'Power Rangers: Shattered Grid' — What You Need to Know to Catch Up

The Avengers aren’t the only superheroes on the brink of an infinity war. For the rest of 2018, the iconic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers are leading the charge against a familiar face: Tommy Oliver, the former Green Ranger. At least, a Tommy Oliver they don’t know. Unlike how you might remember him from 1994, this Tommy is no superhero.

In commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Power Rangers franchise, comics publisher BOOM! Studios is about to start the epic storyline event, Power Rangers: Shattered Grid, which will be told in upcoming issues of BOOM!’s two ongoing series, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Kyle Higgins and Go Go Power Rangers from Ryan Parrot. It all begins in issue #25 of Mighty Morphin, available March 28 at comic retailers.

Much like DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths or Marvel’s Secret Wars, Shattered Grid is a massive crossover featuring virtually every Power Ranger in history. All 120-ish heroes and Power Ranger allies unite to wage an all-out war against “Lord Drakkon,” a new villain whose origins will be shocking to nostalgic fans.

For those who maybe haven’t kept up with Angel Grove’s teenagers with attitude in recent years, here’s all you need to know about Shattered Grid, and just what the heck costume Jason David Frank is wearing in that nifty live-action trailer that was released by surprise this week.

A New Universe

Since 2016, BOOM! Studios has published a reboot comic of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, with the only major difference being that it’s set in the modern day instead of 1993. Still, the comic follows the plot of the classic TV show (at least at first). It picks up right after Tommy joins the Power Rangers as the reformed Green Ranger, free from Rita Repulsa’s spell.

But Tommy’s guilty conscience from his time as their enemy eats at him, which causes a rift between Tommy and his friends. This conflict continues to fuel the comic, even now, and Shattered Grid is all about the What ifs? of Tommy Oliver: What if Tommy stayed with Rita? What if Tommy never trusted his friends? As Shattered Grid will show, the answers to those questions will have major ramifications.

Who Is Lord Drakkon?

Lord Drakkon is the main enemy of Power Rangers: Shattered Grid. He’s a Tommy Oliver from a different universe, who kept fighting for Rita Repulsa even after he broke free from her spell. His Green/White Ranger hybrid costume, which Jason David Frank wore in the trailer, is a spoil from his successful war against his would-be friends, the Power Rangers.

Also spoils are the other Power Rangers’ powers, which have been re-appropriated to outfit Rita and Lord Drakkon’s armies.

In issue #11 of Mighty Morphin, Tommy and Billy (the Blue Ranger) woke up in an alternate dimension where Rita successfully crushed the Power Rangers and took over Earth — with the help of Tommy, her evil Green Ranger. On this Earth, a totally different fight between good and evil transpired. It was the Power Rangers versus the Green Ranger, whose battle escalated into a war.

In his killing stroke, Tommy stole the White Ranger powers from Zordon, killed Jason (the Red Ranger and his best friend), and combined the powers with his own. As a hybrid Green/White Ranger, Tommy adopts the name “Lord Drakkon,” and rules at the right hand of Rita Repulsa.

So yes, there are two Tommys: There’s the Tommy from the “main” Earth who became a good guy. And there’s a Tommy from a “second” Earth who became a bad, bad man. The bad man is Lord Drakkon.

The Shattered Grid

The “Grid” of Shattered Grid refers to the Morphin’ Grid, the cosmic energy grid that enables individuals to morph into Power Rangers. Based on the title, we can presume Lord Drakkon threatens to destroy the grid, which will cut off every Power Ranger across the multiverse. This inspires the classic Mighty Morphin team to recruit other Power Rangers in history. Expect cameos and guest appearances from lesser-known fan favorites who have appeared throughout all 25 years of Power Rangers.

After Tommy fights Lord Drakkon — his guilty conscience physically manifested before him — in issue #16, Tommy and Billy escape back to their Earth with the help of Saba, the sentient sword of the White Ranger.

Now home, Tommy warns his friends of Lord Drakkon and his intentions to rule every universe. As the Power Rangers gear up, a new character offers help: Grace Sterling, a former NASA secretary turned CEO of Promethea. Described as “some Elon Musk, some Richard Branson” by Higgins, Sterling was revealed to be the very first Red Ranger of 1969, who was recruited by Zordon for a mission on the eve of the moon landing. The mission was a failure.

Much like Tommy, Grace is fueled by guilt over what happened to her team, and now she offers help. But it’s unknown if she can be completely trusted.

How can I read Shattered Grid?

To catch up on the whole series, you can pick up Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Volumes One to Four on trade paperback, which will catch you right up. Volume One of Go Go, unfortunately, won’t release until July.

For Shattered Grid exclusively, the storyline will be told in upcoming issues of both Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Go Go Power Rangers.

The “prelude” issues have already been released: issue #24 of Mighty Morphin, and issue #8 of Go Go, which ends in a massive reveal that fans need to read. But the true story kicks off in issue #25 of Mighty Morphin. The next issue of Shattered Grid will then be told in Go Go #9, then Mighty Morphin #26, and so on. So keep both books on your pull list at your local comics shop to keep up!

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #25 will be released on March 28.