Review: Justice League/Power Rangers #2

By Philip Schweier
March 22, 2017 - 08:25

I’ve never been a fan of the Power Rangers franchise – or any of the live action Japanese hero shows like Ultra Man and such. Largely because even as a small child, I could clearly see it was nothing more than a guy in a suit stomping through miniatures. So when I learned the Power Rangers and Justice League were to team up, I was unenthused.

First off, let me apologize on behalf of DC and Boom! Studos for the lack of credits. The cover attributes to the issue to Taylor and Byrne, but who they are, I have no idea. There is no credit page in the issue I read. Either the credits were on a text page not included in the advance copy I was provided, or those responsible prefer to keep a low profile. Your guess is as good as mine.

Like any traditional team-up, we must first have our heroes fight one another: Justice League vs. the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. Power rings and super speed vs. giant mechanical dinosaurs. Because what could be better than giant mechanical dinosaurs? Giant mechanical dinosaurs IN OUTER SPACE?

As explained in this issue, the Power Rangers’ base of operations was attacked, and their transporters were damaged. One of their team was transported to the DC Universe – the DC Animated Universe, near as I can tell. Kudos for that. The other Power Rangers attempted to retrieve him, but when they encountered Batman, he naturally assumed him to be a bad guy, resulting in the battle between the two teams.

Of course the JLA would be happy to send them home, but when their nemesis, Lord Zedd, was also transported, well, that complicates things. Lord Zedd is your basic cartoon super-villain, out to rule the universe for reasons unknown. As the Power Rangers explain, “He’s pretty much pure evil.” Evil for evil’s sake. And Lord Zedd has been found by one of the DCU’s more powerful villains, who discover they may share similar goals.

The artwork is okay. The helmets of the Power Rangers maintain the static appearance of the TV show, so, no, those are not their individual faces in the lower portion of the helmet. It’s a full face mask. The renderings of the DC heroes are intentionally (I hope) cartoony, but sometimes in a Mad Magazine way, so I’m not entirely comfortable there.

The issue has some redeeming qualities: I like the rendering of the DC heroes on the cover, and if you’re trying to introduce a youngster to either franchise, this isn’t a bad place to start. And I said, kudos to DC for using what appears to be the animated version of the Justice League. It’s a very streamlined version that told some great stories, without a great deal of excessive baggage from the larger, more complicated DCU.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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