Lord Zedd and Brainiac’s attack on Earth intensifies in the latest issue of the morphenomenal crossover Justice League/Power Rangers…
The latest issue of DC/Boom Studios’ Justice League/Power Rangers crossover begins with Wonder Woman warning the United Nations of the Rangers’ Earth (let’s call it Earth-Saban) of the terrible threat that is facing their world – a threat that has travelled here from the DC universe. Meanwhile, the rest of the League and the Mighty Morphin team are attempting to protect the world as Brainiac and Zedd lead their forces against humanity.
As that synopsis suggests, this penultimate issue of the series is suitably epic in scale, with the action split between two teams – Diana, Kimberly, Jason and Tommy on the ground while Batman, Superman, Cyborg, Billy, Trini and Zack infiltrate Brainiac’s ship (Green Lantern and Flash are holding the fort elsewhere). While this could leave the issue stretching itself too thin, writer Tom Taylor employs a clever through-line to keep it all connected.
Yes, the best part of the issue makes one Power Rangers character into the most unlikely badass ever – Alpha-5! While Brainiac attempts to coax the fellow robot onto his side, the little tin can stands up to the far more formidable android and delivers a brilliant speech about why Brainiac will fail and the heroes will win. Alpha was always a good-natured but bumbling comic relief presence on the original show, so it’s a welcome surprise for him to be shown in a new light here. Who knew the little guy had so much guts?
While his bright, slightly cartoonified style probably isn’t for everyone, Stephen Byrne’s artwork continues to impress this reviewer. The simplistic, bright and colourful style is perfect for this series. As with the previous issues, Byrne pulls off some awesome panels. Brainiac’s head-shaped spaceship floating above Earth. The Rangers decked out in leftover Justice League gear (Kimberly in Hawkgirl’s helmet, Jason in Azrael’s get-up and so on). The Flash zipping into shot to KO Zedd’s monster. The visual highlight of the issue has to be its final page, though. Once again, Alpha is going to garner a whole new legion of fans thanks to this series.
Overall, Justice League/Power Rangers #5 continues the form of previous issues by being a blast to read. Few comics can hit the geek spot quite as much as this one. Let’s hope the final issue will end the series on a high.
Rating:
Fandom Factory 