#comic notes

= Overall a good start! Pretty fast-paced but that lends itself to the urgency of the situation, and I'm sure things will slow down once this first fight is finished. (After all their new suits aren't even addressed yet; and it doesn't seem like a "well in this universe they look like this" situation since they had their old ones in the flashbacks)

= I still half-wonder if hitting the ground running like this has anything to do with the criticisms Prime faced for not having enough Ranger stuff because they did NOT waste any time jumping from suits to Zords

= I know Marguerite said she wanted this series to be fun but i wasn't expecting it to be as legit funny as it was. This is now the second time the MMPR guys are flummoxed by the concept of Woman Has Baby

= FINALLY KIM AND MINH GET TO INTERACT FINALLY KIM GETS TO BE HER AUNT. I hope Minh will return in #3 for more, especially since uhhhh I hope we're not leaving her in uhhhh Alpha's decapitated head

= "Eager to get back in the saddle aren't you" hahahahaha yessss YEEEESSSS

= And god is Zack's situation already more refreshing than anything he's gotten in the previous comics for years

= Overall a fine finale for what the book had to do, even if yeah that means certain elements ended up extremely rushed, even if expected (like Jayden turning on Mr. Shiba and Trey, the VR Troopers coming back, etc.)

= The biggest thing we don't get closure on is the Eltarians, outside of Janessa basically confirming they'll work with the Rangers now. yay for slightly less fascism ending! Though I guess in some fairness that sort of story WOULD require more than one issue to work out. Just kinda wish that had BEEN the final ending arc and not. worm.

= because overall yeah while I liked Trey and Worm being actual endgame goals to fight they were very one-note and forgettable lol and annoying that Rita can talk down Triforians all she likes but that privilege can't be extended to Jayden not liking Eltarians

= I do ACTUALLY hate that the VR Troopers can just come in like they're heroes or something. Oh Ryan you can just get back together with Valentina and tut-tut Jayden for not being comfortable with Jun immediately fuck off

= Rita finally confirming she wanted Rangers to take over the world is good but I wish that had been her stated goal from the beginning. soooo much of this series' problems come from how it clearly figured it would have the time and space to draw out its plots

= The "first Zord" shown really was just Teezee in a new, bigger form (aka basically just the Tyrannosaurus Dinozord). So then what, was Teezee growing big in the first arc not a "proper Zord" form?? What's the difference? that Lauren can pilot him? when he's already sentient??

= Got the issue thanks to a friend so I can talk about this a bit!

= Overall a fine finale, if predictably jampacked with all the different factions and characters and Zords we were juggling by the end. Honestly I could not keep straight who was in what Megazord in that final fight hghgh

= Which I think overall was the biggest problem with this installment - much like 2 before it, just WAAAAAAY too much focus on spectacle and showing off your toys to the point where it feels cluttered and we lose sight of the characters themselves. And even then we STILL keep threads open and introduce NEW ones??? for what, a potential fourth book??? GUYS. I love her but we should have gotten the Turtles reuniting with Splinter over uh....Venus is here now to do uh....nothing

= I'm also not sure if canonizing the Usagi crossover was necessary. I get why they did it but again, Usagi himself didn't really do enough to justify spending time on it. Super Zedd, the Serpenterradrome, Dimension X Neutrino Rangers, and White Ranger Splinter I think were the only new elements that mattered; everything else could have been trimmed down to give those elements time to breathe

= That being said I do still think this was better than 2, as the emotional core of Splinter's death and Tommy/Leo's conflict over it was better than the Casey stuff. In general it felt like an actual equal-standing crossover again rather than TMNT with obligatory Power Rangers. 1 blows them both out of the water though

= We kinda knew this was a new, unattached continuity but they REALLY went far with that concept here. I was legitimately surprised Splinter kept the White Light, even if the final scene implied eventually he'll pass it down to someone else

= The last page selfie was really cute