Exciting Combos And Deadly Villains In MMPR / TMNT #2
by James Ferguson
The first rule of all super hero crossovers is that they have to fight before they can team up. The Mighty Morphin Power Rnagers are in an all out brawl with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles before cooler heads prevail and they’re able to talk things out. The Rangers have come to town looking for Tommy. The Green Ranger is a person of interest for the Turtles because he just joined the Foot Clan and he’s working over time. Can they track down Tommy and get to the bottom of this before the villains find a team up of their own?
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles could have floated by on nostalgia alone. When you put two powerhouse pop culture franchises together like this you can just sit back and enjoy watching them talk to each other for twenty pages. While there’s a fair amount of that, writer Ryan Parrott fills this book with fascinating tidbits that really cements both worlds together, amplifying the strengths of both franchises.
A great example of this comes at the very end of this issue. I’m not going to spoil it here, although it’s already making the news. It also shows how deadly the villains from both shows can be. If you judge them solely based on what you’ve seen in the original TV shows, Shredder and Rita Repulsa are jokes. That is definitely not the case here. They are cunning, powerful, and most of all, dangerous.
Artist Simone di Meo, with some help from Alessio Zonno, keeps MMPR / TMNT #2 exciting from beginning to end. I absolutely love the transformation sequences as they’re filled with energy, but what really stands out is the design for the Turtles. I’ve known these characters my entire life, so I know their personalities and traits. Di Meo has captured the pure essence of each Turtle in such a way that anyone, whether they’re a long time Turtle fan or someone completely new to the property, will instantly know who they are and what they’re like.
Getting back to the Rangers for a moment, colorist Walter Baiamonte, with assistance by Igor Monti is responsible for my favorite effect in this issue. After the fight with the Turtles, the Rangers remove their helmets, not by taking them off, but by making them vanish. To show this effect, Baiamonte shows wisps of color around the heads of each character, signifying the disappearing helmet. It’s brilliant and so very cool.
If you’re a fan of both franchises like me, there are some interactions you’re probably pretty excited about. Donatello and Billy is a given along with Leonardo and Jason, but how will the rest of the team act? A surprisingly fun combination is Zack and Michelangelo. This is a match made in heaven. The same can be said for Trini and Raphael. There’s some top notch banter as the teams track down the Foot Clan. My favorite is definitely Billy and Donnie though, as the Turtle tries to impress the Power Ranger with all the gadgets and gizmos he’s built with little more than garbage. Letterer Ed Dukeshire does a great job peppering the dialogue into these scenes so as not to distract from the action.
We’re only two issues in and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has already exceeded my wildest dreams. This is a crossover for the ages and it’s delivering on all fronts. Now that the introductions are out of the way, things are really heating up, with a final page cliffhanger that will leave your jaw on the floor and your heart pounding through your chest.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers / Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 from BOOM! Studios and IDW Publishing is currently available at your local comic shop and digitally through ComiXology and Amazon Kindle.
