The first Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover mini-series was one of my favorite comic books of 2020. Ryan Parrott and Simone Di Meo fully tapped into the potential of a crossover with the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles. Now we are finally getting a sequel to that with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II. This time around, Parrott is joined by Dan Mora on art. With such a top-tier team once again for the sequel Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 looks to be a great comic book to end the year with. Let’s find out.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Dan Mora
Colorist: Raul Angulo
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SYNOPSIS
Six months after Rita teleported somewhere unknown with Shredder, Casey Jones is mysteriously kidnapped in the middle of a fight with Karai.
A week later the Ninja Turtles, April O’Neil, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers continued to work and hangout together after their first team-up.
Over at the Command Center, Billy with Donatello’s help is working on creating Shadow Morphers while Jason and Leonardo are training.
Over in New York City after Tyler (Tommy Oliver’s childhood friend and ex-Foot Ninja) tells Tommy and Raphael about how Leatherhead, Slash, and Karai have also gone missing along they go look for the Rat King. When they find him Rat King reveals that a Ranger is behind all the kidnappings.
Over on Ryker Island, Rocksteady and Goldar break Baxter Stockman and Krang out of prison. The Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles quickly show up to stop the villains.
During the fight, Casey shows up out of nowhere. After seeming normal Casey knocks out Donatello. Casey then proceeds to morph into his own Dark Ranger form using the “Power Up – Power Extreme” call.
Casey in his Dark Ranger form knocks back all the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles. He then leaves through a portal with Rocksteady, Goldar, Krang, and Stockman while “Brave New World” is about to arrive as he leaves. End of issue.
REVIEW
Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora do not miss a beat in getting us back into the world that was left by the first Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Picking up six months after the events with Rita Repulsa and Shredder disappear was a smart call. This allowed both teams to do their own thing in their respective corners of this universe while giving them time to build on their chemistry off-screen.
The chemistry is what really shines throughout Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1. Even if they weren’t hanging out daily Parrott and Mora were able to portray both teams as having kept in touch through the six-month time skip. While they have built up a friendship we see that they still do live in their own worlds. We get that with how differently April is still processing Rita and Shredder’s disappearance compared to Kimberly and Trini. It plays in well with how both franchises operate as the Power Rangers handle monster-of-the-week situations while the Ninja Turtles deal with long-term threats.
Showing the difference in the franchises through the interactions made the entire story have a natural pace to it. The pairings of Billy and Donatello working on a Shadow Morpher project while Jason and Leonardo train further showcased everyone’s personalities. We get cool hints at what to expect in the future with Billy and Donatello. Then there is the bonding Jason and Leo have as leaders of their teams sharing their similar experiences with dealing with the brotherly rivalry they have with Tommy and Raphael, respectively.
Highlighting all of the personalities made the shift back to the bigger story of what Rita and Shredder are possibly doing was nicely balanced. The opening of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 positions that as a major mystery with how Casey and Karai mysteriously disappear at the beginning of the issue. That is all that is needed to hint that likely other Ninja Turtle villains are also going to get kidnapped, as Tommy’s childhood friend Tyler confirms. Having major names in Casey and Karai as the first to disappear immediately establishes why the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles would team-up right away.
Rat King revealing that someone that looked like a Power Ranger was responsible for all the kidnappings helped fast-forward the story so we can get right into the big hook of this story. And that hook is that it appears that Rita and Shredder have created their own Dark Rangers in the time they’ve been away. The Dark Rangers is a classic Power Rangers storyline that fits so well with what we saw in the first crossover. Especially with how Shredder felt the power of being the Green Ranger this is likely something he jumped at the chance when Rita brought it up. Now we have a story that can get even bigger in scope as the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers have to overcome all their villains becoming stronger than before.
Of course, the artwork by Dan Mora is absolutely fantastic. Mora does a fantastic job making everything look great and natural part of this shared world. Little things like how Mora shows the hologram technology not fully working when Donatello and Michelangelo use it so they can look human and can hang out at the Juice Bar.
Mora’s action is all smooth. Jason and Leonardo’s sparring session is a great example of how we see each of them pull off different moves so neither has the advantage in their fight. We then get bigger action sequences first with the fantastic double-page spread shot of Goldar and Rocksteady prison breakout. Then we get into the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles fighting the villains. It all led to the great reveal of Casey in his Dark Ranger form that looked absolutely menacing and getting over how much trouble both teams are in for.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 picks up where the original crossover left off without missing a beat. Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora capture the chemistry the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles have to create a world that they both naturally exist in. The bigger mystery going on with the latest plot Rita Repulsa and Shredder have come up with promises this crossover will be bigger than the first. If you are a fan of the Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or both then make sure you do not miss out on this comic book.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
