Justice League/Power Rangers #6 review: Final battle with Lord Zedd
By Alex Widen
Both teams of superheroes unite for the final battle. Yet will Lord Zedd figure out how to have the last laugh?
Justice League/Power Rangers #6
Writer: Tom Taylor
Artist & Colorist: Stephen Bryne
Cover: Karl Kerschl
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A crossover eight months in the making finally reaches its conclusion. Thanks to several delays, what began in January is only now wrapping up. Yet does this extra time help or hinder the crossover of both Saban and Warner Brothers licenses? This grand finale offers a massive action spectacle across most of its pages. Fans of both franchises excited about the novelty of the union will surely be pleased. Yet does this finale offer anything more than the bare minimum expectations?
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
In the previous issue, the Power Rangers’ robotic ally Alpha-5 easily stole the show. He rose over the din of generic henchmen, quite literally, to offer something unexpected. And he’s still in giant form, socking it to one of Lord Zedd’s monsters. With Brainiac all but defeated in space, both the Justice League and Power Rangers have to win the ground battle on the latter team’s Earth. Yet this may be a problem due to Alpha-5’s inexperience and Lord Zedd controlling the Rangers’ Zords!
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Anyone Order an Extra Large Lord Zedd?
While the main battle plays out in the city, the true battle takes place inside a lab. Both Cyborg and the Blue Ranger (Billy Cranston) are pooling their intellects towards figuring out a way to hack Brainiac. Without this, there’s apparently no way for both teams to overpower both Brainiac’s robot soldiers nor reclaim the Zords from Lord Zedd. In addition, while figuring out a way to hack Brainiac is one matter, getting the so-called “12th level intellect” to bite should be another!
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
The key term is “should be.” That’s because a battle which should appear epic more often than not seems like routine. Brainiac’s tactic of trying to control Cyborg is immediately played against him, and Lord Zedd loses half his forces instantly. Brainiac himself, a being who can easily battle Superman or the League, is still destroyed from the previous issue. Despite the premise of controlled Zords battling the Justice League, virtually none of this is ever actually directly shown.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Instead, the focus of much of this final conflict is on Lord Zedd himself. Frustrated with what has to be yet another routine defeat, he decides to take things personally. Assuming giant form himself, Lord Zedd commits to destroying everyone. This initially proves to be a problem for the Justice League, since Zedd’s powers are magical. This means that not even Superman or Wonder Woman are immune from his wrath! Within moments, Zedd’s zapped half the Justice League!
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Yet Is This All It Could Be?
While the notion of Lord Zedd finally fighting the Megazord one-one-one is great, it ends without much drama. Zedd proves inexperienced in giant form, and is outnumbered two to one between the Megazord and Alpha-5. Stan Lee often advised against making heroes more powerful than the villain, otherwise the suspense suffers. Turning Green Lantern, Superman, and Wonder Woman into “jobbers” for a page isn’t enough when Lord Zedd can’t even stop a lecture from the Rangers.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Fortunately, the issue ends on a mostly humorous note. While Angel Grove has been rescued from Brainiac, Billy, Flash, and Superman have to figure out how to position it precisely. And then the League decide to end the day the same way the Power Rangers do — with a snack at the Juice Bar! Perennial bullies and comic reliefs Bulk and Skull make an unexpected cameo, as Bruce Wayne proves to be scary even without a mask. Yet has Brainiac planned a sequel with Alpha-5?
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Tom Taylor is best known for writing the line of Injustice digital comics based on the DC Comics fighting game of the same name. He deals with a lot of dark material there, albeit working off of developments and premises the video game already established. With this, Taylor is able to branch off into lighter material and another franchise of characters. However, at times this story has felt more like a video game watching players “button mash” on hordes of bland foes than a comic epic.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Unlike the Megazord, It Doesn’t Rise as High as It Could Have!
While this isn’t to say that Justice League/Power Rangers is bad; merely underwhelming at times. Taylor sometimes devises fun contrasts between universes, and some amusing one-liners or speeches. The focus on Zack Taylor out of the Rangers was a bold move. However, too often the story merely offers up the bare minimum of what the premise allows without getting more imaginative. Other times, it offers up what could be an epic scene and instead brushes past it.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
This finale marked the second or third straight issue where the heroes united to battle generic, stock enemies. If you’ve seen one Putty or Brainiac drone, or even giant squid or worm, you’ve seen them all. Furthermore, a better battle was right there in the background! Lord Zedd had control of the Zords! The image of the Megazord versus the Justice League was so thrilling that it was literally the cover to issue 3! Yet this issue is more concerned with Batman punching a robot.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
It is possible with the massive cast available, Taylor had to “trim the fat” to cram in all the essentials of his story. Unfortunately, these shortcuts backfire in the end. While it is interesting seeing Lord Zedd able to fell even Superman, for a moment, that’s all it is. Considering he’d often taken a back seat to Brainiac, it’s utterly underwhelming to have Zedd lose so easily against the Power Rangers after handicapping all odds against him. It’s TV show accuracy in the worst sense.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Some Fun Moments Peek out from the Din!
Aside for that, some of the series’ parting moments are hit or miss. After feeling massive guilt over accidentally sparking the crisis, Zack barely gets in a few words. While I can picture the rest of the League willing to hang out with the Rangers in civilian form at a juice bar, would Bruce Wayne? And while Lex Luthor was technically a recent president in the DC Universe, would his tenure really have been so well lauded that he’d have wound up on a hundred dollar bill? Lex went mad on TV!
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
On the other hand, while Lord Zedd going down like a putz is underwhelming for the story, Kimberly has a fun moment in the end. Her fondness for Green Arrow’s trick arsenal was established and comes to an entertaining conclusion. Billy and Cyborg pooling their brain-power is good stuff. The Power Rangers have a little fun at Alpha-5’s expense, as usual. And while Lord Zedd’s underwhelming performance as a giant was bad for drama, it was for a logical reason.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
The Power Rangers Certainly Looked Great!
The art by Stephen Bryne is great, for the most part. As with previous issues, one gets the sense that he put more vigor and detail into the Power Rangers character rather than the Justice League. Lord Zedd, in particular, has never looked better! It’s, therefore, a shame we saw so little of him until this issue! The Megazord and the Power Rangers all look like they jumped out of the TV screens from 1995. Whereas the superheroes of the Justice League at times look generic in comparison.
Image by DC Comics and BOOM! Studios
Next: Witness the rise of Alpha Five from issue #5!
In conclusion, “underwhelming” could be a keyword to summarize this series. Much like the Power Rangers TV show, a lot of potential imagination from the premise was sacrificed for functionality and routine. Less time fighting generic minions or on exposition and more time creatively playing with the clash of universes with more distinct and challenging adversaries would have done wonders. This action-packed crossover was good enough, yet not quite great.