Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/TMNT II #1 is written by Ryan Parrott with illustration by Vincenzo Frederici. Colours are by Raúl Angulo and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Main cover art (left) is by Alessio Zonno. The book is published by BOOM! Studios in partnership with IDW Publishing.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/TMNT III #1 is available in comic book stores from today.
Synopsis
The crossover sensation is back for a third epic adventure! With Rita and Krang defeated, the bad guys aren’t cutting the Rangers and Turtles no slack! Lord Zedd and Shredder have a new plan to take down the radical teen heroes and if they don’t act carefully, they may just succeed.
The amazing new series from veteran Mighty Morphin Power Rangers writer Ryan Parrott and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation artist Vincenzo Federici kicks off with a moment you have to see to believe!
Review
Two of four favourite childhood TV series are back with another comic book crossover event this week. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are once again sharing the page with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After two fan-favourite series, can legendary Power Rangers writer Ryan Parrott strike gold with an ambitious, hight stakes, third round?
Grasping at the reader, this third go around starts out at the end. Showing a couple of rather desperate characters making a last ditch attempt to save the day. They seem defeated and at their lowest. Whilst Parrott utilises the energetic sequence to tell his audience that most of our beloved characters are no more. It seems that this time around the team of Shredder and Lord Zedd has been able to win the battle and the consequences are dire. As the prologue transitions to events of three weeks earlier it’s clear that Parrott is leaving nothing behind in making this a blockbuster event.
Three weeks prior to making a desperate attempt to save the day, everyone is alive and well. Seeing Trini and Donnie saving the day in Paris adds a fun, global scale to a series where the action is already pretty immense. There’s always been a wider world feel given the Ranger’s Angel Grove base is a world apart from the turtles’ NYC sewer. But Parrott leaves little time for us to reacquaint ourselves with these two groups of heroes. There isn’t a breakneck pace to this first issue, but there’s a tension which takes hold pretty quickly and pulls us along for the ride.
Shredder and Zedd are attacking our heroes from all angles. Keeping them occupied, probably whilst they pursue some other nefarious scheme elsewhere. But much to his credit, Parrott is keeping secrets for now. Instead using this first issue to really set the tone. Something which is set incredibly well by the end of the issues as our heroes face a truly devastating loss. There are still some fun twists to uncover though. A fight between Green Ranger Tommy, Raphael and classic TMNT villains Beebop and Rocksteady is a powerhouse centrepiece which affirms that a wild journey which is about to unfold.
Vincenzo Federici and Raúl Angulo are a dynamic duo to bring Parrott’s story to life. Though much of the book takes place during conflict. There are a still isolated moments for more character focussed work. Federici and Angulo balance both out brilliantly. During combat the book fire on all cylinders. It’s dramatic, energetic and all the other adjectives for truly inspiring work. But harnessed within those quieter moments are some pretty raw emotions. This issue reaches a climax with a final panel racked so much emotion that the wait for issue #2 will be nothing short of agonising.
Verdict
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/TMNT III is taking a big swing. This is easily the biggest crossover to-date between these two legendary teams of heroes. Writer Ryan Parrott is going all out with a high stakes story in which nobody is safe. Stylishly written and exquisitely rendered on the page. We’re in for a wild ride comics fans.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
