Happy Monday! After a week off due to a smaller week on my pull list I’m back to wrap up the comic books that I wasn’t able to get to do full reviews with spoiler synopsis. This week I’ll be spotlighting Batman: Urban Legends #9 and Mighty Morphin #13. With Batman: Urban Legends #9 we will see the continued ties to the stories in the anthology series to the Fear State event. Then with Mighty Morphin #13 it will begin the latest big Power Rangers crossover event known as “The Eltarian War.” Let’s see how these two big issues turned out.
And in case you missed it my reviews with full spoiler synopsis of Amazing Spider-Man #78, Justice League: Last Ride #7, and Robin & Batman #1 are live on the website.
BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS #9
Creative Team
Writers: Alyssa Wong (Fear State: Disinformation Campaign); Sam Johns (Tweedledee & Tweedledum: Down The Rabbit Hole); Dan Watters (Azrael: Dark Knight Of The Soul); Brandon Thomas (Outsiders: The Fearful)
Artists: Vasco Georgieve (Fear State: Disinformation Campaign); Karl Mostert (Tweedledee & Tweedledum: Down The Rabbit Hole); Nikola Cizmesija (Azrael: Dark Knight Of The Soul); Cian Tormey (Outsiders: The Fearful)
Inkers: Raul Fernandez (Outsiders: The Fearful)
Colorists: Rain Beredo (Fear State: Disinformation Campaign); David Baron (Tweedledee & Tweedledum: Down The Rabbit Hole); Ivan Plascencia (Azrael: Dark Knight Of The Soul); Alejandro Sanchez (Outsiders: The Fearful)
Story Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
The Good: Not every issue of Batman: Urban Legends will be for every reader and this latest issue was just that for me. No story other than the Outsiders story that was the final story in Batman: Urban Legends #9 click for me. The Outsiders have consistently driven a strong narrative since Urban Legends started. They are the type of team, one that unfortunately does not sell well in their own title, that strengthens an anthology series because they are a concept with Black Lightning, Katana, Metamorpho, and Signal to explore different parts of Gotham City and the DC Universe as a whole.
What made The Outsiders: Fearful story work even more was its connection to the Future State continuity. This crossover further points to how we have diverged from whatever drove Future State to take place and that continuity is its own universe. Even as we get more hints of things from Future State happening, like so many other continuities, there have also events that have caused the current DC Universe’s future to be unknown. Which works to further position the Outsiders as an important team to follow as each character, especially Signal, has a story arc that Urban Legends can tap into.
The first story with Batwoman was also solid. There were a few things that did not work when trying to tie Batwoman’s narrative into the current Fear State event. What did work was how Alyssa Wong and Vasco Georgieve did a good job furthering the history between Kate and Bette Kane as sisters and enemies. The way the story is resolved opens up both characters to be spotlight some more in this series or a new Batwoman series.
The Bad: Where the Batwoman story did not end up working was how it tied into the Fear State event. It does not seem as though as Wong and Georgieve were given full details of what was going on in the Batman, Nightwing, and Catwoman comic books. Specifically, the story tries to make Batwoman’s role in Fear State important by having her discover the information about the Seer. The problem with that is that was something Nightwing and Oracle already learned weeks earlier in Nightwing #85. This makes the Batwoman back-up appear as though it is out-of-continuity with its lack of synergy with the rest of the Batman Family titles.
Both the Azrael and Tweedledee & Tweedledum stories are examples of Batman Universe stories I have no interest in. Azrael is already my least favorite Batman Family member. His story in Batman: Urban Legends #9 was just a reminder of why I just have never been a fan of his.
Similarly, the Tweedledee and Tweedledum story light-hearted approach was something I did not connect with. Batman: Urban Legends has had success in the past with one of the four stories having a light-hearted tone. This was just an instance were the story did not click with me.
Overall: Batman: Urban Legends #9 was another solid entry in this anthology series. Not every story in this issue clicked with me. But the plot points and storylines that did work showed the strength of this series. The Outsiders story in particular was by far my favorite as its ties to both Fear State and Future State created a lot of unique angles to explore the characters involved. If you are looking for more Batman Family fun this is a good comic book to pick up.
MIGHTY MORPHIN #13
Creative Team
Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Marco Renna
Colorists: Walter Baiamonte, Sara Antonellini, and Katia Ranalli
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
The Good: Mighty Morphin #13 waste no time in taking all the develops from the past twelve issues of this series to raise the stakes from the very start of “The Eltarian War” event. This issue is a constant blast of information and action that makes this event feel as important as big Power Rangers crossover events that BOOM! Studios has put out. Which speaks to what Ryan Parrott has been building since he took over the franchise with both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.
What worked so well in this issue was putting over how big of a threat the Eltarian’s are. They are no longer the benevolent people that so many fans believed them to be because of knowing Zordon from the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show. These Eltarians, and their ties to Lord Zedd, come across as a big event level villain group that you are deeply concerned for how the Power Rangers can overcome them. Which makes the fact that there are also the Empyreal as another threat out in the universe make you question if this is going to be to much for both the Power Rangers and Omega Rangers to handle.
As the villains for this event are built up Parrott does a very good job still emphasizing the team chemistry between the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. The big action sequence involving the team shows that they can overcome things together. It will just be about them all being together as they appear to be split up by the Etarians during the course of this issue. Establishing makes what looks to be an emphasis on the relationship between Tommy Oliver and Matthew Cook something to keep an eye out for.
The Bad: The only thing that kept the opening for “The Eltarian War” back is that it is not new reader friendly. You need to know everything that has been going on in this and the Power Rangers series to understand what is going on. If you are a new reader picking this up it would be understandable that you would be lost with the concepts and characters being thrown your way since this story is inclusive to the continuity built in BOOM! Studios Power Ranger Universe.
Overall: Mighty Morphin #13 does a great job building off the momentum created by both this and the Power Rangers series to kick off “The Eltarian War” with hot start. The story started comes across as reward to fans who have been reading the narrative that Ryan Parrott has been building during his run. All the sides of this conflict are equally interesting that all makes the excitement around how the Power Rangers will come out of this in one piece something that will have you coming back to find out what happens next.
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