Warning! This article contains spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 The Power Rangers recently became even stronger than they already were with their ultra-powerful dinosaur forms, except, there’s just one major drawback that actually makes their seemingly superior upgrade a pretty significant downgrade.
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers recently found themselves fighting alongside the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the second time. This time, however, the Power Rangers and the Ninja Turtles effectively swapped powers, making this sequel somehow even crazier than the first crossover. The TMNT found morphers in Dimension X, which granted the Ninja Turtles new Power Ranger suits and weapons reminiscent of the original Power Rangers. However, the Ninja Turtles’ transition wasn’t nearly as bizarre as the Power Rangers’. After the Rangers were cut off from the Morphin Grid, Billy and Donatello combined the remaining energy within the morphers with the interdimensional mutagen ooze. This combo resulted in the Power Rangers’ animalistic mutations. Except, they didn’t turn into animals like other mutants within TMNT canon–like Bebop and Rocksteady, for instance–their mutations were based on the unique dinosaur (or similarly ancient creature) that their individual roles/colors represent. This upgrade transformed them into the Mighty Mutant Power Rangers, but unfortunately, it came with a catch, especially for the Green Ranger. As a mutant, Tommy Oliver wasn’t able to play his flute, which meant he wasn’t able to call his Dragonzord–and that was a problem.
The Green Ranger’s TMNT Upgrade was Actually a Downgrade Because of the Dragonzord
In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 by Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora, the Power Ranger-Turtles and the Mighty Mutant-Rangers are engaging in the final battle of the crossover against the villainous Rita Repulsa and General Krang. In this battle, readers witness the Mighty Mutant Power Rangers finally figuring out how to control their new mutant abilities, and they are absolutely dominating the enemy. Their ‘dinosaur’ forms granted the Power Rangers immense strength, animalistic ferocity the likes of which humans are incapable of knowing, and even certain powers specific to their mutation, like flight and even the power to breathe fire. However, there was one thing they couldn’t do: call their zords. At least, Tommy couldn’t.
When the Green Ranger calls his Dragonzord, he needs to use his flute to do so. However, with the head of a mutant dragon (which is what Tommy Oliver became) he couldn’t physically play the flute. This is a major shortfall, and almost makes the upgrades the Power Rangers got with this mutation not worth it. The crossover made it clear that the Power Rangers were stronger and arguably more all-around deadly as mutants. This was indicated by all the Rangers longing for their mutant forms after they were turned back to normal at the end of the issue. However, no matter how strong the mutation made them, they were nowhere near the strength of their zords, and absolutely laughable in comparison to the megazord. And Tommy’s mutation completely prevented him from calling his zord, making his mutation an immense downgrade.
This shortcoming is a brilliant detail included in this crossover, as it really pays attention to the intricacies of these characters’ powers and abilities while also proving that every great strength has a potentially even greater weakness. In terms of the Green Ranger and his TMNT mutation, that was absolutely the case, as Power Rangers admits the one drawback of the ultra-powerful dinosaur forms.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 by IDW Publishing and BOOM! Studios is available now.
