Comic Books

Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #4 Review

Its power switchin’ time!

March 17, 2020

Talk about a sleeper hit that just continues to keep on giving. In issue #4 of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we are treated to some crazy ideas that many of us probably had in our childhood. It was quite a sight to behold in the earlier parts of this crossover where we saw Shredder use the Green Ranger Morpher to gain more power. Plus, previous writer Ryan Parrott was planting some seeds of ideas that seem to be coming to fruition now. I do have to say, Ryan does a great job of maximizing everyone’s potential in this issue.

The art and color team of Simone di Meo, Alessio Zonno, Walter Baiamonte, and Igor Monti do a fantastic job of creating dynamic art with bold colors and keeping it all straight. I know it should be expected, but they do have a big job ahead of them with so many characters, and the color coding that comes with them, along with the fantastic movements and posing of ninja action heroes. They all come together to create some awesome pages along with the zany idea of power/costume crossing over between characters. This might be a SPOILER, but most have already reported it so I’m going to talk about it myself…the Ninja Turtles morphed into Power Rangers!

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That was a big moment and I will say my inner child was super hyped! I found it interesting how they decided who would be which Ranger; we get Leonardo as the Blue Ranger, Michelangelo as the Yellow Ranger, Donatello as the Black Ranger, Raphael as the Red Ranger, and even April O’Neil gets in on the action as the Pink Ranger. The costume designs are pretty nifty as they pick up new elements of the Ninja Turtles to add to the classic Ranger outfits. I do feel the “Turtle Rangers” were a bit thick, but it still worked out and I’m sure toy customizers are going to be wanting to capture them in plastic form pretty soon. The Power Rangers started to do some changes themselves and added some darker clothes and gear to be more ninja-like, which is all right, but nothing too special. The best part was Casey Jones adding a remark that they should’ve worn matching hockey masks.

Writer Ryan Parrott does a great job of letting April O’Neil and Casey Jones have big moments to shine. April as the Pink Ranger really steps up and becomes quite the hero which was great to see. She really hasn’t been the “damsel in distress” but here she steps up and starts calling the shots to help shut down the bad guy with minimal injury to her teammates. Casey does great getting the “Ninja Rangers” to sneak into the Technodrome and save Tommy; they are pretty stealthy at first, but once they get caught they manage to hold their own and escape.

I do like the idea that along with the power switch they also have to change their ways of operation as the Turtles get to be public and the Rangers have to stick to the shadows…very different for them, but they are great at adapting. I like the other switch ups that we get to see as well…looks like the classic Ranger power weapons get mixed with the Turtles weapons as well, but we don’t really get to see that in the art, sadly. It was nice to see the villains start calling each other out on how they are failing each other so they really step up their game. Shredder takes the Technodrome topside, Foot Clan members are fused with Putty Patrollers, and Rita uses her magic to grow Bebop and Rocksteady to giant size. That of course means the “Turtle Rangers” have to step up their game, so we get to see them use the Dino Megazord. And yes, we do see the “Ninja Rangers” drive the Turtle Van too.

This issue was pure fun, and how could it not be? We see the ultimate idea of a crossover come to be: Power Turtles and Ninja Rangers. The action continues and all the players seem to be adapting to their new settings. This issue sets up nicely for the conclusion of an amazing crossover series. Pick this up, reread the whole series and brace for the conclusion and hopefully many more crossovers between these two properties.