Things have continued to take a turn for the worst for the Power Rangers during Darkest Hour. Dark Specter and Mistress Vile have completely overwhelmed not only the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Omega Rangers but Power Rangers across the Multiverse. It certainly pushes Darkest Hour to have the reach that the Shattered Grid event had years ago. This time around the Mighty Morphin era appear to be working more with Power Rangers across time, starting with the Hyperforce Rangers. Let’s see how things continue to develop with Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artist: Simona Di Gianfelice
Colorists: Raul Angulo and Jose Enrique Fernandez
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire
SOLICITATION
“As the Hour grows Darkest, the only hope for curing the grid… and saving the Power Rangers from extinction… is connecting to the very heart of the Morphin Grid!!
But even though the Power Rangers are joined by the HyperForce Rangers and another unexpected ally, Dark Specter turns his attention to Tommy after doing the unthinkable to the White Ranger’s friends…” – BOOM! Studios
REVIEW
The further we get into Darkest Hour the darker things are becoming. It’s a credit to how well Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice have created this insurmountable odds situation for the Power Rangers. Even when they are shown fighting back what Dark Specter and Mistress Vile have accomplish is something where you can only see them winning. Which is further pushed with how things went in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114.
The opening of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114 further establishes the Multiverse scope of Darkest Hour. Not only that, but now Flores and Gianfelice get the reader to know not to expect other timelines to be visited like we saw in the first few chapters. Dark Specter and Mistress Vile have already used their mastery of the Morphin Grid to capture the Power Rangers across time. Even if we don’t see them all the Power Rangers we do see gives the idea that they’ve captured or taken out most of them.
That said, the way this is handled still leaves the door open for other Power Rangers not shown captured to come to the present some way. Which could play into the Power Eggs that Billy Cranston has in his possession. Based on how the Phantom Rangers speaks on the Power Eggs could be a gateway for the remaining Power Rangers to unite, similar to how they did at the end of Shattered Grid.
All of this is done while sticking to the continuity established in all of the Power Ranger comic books from BOOM! Studios. Specifically, what Darkest Hour has done is bring together all the developments from the Power Rangers Universe mini-series and Unlimited one-shot series. All the developments in these comic books are now getting a payoff. For fans who have read those comic books get even more out of what is being said.
At the same time, Flores and Gianfelice make sure that even if you haven’t read these other Power Ranger comic books your not left out. All the references made by the Phantom Ranger, Dark Specter, Drakkon, and others is given context through the flow of every conversation. That keeps you from being lost even if you don’t remember or knew about what was being mentioned. Which makes Billy’s development in particular standout as he continues to be key in how so much of these past Morphin Grid elements are being integrated into the story.
Through all of this Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114 does show that our heroes aren’t going to just stand around. They will actively fight back against Dark Specter’s forces and not stop their work as superheroes. Them not giving up adds to how sinister the moments like the Death Ranger almost capturing Kimberly Hart was. Flores and Gianfelice continue to do a great job making the villains completely hated. Even with how dark things are getting it is good to see our heroes not lose their fight.
With that in mind it does appear as there are big plans for the role Tommy Oliver will serve in the story. Tommy has gotten a bit of the Superman treatment in the fact that he has been taken out of the equation for now by Dark Specter. At the same time, Flores taps into the unique nature of Tommy’s origin story of becoming the White Tiger Ranger. Back during Ryan Parrott’s run he established that Tommy gained his powers through the power of the White Light that would make him grow stronger than a Power Ranger normally does. While Dark Specter brushes off not being able to corrupt Tommy because of being a White Ranger there does seem more to it that could go back to how Zordon gave Tommy his new powers.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #114 continues to do an excellent job at pushing Darkest Hour to be the biggest event the franchise has had. If how all of the Power Rangers history coming into play is enough to drive that point home then just take a look at the final page of this issue. The ending alone drives up the hype for the next chapter in Darkest Hour.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8.5 Night Girls out of 10