Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Vol. 9

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (BOOM! Studios)

by Marguerite Bennett, Simone Di Meo (Illustrator), Francesco Mortarino (Illustrator)

Join the Power Rangers as they’re drawn across time and space to combat a great evil in a place BEYOND THE GRID.

After the stunning conclusion to the hit comic book event Power Rangers: Shattered Grid, an all-new, all-star team of Power Rangers is drawn together from across time and space to combat a never-before-seen evil. As they fight to prove to themselves and each other that they have what it takes to survive in a dangerous new environment, these iconic Power Rangers must defeat the onslaught of an unfamiliar, terrifying new villain. Featuring an all new team of Rangers from across the Power Rangers universe comes an all new adventure! 

Join Marguerite Bennett (DC Bombshells) and artist Simone di Meo (Old Man Logan), along with Francesco Mortarino and French Carlomagno, as the Power Rangers discover what it means to be a team without their powers!

Collects issues #31-34 of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 24, 2019

Reviews

[Tiag⊗ the Mutant · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beyond the Grid features a new set of Rangers from the multiverse lost in the space void. I really like the idea of taking this series into space, and the new characters look cool, but the writing needed a better flow, more build up, didn't have time to care for any of it. Simone di Meo's art was really good though.

[James DeSantis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful. Confusing, messy, and not fun. What happened to this series? I'll wait till Ryan takes over to fix this.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

[This review covers both volumes of Beyond The Grid, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Volumes 9 and 10]

After Shattered Grid, it was hard to know where Power Rangers was going to go. With the Grid (kinda) repaired, and everything (also kinda) back to normal, what is there to worry about? So instead of focusing on Earth, we follow a ragtag group of Rangers who escaped into the Morphin' Grid aboard the Promethea, and their adventures....Beyond The Grid!

Which is a good idea in theory. In practise, it's a little wishywashy. I think the main problem is that the characters that are thrown together are all from disparate Ranger teams, most of which I personally have never seen before. While I could appreciate using Shattered Grid to bring everyone together, shifting the focus away from the main Mighty Morphin' team for these guys and girls feels like a misstep, and it's not as much fun when you don't really know who everyone is or why they are the way they are.

Thankfully the rest of the plot's pretty solid. The idea of a dimension separated from the (supposedly all-encompassing) Morphin' Grid is explored well, and the new characters and villains thrown at the team feel fleshed out and complete by the end of the story. Writer Marguerite Bennett has some interesting musings on the nature of Morphin' Energy and what makes a Ranger that ring true for a Power Ranger story, but it's still quite difficult to reconcile when you're not very well acquainted with the main team.

Oh, and the art's fantastic; Simone Di Meo pencils all but one of the nine issue arc, and it's beautiful from top to bottom. The sweeping vistas of space, the personal moments aboard the Promethea, and the Ranger battles are all wonderful to behold.

Beyond The Grid was a good experiment, but I feel it would have worked better as a separate story, rather than taking over the main MMPR series. It's worth reading, and you'll probably get more out of it if your Ranger knowledge extends beyond the original few series, but otherwise a lot of the emotional beats don't land the way they should.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last two issues of this volume saved it from being one star for me. I am really confused as to who these characters are and what is going on. The backstory and more explanation towards the end helped a bit. Maybe the final battle will hit for me more.

[Matisse · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was bad.

Shockingly so.

Kyle Higgins seemed to know that the Power Rangers characters have a tendency to be two-dimensional. He knew that a lot of their characterization came from their actors' decisions in portraying those heroes, rather than the scripts for the shows themselves. So, the MMPR team was fleshed out in volumes 1-8, and as we got to know them, they became three-dimensional kids with genuine feelings and emotions.

These new writers...O O F.

This 'Beyond the Grid' arc introduces something of a crisis-crossover superteam of Rangers. Comprised of fan-favorites from the entire franchise, this new team is stranded in a universe where there is no morphin grid, no way to contact their home, and this new universe itself is both dying and ruled by a menacing, all-powerful dictator. The only hero in this universe has been one lone ranger, with no mentor, no zord, and no team, armed with an unstable shard of the morphin grid.

It's Netflix Lost In Space, by way of Power Rangers Lost Galaxy.

All of that sounds SO. MUCH. BETTER. than the execution.

This new team of rangers feels like it's on autopilot. The fun of both the MMPR and Go Go Power Rangers comics aren't in the stories themselves, but in the exploration of these characters. This volume, and this new arc, sacrifices all of that. Andros, Mike, Tanya, Cam, and especially Heckyl never get a chance to stop and reflect on where, or who they are.

So what if Tanya can't morph properly; what's going through her head, now that she went from just another high-school kid, and third yellow ranger ever (as far as she knew)...to being in a spaceship with rangers from the future, and rangers from alternate versions OF the future?

And things that are hinted at...just don't make sense. The comics don't pretend to be for anyone but the fans, so why pretend that, say, Cam is a lonely dude with a sad backstory, when his appearances in Ninja Storm and Dino Thunder saw him as central to saving his slew of friends?

...If Magna Defender never counted as a full Power Ranger, why are his powers tied to the Morphin Grid?

The silver lining is the Solar Ranger herself. Her design is fantastic, her lore is something very new to this franchise, and if this is the world that Jason, Zack, and Trini go on to defend after they leave their original powers behind, I am here for it.

....But, yeah. This is the nadir of the comics. I didn't even go into the confusing panel structure, the way the artwork fails to communicate which background character is which, or the complete failure of any build-up or tension at the climax.

It's a shame that this story is what introduces the Solar Ranger and leads into the next arc. Save yourself $20 and read the synopsis.

[Paul Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have anxiously been awaiting this volume. Shattered Grid is over, but the multiverse must now deal with the repercussions of that. I constantly reconsider waiting until the collected volumes release to read these comics. I get spoiled for major plot points months in advance, but it's fun to finally see them play out.

This team of rangers is a completely new one comprised of rangers from various seasons of the show. Thankfully, I have watched all the seasons with these characters but I am not as familiar with some of them as I am the original gang. The visuals of these rangers fighting side by side are awesome. I like the different dynamics and friendships that are forming within the group. I'm especially excited to learn more about Heckyl's past.

The art is great in this volume. This different universe without the morphing grid feels so alien. The zords are beautiful! There are a lot of full pages that were difficult to read for me. With the crease in the middle of the book, I felt like I didn't get the full effect.

There's plenty of new elements that are introduced in this volume that I'm super excited to see where they go. Obviously, the Solar Ranger. Praetor. The Solarix. Zords!!!

I really enjoyed this volume, but I felt like it wasn't as pack full as previous volume. The storytelling felt less tight, but then again most of the characters were newly introduced. In previous volumes, I'm on the edge of my seat every time I turn the page. I had less of that feeling during this volume. I give this book a 4.5/5. I still consider this ongoing series the best comic series out there right now, but I just wanted more from this volume.

"The New Adventures of Blue Senturion & Ninjor" has another issue at the end of this volume. It's such a fun story. The pair really complement each other well. There's a pretty great zord battle. And great references in the background of some of the panels.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume covers the adventures of those left behind on Promethea after the events of the shattered grid arc. While I liked the ragtag group of rangers from different eras, I was a bit confused at what was happening some of the time. What I can gather is that they are lost in a parallel universe that can’t access the the morphin grid as well as their own universe until they meet the solar ranger who’s ancient artifact—the Solarix—can seemingly access the grid and recharge their morphers.

There’s a lot of set up that happens in this volume for what is to come, but I’m curious how this is going to pan out. I want to know more about each of the rangers that are part of this rag tag group, and I’m honestly excited at the prospect of psycho ranger Kim taking on more of a leadership role and embarking on a path of redemption.

[Tomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review covers both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Vol. 9 and Vol. 10 as they are a single contained arc.

The Short Answer
A fascinating take on the Power Rangers that boldy tries to tell a new type of story and expand the types of stories possible in the Power Rangers universe. Despite being bolstered by amazing art it suffers from incredibly uneven storytelling and poorly established characters which often makes it extremely difficult to follow. Thankfully it's not connected to the main storyline so if you're not enjoying it you can jump ahead to Volume 11 without missing anything.

The Long Answer
Wow, this was an odd one to read. I really liked the story a lot, so much so that I actually went back and reread chunks once I fully understood what was going on. That said, I shouldn't have had to reread it just to understand it. Let's take a look at what happened.

Art - The art is absolutely beautiful. The alien universe the Power Rangers find themselves in is stunningly rendered and feels like somewhere truly unique. There are loads of two page spreads filling the book making it almost an art book in its own right. I will reread this book again in the future just to admire how pretty it is. That said, the art is sometimes very confusing to follow in action sequences. I dig into that more in the story section though.

Characters - This is a mixed bag. The characters are all well fleshed out and grow along with the story but... and it's a big but... they assume you already know who everyone is and what their backstory is. That's fine with characters introduced in the previous volumes, but most of them are characters that we've never seen before. If you're like me and never watched anything past the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers you're going to be veeery confused as to who's who. A few introductions would have gone a long way to making the story easier to follow, and to making the emotional beats land better.

Story - The story is really good, when you can follow it. Unfortunately it is often told in ways that are nearly impossible to follow. This is especially problematic in action sequences. Often you'll see a close up on a ship or something as a character we just joined encounters a laser or something we haven't been shown before cutting to another character doing something different that's also not explained. This takes all the tension out of the scenes because you have no sense of how the battle is progressing or who is doing what. After how well this was handled in Shattered Grid I'm supremely disappointed here. There's even a scene where one character accidentally shoots another character (I think) but only has a gun in one frame (I think, it's only shown in extreme closeup so I have to guess here). I reread this sequence six times before giving up and just making up my own version of events in my head because I gave up.

It's a shame this story is full of such glaring and easily fixable errors, because it could have been a true classic in this universe. Instead it ends up being just OK. If you can forgive these problems there's a fantastic story waiting to be found here, but the problems are big enough I wouldn't blame you for skipping this entirely and going on to Vol. 11.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sucks that the direction(can that term be used for comics too?) of this series has never been above average but I thought with a new writer and artists it would get better. Unfortunately it didn't, some sequences are hard to follow and the ones that make sense aren't that satisfying to see. Dialogue is a bit bloated in my opinion. But the story is interesting and the characters are well written. Art is also pretty cool.

[aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this takes us straight from the Shattered Grid event to a new Beyond the Grid event. I kind of wish they'd gone straight back to Angel Grove but I do like the idea they go for here. I understand that this one wouldn't be for everyone as it goes for different characters but I do like the idea they went for and I think the new Purple Omega Ranger is great. I do think to truly enjoy this one you have to have a knowledge of the different seasons of Power Rangers to make it truly enjoyable...thankfully I do!

[Timothy Pitkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea of having one team with members from other ranger teams is really cool and while they have not had a lot of time to interact with each other but still it is really cool. Also we basically have a scenario that Lost Galaxy should have been with the rangers and their allies desperately searching for resources while being hunted by the villain. Also the solar ranger is pretty cool and the mystery surrounding it and the villain Praetor is pretty interesting.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strong art can only carry this thread so far…I’m really baffled why after the strength of the Shattered Grid series the team decided to shift into rangers in space with a bunch of characters I can’t imagine much of the readership knows, especially devoid of context. I think this whole plot is reasonable interesting, but without the anchor of strong characters, it feels like it’s just sort of spinning in place. Also…still not a fan of the Sentrey/Ninjor shorts at the end.

[Amna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rounded down from a 1.5

What a mess. There's an uptick in quality in the last few issues when the Solar Ranger is introduced, but prior to that, and anything involving the other Rangers, is not great. So much of it is confusing and hard to follow, and it's a little jarring coming off of Higgins's run. Too bad too, since I like Marguerite Bennett's writing more often than not.

[Ant Tellez · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6/5.0

This volume is a reset of the Higgins Power Rangers storyline. It felt like there was so much happening all at once and a difference in characters we're accustomed to seeing that made it fairly difficult to keep up with at times. I'm curious to see what comes next.

[Taylor Harms · Rating 2 out of 5]

The design is all over the place making it really difficult to read correctly. Thankfully this is just a brief storyline before moving on from this terrible team. The only enjoyable aspect is the focus on the new Rangers. The only reason for 2 stars instead of 1.

[nidah05 (SleepDreamWrite) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good volume.

[Treavor Wagoner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The layout was confusing on this one. I was also hoping for more light/positive given how dark the Shattered Grid was. I couldn't put it down, though.

[Pradivta Ilvansyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It really serves as a good prologue for Beyond The Grid arc but sadly it's a bit too short.

[Cassy · Rating 1 out of 5]

messy, confusing, and just nonsense most of the time.

[Brylliams · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Only because it didn't feature our titular Rangers. But this was still good and entertaining as we follow a different group in the aftermath of Shattered Grid.

[Vikas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall story is interesting, but it didn't pick up for me until the second half of the volume (third/fourth issues). Hoping the next volume maintains the momentum.

[Micah Azariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

They did not need to go so hard but they did

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the concept of this story arc but it feels rushed.

[RG · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf

[doubleokay · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a step down but still not bad. I thought it had some pretty original concepts and good character writing. Art not great but still pretty good

[♤Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusta que se estén creando un ambiente amoroso entre personajes de distintos escuadrones de rangers, no se que pasará cuando cada uno de los escuadrones regresen a su tiempo

[Ali Khan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art was awesome but the story seriously lacked.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Expanding the scope of the series. Super fun.

[Irving Madrigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was just a lot of set up and the new team of rangers meeting the new rangers