Summary

• Darkest Hour #1 provides closure for fans of Power Rangers comics, celebrating past storylines and characters.
• The issue features a morphing sequence that pays tribute to 30+ years of Power Rangers history and nostalgia.
• Despite the franchise's uncertain future, the finale emphasizes that the art of Power Rangers will never die.

Warning: Spoilers for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour #1!After spending eight years in the pages of BOOM! Studios comic books, the an initial announcement back in April. Then again, given the trajectory of the franchise before that, maybe it's another ending the community had been dreading for even longer.

For a franchise that's featured endings left and right throughout its history, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour #1 by Melissa Flores, Simona Di Gianfelice, Raúl Angulo, Jose Enrique Fernandez, and Ed Dukeshire proves to be a satisfying conclusion. Nobody likes to see a story end, but Darkest Hour manages to provide enough cameos, callbacks, closure, and clarity to assure the readers that this isn't really the end. Not completely.

Breaking down the highlights of the issue should be enough to showcase not only why this works as a finale to the BOOM! Rangerverse, but why it works as a celebration of Power Rangers.

BOOM! Studios' Power Rangerverse Ends with Darkest Hour #1

This finale has been a year in the making. It was just over a year ago that BOOM! Studios the rise of Dark Specter, it was never clear until last spring's announcement that this would be BOOM! Studios' final arc. Before this year, most readers would assume that the BOOM! franchise that first debuted in 2016 could (and to most, would) theoretically last forever.

Then again, audiences would assume the same about the Power Rangers franchise as a whole, especially after last year's 30th anniversary. Unfortunately, that doesn't feel as clear when the future of the franchise remains uncertain. It's unclear if the television franchise as a whole is over, if the Zordon Era is over, if a reboot is coming, or if the future is simply in limbo. In any case, it's led comic writers to use the opportunity to celebrate the franchise while it's still here, no matter where it's going. Darkest Hour #1 goes this route.

Before the Darkest Hour #1 manifested, Amy Jo Johnson and Matt Hotson's creative team collaborated for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Return, which pays heartfelt tribute to characters and actors that the Ranger community has lost. Not only did the series respectful legacy to Thuy Trang. The Return celebrates the franchise as an act of healing for fans. Darkest Hour #1, meanwhile, is a reward for fans (readers especially) who have remained patient and vigilant through the franchise's ups, downs, and uncertainties.

How Darkest Hour #1 Celebrates the Power Rangers Franchise

Rewards Through Reference

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour #1 offers closure to readers who have closely followed every arc of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comics since BOOM! began this run in 2016. Audiences who witnessed the "Eltarian War" get to enjoy a reunion between starcrossed lovers Skull and Candice/Zelya of Eltar. Anyone who was a fan of the Death Ranger gets to see them in a position to be cheered for following an uneasy alliance with the Rangers against Dark Specter.

Even Baboo, Squatt, and Goldar take a moment to bring back their Dark Ranger forms from the "Necessary Evil" arc. The Solar Rangers first introduced in the "Beyond the Grid" arc also return. Anything that was even moderately significant in the series gets an opportunity to come back to the surface one last time. Anyone who worries they might feel alienated if they haven't been reading recent issues, fear not, as the series takes a moment to provide callbacks specifically to the TV show, as well.

For example, there is a moment where readers get to see fan-favorite couple Kimberly and Tommy share one last romantic moment together before the issue concludes. In the same breath, the issue pays off the close friendship between Rocky and Adam by confirming they're actually a couple. Darkest Hour #1 truly celebrates the franchise as a whole, leaving room both for high-stakes action with an epic final battle, as well as character moments that reward fans who paid attention to past storylines.

The Morph Sequence That Pays Tribute to All 30 Years of Power Rangers

The Ultimate Homage

One scene from Darkest Hour #1 in particular feels like a full circle moment for the entire franchise, including the TV series. The most notable seasons of Power Rangers are represented in a series of s where the Rangers are all morphing in sequence with each other for one final stand against Dark Specter. Anyone who grew up with the show for 30+ years - or even younger viewers who grew up watching marathons of all the TV seasons - is going to have a hard time not cracking a smile or shedding a tear at this moment.

The moment felt like a goodbye to the franchise, if there ever had to be one. There's no telling when audiences are going to get to see a new morphin sequence onscreen again, but this felt like it could be the last time readers would get to see any of their favorite Rangers morphing, either onscreen or on-. Rather than mourn, the creative team makes the most of it by displaying each of these Rangers at their best in a way fans would appreciate.

Where Does the BOOM! Franchise Go From Here?

It's Not Over - And That's What the Issue is All About

The issue ends with a glimpse of the future, showing that Billy Cranston, the original Blue Ranger, is destined to keep the act of Rangerhood alive and well - and maybe that's the biggest takeaway from this finale. If one thing can be taken away from all of this, it's that throughout all of the hardships that the Power Rangers and its fans have suffered and struggled through, the art of Power Rangers will never die. The future may be uncertain, especially now, but there will always be a future for the Power Rangers.

There are too many fans and ionate creators who are keeping the memory of Rangerhood alive for it to end unceremoniously, much like how Billy is keeping it all alive. That's why the future of Power Rangers isn't something to fear or even dread amid the uncertainty. Darkest Hour #1 isn't an ending to mourn, but an ending to celebrate every single era of the franchise as a whole. This issue gloriously celebrates the past, present, and future of Power Rangers and for what it accomplishes, the issue itself deserves to be celebrated.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour #1 is on sale now from BOOM! Studios.