Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121 is published by BOOM! Studios and written by Melissa Flores. Illustrations are by Hendry Prasetya, colours by Matt Herms and letters by Ed Dukeshire. Main cover art (left) is by Taurin Clarke.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121 is available from today, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
Billy devises a plan to delay Dark Specter, desperate to stop the growing infection from spreading, but the consequences of his risky idea are impossible to predict. In order to shore up his resolve for what’s to come, Billy seeks strength among friends new and old, but will it be enough to defeat Dark Specter once and for all?
Review
The end is night Power Rangers fans. After this there are just two more issues to go until the current run of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers comes to an end. This special issue focusses on Billy as writer Melissa Flores steers the “Darkest Hour” arc (and the series) towards its now looming conclusion. With that end in sight, issue #121 brings Hendry Prasetya and Matt Herms, aka the original Power Rangers art team, back to the book.
In recent months Billy has taken somewhat of a back seat. Not because he has no place in Flores’ story. Quite the opposite. Whilst the muscle has been out fighting for survival, Billy has spent an increasing amount of time on the wider problems of the “Darkest Hour” arc. With the infection spreading throughout the Morphin Grid, Billy it becoming ever desperate to solve all the Rangers’ problems. But running low on sleep and out of ideas, just where and who will Billy turn to next? That’s the question which Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #121 sets out to answer and it does so in unexpected but compelling ways.
As the old saying goes it gets darkest right before the dawn. It seems like Flores is now dropping hints that the new dawn may require the Rangers to reset their whole world in order to purge the Morphin Grid of Dark Specter’s infection. Could all the talk of resets in this issue be signposting where BOOM!’s Power Rangers franchise is headed next? It certainly feels like the book is headed to a place where there may be no coming back. With Rocky and Adam struggling to recover from the infection and Billy’s drastic action, there certainly isn’t a happily ever on the horizon.
Before we get to that though, issue #121 has plenty of tricks up its sleeve to keep readers on the edge of their seats. Normally Mighty Morphin Power Rangers prides itself on being a true ensemble book. One which features a huge cast during this final arc. But this issue side-steps all of that usual balance to put the focus on Billy. Flores opens up the narrative to allow us in through Billy’s interactions with his own subconscious manifestations. It gives us a glimpse in to his state of mind whilst also illustrating his continued exhaustion. We quickly learn he’s barely slept in days and its playing heavily on his decision making.
Flores toes an interesting line this issue. Billy becomes isolated from his friends when he’s unable to visit Rocky and Adam. The effects of the infection mean they’re still feeling raw and easily upset. Something which happens almost instantly when Billy arrives for a visit. With the rest of the Rangers focussing elsewhere he’s left without his support network at a time he’s feeling most vulnerable. It’s not a full, deep-dive portrait of Billy’s mental health. But there’s enough within these pages to understand how the OG Blue Ranger comes to make his final decision. What’s equally fun will be seeing how Billy’s decisions are interpreted by the audience. In no way is Flores making him the villain of “Darkest Hour” but it is open to interpretation whether his actions ultimately do more harm than good to the wider multiverse.
Having Prasetya and Herms back for this issue was wonderful. Visually the book fits in well with the rest of the “Darkest Hour” arc. There’s no sudden drastic change in style which distracts from the events of the story. Instead it’s like being wrapped in a comfort blanket. Having these two incredible artists back just as we’re being exposed to some difficult material featuring an all-time fan-favourite character. There’s not a lot of high stakes action here but both artist and colourist still have chance to remind us why they were such a dynamite team the first time around.
Verdict
An incredible issue which puts a new spin on Billy’s character and sets up a potential new endgame which nobody saw coming. Having the series OG art team back one last time (perhaps?) is extra icing on the cake as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers reaches its final goodbye.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
