The legacy of Power Rangers has stretched across multiple forms of media, including comics – with multiple creators putting their take on our favorite “teenagers with attitude”. Now with Power Rangers: Across The Morphin Grid #1, actors who’ve played the Rangers get to build on their characters in a whole new way. Like most of the Power Rangers anthologies, Across The Morphin Grid #1 consists of five different stories.
“Billy’s Metamorphosis” is written by David Yost (aka Billy Cranston, the original Blue Ranger), illustrated by Patrick Mulholland and colored by Ellie Wright. It focuses on Billy undertaking a dangerous mission for the Morphin Masters. Crash-landing on a strange planet, Billy learns he might not be as alone as he thinks. Yost, having played Billy for years, brings new depth to the blue brainiac; he never morphs once but completes his mission thanks to the lessons he learned from his friends. Mulholland’s artwork leans into the alien nature of Yost’s script, especially when it comes to a mysterious character named Adriel – she looks like she’s woven out of space itself, with various colored stars dotting her body. It’s an image that is equal parts eerie and captivating.
Another original Ranger, Walter Jones (aka Zack, the original Black Ranger) gets his own tale in “An Apple A Day”. Jones decides to explore where Zack’s easygoing nature comes from – and how it comes in handy whether he’s helping the kids in his neighborhood or battling one of Rita Repulsa’s newest monsters, the apple-shaped Bob. This results in some clever apple-based puns on Jones’ part, and a monster who looks like a rotting apple courtesy of Domiko “Domo” Station and DJ Chavis. All in all, “An Apple A Day” feels like a classic episode of Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.
BOOM!
Across The Morphin’ Grid pops when it focuses on Rangers who rarely got the spotlight. Case in point: “Tanya’s Heavy Metal Rescue”, co-written by Nakia Burrise (Tanya Sloan/Zeo Ranger Yellow) and JD Sutphin with illustrations by Tango and colors by JP Jordan, sends Tanya on a rescue mission to save fellow Ranger Adam Park from the Machine Empire. It’s a harrowing tale that ends with a hugely heartwarming moment, and it looks gorgeous thanks to Tango’s artwork. It’s great seeing Tanya back in action, as I always felt Power Rangers Zeo was hugely underrated.
The same approach fuels “In The Red” by Steve Cardenas (Rocky DeSantos, the second MMPR Red Ranger) and Mat Groom, with Anad Ramcheron on art. Rocky didn’t get much depth in MMPR or Zeo, but the BOOM! Studios comics – especially when Groom was writing – went more in-depth into his family life and fleshed him out. “In The Red” continues this trend, as Rocky’s sister Raina discovers he’s a Ranger and feels her powers can give her the boost of self-confidence she needs. This is probably my favorite tale in Across the Morphin’ Grid, because it shows that you can pull confidence from sources other than superpowers (a lesson Groom touched upon in Inferno Girl Red.) It also looks gorgeous thanks to Ramcheron’s anime-inspired art, especially the panels where Raina morphs for the first time.
Finally, “Chloe’s Chaos Kitchen” by Meghan Camarena and Paulina Gancheau delves into the world of Power Rangers Hyperforce for a rather unorthodox cooking lesson. It makes me happy that Camarena is continuing to build out the world of Hyperforce, and that she can tackle stories that range from epic (see the Hyperforce one-shot from last year) to cutesy like this one. Gancheau’s artwork is the perfect fit for such an appropriately chaotic story, especially when Chloe and her fellow Hyperforce Ranger Vesper are riding on a unicorn. It makes sense in context.
Power Rangers: Across The Morphin Grid #1 is a unique way to let former Rangers build on their legacy, and a reminder that Power Rangers is many things to many people. Even with Power Rangers Prime giving the world of Power Rangers a fresh start, Across The Morphin Grid is a reminder of what came before – and that there’s plenty more to the Rangers besides karate, primary colors and giant robots.
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