Holy crossovers, Batman!!
2017 has a lot of abstract happenings going on, in the world of politics, gaming, and most importantly, comicbooks. As you may have been aware, Batman and the TMNTs teamed-up recently to take down the Shreddar. Well, in a time where things so unexpected that the Dark Knight and Ninja Turtles can take on the Foot, anything seems possible. And it is. Especially for the Caped Crusader.
Once again, the most unexpected crossover is happening, with the first issue having been released earlier this month, Batman and the Justice League are taking on Saban’s Power Rangers before an ultimte team-up like never before. Written by Tom Taylor and drawn by Stephen Byrne, the story follows the Power Rangers taking on Lord Zedd in the Command Center just before an explosion that ultimately causes Zack (Black Ranger) to be hurled through time and space along with Zedd before both end up in the most unlikely of places, Gotham City.
Immediately Zordon instructs the Rangers, Jason, Trini, Billy, Kimberly, and Tommy (yep, the Green Ranger is here too, woo!) to follow after their missing comrade but warns them to be weary as they are not going to be within their own world any longer. Apparently the explosion screws with the Command Center’s teleportation system and sends them into the DC Hero world. Interesting plot point, to consider that the Ranger’s teleporters generally keep them within earth (except for a few rare occasions that is), only to now discover that they can be sent through various dimensions. Keeping that in mind, this could open up a whole new world of crossovers for MMPR! Or not, because truthfully, the thought of Batman and Superman fighting the Power Rangers is absurd on its own.
At least the artwork is pretty cool.
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Once Zack realizes he is in a strange new land, he is immediately greeted by Batman, who initially lays the smackdown on the Black Ranger before the other rangers arrive and attempt to assist their teammate in battle. Eventually, Batman calls for backup and Flash arrives on the scene just in time for Kimberly to call upon her Zord (Pterodactyl) to intervene and give them a chance to regroup and figure out what exactly is going on.
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Batman’s gadgets and skills make him a vastly superior fighter, but we would have to think that given the powers of the Black Ranger, the latter would have to take the upper-hand in this fight, right?
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Truth be told, the writing in the first issue is bizarre at best. As a massive MMPR fan, half the dialogue comes across so forced, its hard to consider that is happening on the pages is actually happening on the pages. That said, Batman’s dialogue is probably the most troublesome here, as none of what he says actually seems like something he would say given the circumstances. Then again, when a powerful foe in a black suit with a Mastodon helmet comes at you with a crazy looking Axe, its kind of hard to determine what anyone would say, let alone do in that situation. Fight, and call the Flash for immediate assistance, I guess?
Even though the first issue is a little wonky at parts, it’s still REALLY awesome to see these two franchises come together. The 6-part series will likely see the team-up of the two heroic groups to come together and take down their common foe (Zedd and company), while keeping open the possibility of feature crossovers. It also occurs to me that there happens to be a lot going on within the MMPR universe, what with the reboot film coming up. All sorts of collectibles, comicbooks, and everything in between are featuring the original cast and series we got back in the 90s. Just makes you wonder how confused new audiences are going to be when the reboot movie comes out and its nothing like the original series.
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Then of course there’s this. Gross.
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Pick Up Justice League/Power Rangers Issue no.1 Here
