Originally published on Set The Tape
The second issue of IDW Publishing‘s Godzilla vs Mighty Morphin Power Rangers picks up where the last issue left off, with the Power Rangers having been transported to a world in ruins where giant monsters reign supreme, forced to fight for their lives against powerful foes as their enemy, the moon witch Rita Repulsa, makes plans from the shadows.
As with the first issue of the series, the second issue starts in the middle of the action and doesn’t really slow down; even the brief moments of dialogue and exposition that occur seem to be sandwiched between big moments, or take place in the middle of fights themselves. This is leading me to the conclusion that perhaps this isn’t going to be a series that really slows down at all, and that writer Cullen Bunn is going to cram as much as possible into every issue.
The second issue opens with the core five Power Rangers having just entered this new dimension, having witnessed the Green Ranger and the Dragon Zord lose a fight to Godzilla. Never being ones to stop and think much before jumping into a fight, the Rangers deploy their zords to take on the titanic monster. When that doesn’t work they have to form the Megazord, giving fans a fight they’ve been waiting for since the series was announced.
Unfortunately, all this is playing into Rita’s hands as we learn that Godzilla is the only thing protecting Earth from the Xilian invasion and the monsters that they’re deploying against humanity. Sadly, the Power Rangers have pretty much been trained to see a monster and immediately kill it. Child soldiers, what are you going to do eh? Over the course of the rest of the issue we get to learn a little more about the invasion of this version of Earth, witness some more fights, and get some surprising monster reveals setting up for an even bigger third issue to come.
Due to how fast the issue moves, and how much of it is centred around fighting, there’s not a huge amount of stuff that I can say about the plot that doesn’t give away too much. What we do get goes pretty quickly, and we get some brief snippets of information about this other version of Earth, but a lot of those details are things that we’re left to fill the blanks on ourselves. That being said, Bunn seems to know what the reader will enjoy, and sets out to deliver some pretty dynamic fights across the issue, and adds in some firm favourite monsters from both franchises.
The art on the issue is provided by Freddie Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse, who worked on the first issue too. As with the first issue, the art feels different to the other various Power Rangers comics on the market at the moment, setting it apart on the shelves. The two of them really shine in the moments where we have giant robots fighting huge Kaiju, and whilst there’s nothing wrong with the regular humans it’s these titanic battles that are the highlight for sure.
With this series set to be only five issues long I knew that it would have to move at a quick pace, but with two issues down and the story never slowing down for a second I’m starting to hope that this pace doesn’t continue forever. It just feels a bit too fast and hectic to the point where it doesn’t seem like the heroes, or the reader, really gets a moment to breath and take in what’s happening. Perhaps a moment like this will come over the next three issues, as I’m sure a calm moment will help to make whatever big conclusion is to come feel all the bigger; but if the pace continues like this it’s going to make for a very overwhelming story when collected all together.
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