Justice League/Power Rangers #3 Review

Justice League/Power Rangers #3 

Writer: Tom Taylor

Artist: Stephen Byrne

DC Comics/Boom Studios

Release Date: March 8, 2017

Cover Price:  $3.99

Anybody With a Spare ‘Large Hadron Collider’ Hanging Around?

Now that our formalities, in the traditional super hero form of fighting each other, are out of the way we can get down to business in our story. So with clear lines drawn in the multiverse, the Justice League and Power Rangers, team up to take on the villains, Brainiac and Lord Zedd. Finally we should have some good guy versus bad buy action coming our way like an epic crossover promises right? Donate a click to some poor comic bloggers in need and see who gets the best of whom in issue three.

If you remember, the last book ended with our heroes and villains both on good terms with their respective counterparts. These events laid the foundation for Lord Zedd and Brainiac to combine forces and to throw a ‘Monster party’ across the world for our heroes to deal with. 

We start here by jumping into the action all while being treated to a cameo laced beginning of DC heroes being summoned to action, that we haven’t run across yet this series. These groups of heroes decide to split up, with the various Power Rangers, to deal with the Octo-monsters on each continent.

Despite knowing this is exactly what Lord Zedd will want them all to do they decide to act anyway.  Everyone brings their A game, along with the Rangers and their Zords, resulting in the heroes dealing with the situations pretty handily across the globe. However, Superman and Cyborg notice something falling from the sky, as Wonder Woman catches Kimberly’s jet which is failing, and our first hints of bigger ideas, than giant monsters, begin to come into focus.

It turns out that what’s falling from the sky are 'Brainiac Drones' which are the real plan behind the plan courtesy of our duo of big bads. The drones land on and attack the various Zords, all while stripping the Rangers of their power coins, teleporters, and taking control of their vehicles controls in the process.

   

Wonder Woman tries to relay the message to the rest of the League in time and half succeeds. Despite the League members being able to save the depowered Rangers across the globe their Zords, now out of their control, end up being teleported away, even off planet according to Superman.

Everyone returns to the Watch Tower to figure out their next move. The heroes calculate, Brainiac and Zedd, took the Zords back to the Rangers home planet since it’s not defended at this moment in time.  Normally the Rangers could get back no problem but without their interdimensional teleporters, which were taken by the Brainiac Drones in the attack, they’re stuck on the Justice Leagues Earth. 

At this point Billy, the Blue Ranger, randomly mentions a ‘Large Hadron Collider’ might come in handy, if one is available to the League for use, you know for the possibility of interdimensional travel purposes. Luckily for everyone involved the Justice League just so happens to know where a ‘Large Hadron Collider’ is laying around on their world and the group heads out in pursuit.

The ending to our issue gives us a peek of the League and Rangers setting up the ‘Large Hadron Collider’ to return the Rangers home in hopes of continuing the fight, ultimately hoping to prevent the future we were provided a glimpse of in issue #1’s cold opening, as our issue fades to credits.

To sum things up this issue is fine and the story continues to progress at a decent pace. This definitely feels like a suitable halfway point in a crossover series, albeit with a touch of nonsense, but I just can’t shake this feeling that nothing spectacular has happened yet so far at all. I guess what I’m saying is I usually enjoy Tom Taylors work more than I am here in this series and something about it just isn’t pulling me in like his other work does.  The art continues to be a selling point, especially if you’re collecting in the single issue format, but this issue was missing that splash page that made you say “WOW” like previous issues had. 

As a final thought I just think this book may be aimed at a crowd below me, bit more for kids, which maybe just a problem for me and why it’s not connecting despite not having any glaring weaknesses really.

Bits and Pieces

Justice League Power Rangers #3 is another suitable issue in a crossover that’s so far had a solid story with great art.  I really think this maybe a better book if you’re a parent and have a preteen aged child interested in either properties or attempting to get into comics. However for a regular monthly reader of a variety of different, as well as related properties, to this title it’s failing to hold my attention.

6.5/10