The biggest storyline since Shattered Grid for BOOM! Studios’ Power Rangers Universe in the form of Darkest Hour is less than a month away. In the build up to this massive event Melissa Flores and company challenged the Power Rangers in previously unseen ways. Specifically, the Recharged Era storyline that ran through Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #101 to #110 saw Rita Repulsa get a power upgrade from Dark Specter and transformed into Mistress Vile. With her new powers Mistress Vile completely decimated the Power Rangers, defeating Lord Zedd multiple times and corrupting Matthew Cook into her new evil Green Ranger in the process. That all led to Mistress Vile appearing to have helped Dark Specter escape from the dimension he was trapped in and begin the destruction of the universe.
With all that happened the both the Mighty Morphin and Omega Power Rangers have their back against the walls in ways we haven’t seen since Shattered Grid. The preview for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #111 certainly gives that vibe. Given how big Darkest Hour is shaping up to be here are ten things we have to look forward to for this Power Rangers event.
10) NEW MEGAZORD FORMATION DEBUT
Something the creative teams of BOOM! Studios Power Rangers Universe have not been afraid to do is introduce new Megazord formations during the Mighty Morphin era. This includes the Omega Rangers Utra Omegazord and the Solar Rangers Solar Megazord. Most recently we’ve had the Dragonzord upgraded by Grace Sterling to be able to combine with the White Tiger Zord and Thunder Megazord to form the White Tiger Dragonzord and Dragon Thunderzord.
Given that Darkest Hour is being promoted as the biggest storyline since Shattered Grid there is no doubt we are going to get new Megazords debut. There has already been a set-up for at least one new Megazord with the Drakkon Rangers debuting in Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless. Then there is possibility of other new Megazord formations if other teams like the Hyperforce and Andros as the Red Space Ranger returns. There’s even the possibility of evil versions of future Megazords with the Death Ranger shown controlling time-displaced Wild Force Rangers for Dark Specter.
9) MISTRESS VILE VS LORD ZEDD REMATCH
One of the biggest wild cards in Darkest Hour is Lord Zedd. While he is technically part of Dark Specter’s United Alliance of Evil that may no longer be the case because of Rita Repulsa’s transformation into Mistress Vile. That is because as Mistress Vile, Rita completely embarrassed Lord Zedd in her return with her newfound power. Even when Lord Zedd got a Power Rangers-like power upgrade of his own he was only able to fight Mistress Vile to a standstill.
Due to not getting his win back Lord Zedd is opening Darkest Hour not part of Dark Specter’s force but instead an unlikely ally to the Power Rangers. How long this alliance between the Power Rangers and Lord Zedd lasts is anyone’s guess. Though it likely will last until Lord Zedd gets his revenge on Mistress Vile. Which in turn does add more spice to what we know of their relationship since around the time Darkest Hour takes place is when they got married in the TV show.
8) TOMMY OLIVER & KIMBERLY HART RELATIONSHIP
As with the TV show, Tommy Oliver and Kimberly Hart’s relationship has been a main plot point throughout BOOM! Studios Power Rangers comic books. Recently their relationship has hit some bumps. Specifically, with how they’ve each reacted to Mistress Vile kidnapping Matthew Cook and turning him into her new evil Green Ranger. Both took it hard and has caused friction in terms of how they each want to handle saving Matt while also dealing with Mistress Vile.
While the timeline of when Darkest Hour is taking place there has been an emphasis on Kimberly thinking of moving on. Which could mean Darkest Hour could be Kimberly’s last big story as part of the Power Rangers. And if that is the case, Darkest Hour could plant further seeds into why even though they love each other Tommy and Kimberly eventually break-up in the future.
7) JASON’S MORPHIN GRID CONNECTION RESTORED
One of the biggest developments at the end of Ryan Parrott’s Power Rangers run was Jason Scott Lee sacrificing his connection to the Morphin Grid to defeat the Death Ranger. While he has lost his connection to the Morphin Grid we have seen Jason still be part of Melissa Flores’ Mighty Morphin Power Rangers run as a supporting character. With Jason shown still around, having most recently given Tommy a confidence boost as the current Power Rangers leader, here are many ways for him to return.
Jason regaining his connection with the Morphin Grid is something that does seem inevitable. Afterall, while BOOM! Studios Power Rangers Universe has long deviated from the continuity to the TV show Kyle Higgins, Parrott, and Flores have all said that they do try to stick to established mythos as much as possible. The fact that Jason does eventually return in Power Rangers Zeo as the Gold Ranger could be in play.
There are several ways this could happen. One way would be continuing the story with Death Ranger, who returned in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110 controlling time-displaced Wild Force Rangers as part Dark Specter’s army. Then there is the fact that Mistress Vile is using the Zeo Crystal as part of her plan. Both these plot points could give greater ties to Jason’s future as the Gold Zeo Ranger.
6) ZORDON & VESSEL CONNECTION
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BOOM! Studios has arguably elevated the mythos around Zordon as we’ve gotten a much deeper dive into his character history and personality. Ryan Parrott expanded on Zordon’s history as a Guardian of Eltar during the Eltarian War arc. During the just wrapped Recharged Era storyline Melissa Flores introduced aspect about Zordon, that was unknown to the Power Rangers mentor as well.
That revelation was that when Rita banished Zordon into a time warp before being trapped in a space dumpster she only separated his soul from his body. Because of the magic she used Rita was able to keep Zordon’s soulless body intact and had his body maintained in a special crystal casing. This revelation is something Zordon learned when Rita as Mistress Vile turned his body into Vessel and it confronted him over it.
As we open Darkest Hour a confused Vessel is still under the control of Mistress Vile. With that there is a big question of what will be the role Zordon and Vessel will serve. Their meeting does open the opportunity to give Zordon more of an active role in the story beyond being the mentor figure. It wouldn’t be the first time he went on the field as he took part in the Eltarian War. And with Dark Specter leaving his dark dimension, Zordon leaving his time warp dimension may be the necessary thing to balance things out for the side of good.
5) GREEN WITH EVIL 2.0 CONTINUES
One of the, if not the most, iconic Power Ranger storylines is the Green With Evil Saga that introduced Tommy Oliver. During Melissa Flores’ Recharged Era storyline we got a new version of the Green With Evil Saga. That happened with Mistress Vile capturing and torturing Matthew Cook, who had the Dragon Power Coin, to become her new evil Green Ranger. While the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers were able to destroy the Sword of Darkness Matt was using it was not enough to break Mistress Vile control over him.
With Matt still on Mistress Vile side the Green With Evil sub-plot looks to continue during Darkest Hour. Flores also appears to be using some elements from what turned the Coinless Universe version of Tommy Oliver into Drakkon for Matt’s current evil Green Ranger arc.
4) FUTURE POWER RANGERS TEAM APPEARANCES
It’s not a hidden fact that we should expect the appearances of future Power Rangers teams to take part in Darkest Hour. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110, the prelude to Darkest Hour, opened with the Death Ranger having time-displaced Wild Force Rangers under their control. Additionally, the Power Rangers Unlimited: Hyperforce one-shot showed the team becoming aware of the fact Mistress Vile and Dark Specter are manipulating the Morphin Grid. Andros has also been established as active and even teamed up with the Mighty Morphin and Omega Rangers to defeat the Death Ranger.
With all that in mind the door is open for Darkest Hour to follow Shattered Grid’s path of bringing in future Power Rangers teams to the Mighty Morphin era. The big question is if Darkest Hour will act as a Power Rangers Civil War. As mentioned before, the Death Ranger has the Wild Force Rangers under their control. With how Dark Specter and Mistress Vile appear to be manipulating the Morphin Grid it could mean this event will see other future Power Rangers corrupted and brought to the Mighty Morphin era present.
3) ASTRONEMA & OTHER POWER RANGERS VILLAINS APPEARING
While we’ve been introduced to new villains, such as Lord Drakkon, Empyreal, and the Death Ranger, BOOM! Studios Power Ranger has had them built in relation to the Mighty Morphin era villains Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd. Now after Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110 the gloves are off after Mistress Vile helped Dark Specter escape the dark dimension they were trapped in. With that there are all sorts of possibilities as Dark Specter could bring the full force of his United Alliance of Evil to take over the universe.
The appearance of future Power Rangers villains has already been set up as Astronema and Divatox have already made an appearance in BOOM! Studios’ comics. Astronema in particular has interacted with the Omega Rangers when she is already known as the Princess of Evil. With Dark Specter around we could see Astronema team-up with Mistress Vile.
There are also the possibility of other non-United Alliance of Evil villains appearing. That is something established in Power Rangers Unlimited: Hyperforce where it was revealed Mistress Vile and Dark Specter are tampering with the timeline through the Morphin Grid. If they are doing what Lord Drakkon did before them, Mistress Vile and Dark Specter’s plans could include future villains as part of their plans.
2) FATE OF COINLESS UNIVERSE DRAKKON RANGERS
In the Power Rangers Unlimited: The Coinless one-shot we saw Lord Drakkon return to his world that has already been taken over by Dark Specter’s forces. To battle against Dark Specter’s forces Drakkon had to align himself with Kimberly Hart, Trini Kwan, Scorpina, Bulk, and Kiya to form the new Power Rangers of the Coinless Universe, dubbed “Drakkon Rangers.” While this type of thing would normally lead to our heroes defeating the villains that was not the case. Instead the Drakkon Rangers and surviving Coinless members had to retreat, with Kimberly even sacrificing herself to save Drakkon.
With the Hyperforce one-shot establishing that Mistress Vile and Dark Specter are tapping into every timeline and alternate dimension the door is open for the Drakkon Rangers to appear during Darkest Hour. Given how big of an event Darkest Hour is there is no way Drakkon would be left out. The same goes for Kimberly as the Ranger Slayer. Both characters have been major parts of BOOM! Studios Power Ranger comics. They along with the other Drakkon Rangers would be major allies for the Mighty Morphin and Omega Rangers to have as well.
1) DARKEST HOUR IS COUNTDOWN TO DESTRUCTION IN DISGUISE
With everything that has gone on since after Shattered Grid we’ve seen Ryan Parrott, Melissa Flores, and other creators dive deeper into the Zordon Era mythology. Specifically when it comes to Eltar and Dark Specter. Whether it has been direct things like the Eltarian War arc or Power Rangers Universe mini-series we’ve been diving into many plot elements not seen until after the Mighty Morphin era. That includes Andros as the Red Space Ranger teaming up with the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Astronema meeting the Omega Rangers, Divatox and Rita Repulsa’s first meeting, and the evil Sirian Dayne the Mighty Morpin team.
Now with Dark Specter seemingly free from the dimension he was trapped in it puts into question if the events we saw happen in Powe Rangers In Space’s Countdown To Destruction is what takes place during Darkest Hour. All the set-up during the Recharged Era storyline points at this being the case. After all the Mighty Morphin team never faced the threats they have even in the new post-Shattered Grid restored timeline.
We’ve already seen Countdown To Destruction-like plot elements with how the Death Ranger and Dayne lead an assault on Safehaven in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #110. There is already precedent of the timeline for when Countdown To Destruction happens being sooner than expected. Back during Power Rangers Turbo because of Blue Senturion arrival in the present and meeting the Turbo Rangers he unintentionally caused Dark Specter’s United Alliance of Evil takeover to happen years earlier. The Blue Emissary recruiting Jason, Zack, and Trini to become the Omega Rangers could’ve had that same impact that all resulted in Darkest Hour to take place.