[DreamSword]

Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hey, Power Rangers in Space did it, why not Mighty Morphin'?

Written by Ryan Parrott and drawn by Simone di Meo, this crossover is honestly a match made in heaven from start to finish.

The setup being that Tommy has gone undercover in the Foot Clan in order to save an old friend of his. This starts a chain of events that results in the dangerous worlds of Angel Grove and New York City colliding.

And I mean that in more ways than one. Green Ranger Shredder is definitely what caught the attention of most readers back when this crossover first dropped, and yeah, it's really cool! Though funnily enough the panel where he first appears actually has an art mistake: His hands aren't gloved for the rest of the story.

That said, while the design is cool and all, if I might offer one critique? I don't like how most of his arms are exposed. In my eyes a proper Power Ranger suit should cover every part of the body, and having his arms exposed is a really weird aesthetic that some artists go for that I never quite got. It's even seen today with the resent Street Fighter crossover figures.

That's not to harp on the art overall though, as Simone di Meo introduces a wonderfully colorful, almost animation-esque aesthetic to the book that really does fit both Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles incredibly well, to the point that I would absolutely love to see this turned into an animated movie akin to the Batman vs TMNT crossover one day. Helps that the story basically flows like a movie anyway.

I also agree with the decision made to have the Turtle Rangers prioritize Colors over weaponry, as the color coded bits on each Turtle are the immediate identifier for who's who when it comes to the fanbase. Even if it does leave April as the odd woman out, what with her being the Pink Ranger when she's typically associated with Yellow. But I get it, Mikey's' Orange is not only the closest color match out of what there was to choose from, but it's alot easier to integrate his nunchucks with the Power Daggers than it would be the Power Bow.

As I've said before, I absolutely love it when crossovers fully integrate both universes involved into one another, and PR/TMNT is no exception. The Turtle Rangers, the MMPR cast donning ninja garb, Rita making Bebop and Rocksteady grow, the Putty Soldiers... it's all a bunch of things that are really cool on their own, only to be highlighted with all of the great character interactions written into this thing. The only real downside being that Trini and Casey are sadly left out with no one to really bounce off of. Which, I mean, I certainly couldn't think of anything for those two to converse over, so I won't complain too much.

But yeah, this crossover is well written, incredibly well drawn, and is just a fun ride from start to end. I highly recommend it to fans of either franchise, let alone both. Check it out!