Issue #2 of Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II was rough, to put it mildly. Let's see how this new issue holds up in comparison.
The Kaiju Psycho Rangers go on the attack, hitting Godzilla and the Zords with everything they've got. As Jet Jaguar helps rescue this world's team of Power Rangers, who are badly injured, the Zords lose ground as the Psychos overwhelm them with their vast arsenal of powers drawn from Destoroyah, Megalon, SpaceGodzilla, King Ghidorah, Hedorah, and Gigan. Just as it seems the heroes are about to lose, Jet Jaguar's multiversal battery recharges and he warps everyone away to another world where they can recuperate. Rita is infuriated that they managed to escape, but Astronema reassures her that they can't hide from the Psycho Rangers.
Our heroes find themselves on the shores of a peaceful, tropical island. As the Rangers try to find their bearings and assist their injured counterparts, they are suddenly approached by two tiny women known as the Elias, who inform them they are currently on Infant Island. Just as the Elias explain they called to Jet Jaguar and told him to come to their universe, the Kaiju Psycho Rangers arrive on the island and begin to attack once again. With the Zords too damaged to fight, Godzilla retaliates against the Psychos alone, until he is suddenly joined by Mothra, who helps in fending off the evil Rangers. Finally, Jet Jaguar is able to use the Multiversal Focus again and teleports everyone back to the Power Rangers' home dimension. United with Zordon, the Elias initiate a plan to defeat the Kaiju Psycho Rangers.
Jet Jaguar travels from world to world, collecting energies from various kaiju: Rodan, Anguirus, Baragon, King Caesar, and even Mothra herself. Between the collective magic of Zordon and the Elias, as well as Goro's technical ingenuity, they are able to create a new set of Power Coins, ones based on giant monsters rather than dinosaurs. Suddenly, a massive army sent by Rita and Astronema appears just outside the Command Center. As dozens of monsters, Putty Patrollers, and Quantrons close in on the Rangers' headquarters, the five main Rangers teleport outside donning their new Kaiju Ranger suits, and their new Kaiju Zords rise up behind the Command Center, ready for action.
This issue is... better? Maybe? Kinda? Sort of? I hesitate to say "better." Maybe just "less bad."
We don't even get to see the big showdown between the kaiju-powered Psycho Rangers, the Power Rangers, and Godzilla - an event the comic has been building up to for two issues now - begin; the issue opens with the battle already underway. While the fight manages to get across how powerful the Kaiju Psychos are, we're not really allowed to enjoy it, as a fair amount of the sequence is taken up by the alternate world's Power Rangers asking for help, Rita and Astronema bickering with one another, and Goro listing off which monsters the Psychos have siphoned their powers from (which feels slightly unnecessary, as we got that big roll call on the final page of the previous issue). As such, the big fight with the Kaiju Psycho Rangers that the series has been leading towards this whole time comes and goes surprisingly quickly.
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| The Kaiju Rangers and their new Kaiju Zords. |
It's such an odd choice for the alternate reality's team of Power Rangers to simply be the Mighty Morphin Rangers again, complete with their own Dino Zords. There are literally thirty years worth of Power Ranger teams they could've used for this role. Lightspeed Rescue, Wild Force, S.P.D., Jungle Fury, Dino Charge, Beast Morphers, or heck, just make up a completely new team since it doesn't really matter. But nope, let's just duplicate the main heroes of the story and make all those panels with both teams in them extra confusing! Speaking of confusing, it seems they couldn't decide exactly which of the alternate world MMPR was speaking to the main MMPR at the start of the issue. The message the Rangers initially receive is "This is Aidra, the Red Ranger," but then the close up of the speaking Ranger that follows this is of the team's Pink Ranger. To make matters worse, the word balloon in front of her (thereby implying it's the Pink Ranger's dialogue) is colored green. Also, the alternate MMPR seem to have two Pink Rangers...? A lot of the issue is spent talking about getting them to safety and getting them the medical attention they need, which is a lot of time to spend on characters that ultimately don't matter.
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| WHO'S SPEAKING? |
Speaking of confusing dialogue, the main Mighty Morphin Rangers get some of their own, right out of the gate in the very first pages of the book, as the Zords and Godzilla fight the Kaiju Psycho Rangers:
Jason:"These guys don't look like the Psycho Rangers!"
Trini:"They're not our Psycho Rangers! They're different!"
Tommy:"It's like they're... fused... with other monsters!"
Billy:"Same nasty attitude!"
There is absolutely no reason for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to be saying any of this. There is absolutely no reason for the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to know any of this. The Psycho Rangers were villains in Power Rangers In Space, the show's sixth season. This story, for the main universe's MMPR at least, is set during Season 1. In Season 1, the Psycho Rangers don't even exist yet. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers have no idea who or what the Psycho Rangers even ARE. There is absolutely no way they can be commenting on any differences between the normal Psychos and the Kaiju Psychos. The MMPR didn't even see the Psycho Rangers before they gained their kaiju powers. Now, the Space Rangers would know all about the Psycho Rangers and how the Kaiju Psycho Rangers differ from them, sure, as they were the team that actually fought them. But the main team in this story is not the Space Rangers. The Space Rangers haven't even made a cameo. The Space Rangers and the Mighty Morphin Rangers are two completely different teams that don't even share any members. This isn't fanboy nitpicking, this is basic knowledge and common sense. You can't just throw prequel-era Obi-Wan Kenobi up against Kylo Ren and have the former act as if he knows the latter.
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| The Zords on Infant Island. |
The way in which Issue #3 is better than Issue #2 (maybe kinda sort of) is that it at least attempts to provide a quiet moment for the Rangers to regroup and plan their next move. The idea of them being on Infant Island is a nice one in theory, but they could've done so much more with it. The Rangers could've arrived on the beach and decided to explore the island. Billy would have a moment to show off his intelligence when they come across some ancient ruins and he deciphers some of the markings on them. "There was once a race of people here. It says they worshipped something called... Mothra?" And then they could explore further and eventually discover Mothra and the Elias. Maybe even set a whole issue here, with the Rangers trying to protect the people of Infant Island from the Psycho Rangers. Imagine the drama and the conflict that'd provide for the story.
Zack: "We don't have time for this! We've gotta get back to Angel Grove!"
Jason: "We can't just leave these people to fend for themselves! The Psychos would slaughter them!"
Perhaps the Elias don't want to help the Rangers out at first, but after the team stays to defend the people of the island, they see they're worth helping and change their minds. Essentially, remake the Infant Island sequence from Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964), but replace the speech about humanity with an action scene. Or maybe the Rangers could even attempt their own speech about humanity, except with the bluntness of a teenager. But nope, why would we do anything exciting or compelling like that? Instead, the Elias show up immediately, and the Psychos show up almost immediately after that, initiating another fight, and then the Rangers immediately go back to their home dimension. They literally go to Infant Island just long enough to pick up the Elias.
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| The Elias reveal themselves to the Rangers. |
Also, it's interesting that Cullen Bunn went with the Elias rather than the Shobijin or even the Cosmos, considering that the Elias are arguably the least popular incarnation of Mothra's fairy priestesses. Maybe he felt that they were the most Power Rangers-y out of the characters' various iterations? Or perhaps he felt they had the most variety in their magical abilities, which would help make it more believable when they assist Zordon in forging new Power Coins? Maybe both? Either way, it's an odd choice.
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| Ah, yes, the White Ranger's famous battle machine, the Red-and-Gold Tigerzord. |
We finally get to see some other Toho kaiju in the story, which this comic has been sorely lacking. Not only that, but the kaiju shown are those usually portrayed as Godzilla's allies, or at least neighbors on Monster Island. Rodan, Anguirus, King Caesar, and Baragon all make an appearance... Briefly. Very briefly. One panel each, in fact, as they only appear during a montage showing Jet Jaguar sapping their powers for use in the new Kaiju Power Coins. It's a shame to see that this is apparently the only part they're going to be playing in this story. Now, I must admit, I don't exactly know what their role would be otherwise, especially considering the Rangers have just acquired new Zords based on them, rendering them fairly redundant. Maybe, since we're dealing with magic anyway, the Monster Island crew could be the Kaiju Zords, similar to the Galactabeasts / Galacta Zords from Power Rangers Lost Galaxy, which were giant living animals that could transform into armored, robotic forms when it came time to combine. Maybe all the monsters and Zords could just gang up together for a big Destroy All Monsters-type fight. I dunno. Maybe it's fine as-is, but as I've mentioned a number of times before, I'm not feeling a lot of "Godzilla" in this Godzilla/Power Rangers crossover, and we haven't really delved into the "monsters can be good guys too" aspect of the franchise (except for very briefly with Mothra), so it's disappointing to see kaiju like Rodan and Anguirus get brushed past so quickly. It's also kind of annoying to see them, like the Psycho Rangers, simply thrown at the reader without any real introduction like they're just supposed to know who they are, and if they don't, then that sucks for them. We are given no indication as to why these specific monsters have been chosen for the Rangers' new powers. For Anguirus' bravery and determination? For Rodan's speed? For King Caesar's mystical qualities? Specifically because they're allies of Godzilla? If it's just sheer power that is needed, why go with simple tooth-and-claw kaiju? Why not go the powerhouse route and make Power Coins based on Destoroyah, King Ghidorah, SpaceGodzilla, Monster X, Godzilla Earth, etc.? Would their malicious natures affect the Power Coins and thus make them too dangerous to use, and getting the powers from more neutral beasts like Rodan and Anguirus is a far safer and more controllable choice? None of this is ever explored and so the Monster Island crew is simply, disappointingly, left as "random monsters the Rangers get new powers from."
It's nice to see Zordon and Alpha 5 get a bit more to do in this series after being absent for nearly the entirety of the first Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. It would've been nice to have a little moment where Alpha and Jet Jaguar meet for the first time and become robot buddies or something, but oh well, that's probably too much to ask for from this comic.
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| Jet Jaguar; Jet Jaguar's long, droopy arm; and the Elias. |
Now it's time for everyone's favorite part of the review, discussing Baldemar Rivas' ill-fitting artwork. While this issue never hits the highs (or would lows be more accurate?) of Issue #2, with characters inexplicably missing entire body parts, it still isn't great. Characters still come across as way too rubbery and bendy and noodley, and the human faces are probably the worst in this issue that they've been thus far. The Ranger teens get a number of messy, underdetailed faces near the end of the issue, while Rita's "angry chibi anime face" from the first issue returns with an absolute vengeance.
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| STOP DOING THIS. |
Another odd aspect of the artwork in this issue - though this is more a case of character design than of art style - is the look of Psycho Pink/Psycho Hedorah. The problem with her is that nothing about her is reminiscent of the Smog Monster she stole her powers from. If anything, she looks like Mothra. Her eyes are yellow as opposed to Hedorah's red, she has what resembles antennae on her head, and most importantly, she has what look like big moth wings. Presumably, the big eye spots on her wings are supposed to resemble Hedorah's eyes, but they look just as much as the iconic eye spots on Mothra's wings as they do anything else. Her colors are purple, white, and pinkish-red, as opposed to Hedorah's greens and blacks. Lastly, she has a fairly small build, nothing like Hedorah's hulking, bulbous body. Now, the Kaiju Psycho Rangers were designed by Freddie Williams II, so at best all Rivas be blamed for is not being able to translate the design well into his own style. But while Williams' art looks better with Psycho Hedorah, she still looks more or less like "humanoid Mothra monster" or "generic slimy, sludgy monster" than anything Hedorah-related. It's bizarre, too, because while one could argue whether they think the designs for the other five Kaiju Psycho Rangers are good or not, you can at least tell which kaiju they're based on. The design aspects of Destoroyah, SpaceGodzilla, King Ghidorah, Gigan, and Megalon are all easily distinguishable. Hedorah is the only one that doesn't come through at all in their Psycho Ranger counterpart. Maybe it's simple a matter of coloring, and if Andrew Dalhouse gave her a color scheme more fitting of Hedorah, it'd work better. But then, she wouldn't exactly look like Psycho "Pink"... Maybe this combination was just doomed from the start.
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| The surprisingly Mothra-like Psycho Ranger Hedorah. |
As for the issue's various covers, the main one is by Rivas, featuring Godzilla facing off with the Megazord, with Rita's evil gaze filling up the lower half of the image. Godzilla looks fine at first glance, but when you actually pay attention to it, you realize he has no neck and his one main dorsal fin is roughly the size of his entire torso. The Megazord looks okay since it's meant to be in the distance, but it's still noticeably underdetailed. Rita's eyes and headband admittedly look really nice, but it's not enough to save the entire cover. The next cover is a wraparound by Alex Sanchez and Patricio Delpeche featuring all six Dino Zords closing in on a Godzilla that looks like the 84-Goji with KiryuGoji's dorsal fins. It's serviceable enough, though there are a few oddities like the Mastodon flying, the Pterodactyl flying in a weird butt-first position, and Godzilla's right arm being in such a weird, curled position that it borderline looks like it's broken. The last cover, by Adam Gorham, shows Heisei Godzilla with Heisei Mothra flying overhead and the main five MMPR leaping down (off of Mothra?) to the ground. Despite some potentially odd angles, this is probably the best cover of the three, as I like Gorham's art style best and it actually represents the content of the issue the most accurately, even if in a more roundabout way.
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| Really, Horror Bull? Have you always wanted to rip apart the building that was already demolished long before you were even created? |
Issue #3 of Godzilla vs. the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II is... okay. While it's not as completely incoherent as Issue #2 was, it's still not great. Although the attempt at giving the heroes some down time is appreciated, everything still feels rushed, and despite building up to the Kaiju Psycho Rangers for two issues, when they finally get their showdown with the Rangers and Godzilla, the event feels similarly glossed over. There's still a lot of location-jumping taking place and a surprising amount of time is spent on worrying about the alternate world's Mighty Morphin team. We're introduced to yet another new group of Power Rangers monsters that will likely have to be dealt with along with the Kaiju Psychos, which just feels completely unnecessary.
But hey, we've got the Kaiju Rangers and Kaiju Zords to look forward to. That should be pretty cool, right?
...Right? |
