Saturday Morning Update #86

This week saw the release of the grand finale of the first ever Power Rangers comic event; Shattered Grid. I thought I'd take this week to discuss the event and these comics as a whole and reflect on the past two and a half years.

I bought maybe the first four or five issues of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers when they first came out. I also got the first two issues of the Pink mini series in this time. I loved them and didn't even care that there was so much Tommy focus. Then, for some reason, I stopped. I kept up with the news and reviews but couldn't seem to care anymore. For a while I was bummed that the writer, Kyle Higgins, was going for a "mega arc" format - the first storyline ran for 17 issues instead of the usual 4 to 6.

I went to New York Comic Con last year and attended the Power Rangers panel. I knew it was 100% a comics panel and there wasn't going to be a trailer for the show or anything like that, but I still went. I listened to Higgins and people from Saban and BOOM! talk about a book I wasn't even reading.

And then they gave their first hint at their 25th anniversary event. Details were brief and there wasn't even a name yet for the colossal storyline that was later identified as Shattered Grid. Using the magic of Hoopla I got caught up on the comics and found that the mega arc format wasn't all that negative. In fact the storyline that followed the first mega arc was kinda... not it's own story. The entire 31 issue Higgins run is basically one huge story arc and I am ok with that.

After the mess of a 20th anniversary we got and little hope for the 25th this year, the Power Rangers comics provided us with something the show or the toys never could: a massive crossover-team-up event featuring virtually every Ranger ever! And it wasn't like Super Megaforce's Legendary Battle where they all just show up to fight some mooks. There were dozens of cute interactions between different characters, spotlight put on fan favorites, and references to all kinds of tiny details you'd swear would never be brought up in the show again.

Kyle Higgins didn't just create a fun book for fans. He created something ever fan has dreamed up. Go to any fan community online and you'll hear the same things over and over again. We want a TV series based on this story. An animated film. We want this show to completely replace the kids show. These comics aren't just our favorite Power Rangers story, they're THE Power Rangers story.

The Shattered Grid finale was a bittersweet experiance as we said goodbye to Higgins and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as we know them. The next arc will be a direct sequel to Shattered Gird and feature six all-new, all-different Rangers from across the franchise. The final moments of Higgin's Final Crisis House of M finale to Shattered Grid are a breathtaking ending to an amazing journey that every Power Rangers fan is sure to enjoy. I have said this at the end of every single one of my reviews and I have meant it every time:

Shattered Grid is quite possibly the greatest Power Rangers story ever told.