Review: Mighty Morphin Volume 2
The Boom Power Rangers universe plows along in this second volume of Mighty Morphin. For a very brief history of the continuity, check out my review of volume 1. To keep things even briefer: this universe has split into two titles, with Ryan Parrott writing both of them. Mighty Morphin takes place on Earth; the main characters are basically the same ones from the 1995 movie. Power Rangers (which has a volume 2 out next week) features Jason, Zack, and Trini in space.
The last volume featured a mysterious new Green Ranger emerging to fight alongside Tommy (now the White Ranger) and friends. At the end, they revealed the new Ranger’s identity; a pretty huge moment for anyone who’s been following these comics for a while. Volume 1 also ended with Angel Grove trapped inside a giant energy dome. Volume 2 is largely spent trying to get out of it. As you’d expect, this means a lot of action, although it does get a bit repetitive at times. There’s disappointingly little emotional interaction between the Rangers; something that has been one of the best parts of Parrott’s previous arcs. Hopefully there’s more of that to come in volume 3, once some of the dust has settled on the events shown here.
The present day action is intercut with flashbacks to Zordon’s past – thousands of years ago, when he had limbs and everything. These are intriguing, but again, it feels like the next few issues will be when things really kick off. This volume therefore feels like a bit of a stepping stone for me. It’s pretty much all action, and at the end I find myself wishing for more fallout over the Green Ranger revelation, and for the Zordon flashbacks to move a little faster. Yet there are still glimpses of the great character work that sucked me back in to Power Rangers 25 years after I stopped watching the show.
On the plus side, all the action and excitement allows the art to shine even more than in the previous volume. Boom’s Power Rangers comics are always a feast for the eyes, and Mighty Morphin is the more vivid and vibrant of the two current titles; perhaps owing to the other book being set in the dark depths of space. Marco Renna has a field day with all the fighting and Zord battles in this volume. Walter Baiamonte’s colors make everything pop, not only the Rangers but also the flashbacks to Zordon and his blue-skinned, brightly-dressed compatriots.
Story-wise, volume 2 of Mighty Morphin hasn’t been the finest example of what Ryan Parrott can do on these books. However, there’s still a lot to enjoy, and it does seem to be leading in a direction that makes me eager to continue reading; especially with the sensational art and coloring.
Writing – 3.5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
Writer: Ryan Parrott
Artist: Marco Renna
Colorist: Walter Baiamonte with assistance by Katia Ranalli & Sara Antonellini
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Author Profile
- Yavi Mohan is a comic writer (and more frequently, comic reader) based in London. He is frequently overwhelmed by the number of comics in his reading list, to the extent that it sometimes delays his reading. This list includes every issue ever published with Spider-Man as the main character.
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