Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Beyond the Grid

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Deluxe Edition

by Marguerite Bennett, Simone Di Meo (Illustrator)

A NEW TEAM OF POWER RANGERS IS HERE! After the stunning conclusion to the hit comic book event Power Rangers: Shattered Grid, an all-star team of Power Rangers are drawn together from across time and space to combat a never-before-seen evil. But even with Ranger Slayer (an alternate universe version of Kimberly Hart, the original Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger) leading some of the most powerful members from Zeo, Dino Charge, Ninja Storm. Lost Galaxy, Space, can this new group of heroes find a way to work together to defeat the onslaught of an unfamiliar, terrifying new villain? Just who is the mysterious Dark Ranger? And what is the secret of the all new Solar Ranger? Award-winning writer Marguerite Bennett (Batwoman, Animosity) and artist Simone di Meo (Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor) present an all-new beginning for a new Power Rangers team unlike any other! Plus, don’t miss the stunning celebration of the Power Rangers 25th Anniversary from some of the most exciting names in comics and an all-new from story Bennett and Valeria Favoccia (Doctor Who) delving into the history of the Solar Ranger! Collects Mighty Morphin Powers Rangers #31-39 along with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Anniversary Special #1.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

352 pages, Hardcover

Published November 10, 2020

Reviews

[Bill Wood]

healing my inner child 💆🏼‍♀️

[Ozan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finished the 4th vol. in Boom! Studios Power Ranger comics Mighty Morphin Power Ranger: Beyond The Grid, Deluxe Edition and it was kind of ok... My expectations were not very high anyway. We are all slaves of Nostalgia... (:

Eproxmetly 8 different kind of Power Rangers from the different parts of Multiverse were sent against their wills by Lord Drakkon into a universe which was separated from the Grid and because of that, that Universe was slowly dying. These exiled Rangers learned to work togeter as a team and became friends as the story progressed and as a team, they reconnected that universe to the Grid by using Solarix Crystal and saved that universe. That way, They were able to go back to their own universes as well. They also fought against a big bad named The Preator on the process who was trying to stop that universe from reconnecting back to the Grid and destory that universe becasue he was angry and dissapointed that people couldn't appreaciate the magnitude of his sacrafice and stuff and turned all evil... lol

The problem with The Story was the End, Rangers got their morphin power back and gathered their zords thanks to Solarix Crystal and just killed The Preator with one shot from their mega zord... I mean the previous Rangers of that universe who were killed by The Preator couldn't gather their zords and kill The Preator with just one shot from their mega zord ????? and just win the day ???? because... uhm... lol There was no explenation why they just were not able to do that.... lol

All the emotional connection between the teen age rangers with their tears of joy was nice... Yeah yeah, i should have learned from those kind of scenes and panels that friendship is beautiful and important long time ago and i should have given more value to some of my friends... i regret that, greatly... I wish i could have taken back somethings that happened in the past...

[Zachary Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was the weakest of the deluxe editions for me. It feels like you are being dropped into the middle of a story with a set of power rangers across various seasons. The writing is not as tight as what Higgins established and even the panel layouts of some of the issues is hard to follow. The 25th anniversary issue and the issue 40 preview were stronger than the core story being told in this latest deluxe edition. Hopefully this sold well enough for Boom to continue making these deluxe editions as I am interested in seeing where this story goes.

[The Wintermute System · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't terrible, but... it was also a slog compared to the other Deluxe editions. It didn't have my favorite characters, I didn't really get the point - or I did, but it didn't seem like it deserved this long to wrap up. It felt like an extended side story that I barely cared about, although a couple characters did catch my attention enough to keep it from being a two star review

I would have read it because I'm a completist, but definitely not my favorite.

[Ramon Luz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sadly doesn’t pay off as much as its predecessor, Shattered Grid. The narrative and the design feel a bit confusing and less believable at times, a pity specially taking into account the new team introduced.

[Evan Dossey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate what the goal was here - telling a neat sci-fi story with a diverse cast of different rangers orphaned from their own timelines. But I just couldn't engage with it. I thought the layouts were needlessly confusing and the writing was over-wordy. As someone with only passing knowledge of the teams after Mighty Morphin, it felt punishing and a little confusing at times. This was a really odd direction to take the title after Shattered Grid, even if it's just a brief interlude before the White Ranger / new ranger stuff in Necessary Evil, whatever that looks like. Guess I'll find out in november!

[Tomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 the next book 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.

[Doug Bolden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through the earlier volumes/stories in this series sometime after my more general burn out on comics but also long enough ago that I remember them largely as a fond, warm nostalgic soup rather than discrete portions of themselves. Which means that opening up a collection that starts out very much so in media res, skips about 80% of the small beats, tosses a bunch of people drawn sort of like but not exactly like they look when acted live blended in with the comic book continuity's own heady stew of tweaks...it was vaguely like diving into surreal slap-fest of shapes and more shapes where some of those shapes are words and some of the words are literally "Pew! Pew! Pew!"

I had fun but I feel like some of the fun was just a delight in my own sense of exploring this intense fandom-fiction like an anthropological construct not quite meant for me despite knowing the general translation of it.

GOOD STUFF INCLUDES:

+ I like how they engaged in some very fast and heavy worldbuilding while barely lifting a finger. You are shown a tiny bit of a picture and then another tiny bit and you kind of fill in a lot of the gaps. The world is vibrant and weird and dark and highly reminiscent of old science-weird comics of the 70s and 80s. Big bonus from me there.

+ The situation was tense but not so tense that you just felt beaten by it. It went a little DC without going full DC, and that's good.

+ The ad hoc ranger team is good. The new zords are good. The villain is decent.

+ Lots of fun visual tricks referencing elements from the 70s and onward are used, leading to some fairly clever panels and pages.

+ I like how the different ranger groups come in out of sync so that some characters have more development than others. The core characters picked are generally varied and have lots of reasons to be there.

THE BAD OR AT LEAST NOT REALLY GOOD INCLUDES:

- That being said, there are some half-to-full-dozen of deep character arcs we are supposed to juggle with only a couple coming from the comics and the rest requiring knowing the show. That is a LOT of homework but you can make semi-due if you are ok with picking up a lot of context or using the fandom wiki, etc.

- For all the fun art and heavy lean into the hokey Morphin awesomeness which drives the core fun of the show, virtually every action sequence feels wasted and too abrupt. Stuff shows up, sometimes explodes, and it can be hard to know what is going on. It is a suit glitch? Was it just some artistic lens flair?

- Despite having a proper adventure outside of the scope the show, despite this feeling like a truly original creation and one with a LOT of potential (I would 100% shift to an entirely Solar Rangers storyline quite easily), the vibe increasingly feels like the writers just want to wrap it up and get everyone back to their timeline. Which I get, but this was a story that could fly free and it always felt chained.

So, as I said, I had a good time. I will (one day) get the next collected volume and keep going in the series, but I am a little sad that this moment of proper weirdness has already finished flying.

[Caleb Avendano · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time to go beyond the Morphin Grid into the Void, because clearly these Power Rangers haven't had enough action yet. The Coinless World Kimberly Hart, the original Pink Power Ranger, and a motley crew of Rangers from different times and eras have just been saved from the wrath of Lord Drakkon. Now they're stuck in "The Void", where they're cut off from the Morphin Grid and have to deal with limited powers, a mysterious Solar Ranger, and an evil god-like dictator called the Praetor who identify will shock you! Can they join forces, save the living planets, and find their way home before it's too late, or will they just get lost in space forever?

Firstly, the artwork in this collection was stunning. The art design of the Solar Rangers was one of the most impressive original Power Rangers designs I've ever seen, with vibrant and creative suits that seemed to move like stars in the sky.

While I found the story itself to be the weakest of the series, I don't understand the intense criticism 'Beyond the Grid' receives. On the other hand, I did struggle to follow the narrative at times and had to re-read certain pages to ensure I hadn't missed anything. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the action-packed and humorous storyline, as well as the character development that showcased each ranger's doubts and fears without hindering their determination to defend the planets.

The most unexpected pairing was between Zeo Ranger II, Yellow, and the Magna Defender, and I think they would be great in a future one-shot comic spin-off. I also enjoyed the redemption arcs of Kimberly and Heckyl, as well as the reunion between Andros, the red Space Ranger, and his long-lost sister, Karone, also known as Astronema and the second pink Galaxy Ranger. My favorite short story in this collection was 'The Trail of Astronema'.

This might be the weakest installment in the Boom Studios' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series, but it still delivered a strong impact and showed heart…or HART! Okay, I’ll stop!

[Javier Lucero · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Más Allá de la Red" es el cuarto tomo recompilatorio de la saga de cómics de Power Rangers, contiene los volumenes nueve y diez, además de una historia exclusiva.

Este tomo abarca el arco argumental conocido como: "Beyond the Grid".

Volumen Nueve: 3,5 ★
Contiene los números del 31 al 34 de la saga.
En esta oportunidad nos enfocamos en nuevos personajes, dejando atrás al equipo que conocimos en las entregas anteriores. Se nos presenta una trama original tomando personajes ya existentes en la serie, reagrupados en un nuevo equipo y con un contexto mucho más diferente. Muy interesante.

Volumen Diez: 2,5 ★
Contiene los números del 35 al 39 de la saga.
Continuamos con la historia del nuevo grupo, si bien sigue siendo entretenida, baja mucho en comparación con los volúmenes anteriores, y el final no se sintió como un final del todo. Al llegar a la última página pensé que mi edición no estaba completa, pero no, ese es el final. Me falto algo para que me conquistará por completo.

What's It Worth to You?: 3 ★
"¿Qué valor tiene esto para ti?" es un relato exclusivo que nos muestra el momento en el que Ari conoce a Remi, como se encarga del poder del Solarix para proteger la galaxia, a la vez que vemos como la relación entre ellas, va creciendo.

[James · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story follows on from the events of Shattered Grid, but with a new team of writers and artists. How do you follow an endgame-style story which involved multiple Ranger groups in different dimensions and timelines? Whatever the story, at least it should be less confusing, right? I was instantly confused because I thought the conclusion to Shattered Grid basically reset the timeline, but here you have a random group of Rangers, led by Grace, seemingly stranded in space with limited transformations since they are cut from the grid. They also remember battling Lord Drakkon. Although they are stranded, they seem to be able to travel about, and even though they have limited transformations, they still transform when needed then get powers and Zords when the story needed it. What makes it more confusing is the layout. It often uses a double-page layout which is nice in physical form but makes reading on an iPad awkward. The boxes can be non-standard too; like positioned diagonally. Although I guess you could say it looks good artistically, the action scenes can seem unclear with actions full of wispy lines, and explosions; so I didn't actually understand some of the most important scenes. In my opinion, it didn't really feel like a Power Rangers story, or at least it didn't really fit in the previous story.

[wbforeman]

So I got three chapters in and I gave up the problem I have with this book is it’s going beyond what the Power Rangers are. I understand you don’t want to just do a monster of the week. you want to tell something expansive and interesting. there’s a fine line of maintain the core of the franchise and Trying to do something different. I respect Boom and the Power Rangers creative team trying to do something different, but this wasn’t for me. Reading it it didn’t feel like Power Rangers. It felt like marvel, cosmic, or someone’s independent image book. I think the art is great but if you can’t follow the thread of the narrative they’re telling and can’t follow who is who and it doesn’t feel like the book you signed up for it’s time to get off the train.

[TheMadReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was an abysmal read. If I could get my money back, I would. Actually, I can as so many of you out there thirst for these kid stories. Sadly, I can’t get my time back.

This also didn’t contain any of the actual Power Rangers we’re all familiar with. This was specifically written for the super nerd that knows the entire MMPR mythos.

Hard pass. Dont waste your time or money.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was harder to understand as it brought together characters that I don’t know as well and it felt like you needed to understand their backstories. The introduction of a Solar Ranger was cool and the concept of a Morphin Master made the stakes feel high.

I loved the lesbian storyline which is something the tv show could never do.

[Eye-ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t get the hate at all. This was probably my favorite so far. Maybe because it wasn’t based around the usual rangers? Who knows. But I loved it. A great sci fi story, with a short end battle but still. Great stuff!

[Highland G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good overall, took me a while to get into the new characters though so I think I’d enjoy it a lot more on the second read through.

[Cody Lunsford · Rating 3 out of 5]

i didn’t know these rangers well so it took me a minute to get into it, but…can’t so no to a Morphin Master.

[Terry Mcginnis · Rating 1 out of 5]

After years of following this series (and continuing to) this story was just not for me. I was not interested nor invested in the other power rangers from elsewhere. It never picked up for me.

[Andja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5