MMPR #111 The Darkest Hour Begins[Review]

The last 10 issues penned by Melissa Flores have come together. With this being #powermonth and the official MMPR 30th anniversary less than a week away, we get the beginning of a HUGE arc!

But first a flashback!

Matt is having a moment with Grace, after failing the umpteenth simulation. Grace is supportive and says it’s not the outer strength that she chose Matt after all Tommy has 30 black belts. It’s the inner strength, that makes him a ranger.

How’s that inner strength?

So Matt took out Grace….. Billy goes full-on rage mode against the Green Ranger having lost his 2nd mentor and scientific kindred spirit. Tommy follows up fighting Matt but even as the battle is going Matt seems to be on auto-pilot as his body is fighting the evil influence but his spirit wants it to stop. He is begging Tommy to END IT.

The Grid is Tainted

Mistress Vile and a subservient Vessel stand in front of the gate with the Zeo Crystal corrupting it into a murky dark purple. Using her unique powers of both evil and the grid she is able to release Dark Specter. But instead of the giant magma monster only an essence comes out and takes over The Vessel becoming the embodiment of Dark Specter.

Out in OUTERSPACE

The Black and Red Omegas are battling both the Death Ranger and Dayne. Yale and Kevor are Zorded up “working” alongside Zedd and his crew in the Serpentera “Megazord”. Kevor barks at Zedd to watch out so as to not hurt civilians. So Zedd and company leave. As Trini and Zack are backed into a corner by their Gate it activates! Bursting out are the “Drakkon Rangers” we saw in the last Unlimited issue.

The last panel is Mistress Vile bowing to a now RED version of Vessel who is now Dark Spector.

Thoughts from THE GRID

Solid issue! It set up everything that it had to. I’m still left befuddled about Matt and whether he is alive or not. The “Drakkon Rangers” as I’ll refer to them for the time being were a great surprise! It should lead to some interesting interactions down the road with the other rangers as they don’t all have experience with the multiversal versions of themselves.

The big thing for me, is that was a bit too on the nose and on the flip side a great twist of the Power Sword making Vessel the ACTUAL VESSEL for Dark Spector. Using the “empty shell” of Zordon as the conduit for the supreme evil…. YEAH, That works!

This is just the beginning of the next 12 months for this arc! Melissa Flores and BOOM! have picked the perfect time to start this story as we are just days away from the 30th anniversary. Amidst all the joy and comradery the Ranger Nation is going to have, our favorite heroes are in for a long and difficult journey.