The Teenagers with Attitude ramp up their battle with the King of the Monsters in the second issue of this sequel series that makes good on the nerd-tastic promises made by the outrageous cover art—and cranks the madness to 11.
To avoid casualties, the Power Rangers activate their multiversal maguffin to transport themselves, Godzilla, and Rita and Astronema’s monsters to an uninhabited world. Unfortunately, they end up in a theme park with a Godzilla Tower. Fortunately, they get help from the heroic robot Jet Jaguar and his creator, Goro Ibuki. Unfortunately, the villainesses call in more reinforcements: the kaiju-enhanced Psycho Rangers!
While issue one was more Power Rangers-focused, this one dives headlong into Godzilla lore. While it’s never named, our heroes are taken to World Children’s Land from Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972), complete with the Godzilla Tower—although it doesn’t last long because Godzilla destroys it. The big draw, though, is the arrival of everyone’s favorite Jack Nicholson robot, Jet Jaguar. Yes, the variant cover is true! Jet teams up with the Rangers against Rita and Astronema’s monsters. However, there aren’t as many panels featuring these sets of characters together, let alone a big hero shot of them like on that cover. While that is disappointing, it still happens. Plus, Goro Ibuki gets some cool moments helping the Rangers adjust the polarity of the maguffin to jump to another universe.
But there’s another too-crazy-to-be-true-but-it-is moment teased on a variant cover: the Dragonzord combining with Godzilla. Tommy the Green Ranger describes it as like riding a bucking bronco and that the Dragonzord and Godzilla are “in a relationship headed for a breakup” (ironic given how Kimberly the Pink Ranger treats him in Power Rangers Zeo—if you know, you know). It only lasts for a page or two, but it’s glorious. It shows that the creators know to take advantage of the elements both of these franchises have to offer by combining them in clever ways.
I would say more about the new kaiju-themed Psycho Rangers, but given they were the cliffhanger, making this the second issue in a row that teases them, I will reserve my thoughts for the next issue’s review when we see them in action. For now, I will say the designs look cool.
While the art is a bit of an improvement from issue one, this issue’s Achilles’ heel is the pacing. It moves at breakneck speed, and I sometimes found myself having to re-read panels to make sure I knew what was happening. Because of this, some things get confusing. For example, toward the end, after Godzilla has knocked down the Megazord, there are dialogue balloons saying the multiversal maguffin was activated again, but when the reader turns the page, suddenly there’s a ruined city with a helmet-less Billy desperately calling out on his radio to anyone for help—and then the next panel shows the Megazord with a hole blown in its chest. I thought for a second this was “our” Billy and wondered why this wasn’t handled with more gravity in the previous pages. Then it’s revealed that this is a different universe. But before any of that can sink in, the Psychos arrive. Let’s hope issue three unpacks this a bit more.
Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers II continues to differentiate itself from its predecessor, although now it does seem to be falling into the sort of fan-service-y multiversal shenanigans the first series indulged in. Even so, by using different characters and situations, it manages to give fans of both franchises something new.
