Casey Jones has always been one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ greatest allies, at least, until the Power Rangers got involved. Now, Casey has become a Power Ranger himself, and in a shocking twist of fate, he is using this newfound transformation to fight against his long-time friends–a transformation that just got an official name (and it’s perfect).
This current storyline isn’t the first time the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have crossed paths with the Mighty Morphin Power Ranger, it’s the second. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1 picks up pretty much right where the previous storyline left off following the Power Rangers’ and Ninja Turltes' victory over the Shredder and Rita Repulsa. Now, Rita Repulsa is back and has recruited the villainous Scorpina to build an army for her, with which Rita can use to take over the world, and her most powerful soldier is Casey Jones who has been turned into a corrupted Power Ranger–and his alter ego is named Ranger X.
Ranger X is the Perfect Embodiment of Two Iconic ‘90s Trends
In Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #2 by Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora, the Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers are reeling after their defeat by the hand of Ranger X–and it wasn’t just the loss that upset them. From the Power Rangers’ perspective, they were concerned with the fact that Rita Repulsa had a Ranger at her disposal, similar to how she held control over Tommy Oliver when he first became the Green Ranger. To the Turtles, the situation was far more personal. Casey Jones was a brother to them from the start of their relationship, so the Ninja Turtles needed to do whatever they could to free him of Rita’s influence. Tragically, when Raphael confronted Ranger X and tried to snap Casey out of it, Casey revealed that he wasn’t being mind controlled–he became Ranger X and agreed to serve Rita Repulsa of his own accord, effectively choosing to become a more hardcore and powerful version of his original character.
If the ‘90s were to be remembered for anything in terms of comic book trends, it would be the ‘hardcore-ization’ of any and all classic characters, no matter who they were. Batman was replaced with the neo-tech armored, gun-wielding Azrael, Spider-Man became the brutal punk-rock badass Scarlet Spider, and even the Incredible Hulk was given a giant gun that was somehow even bigger than he was. Not only that, but all-new characters were introduced in the ‘90s that fit this trend as well, including Cable, Spawn, and even Deadpool (before his character was wildly altered into the version fans know and love today). While that is what was happening in the realm of comics, television was a whole other story–especially kid’s television, including the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers live action series. These fit an entirely different trend of bright colors, big explosions, and wacky characters, with just enough cartoonish violence to keep children’s attention for roughly twenty minutes at a time. With the creation of Ranger X in this newest comic series, fans are getting two completely different ‘90s trends merged into one–and it is amazing.
The TMNT and Power Rangers crossing paths at all is inevitably going to evoke ‘90s nostalgia in the minds of readers, with the creation of Ranger X (a classic character that was turned into a hardened badass with a ‘super rad’ name like ‘Ranger X’) being a prime example of the aforementioned ‘90s comic book trend to match–which means the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ official name for Casey Jones’ evil Power Ranger persona is absolutely perfect.