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TMNT/Power Rangers #2 expands the Storyline
The fantastic crossover continues as Ryan Parrott, Simone di Meo and Walter Baiamonte continue to stun with a fantastic story, awesome visuals/colors and a presentation that makes both teams continue to shine like the absolute stars that they are.
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The book begins with a few panels focusing on the weapons of each team as they continue their fight from the previous issue with Tommy, the Green Ranger, having already fled the scene. Di Meo does a great job of making the heavily pulled in shots look dynamic while Baiamonte colors everything well as to show who each weapon belongs to.
Soon enough we pull out to both teams stopping their fight on a rooftop as they realize they’ve been played against each other and April O’neil’s news helicopters fly in and make a report about the Power Rangers appearing in New York City. I really like how April is presented here, harking back to the 80s look with modern stylings as she omits the Turtle’s involvement to protect their existence.
Continuity is Observed
The book does very well in their references as well as the Foot Clan have holed themselves up in the Technodrome, the homebase of the evil alien, Krang. Though we don’t see the awesome Turtle villain, we do see the interior of the Technodrome filled with the Foot Clan insignia as Tommy pledges his allegiance to Master Shredder with the device he stole.
Tommy’s arc in this story is interesting as it’s soon revealed that he’s infiltrated the foot in order to rescue another recent recruit named Tyler. Unfortunately for Tommy, Tyler betrays him at Shredder’s request. As always, the sinister villain always has his underlings well scouted and was not fooled by Tommy’s ruse, trapping the Green Ranger.
Simone di Meo and Walter Baiamonte absolutely kill on the art as the issue progresses. Ryan Parrott does a good job of pairing Turtles with their Ranger counterparts, creating awesome dynamics of personality and fighting styles that allow them to get along and bounce off of each other like they would with their individual teams.
As Billy and Donnatello discuss technology like a couple of nerds, Baiamonte colors the room that they’re in with a slight blue hue while di Meo frames the scene from afar as to showcase Donnie’s inventions and work stations. We see that these two intrigue each other and give the impression that they’ll make a literal deus ex machina to save the day.
After a gorgeous large panel shows the rest of the Turtles and the Rangers falling through a skylight as they try to learn the location of the Foot Clan, we get a few more interactions.
Trini, the Yellow Ranger and Raphael are both intense characters that hit hard and fast. Both of them use sai as weapons while taking down the foot ninja. Baiamonte makes excellent use of lighting as Trini’s shadows take on a slight green hue as the sun beams down while they fight in the darkly lit room and di Meo draws their attacks with great use of speed lines and impact marks.
Humor isn’t Lost with this Issue
Michelangelo and Zack joke about different kinds of pizzas on the outside and they come off as dumb jokesters, but give this book the levity that fits the entire situation they’re in. When Mikey says that his favorite pizza toppings are “jellybeans, onions and butterscotch,” di Meo shows Zack just looking at him through his helmet, but through body language readers can tell that he’s thinking Mikey is insane.
Di Meo also showcases Leonardo and Jason’s measured approaches to fighting as they both surround Karai, trying to anticipate her moves and how best to counter them. They talk strategy and sword techniques when Trini just decides to THONK the villainous ninja with a kettlebell.
Parrott does a great job of giving all of these characters distinct voices and interactions given these teams in particular have never done a crossover together. They mesh well and though I haven’t been reading the IDW Turtles book, I feel like their personalities are still on point, at least with the other representations of the characters.
The issue ends with a surprising new reveal as Shredder gains a new Power Source and goes to confront Rita Repulsa, giving readers an AMAZING shot to end the issue.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2 is now available online and through your local comic book store. Or through BOOM! Studios.