Justice League / Power Rangers #1 Review: Morphin Time In Gotham
By Alex Widen
DC Comics and BOOM! Studios begin their second inter-company crossover! It’s morphin time between the Power Rangers and the Justice League!
Justice League/Power Rangers #1
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist & Colorist: Stephen Byrne
Cover Artist: Karl Kerschl
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Once a fad of the past, inter-company crossovers are back in a big way! The most drastic change is the quality standards are much greater than were typical in decades past. DC Comics has increasingly found itself a company willing to play ball with competitors. After two successful Batman crossovers with IDW’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they’ve teamed with BOOM! Studios and Saban. It’s time for the Justice League to meet the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers!
Image by DC Comics
Despite the title, this first issue is very much a Power Rangers story, guest starring the Justice League. It begins in Angel Grove, the fictional home town of the Rangers. There have been many incarnations, but this miniseries stars the classic team from TV show’s second season. In fact, Zack Taylor (the original Black Ranger) is essentially the star of the piece. It is his actions which cause the crossover to begin, and the seeming destruction of Angel Grove.
Image by DC Comics
Angel Grove in Peril? It Must Be a Weekday!
It all begins innocently enough. Zack assembles with the rest of the Rangers at their command center, run by the alien Zordon. Their trusty robot sidekick Alpha-5 is missing, and the six split up to find him. Zack thinks he’s lucked out by finding him, but it turns out to be a trap by their archenemy, Lord Zedd. He’s finally breached the headquarters of his arch enemies, and Zack blames himself. Using damaged teleportation technology, the Black Ranger zaps with Zedd off-world.
Image by DC Comics
The pair wind up not only outside of Angel Grove, but in another universe entirely! They’ve also been separated, leaving Zack (and a few “Putty” minions) beamed into Gotham City. Naturally, nobody can show up in Gotham for longer than three panels without Batman being notified. Already injured and disoriented, the Black Ranger attacks Batman. Before the Dark Knight knows it, the rest of the Power Rangers show up as cavalry! Time to call Flash and the Justice League!
Image by DC Comics
Virtually all meetings between superheroes, or superhero teams, tend to have the same formula. The heroes meet, fight for a bit due to a misunderstanding, and then team up. Even heroes in ancient myths who met often followed this scheme. This first issue doesn’t break that mold, almost to a fault. The real question will be how long the two teams will fight. Most readers will want a proper team up, and a prolonged obligatory battle will bog the rest of the story down.
Image by DC Comics
Will the Justice League Fight the Megazord?
Besides, any inkling of this being remotely a “fair fight” would rely upon the Justice League holding back significantly. The Power Rangers can overpower Batman, but Flash alone could have beaten them. Instead he merely disarms them. Superman alone could destroy even the Megazord by himself. The real fun is in the interactions between the heroes and seeing them fight villains from each other’s roster. The scene at the start with Angel Grove suggests that Brainiac may show up.
Image by DC Comics
Tom Taylor has spent most of his career as a comics writer with DC Comics. He’s written their Injustice comics for years, as well as All-New Wolverine for Marvel. He submits a perfectly entertaining script here, albeit one which plays a bit too predictably. Focusing on Zack Taylor instead of Tommy Oliver (Green Ranger), Jason Lee Scott (Red Ranger) or even Kimberly Hart (Pink Ranger) is a nice touch. Everyone gets in their catch phrases, and we see Zord versus Batmobile.
Image by DC Comics
There are some odd quirks to the story. Lord Zedd may be clever in bursting into the Rangers’ lair, but fails to bring any useful henchmen (or even more than six useless henchmen). Black Ranger mistaking Batman for one of Lord Zedd’s monsters is silly unless it was a symptom of head trauma. The fight between the Justice League and the Power Rangers almost wills itself to continue escalating more than it has to. Batman and Flash can’t just reason things out?
Image by DC Comics
No TV Episode Would Look This Cool!
The Justice League roster chosen for this crossover is also interesting. Wanting to keep things even, there are only six of them instead of the more standard seven. The Green Lantern chosen is John Stewart, despite DC Comics trying to force Hal Jordan down everyone’s neck for over a decade now. This a wise move since Stewart is still more well known to mainstream audiences due to the Justice League cartoon. Yet the Power Rangers still have more women on their team.
Image by DC Comics
Besides the memorable cover, Stephen Byrne’s artwork is exceptional. He does a great job of getting the look of the Power Rangers’ costumes, sets, and villains picture perfect. The Justice League all look as they should, and the battles are at least visually engaging. The Rangers’ alter egos look a little less distinct, but that could be due to not having various actors’ images licensed. In fact, this is easily one of the best drawn issues of a Power Rangers comic I’ve ever seen.
Image by DC Comics
Next: See how the Pink Ranger leads the team in MMPR: Pink #5
It could easily be argued that while the Justice League is ever popular, the Power Rangers’ fame peaked during 1995’s second season. Yet, if this crossover had been done back then, it would have stunk. The art would have been way worse, and featured formerly “hot” things like Superman’s mullet, Kyle Rayner’s “lobster mask” and Aquaman’s cybernetic harpoon hand. It may not be as good as 2016’s Batman/TMNT, but this crossover of cape and Zord is off to a fast-paced start.