting a doctorate was an absolutely ingenious line to have.
- Tanya’s Heavy-Metal Rescue – So, Tanya has her own enterprise just from her band/music career? I mean, I’m not complaining, but, that’s a lot that just sprung up out of nowhere. And, apparently, Alpha’s there too? Is Alpha a free agent, working between both this company and Cranston Labs?
- Yeah, using Gasket again is actually a pretty smart move for continuity since we never actually saw him get destroyed during the Z-Wave so he’s been unresolved for years.
- At the same time, if this is supposed to follow the show’s continuity, one of Adam’s memories is from the movie which is non-canon! Ha ha ha! We get it! The frog joke! But, seriously, that threw me out of appreciating this completely.
- Also, I have no idea who gave who that ring. It was such a blink-and-you-’ll-miss-it moment.
- Again, calling back to Darkest Hour, the brief moment when it looked like Adam and Rocky were being shipped together…? How do you feel now?
- In The Red – We show off how mature Rocky is at being the big brother in his family. At the same time, we show how much of an idiot he was for leaving his morpher out in his bedroom without even locking the door.
- An Apple A Day – I got nothing.
- Chloe’s Chaos Kitchen – Although, I did notice that both this story and the one prior did have some weird connection with Halloween. I wonder if both Rangers knew about this and just decided to run with it, making this comic a half-Halloween special.
- So… I’m… I’m supposed to believe now that the girls in the Hyperforce suits are sticky…? I… I… what am I supposed to say about that?
