Up until the announcement, I never thought I would see the day when the Power Rangers would meet the Justice League. They are heroes of different worlds with villains unique to their universe. But of course, it would happen when comics would become a regular part of my life. DC Comics is doing a good job of taking my money.

The question is, can this event meet the hype of two of my childhood hero groups colliding?

We’ll see after issue #6, but let’s talk about the first one.

For all of my reviews, I will do a brief spoiler free portion, followed by a more detailed look, and finally a rating using the five-star system.

Let’s talk about the art. It’s unlike the comic books I’ve been reading, but Byrne does a great job in a style that blends realism and color to fit the story. The character designs for the Justice League aren’t bad at all. I am very curious to see the other members in action.

The first issue does its job of teasing. They waste no time establishing the central problem facing the Power Rangers. They get to meet two members of the Justice League. The exposition isn’t overdone and there’s enough action. We know the main villain in the issue and from our past. Maybe this is part of the transition process, but it felt very different in tone. In doing that, I felt that taste of nostalgia slip. However, this could very well be due to the fact that I have never read any of the Power Rangers comics from Boom Studios. The full story still has the potential to become a great crossover and from this point I have to understand that this is different from those afternoon episodes.

Spoiler Alert

Do not read further, unless you want to read more about the issue.

Summary

After seeing the beautiful Angel Grove, we find that it was destroyed at some point. Superman appears to console Zack, distraught and in tears knowing that he argued with his parents when he last saw them.

They flashback to 36 hours ago where the Rangers look for Alpha 5. Zack brings in a damaged robot; Zordon is wary of its true nature as there are no leads to what caused his injuries. He tells Zack to teleport the replica, only to find it is too late. The replica explodes because its actually a bomb created by Lord Zedd. He appears shortly with the Putty Patrol, poised to attack Zordon. Zack fearing what could happen, teleports with Zedd, despite being told that the transporter could malfunction.

This is how Zack appears in Gotham. Unaware of who Batman is, they fight until the Dark Knight emerges victorious. Shortly, the Power Rangers appear, looking to protect their friend. Batman reaches out to the Justice League, realizing that he is not capable of taking them all on at once. The Flash appears and confiscates their weapons. A move by Batman forces the Pink Ranger to call on her Zord. This leads to the Flash calling the Watchtower, showing Cyborg available. With the Batmobile in sight, the Pterodactyl takes it away, leaving us in wonder as to what will happen. Though it’s clear that the Justice League and the Power Rangers have to face off.

The issue isn’t entirely what I expected. But after a re-read or two, I can see why they had to change the lightheartedness. Comics are a different visual medium than television and they have to create a dramatic story line to pull readers in rather than appease the fans who loved the show albeit formulaic.

The appearance of the Pink Ranger’s Zord has me hyped to see if we’ll get to see the rest of them. I am certain that we’ll find great team shots in the future featuring both sides, after they fight each other of course. The other question is how did the League show up in the Power Rangers universe.

One unresolved question is, where is Lord Zedd? After attempting to take out Zordon, we find him lost in Zack’s desperate teleporting. I was hoping for a reveal with another villain, but I guess they had to save it for later.

Shout out to DC for making a cross over and for all the dope artists who made variant covers. I couldn’t buy them all, so I chose Dan Hipp’s.

Main Image Source: Newsarama

Rating

4 Stars