Power Rangers Shattered Grid is finally here, and the first issue definitely delivered some morphinominal moments.
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Spoilers incoming for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned.
There’s a lot to go over in the issue, but a few moments manage to stand out above the rest. They are sprinkled all throughout the issue, which twists and reshapes the Power Rangers lore to create something completely new and unexpected, all the while keeping the franchise’s core elements intact.
That’s a tall order for anyone to deliver, but the team of Kyle Higgins, Ryan Parrott, Daniele Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte, and Dafna Pleban did their best to live up to expectations.
“Expectations are funny things,” Higgins said. “As a writer, as a freelance writer, as a creator, you spend so much of your time trying to figure out how to cut through the noise: how to create something, how to write something, how to make something that has resonance, that is significant, and that is going to be seen. Then you do a book where that’s a given, and where there’s a great marketing team like we had with the Arune Singh and everyone at BOOM, where cutting through the noise is not a problem. It’s living up to the hype. And so as a writer- luckily I have an amazing editor in Dafna, I have an amazing co-collaborator in Danielle Di Nicuolo, Walter Baiamonte, and Ryan on this event. And Dan Mora as well, although Ryan keeps Dan hidden from me. I never get to talk to Dan.”
That required many early morning calls about the storyline and everyone involved, but Dafna didn’t seem to mind, and the work they put in shows.
“It’s actually genuinely my favorite part of the job,” Pleban said. “Because what Kyle is saying in a sort of self-effacing way is first and foremost this event’s about story. It’s about character. It’s about sort of both our love of the franchise and our excitement in being able to play in this world without necessarily the standard budget that a TV show has and has to work with. So we really get the opportunity to work with every character and a new setting. It’s just as far as I guess what we can push poor Daniele, but there is really a spirit of collaboration and it’s something that I’m excited, that I think we’re all excited to talk about and excited to play with.”
With that in mind, hit the next slide to see which moments we thought shined through the most in Shattered Grid’s landmark first issue!
Reaching Through
Shattered Grid doesn’t take long to get going, and it kicks off with an ominous sequence that shows just how real the threat of Lord Drakkon is.
That is encapsulated perfectly with one particularย page. As you can see in the image above, Jen Scottsย is on her way into the hyper stream when she sees a massive shadow emerge from the rift in space. That silhouetteย is Lord Drakkon, who through his meddling has already taken out the rest of Scott’s Time Force team.
First, this scene is gorgeous, but it alsoย shows just how broken the grid is, and paints a rather bleakย picture of what’s to come if Jen doesn’t succeed in stopping him in the past.
Lord Drakkon Meets Ninjor
Mighty Morphin fans get a big surprise later on in the book when a certain Ninja Master shows up.
That would be none other than Ninjor, the creator of the Power Coins themselves. Nicuolo’sย version of the character feels as if he pulled him right out an old episode, and even his mannerisms and attitude feel authentic. The conversation between him and Lord Drakkonย is also quite enlightening, not to mention entertaining, and reveals some interesting nuggets that will likely bear fruit in future issues.
Drakkon Walking Right Into The Command Center
The first issue of Shattered Grid does an amazing job of showing just how cunning and strategic Lord Drakkon is, but one sequence in particularย also reveals just how brazen he can be.
In one sequence Billy and Triniย are shown investigating the Green Chaos Crystal, trying to determine how it works and if they can get it repoweredย so they can travel to Drakkon’sย old world and warn the Coinless he is back. They are rather secure in the Command Center, but when they leave for a break, Drakkonย literally walks right in and takes the crystal for himself.
His newly repaired Power Coin and Morpher allow him to walk right in, but it’s the fact that he just doesn’t even view them as a threat that sticks out most, walking in while the whole team is literally in the other room. That’s some amazing confidenceย to be sure.
Kimberly And Tommy’s Date
While the majority of the issue is rather heavy, there is one sequence that can’t help but bring a smile to any Power Ranges fan’s face.
That would be Kimberly and Tommy’s date, which features them going to a movie called Neon Speed. The movie spawns some entertaining banter, with Tommy feeling a bit deflated about the film while Kimberly is able to see the positives.
“Hey, sometimes it’s nice to watch other people save the world.’
Again, a big part of the magic in Power Rangers is the genuineย interactions between the characters and coupled with Nicuolo’sย expressive artwork you will want to see even more from this duo…though that will be hard to accomplish with what happens next.
Drakkon Stabs Tommy
Talk about a shocker.
That shock had even greater impact after such a nice sequence with Kimberly, but Tommy’s fortunes quickly turn after heading home from a nice night out. Someone says Tommy’s name, but when he turns around it isn’t Kimberly.
It ends up being Lord Drakkon, who stabs him in the back with Saba. The scene takes up the whole page, and while it doesn’t go full brutality (the sword isn’t seen going through him or anything) you still end up feeling just a bit of Tommy’s pain.
Not many words are necessary to know that the Rangers will never be the same, but crazilly enough there’s a scene even more heartbreaking than this one.
Jenn Scott’s Big Entrance
Before your heart completely shatters though there’s a sign of hope, as Time Force’s Jen Scottsย makes her presenceย immediatelyย felt with one of the slickest entrancesย ever.
As Drakkon takes on a just arrived Kimberly, a huge orb of energy appears with a figure at the source, blowing back Drakkonย off his feet. That endsย up being Jenn Scotts, who without a word uttered immediately takes out her Vector Blaster and fires a round of blasts at Drakkon. For any Scottsย fan, this is a dream come true and speaks to just how lethal the Time Force Pink Ranger can be.
Scott’s is all about efficiency, stopping Kimberly mid-questionย with the command of “No time. Start firing!”
Yeah, that is what Jen Scottsย is all about, and we couldn’t be happier she’s got such a substantial role in Shattered Grid.
Don’t Be Gone…
Even with Scott’sย help in dispelling Drakkon, the damage is done, and Tommy is fading quickly. Nothing puts a finer point on that than the heartbreaking final page by Daniele Di Nicuolo.
Kimberly runs to hold Tommy, who tries to utter a few words but fallsย limp in her arms. Thatย sense of lossย is all over that last page, with the harsher violet hues covering the sceneย and the sense of defeat given off by the slumping Jen Scottsย in the corner.
This scene needs few words to convey its message, and only features three simple words from Kimberly.
“…don’t be gone…”
Every Power Rangers fan was right there with her, but what a way to end Shattered Grid’s amazing debut issue.
Alright, those are our favorite parts of the issue, but what were yours? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to follow @MattMuellerCBย for all your Power Rangers coverage.
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