When Rita Repulsa uses an ancient artifact to transport herself to a universe without Power Rangers, she finds herself on a world with aliens, kaiju … and Godzilla. Hoping to annihilate this new foe, Rita hurls her own terrible creatures into battle. But she never expects that the Rangers have followed her to this alternate reality. The Dinozords go head to head with the King of the Monsters in Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1, written by Cullen Bunn, drawn by Freddie Williams II, colored by Andrew Dalhouse, and lettered and designed by Johanna Nattalie for IDW, with BOOM Studios.
In hindsight, a Godzilla vs. Power Rangers comic seemed inevitable. Not only do both media properties have their own comic book series, but they have become enduring figures in pop culture. Although the Power Rangers were originally known as Super Sentai and originated in Japan like Godzilla, both the Rangers and Godzilla are beloved by all ages in Japan and abroad.
Now, the two come together and clash. It begins with Green Ranger Tommy Oliver on a reconnaissance mission to spy on the evil witch Rita Repulsa. Unfortunately, Tommy is soon caught and Rita uses a device called the Multiversal Focus to transport herself, her goons and Tommy to a universe without Power Rangers. Although the spell works, it also puts them all in a universe with Godzilla fighting another giant monster on another version of Earth.
While the identity of the other monster has yet to be confirmed, it does make one wonder what role Godzilla is playing, especially if you’re mostly unfamiliar with the character. While speaking to some spacemen from a place called Planet X, Rita says Godzilla is “a different kind of protector.” Given that the spacemen seek to control Godzilla for reasons unknown, it can be assumed that Godzilla plays a role similar to that of the Power Rangers on this Earth.
Speaking of the Rangers, Tommy gets the shock of his life upon seeing Godzilla and facing it in battle. One can’t help but notice that Godzilla didn’t attack Tommy and his giant Dragonzord until they attacked first. Then again, the other monster Godzilla was facing when Rita first arrived has disappeared, so I guess I can’t blame Tommy for thinking that Godzilla was destroying the Earth.
Anyway, seeing Tommy’s Dinozord fight Godzilla is pretty impressive due to Freddie Williams II’s art, Andrew Dalhouse’s vibrant colors and Johanna Nattalie’s eye-catching letters. A particularly striking page is when Godzilla unleashes a blast of energy toward the Dinozord with a mighty “Thoom!” in big green letters. This page is especially satisfying because it occurs after Tommy’s Dinozord fires rockets at Godzilla and says, “I think I made it mad!”
After this, the Dinozord appears to be down for the count, but the other Power Rangers manage to arrive on the alternate Earth as the first issue ends. If Rita has been watching all this alongside the Planet X Spacemen, then I have a feeling she will be providing some backup of her own in the next issue. Then again, it doesn’t seem like Godzilla needs it given how he trounced the Green Ranger’s Dinozord. Nonetheless, I look forward to seeing the Power Rangers get a second wind and hopefully summon the Megazord against Godzilla in the next issue.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
