Let’s rewind the clock back to 1995, I’m a young lad having fun on the playground running out with my friends acting out what we say in the hit show, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Fast forward a few more years and the Bruce Timm Justice League cartoon bursts onto the scene, bringing the legacy of the Justice League to a whole new generation. I’ve seen my fair share of crazy crossovers that I thought would never happen, but this six issue just might take the cake. Warning there will be spoilers so be sure to read your comic before reading the review. You’ve been warned!
When you look at the cover for this issue there is a certain expectation of what characters will the drive the narrative forward. In this instance either Superman or Jason The Red Ranger would be the driving force of the story that Tom Taylor wants to tell, but that isn’t the case here. Instead Taylor but Zach aka The Black Ranger at the forefront of the plot is a refreshing change of pace for fans who watched the original show and Zach was just comedy relief and mostly a back round character. I honestly hope that going forward in this series Zach will continue to play a key role.
As for the plot, it’s as basic as you can get for a superhero story. Normally I’m critical of simplistic plots because I prefer a little bit nuance in my comics, but given that this a story about two very different superhero teams meeting each other for the first time I’m willing to indulge myself into the classic superheroes fighting each other before ultimately teaming up and fighting Lord Zedd and whatever DC villain he happens to team up with (please let it be Darkseid). Taylor does make the assumption that if you’re reading this series you have some familiarity with classic Power Rangers and if you’re reading this you probably do have some understanding of Power Rangers, but even if you aren’t well versed Taylor gives you just enough information to understand that Lord Zedd is the bad guy and he has to be stopped, anything else would just be unneeded at this juncture.
On pencils Stephen Bryne has the incredible task of making this first time meeting, epic in scale. Bryne’s style looks very digital,at least when it comes to the characters in costumes. When you look at the rangers outside of their suits they look very organic, and I like that they look visually different (outside of the obvious costume change) from a line perspective, it serves as a sharp contrast to both Batman and The Flash. I’m not sure who’s idea it was but I love how Byrne handled the iconic transformation as you see the “power” slowly consume their bodies. Stephen Byrne’s art delivers amazing storytelling, dynamic action sequences and the perfect amount of fan service. Finally I loved how huge the Pterodactyl Zord was in comparison to the Batmobile, only in comics will you be able to see something like that.
Justice League Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 starts off running and doesn’t let up till the end and there’s no hint of it stopping, I can attest that both fans of these deeply respected series can come together and enjoy a crossover that nobody would ever think would actually happen. Minor nitpick, the lack of Rita Repulsa disturbs me so.
Justice League/Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1 earns a 4/5
