Warning! This article contains spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 Shredder is no stranger to immense upgrades, and the one he got from the Power Rangers is no exception, as he has once again harnessed the power of the Green Ranger in TMNT’s most recent crossover. Only this time, the Shredder is actually using that power for good.
In the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover event, Shredder stole Tommy Oliver’s morpher, allowing Shredder to become the new Green Ranger. At that time, Shredder was working with Rita Repulsa to conquer both the world of the TMNT and Power Rangers together. Unfortunately for the villains, the heroes proved too much for them to handle, even with Shredder’s Green Ranger upgrade, and the two would-be world-conquerors were beaten. Due to the circumstances of their loss–which really ended with mistrust and betrayal on both sides–their positions in the sequel crossover event were drastically different. Rita Repusla remained a primary antagonist, but she formed an alliance with Krang rather than Shredder. Meanwhile, Shredder decided that his hatred for his former partner outweighed his desire to beat the Turtles and take over the world, so he partnered with them instead–leading to this redemptive Green Ranger upgrade.
Shredder’s Green Ranger Redemption was Only Possible Thanks to Another TMNT Story
In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 by Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora, the final battle has commenced between the two opposing sides of Rita and Krang vs the Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers. What’s interesting, though, is that–at this point in the crossover–the Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles have effectively switched powers. The Turtles have harnessed the power of Dimension X’s Morphin Grid, thus each of them have become an all new type of Power Ranger, Ranger X. Meanwhile, the Power Rangers lost their connection to the original Morphin Grid, so they used what energy that remained in their morphers mixed with the interdimensional science of the mutagen ooze and mutated themselves into the Mighty Mutant Power Rangers. With the Rangers and the Turtles swapping abilities, it was only natural that Shredder joined in and unlocked a Power Rangers form of his very own. So, just like he did in the first crossover, Shredder took Tommy Oliver’s morpher and became the Green Ranger.
As the Green Ranger, Shredder didn’t waver in his commitment to the Ninja Turtles or the Power Rangers, as his true goal never changed from the moment he took up arms alongside them–which is something that has become a bit of a trend lately with this famously villainous character. The Shredder has always been a villain since his introduction and unwaveringly throughout each and every reboot and different incarnation of TMNT lore. However, with this crossover included, there are two TMNT storylines happening at the same time depicting Shredder as a good guy. The other one is TMNT’s ongoing Armageddon Game, where Shredder is leading the Ninja Turtles against the evil deity, the Rat King. It’s interesting to see Shredder painted in this positive light, but more than that, it makes the scene in this book much more believable.
It would have been hard to swallow if Shredder genuinely joined the Ninja Turtles and the Power Rangers after so recently having fought against them if it weren’t for the Armageddon Game. Armageddon Game proved that Shredder does have the potential to be good, even when he could have double-crossed his new allies at any time for the sake of power. When Shredder became the Green Ranger in this comic just like he did in the last, many fans might have predicted that he’d use that power for evil rather than help the heroes stop Krang and Rita. But, because of how genuine his turn to good has been in TMNT’s Armageddon Game, Shredder’s Green Ranger redemption was much more believable in this Power Rangers crossover–not to mention insanely epic.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #5 by IDW Publishing and BOOM! Studios is available now.
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
