Good morning heroes in a half shell, it is Wednesday and we have a new comic to review! Today, we have the next issue in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. So, we are picking up right where our last issue left off, and that is with Master Splinter’s death. As a result, we are going to be seeing the ramifications of Splinter’s death and how our heroes handle it. Anyways, with our introduction out of the way, let us morph back into the action with MMPR/ TMNT III #2!
Comic Credits
- Artist: Vincenzo Federici
- Colorist: Raúl Angulo
- Lettering: Ed Dukeshire
- Writer: Ryan Parrott
- Designer: Madison Goyette
- Editor: David Mariotte
- Cover Artist: Alessio Zonno
- Hasbro Special Thanks to Linda Lee, Lily Zahn, Tayla Reo & Ed Lane
[Warning: The following review contains spoilers, so readers should proceed at their own discretion]
Review
As mentioned in the introduction, with Splinter’s death in the previous issue we begin with our heroes feeling its weight. Here, Vincenzo shows how everyone is handling the situation through their body language and expressions. Like Trini is consoling Donnie, Mikey is so frustrated he is not eating, and Zordon has a sorrowful expression. So, we are presented with various stages of grief regarding Splinter’s death, but Kimberly looks like Raph exposed himself. Personally, I do not know what stage of grief Kimberly is showing, but her expression does not match the situation. However, things only worsen for our heroes when Tommy attempts to apologize to Leonardo over the situation.
Now, Leo flies off the handle with Tommy regarding Splinter’s death, and he is rightfully so given the context. Especially, since this was Tommy and Raph’s idea to go to the Bandora Palace to spy on their enemies. So, I can empathize with Leo’s rage towards Tommy being responsible for his father’s death. Specifically, as Leo and the other Turtles are expected to continue cooperating with the Rangers as if nothing occurred. Unfortunately, in an attempt to diffuse the tension between Leo and Tommy, Raph only escalates the situation. Immediately, Leo unleashes his frustrations with Raph and quickly tears right into him. Ultimately, this leads to Leo leaving the group and asking his brothers to follow his lead.
Interestingly, Donnie sides with Leo while Raph and Mikey find it wild to leave when their collected enemies remain aligned. So, given how everyone is grieving the loss of Splinter, it makes sense why the Turtles appear out of character. Sadly, with the Turtles splitting up, Jason decides to split the Power Rangers not wanting to leave Leo alone. As a result, Jason and Trini follow after the pair of Turtles while he appoints Kimberly leadership in his absence. Honestly, I was thoroughly surprised with this decision since I suspect Jason would have selected Zack or Tommy. However, by choosing Kimberly this is a rather interesting change, but Jason’s decision makes sense since Boom’s Kim has urgency. Like in the comics, Kim is more developed as a character where she makes quick decisions that are usually beneficial. Anyway, that leaves Kim in charge of Zack, Billy, Tommy, Raph and Mikey, as the others leave.
So, with our heroes splitting up into different teams, we then transition to the Bandora Palace on the Moon. Here, we are greeted by Shredder mourning the loss of his former friend/ rival, and archenemy, Splinter. This matches the character throughout the years, especially with how Shredder was depicted during the 2011 comic series. Like even though they were enemies, Shredder still had a great sense of respect for Splinter as a warrior. Additionally, Shredder assumed that their feud would be a never-ending battle, and its abrupt end leaves Shredder unamused. Specifically, Shredder’s displeasure is confirmed as he states, “A grand finale, not this. We deserved better.” As a result, readers get a sense of how heavy Splinter’s loss is felt by both sides of the conflict. Coincidentally, it shows how Ryan is an effective writer by making readers feel, and understand the complexity of death.
Yet, Shredder is interrupted by Lord Zedd who states that he gave Shredder the gift of freedom by killing Splinter. Whereas, Zedd hopes Shredder will help him slay Zordon, and thus end their eternal rivalry. Then our villains begin to discuss how their plan is coming to fruition while providing exposition on their Shadow Morphers. Interestingly, the Shadow Morphers and the Shadow Grid work as a parasitic system that is absorbing the Morphin Grid. Essentially, they drain Power Coins and the Morphin Grid to fully establish themselves, like the Psycho Rangers and Dark Specter. Anyway, with the Shadow Grid now activated, Lord Zedd and Shredder look to assemble a Mutant Shadow Ranger army. However, our villains must decide which of their followers are truly worthy to be their Rangers.
Returning to the Command Center, Mikey is training to deal with his frustrations while the others investigate an odd signal. Surprisingly, Billy detects some type of Morphin Grid energy imitate from a different dimension and in outer space. As a result, Zordon begins to suspect that if the coordinates are correct it might be something from his past. However, before we learn more about this strange phenomena, our heroes are interrupted by the Commander Center’s planetary alarms. Coincidentally, Lord Zedd and Shredder unleashed a new attack on Earth looking to divide and conquer our heroes once again. Now, Sydney, Australia is under siege by Tokka and Rahzar, while Karai and Leatherhead ransack Tokyo, Japan. Although, they have morphed into their newly acquired Shadow Ranger forms which might be incomplete due to lacking energy. So, maybe these Shadow Rangers will evolve into more standard suits once absorbing more Morphin Grid energy.
Anyway, our heroes decide to morph with Raph and Mikey reusing the Ranger Powers from the first crossover. Then this ragtag group of Rangers and Turtles further split up to combat their enemies. Meanwhile, at the Turtle Lair in New York City, our other group of heroes are monitoring the current activity. Interestingly, Jason and Leo come to the conclusion that the various simultaneous robberies and ongoing attacks are actually distractions. Additionally, they realize that besides creating the Shadow Rangers, Lord Zedd and Shredder want to reclaim the Technodrome. However, our heroes might be too late, as the Promethea Research Facility housing the captured Technodrome is attacked. During the attack, the New York team manages to arrive in time to rescue Grace and her team. However, Jason is forced to fight Green Ranger Shredder, as Trini and Donnie square off with Bebop and Rocksteady. Whereas, Leonardo pursues Zedd into the Technodrome to seek revenge for Master Splinter’s death. Unfortunately, this is where the issue ends, and we are left waiting to see how this battle plays out.
Overall, issue 2 continues our main story at a solid pace with amazing character moments between a large ensemble cast. As mentioned earlier in the review, I really appreciate how Ryan treated Splinter’s death and showed everyone’s reaction to it. Although, I am uncertain if this decision is a permanent or temporary one given Splinter’s deaths throughout various media. Then regarding this ensemble cast, I like how dividing up the Rangers and Turtles lead to widely varying interactions. Ultimately, the creative team behind MMPR/ TMNT really makes this one of the best crossover titles in recent years. Especially, given how they keep finding ways to raise the stakes for our heroes to eventually overcome. Nevertheless, I have been Ben Odinson, and I will see everyone again with the next “Boom!” review.
