(Disclaimer: Please buy the comic before reading this review available at your local comic shop!) They can also be found by visiting findacomicshop.com or comicshoplocator.com
Preface
Ladies and gentlemen. This is The End of the Power Rangers.
No, not Wild Force’s finale… not RPM’s finale… not Cosmic Fury’s finale either!
The end of the comics.
Since her first issue in this series, MMPR #101, the writer, Melissa Flores, has known that this would ultimately end the main comics. There will be other one-shots in the future, but for MMPR’s storyline, this is how it all ends.
After 122 issues, one #0 issue, three annuals, one FCBD issue, multiple spin-offs, and one-shots, this is, for now, the finale.
Let’s Go! Go! Power Rangers one last time.
The Cover
Yeah, it’s basic, but it serves well as a finale. A way for our Rangers to come together, reminding them that they’re united.
The Story
Continuing the battle from MMPR #122, the Rangers are… doing pretty good. Almost easily so. Chloe uses her Battlizer to fight off her dad while Serpentera finishes off the Space Skull. Ashford retreats, taunting the Rangers that it’s not over yet despite not having a ride.
So, anyway. Now that the random fight scene is over, let’s ask ourselves: what exactly happened to Grace?
Short answer: Timeline shenanigans happened, and we’re not supposed to ask questions about how it worked.
Long answer: When Billy broke the Power Eggs, it didn’t just shatter the Grid, keeping things intact as it did in the previous event. Instead, it changed reality itself… for some reason. (I blame the Energem.) Now not only is Grace dying in 1969 a thing, but Kiya and Anti-Trini, the two beings that were there when Billy broke the Power Eggs, also no longer exist. Why didn’t it affect Billy? The boy who caused it? Or Kendall and the Phantom Ranger, people who were near the Power Eggs as well? Why did it affect Grace’s history, someone who wasn’t even there to begin with?
…
Quick, throw in a haircut joke!
As Ari reopens up the Void, the Rangers say their goodbyes in case they don’t come back. Tommy kisses Kimberly goodbye. Rocky and Adam hold hands as they’re both scared. Taylor tells Jason not to die before he acknowledges Trini and Zack’s relationship with Jason and Trini saying that they still love each other. The Phantom Ranger stays behind since he can’t morph, hugging Kendall goodbye. Lord Zedd reveals that Rita hid the Death Ranger inside of the Zeo Crystal as the two of them bring Zordon in a portable tube along for the ride. And, soon, all of the Rangers jump into the Arch with Phantom Ranger telling Billy to prove himself as he gives him back his Morpher.
As the Ranger Slayer and the four Solar Rangers make their way up the Splintered Star toward the magnetic pole of the planet, Dayne and the corrupted Solar Rangers arrive. All of the Solar Rangers get into a full-on Zord fight while on the ground, the Ranger Slayer faces Dark Specter and a group of corrupted Rangers alone. But, right as she demorphs from the fight, the remaining free Rangers teleport through the Arch for a big fight.
In the real world, Zelya AKA Candice arrives and gives Skull a big old kiss as she, along with other Eltarian soldiers, fights with the Promethea volunteers to defend the Arch against another onslaught from Chloe’s dad.
But, in the Void, while Baboo, Squatt, and Goldar pilot Serpentera as Dark Rangers again, Billy climbs his way to the top of the magnetic pole, carrying Zordon all the way and enacting their big plan.
So, what is the plan exactly?
Short answer: The good guys flash the bad guy.
Long answer: Using Zordon’s tube as a magnifying glass to funnel and dispel energy, the remaining free Rangers (14 total by the count of it) all gather around it and morph at the same time. The burst of pure Morphin’ energy spreads out throughout the Grid, removing the corruption…to a degree. Billy literally says it. “To a degree”.
Dark Specter tries to stop it, but the Vessel’s soul, brought forward by the Death Ranger’s attack, is able to control his body long enough for the both of them to meet their demise by the Morphin’ pulse.
As we see Rangers free from their corruption, we flash forward many years into the future where an adult Billy is sitting on a random rock, writing letters that he knows he won’t be able to send.
To Grace, where Billy admits that he fumbled the ball, but he promises to not let her down again…
To Anti-Trini, where Billy says that he’ll continue to bring her back because there’s no going back from the world that he created…
And, to Zordon, where Billy swears that he’ll spend his whole life trying to repair the Grid. That Zordon, in the end, forgave Billy for what he did. That no matter how uncertain the future is or what evils may be out there, there will always be Power Rangers…
… Billy, you’re already morphed. Why are you telling us this? Who are you talking to?
Ending Thoughts
Let’s talk about Cosmic Fury for a moment, shall we?
Cosmic Fury is, as of now, the final season of Power Rangers, a show that has been running from 1993 to 2023. The last one before the big reboot that’s supposed to bring more people into the franchise. The end of an era.
It was originally supposed to be 20 episodes long, but something stupid happened and it got reduced to ten. Those ten episodes were the ending of the show’s continuity. It was made for the franchise’s 30th anniversary. It was made to end everything. Fans put a lot of weight on it. They were looking for cameos, cool suits, and an intense and engaging story built on the foundation of everything that happened before. And, even though it’s clear that you can see the effort there, the character work on display, the reintroduction of old elements, the show ultimately is affected by the pacing and that changes the audience’s experience.
Why am I bringing this up?
Because Cosmic Fury and Darkest Hour end up being two sides of the same coin.
Darkest Hour wasn’t advertised as the “end to PR” when it was first announced but by the end, it was pretty clear that this event would be used to end the current run in a big way and allow a new main comic to take its place. As I’ve stated before, Melissa Flores, the writer, knew that her run would be the last as she started writing for the comics in MMPR #101. So, everything before this was meant to build up Darkest Hour, build up everything as we reach the ending that we saw here. Darkest Hour had 22 issues of buildup all the way to this moment. Like how Shattered Grid celebrated the 25th anniversary, this event was for the 30th, bringing in cameos, cool suits, and great character focus, all in a story that touches on almost every major aspect that the comics have built up as a whole. The overall ideas and concepts, on paper, make this one of the most intense stories the comics have ever done, but the overall pacing and execution hinder the plot a lot.
While Cosmic Fury’s fast pacing caused the overall plot to be fast-paced and driven, but losing out on any emotional stakes, Darkest Hour’s slow pacing allowed our characters to find comfort with each other in a dark time, but effectively losing tension in what should be a high-stakes event. The literal Darkest Hour of our heroes. The worst time in their lives and yet, somehow, they still got to go to the Juice Bar. So, when the big turning points of the arc are supposed to happen, they don’t have the emotional impact that’s intended because it doesn’t focus on those specific plot points. Especially in the ending, where we’re questioning all of the Morphin’ mumbo jumbo that’s on display.
Because, yeah, the ending itself. As I said, I generally love the overall concept of the finale. Every last remaining Ranger comes to the Shattered Star and a gigantic fight begins against Dark Specter as one single Ranger is carrying their hopes on his back and climbing all the way up. The Death Ranger pulls out the Vessel’s soul, allowing him one last chance to fight back. Jason and Tommy are unmorphed defending their friends one last time and proving that they’re still Rangers without their powers. Using Zordon’s tube as the focal point for the Rangers to distribute their energy and destroy the infection, akin to the Z-Wave from Countdown to Destruction. The finishing blow to it all just being the act of morphing, of becoming your best self, what the power shapes you to be, to destroy the darkness of being in a collective and a mindless slave without any real thoughts, feelings, or dreams.
All of these elements together make this a worthy ending for Power Rangers.
However, the overall execution of the event prevents it from doing so.
The Death Ranger appearing out of nowhere comes so fast that we don’t have time to process it. There’s more focus on Bulk and Skull with Jason and Tommy being thrown around like a ragdoll so there’s not much there for them. Zordon’s new wave here (is this a G-Wave or a M-Wave?), although treated as a good thing, is hampered by what Billy did. If you remember, the whole point of Billy shattering the Grid was to isolate the infection and preserve parts of the Grid that weren’t affected yet. But, that would also mean it goes the other way. Like Billy said, ‘to a degree’. It means that there are pieces of the Grid that still are infected with Dark Specter’s influence, that weren’t affected by the wave.
If a dark ending, pun intended, is what the writer was going for, it needed more buildup and justification as to why it absolutely had to happen. Because, we saw a lot of Billy’s justifications before he broke the Grid, but we never saw the actual upside. We saw how this screwed over Grace, Anti-Trini, and Kiya’s lives, but we never saw how this helped. Apparently, it gave them time, but even then, Billy was asleep for most of it until he woke up and everything that happened in the ending seemed to happen in less than a day. (More talking than showing happening here.) And, so, this big thing that is supposed to shatter reality, the big threat that happened in the last event, feels completely pointless in retrospect. It even gets more mind-boggling that we see years later that Billy had no idea on how to fix this big mess.
That’s not how you make a story feel dark and intense by making a character do a dumb thing for literally no reason. His ending, to spend his entire life working to fix the Grid, only could have mattered if the stakes were high enough for his actions to match the overall dialogue. Which this event doesn’t do too much of either.
Our Rangers are supposed to feel like their backs are against the wall against no escape from the corruption, no hope that they can stand up to Dark Specter. But, in addition to Dark Specter only trying to corrupt Lord Zedd and only throwing people aside, Dark Specter’s army, what should have been an insurmountable force, an army of over 100 corrupted Rangers that we’ve seen throughout the franchise, feels small and pathetic with only a max of 10 of the same Rangers we’ve seen before due to how the art team isn’t able to get in much space for this ending. It makes him seem small-minded and an idiot for not throwing every resource he can to ensure his victory. It doesn’t help that unlike Lord Drakkon, the villain for the last big event, Dark Specter doesn’t get any retrospection or literally anything that doesn’t make him feel like a generic villain.
Speaking of Lord Drakkon, how about we bring up Shattered Grid for a moment?
Shattered Grid didn’t run nearly as long as Darkest Hour did, but for its compressed run, it did a heck of a job balancing characters and large stakes while implementing so much of the Ranger lore with a villain that you could see get stronger with every mode on his ruthless path towards power. People had issues with the finale as well (which I never had a problem with), where part of it was due to the Morphin’ Grid shenanigans there of Drakkon trying to create his ideal world and the actual final battle not having all of the Rangers. Though there, it worked because of the deep introspection on Drakkon’s character. And, one other reason why a lot of people were receptive toward its final pages… and, not so much here.
Back all the way in 2018, the Power Rangers franchise was in a pretty good place. We got a lot of content that year. Dimensions in Danger was set to air. Power Rangers Hyperforce entertained a lot of the fans. So many comics that resulted from Shattered Grid were absolutely memorable. And, when Hasbro was announced to be taking over as Power Rangers, we all had high hopes for the future of the franchise. In a way, the ending of Shattered Grid, with all of the Rangers recreating the Grid together, ready for a new story to be created, felt representative that we’re going to be the franchise was going to go into a brand new era, one full of hope and opportunity.
Cut to now and that tone has wildly changed.
The live-action show is over. Besides a few sparse products here and there, there’s hardly any presence of Power Rangers products to buy. We have no planned content down the road aside from rumors about how bad it’s going to get anything off the ground. (And, even more gossip about how Hasbro, the company that now owns Power Rangers, never wanted it in the first place.) Now take these feelings and apply them to this official ending, the end of this long-running comic series. The ending to an arc for an anniversary that’s supposed to be celebrating the franchise. An ending where like the current state of the Grid, everything seems broken and scrambled around with no cohesion and understanding as to what the future holds or how to fix it.
So, yeah, you can see how people might be a bit more critical in that regard.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I love dark endings. And heck, a part of me is somewhat intrigued by the potential story opportunities of this. How the corruption could still be in ‘pieces’ of the Grid, of reality. That could effectively be the explanation for a lot of the ‘dark’ dimensions we see in Power Rangers like the “Cyber Dimension”. Or heck, it could be the explanation for creating worlds and stories of entirely dark and evil Power Rangers (like a certain anime I will bug you to watch).
But, I just wish that for all of the focus the story tried to give to its characters, the overall plot and ramifications were given just as much focus.
Anyway, the characters. Let’s talk about them. Because this might be the last time I get to and this arc was the end for them as well.
The writer effectively inherited a large cast of characters to write this big ending for and I’m not even talking about all of the Rangers from different shows. We had 7 MMPR Rangers, four Omega Rangers, six Drakkon Rangers, Bulk, Skull, and Jason. I didn’t even get to mention the villains yet.
So, more than just the issues with the ending and the pacing, because we have to bring so many characters in, some of the plot points brought up overall are not strong enough to resonate with readers in my opinion. No matter how hard the writer tries.
I didn’t care at all about the Rangers that were infected. (Most of them). Kevor is barely a presence. Yale’s adorable but he was given nothing in this event. Anti-Bulk, it was cool to see him be a Ranger, but he didn’t contribute anything in the end. (And, well, the regular Bulk here got his moment to be a hero so it kind of negates the impact in a way.) Y’all already know my thoughts about Scorpina.
And, then, there’s Rocky and Adam.
The Stone Canyon trio has honestly never gotten that much focus in the comics in comparison to the original six Rangers and this is the biggest example showing this failure. To start, Rocky and Adam’s corruption isn’t shown. Instead, they are used as a shock moment for the story. Now, I get it. We can’t show all Rangers being corrupted in a long-overused fashion. It would take up too much time. But, we see various Rangers from other teams get corrupted. Dino Charge, Aquitar, Cosmic Fury… but, nothing for what’s supposed to be the main cast of this series. And, that’s emotion that is lost for the reader. Because these are characters that we are supposed to feel sorry for. For us to care about finding a way to fix the situation. By knowing how much they suffer before succumbing to darkness, we would be able to better understand their pain. But, since it wasn’t shown how it happened (and even the process itself is so quick and fast), we don’t feel as attached as we should, especially when all of the corrupted Rangers are just treated as footsoldiers with a face.
And, when the two of them do get free, the story teases a meaningful plot for the both of them. With the two of them still feeling some of the effects of Dark Specter’s corruption, the two of them act more paranoid and agitated than they have ever been before. Adam doesn’t want to go back to Promethea because most likely, it’s triggering to be in an environment that was so similar to the jail cells he was in before he got corrupted. And, for Rocky, the teenager shown in previous arcs to be the protective big brother in his big family, he’s absolutely terrified of even contacting them because he doesn’t know how to talk about his pain with them. And then, we get one panel of them doing yoga, and then the next issue they have to go, despite not feeling whole. Even if the earlier set-up wasn’t that built up, one good scene of them before the end of the two addressing their trauma would have made all the difference.
Instead, the plotline of addressing trauma goes to Matt.
Matt didn’t get corrupted by Dark Specter, but instead through Mistress Vile directly in the setup to Darkest Hour. AKA Green with Evil 2: Electric Boogaloo. But, we see a lot of the residual effects in Darkest Hour. Feeling so guilty over killing someone, he ties himself up with rope and doesn’t want to fight. We see him deal with panic attacks. But, instead of him feeling broken like Rocky and Adam, it comes off as him being stubborn, that he is guilty, especially in his attitude toward Aisha in MMPR #112. And, it’s harder to sympathize with. I get it. Everyone reacts to trauma differently, but there’s no real conclusion to it. Rather, the only true end to his story is him finding comfort with himself through his new relationship with Aisha, which I still don’t care about.
(Do I even want to point out that thanks to Billy’s shenanigans, he probably doesn’t remember Grace at all and therefore, his guilt and trauma over killing her is completely forgotten, unlike Rocky and Adam who still vividly remember their pain?)
Let’s go to Trini and Zack next.
Zack gets next to nothing. Let’s get that out of the way. Instead, Trini receives a majority of the focus, feeling doubtful that she should be the Red Ranger. However, instead of focusing too much on that, Trini’s development is following her older self’s words, to not have any doubts moving forward, and to seize the opportunity to spend time with the people you love before it’s too late. Although it’s not that strong, the overall premise fits well with Trini’s character.
If you remember, the whole reason why Trini broke up with Jason in the first place, back in Go Go Power Rangers, was because she wanted absolutely no distractions when it came to being a Power Ranger. It was a duty she wanted to take seriously and with her becoming the Omega Red Ranger, the leader of their team, that must have been a lot of pressure on her. It’s why she wanted to suppress her feelings for Zack and not start anything yet. But, eventually, she realizes how important it is to enjoy the moment, resulting in her getting together with Zack in the end.
Moving on from one power couple to the next. Kim and Tommy.
Before Darkest Hour officially began, if you remember, Kim and Tommy got into a fight with Kim escalating the situation and being willing to disregard Zordon’s rules to try and rescue Matt from Mistress Vile as soon as they could. She makes up with Tommy in the end, especially in light of the situation they find themselves in. Like Shattered Grid, she, like the others, takes on his power as he fully trusts her to save them all. However, though the scenes with Kim and Tommy are still A+, it would have been helpful if Kim shared a scene or two with Billy. She knows what it’s like to feel desperate and to do whatever it takes so she would have some insight into how Billy breaking the Grid was wrong. She trusts him in the end to fix it, but the sentiment rings hollow.
As for Tommy, his final moments here, in a way, make him come full circle. This whole series all started from Issue #0, where Tommy was still dealing with unresolved issues when he was under Rita’s spell as the Green Ranger. The doubt and fears he had were only compounded when he learned about Lord Drakkon, about the path that he could still take in the future. The fear that the power could corrupt him and he would crave more. But, he fought against it, believing in fighting against the darkness and what’s right. And, now, he has lost his powers and yet he takes Rocky and Adam in, helping them learn to live with being controlled and working through their trauma through relaxation. And, finally, he meets the Dino Thunder version of Tommy, Dr. O. His real future. The person he becomes with a good life and the same kindness he had long ago. A true hero. Proof that he’ll never stop fighting for what’s right. With or without powers, he shows he’s a true Ranger, fighting side-by-side one last time with Jason, the hero who saved him in the first place. As he trusts the Rangers he’s been fighting with to save the world and let them handle the problem without him. This is so important for the character that it’s just a shame that it’s not given the full weight it deserves, being shoved in with so many of the other plots.
The final couple to talk about is Rita and Zedd and that’s the most important. Because one of those characters is wholly responsible for this whole plot in the first place.
Even now, I don’t care for Zedd becoming a Ranger. Not at all. Even the ending didn’t justify fully why he became one, only being used to bring back the McGuffin that was the Death Ranger. Now, to Rita, she had a big glow-up prior to this event. She became a villain that stood out on her own, making her own choices and claiming her own independence. First, from Zedd and then from Dark Specter in the end. However, her final moments of her choosing to stay in the dumpster regardless of whether the Rangers win or not and just giving up, I’m sure, are the contention for some fans. As an important villain, for the franchise, I believe many people expected her to at least contribute, not give up on fighting against Dark Specter. And, a part of me agrees with that sentiment. But, there’s also something people should remember here.
Back in MMPR #101, it started with a flashback to how Zordon locked away Rita in the dumpster 10,000 years ago as she screamed that the cycle of violence, of good and evil would never end. And, throughout other stories, we have seen her try to go against the dumpster and find a way out to wreak revenge. Well, her final panels here, sitting in the dumpster and accepting her fate, is the ultimate conclusion to her story.
I know it’s a controversial take, that you’d want Rita to keep being evil and help defeat Dark Specter in the end. (And, with all of the darkness talk, her hiding in the dumpster could be seen as a metaphor for depression and isolation.) But, I believe that if it was written correctly, that last page of her in the dumpster could have been the ultimate ending to not just this event, but this series. It’s sad and tragic like the writer’s intentions for what Billy goes through. It ties into not just the beginning of the Recharged arc starting at MMPR #101, but the beginning of this entire franchise. Starting with Rita leaving the dumpster to wreak havoc to ending it with Rita sealing herself away to find peace would have brought everything full circle and leave the franchise ending on a much stronger note.
It could have finally given Rita some of the peace and quiet she always deserved, but never got as a child.
It could have stopped her headache.
But, instead, we focus on Billy and his ending.
Like how Shattered Grid was driven forward by Tommy’s death, with Kim acting as the emotional core of the story, the one most distraught over his death, Darkest Hour, in a way, is supposed to be driven forward by Grace’s death, with Billy being the main character throughout the arc. Though Grace’s death isn’t technically the catalyst for these events, how Billy reacts to it changes the ending.
Anti-Kim said it best. She’s seen what happens when Rangers try to act alone.
While Kim in Shattered Grid managed to find someone, Jen from Time Force, and vent her feelings of grief, Billy had no one. He’s the smart Ranger on his team. As Grace says to him, he’s the problem solver. He’s the one expected to help figure out the solution. So, rather than taking the moments in between fighting to try and get himself together, he suppresses his emotions. He throws himself into his work. He can’t eat. He has trouble sleeping. He even knows that he’s breaking down and talking to an imaginary Grace. And, no one is helping him talk through his problems, rather giving each other the googly eyes. And, so, as he’s feeling the desperation come every day, he finds himself wanting to give himself more time. And, that’s why he shattered the Grid.
But, it has been done before.
The Phantom Ranger doing science for everyone and not thinking of the ramifications by building the Arch years ago. Grace reconstructs the Arch to try and help everyone in an emergency, only to end up causing one as a result. And, then, Billy shatters the Grid to save it, but not being able to really fix his mistakes without an actual plan.
It’s tragic that while Rita has found a way to end the cycle between her and Zordon, Billy continues the cycle that was brought on before. The one that he was told not to walk down upon. All because of his feelings that were never explored.
Shattering the Grid was a decision brought on by Billy’s emotional state, to do what he thinks Grace would have done, do what no one else would have the ruthlessness to do.
Even though I fully disagree with any logical reasoning as to why he did it, I truly understand the emotional state as to why he would do that.
Now, the problem with this is what follows after.
Once he wakes up, Billy is immediately condemned and branded as a traitor with no one able to understand him (literally how it was in earlier arcs where he did this whole secret thing before). The story itself treats Grace’s death as an afterthought for everyone else besides Billy. Even when we didn’t have the excuse that no one would know who Grace was, there wasn’t much time given to properly acknowledge it. This is a character that’s been here since before Shattered Grid, a character that has been here for years gone with no real emotional payoff to her death.
And, Billy himself isn’t able to truly vent his grief. There’s no moment of him breaking down, no big explosion of emotions that he had been suppressing. Even if we have to go through the whole ‘Who’s Grace?’ thing, there’s nothing for Zordon or any of the others to show their kindness towards him. It harms a lot of the characters in hindsight, especially Zordon, who he was building a strong relationship in earlier issues.
I would have loved to see Zordon being mad at Billy, but it was not due to shattering the Grid. By more the fact that Billy chose to do it on his own without talking to him about it. This mentor, after going through so many issues before this event of learning that he himself is fallible with his judgment, wanting to fully trust the Rangers that he chose originally to make the right decisions even if he himself doesn’t believe in it. He would choose to believe in them. That would have been the ultimate end of Zordon’s character arc as well as allow Billy to somewhat earn the ending of having Zordon’s forgiveness in the end. Doesn’t that sound satisfying?
…
…
…
*sighs* This is the longest review I have ever written. I acknowledge that. I may have rambled on a few parts, but I felt like I needed to get all of this out.
Despite Darkest Hour not reaching its true height and potential, I don’t want this review to be entirely negative.
Because, even if the event isn’t able to all of its individual moments into a strong narrative, there are a lot of good moments in this event. With Kim, Jason, Rita, and so many others.
I mentioned her in passing earlier, but without a doubt, every scene involving Anti-Kim as a focus was some of the strongest writing for this character. Drakkon’s death, her reunion with Ari, her own Unlimited issue. Each one dripped with complexity and heart while moving the situation forward and the kind of tension we were looking for. It’s not just her, but a lot of the other Rangers that were in this event. Taylor, Kendall, and the Phantom Ranger were excellent guests, connecting with the main cast in their own ways. Through Taylor, it was with her military expertise and leadership that supported Jason. With Kendall, it was the connection to her finale that led Billy down his dark path. And, the Phantom Ranger was a good way to tie the whole event together, spanning the full scope of the Grid.
(Plus, I enjoyed the Hyperforce Rangers and their inclusion to continue their story. I liked how they were used to recruit Rangers from multiple time periods. Even though I wish that someone besides Chloe got to interact with the Rangers in a genuine way and the Hyperforce Rangers were more than just being the funny guys.)
And, again, I love how crafted the overall premise is and how it ties into so much of the Power Rangers lore and the comics that came before it. Drakkon, Shattered Grid, Beyond the Grid, Universe, Necessary Evil, Dark Rangers, Death Ranger, Ultimate Power, the Go! Go! Power Rangers series, Countdown to Destruction, and so much more! Bringing so many of these elements together did make this feel like the end, even if the event wasn’t as big as it was trying to be.
I haven’t mentioned the art at all in this review, but even if I saw a few coloring mistakes here and there, the overall art for this is genuinely fantastic. With multiple artists working on separate issues, it can be hard to match them together for a cohesive experience, but every issue blends together well and gives the reader what they’re looking for. Especially with the art palette and seeing so many bright colors of the Rangers go up against the darkened colors of the infection accurately show the contract between our heroes and villains.
And, most importantly, at the end of it all, I’m still amazed that we even got to this point.
122+ issues of a main comic book series over an eight-year span. Do you even know what kind of accomplishment that is in this day and age? So many modern comics end up getting rebooted before anything can be fully done with the characters and the world they created. Even from the big companies like Marvel or DC, there are series out there that don’t even get to 10 issues, let alone over 100!
Because there are people that tend to lose faith in the product. That it can be easily dismissed and nothing about it can be given much thought. That it’s only through the talent of the writers and artists that they are able to bring something to life and keep it going to make a story worthy enough to go on for so long.
Well… that’s Power Rangers, for ya.
Regardless of how this ending can be seen by fans, the Darkest Hour is over. For how many times this franchise has ‘died’, I’m sure that whatever reboot comes out of the darkness, it will bring us into a brighter future.
Thank you to all of the creators who have worked so hard on this series and franchise and given it a chance…
Thank you to every fan who has taken the time to read my own thoughts on this series for so long…
May the Power Protect You.
Random Thoughts from the Morphin’ Grid
- … Yes, I know that Ranger Academy #9 is coming out soon and there are also rumors of a reboot coming out in November for the comics so this is not the end yet. I don’t care! I needed to say all of this!
- Long ago, back at the end of the Shattered Grid review, I coined the term for the next big event as “Super Shattered Grid”. Well, even though this comic ultimately makes the connection to that event, I propose a much more fitting name for this one. One that matches both the usage of the Power Eggs in the event as well as the overall nature and reception towards this: “SCRAMBLED GRID!”
- At the end of that first fight, when Ashford retreats, I was so tempted to make an ascending to heaven joke. Because well, as I said, the Space Skull goes down, that’s their ride. So, it’s fun to just imagine the villains just jumping in the air and because there’s no special effect or nothing, they fall straight back down.
- Kim: “Why are you smiling?” / Tommy: “I dunno. You look good in white.” Hope you enjoyed it, Tommy, because it’s the only time you’ll ever see her in white. Boom! *drops the mic, not caring if the continuity is so broken at this point that it’s still possible Kim and Tommy do get together in the future*
- I can’t be the only one who narrowed their eyes at that final panel with Rocky and Adam holding hands as they watched their friends kiss… It’s so late in the game to bring that up, you know?
- Phantom Ranger: “I cannot morph. What would be the use?” *Blue Senturion and Death Ranger waving goodbye as they jump through the Arch*
- MMPR Tommy: “It must be so cool being a doctor. Hey, how’s Kim doing?” / Dino Thunder Tommy: “…”
- Alternate joke: MMPR Tommy: “God, this must be so weird to meet yourself. I met Drakkon before, but this is so different.” / Dino Thunder Tommy: “… You don’t even know the half of it.”
- Bulk and Skull are there at the Arch to watch Jason, a morphed Zack, and a morphed Trini hug each other goodbye, wondering why they’re so familiar with each other. Literally a few feet away, Tommy and a morphed Kimberly without her helmet are sucking face like there’s no tomorrow. And, they still don’t know?
- I love how Billy’s letter to Grace is all like, “Oh, the Power Rangers won’t be enough to save the world, but maybe humans can.” As he is trying to justify Promethea. And, then, the cavalry shows up and it’s the Eltarians AKA aliens!
- I can forgive art mistakes, but there’s something I really need to call out. Because, you see, back in MMPR #116, I thought Kevor, the yellow Omega Ranger, was not one of the Rangers to be captured by Dark Specter because he was drawn in the Command Center. But, it turns out that it was an art mistake and he was captured. Ok, fine. I understand. These things happen. (I also chose to ignore the corrupted Hyperforce Red Ranger when that was not at all the case) But, for this big final battle, a mistake is made again. Fighting for the good guys, it’s a group of SPD Rangers. Charlie from A-Squad and Jack and Bridge from B-Squad. Both Charlie and Jack were shown to be corrupted earlier in the storyline while Bridge was in a jail cell at Safehaven so he shouldn’t be here either! I get it. There are a lot of characters to keep track of. I understand mistakes happen, but when it does happen, especially for PR fans who are looking at the glimpses of their favorites, it does throw them off for a minute.
- Me: “Oh, cool that we have this White Light design for the MMPR team. It’s easy to do and you can easily distribute it to everyone so that they all can’t get corrupted. So, the comic is going to give it to all of the Rangers that just arrived including Hyperforce, right? … Right? I mean, if we’re not going to do that, then we might as well bring Tommy along so we have as many Rangers as we can morph, right? … Right? Wait, what do you mean ‘one Tommy’s enough’?”
- So, how are Squatt, Baboo, and Goldar Dark Rangers here? If you remember that little story arc, that involved Zedd using the Green Chaos Crystal to give them powers. The crystal that Matt in his debut destroyed so…
- I will praise for a moment the brief interaction of Jack calling Tommy his buddy. Since we all know that Jack’s actor is Paul Schrier AKA Bulk. So, it’s a fun little nod to that. (Also, I think they met in Hyperforce, I believe…)
- I’m not going to nitpick why future Billy’s wearing regular boots over his Power Rangers boots. That’s small at this point. But, I will say I hate how hot he looks. Also, why does his Morpher look like a rejected Ninja Power Star?
- So, Tigan, the new blue Solar Ranger, introduced only three issues ago, is presumably dead based on that comic panel. Would you believe that this was the moment I felt the saddest about? Because with what happened to Grace, Kiya, and Anti-Trini, with whatever reboot comes along, at least those three are important enough characters to have a chance to show up again. Tigan was only here for three issues. She has zero chance of ever coming back!
- Billy: “Dear Kiya… you deserved better. Also, the cat says hi. It’s actually teaching now.”
- So, speaking of Kiya, let’s break down for a minute what happens to the timeline if those three disappeared from history…
- Well, for one thing, if Grace died in 1969, then Promethea wouldn’t have been founded and everything else from then wouldn’t happen. Oh, sure, fine. We can just say Terona did everything. Terona was the one with the initiative to find Promethea on his own. He was the one who stole the Psycho Dagger. He was the one who Billy trusted to make Matt the new Green Ranger. He was the one who ordered the reconstruction of the Arch, the whole reason this mess started! He’s the one who gave Billy the Power Eggs in the first place. Sure, go with it! Even the part where by this logic, he would have taken Grace’s place in the Bermuda Triangle and he would be dead now!
- If Kiya disappears from history, then I guess Yale just gets the role immediately. And, also, the Omega Rangers captured Dayne and placed him in a jar on Safehaven. That’s how the MMPR team learned about the Omega Rangers. The only reason Dayne got out was because Kiya let him out. What happened here? And Kiya’s efforts damaged the egg a bit. Shouldn’t that negate Billy’s actions too?
- If Anti-Trini is gone… ok, I’ll admit it’s iffy there since Scorpina at the end remembers Anti-Trini unlike everyone’s reaction to Grace, and well because she was in another universe, a lot of her contributions don’t matter too much in the grand scheme of things.
- Rangers that we didn’t see throughout this event:
- Mighty Morphin’: Ninjor
- Zeo: Tommy, Rocky, and Kat. (Which, yeah, were we avoiding the topic of a Tommy Oliver being corrupted?)
- Turbo: Literally every single Turbo Ranger. At least Blue Senturion made it. An improvement over Shattered Grid. And, of course, Phantom Ranger was important here.
- In Space: Literally everyone. It is strange considering that the MMPR Team had actually met Andros for real in an earlier arc so not sure on that front. We even see all 5 Psycho Rangers here, but none of the main team.
- Lost Galaxy: Leo and Kai. We saw them on a splash page, but nothing else significant. However, since Maya was the only one seen to be captured, it can be assumed that everyone else was already infected.
- Lightspeed Rescue: Literally everyone.
- Time Force: Everyone except Lucas. However, we can assume that since the Hyperforce Rangers came to recruit only Lucas, everyone else was already infected. We did see them on a splash page, but nothing else significant.
- Wild Force: Merrick, where the heck were you?! Lazy, god damn it!
- Ninja Storm: Literally everyone.
- Dino Thunder: Connor, Kira, and Ethan. However, we can assume that since the Hyperforce Rangers came to recruit only Dr. O and Trent, everyone else was already infected.
- SPD: Sam, the Omega Ranger, and Cruger. And, also, every other A-Squad Ranger besides Charlie.
- Mystic Force: Chip, Vida, Daggeron, Udonna, and Leanbow. However, since Xander was the only one seen to be captured, it can be assumed that everyone else was already infected. Though, for Chip and Vida, we saw them on a splash page, but nothing else significant.
- Operation Overdrive: Every Overdrive Ranger except for Rose. However, since Rose was the only one seen to be captured, it can be assumed that everyone else was already infected.
- Jungle Fury: Literally everyone. We saw them on a splash page, but nothing else significant.
- RPM: Flynn of all people. Lol. We saw him on a splash page, but nothing else significant. However, we can assume that since the Hyperforce Rangers came to recruit only Gem and Gemma, he was also infected.
- Samurai: Jayden or Lauren, Mike, and Emily. We saw them on a splash page, but nothing else significant.
- Megaforce: Literally everyone. We saw the main 5 on a splash page, but nothing else significant.
- Dino Charge: James, Phillip, Zenowing, and Heckyl. We know for a fact that this team was picked up after the events of their season and that Keeper only gave the main six and Kendall their Energems back, so there is an actual reason for them not to be here. But, even still, it’s just disappointing.
- Ninja Steel: Everyone except Preston. However, since Preston was the only one seen to be captured, it can be assumed that everyone else was already infected.
- Beast Morphers: Devon, Ravi, and Steel. However, we can assume that since the Hyperforce Rangers came to recruit only Nate and Zoey, they were already infected.
- Dino Fury / Cosmic Fury: Everyone except Amelia and Aiyon. We saw the main 6 in their Dino Fury forms on a splash page, but nothing else significant. (That also means that Fern doesn’t make any appearance either.) However, we can assume that since Kiya wasn’t able to recruit any of them, the rest of them are infected as well.
- Ranger Academy: Clearly, the Rangers of our time need security from this school because besides the one event they mentioned with Dark Specter, no one in this school got attacked. Lol.
- The teams shown off in the upcoming Power Rangers Infinity one-shot: … I’ll get back to you on that.
- 2017 Movie, All-New Rangers (from MMPR: Pink), New Powers and any other Ranger in the multiverse: Let’s assume they’re free and living their best life. Lol.
