Summary
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122!When thePower Rangersoriginated in the ‘90s, the team was a bright and colorful superhero squad whose adventures were geared toward child audiences, which is a far stretch from what modern fans are seeing with thePink Ranger’s most recent, horrifying redesign. Admittedly, this wouldn’t be the first time thePower Rangersfranchise has explored a more mature tone(especially in the horror genre), but this redesign might be the darkest yet.
In a preview shared byAIPT ComicsforMighty Morphin Power Rangers#122 by Melissa Flores and Simona Di Gianfelice, fans are shown an all-new variant cover for the upcoming issue by artist Björn Barends. The cover features a horrifically zombified version ofKimberly Hart’s Pink Ranger, complete with broken armor, rotting flesh, soulless eyes, and a mutilated face. The gnarly scar stretching from her mouth up the side of her cheek like some kind of hellish grin is especially disturbing, and decidedly too dark for TV.
This cover isn’t all that was shared in this preview, however, as BOOM! Studios also released a number of other variant covers, plus interior pages and the official solicitation forMighty Morphin Power Rangers#122.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers#122(2024)
Series artist Simona Di Gianfelice returns for the penultimate chapter of Darkest Hour, revealing the consequences of Billy’s actions, shattering the trust of his fellow Rangers.
Meanwhile, Dark Specter has devastating plans, and The Ranger Slayer will need help from an old ally to find their salvation…
Witness a shocking cliffhanger ahead of the finale,Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hour#1, that will leave you stunned!
Power Rangers' Lord Zedd & Rita Repulsa Get Spine-Chilling Redesign Too Dark for the 90s
Power Rangers' iconic villains Lord Zedd & Rita Repulsa are getting a gnarly redesign as the heroes' ‘Darkest Hour’ brings everything crashing down.
New Power Ranger Variant Cover Artwork Teases a Grim Finale for the “Darkest Hour” Event
Right now, the Power Rangers are facing their ultimate enemy in an event titled “Darkest Hour”: Dark Specter. Dark Specter has long-been the overarching villain in practically every era of Power Rangers canon. And now, every Ranger across time and space is coming together to face this cosmic threat for an epic final showdown. Unfortunately, that means the Power Rangers are exposing themselves to Dark Specter’s horrifying power, as the dark entity can effectively turn anyone it wishes into a zombie.
Dark Specter has been corrupting entire realities with its ‘zombie virus’ since before the “Darkest Hour” event even began. In fact, that’s exactly how the home reality of Lord Drakkon (an evil Tommy Oliver) fell, not because of his own villainy, but due to the near-unfathomable power of Dark Specter. If this villain isn’t stopped, Dark Specter will turn every life form in the known universe into a ‘zombie’, just like the Pink Ranger in this preview.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Darkest Hourwill officially conclude BOOM! Studios’ eight-year Power Rangers comic run.
The Pink Ranger’s Corruption is a Dark Completion of Her Ongoing Story Arc
The ‘Zombified’ Pink Ranger is Actually the Ranger Slayer
While still Kimberly Hart, this version of the character is actually one who originated in Lord Drakkon’s home reality, and was corrupted by the evil Tommy Oliver to become the Ranger Slayer. The Ranger Slayer’s only mission was to kill the other Power Rangers for Lord Drakkon, and while she later found redemption, the stains on her soul are quite permanent. By taking on this ‘zombie’ form, this version of the Pink Ranger is literally being destroyed by the darkness that once consumed her, making this image a horrifying (and utterly depressing) completion of her story arc.
What’s important to note, however, is that every image featured in these variant covers isn’t necessarily any indication of what’s going to happen in “Darkest Hour” itself. That means, for now, Kimberly Hart is safe from this gruesome fate, and may even live to find true redemption from her days as the Ranger Slayer. But, as far as the image itself is concerned, thePower Rangers’ ‘90s Pink Ranger just got a horrifying new design that’s way too dark for TV, which should only make modern fans even more excited about the storyline that’s to come in “Darkest Hour”.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #122by BOOM! Studios is available June 10, 2025.
Power Rangers
Power Rangersis a long-running multimedia franchise that debuted in 1993 with the TV seriesMighty Morphin Power Rangers. Created by Haim Saban and adapted from the JapaneseSuper Sentaiseries,Power Rangersbecame a cultural phenomenon by combining action-packed footage fromSuper Sentaiwith new scenes featuring American actors. The franchise follows teams of young heroes who transform into Power Rangers to battle various villains, using martial arts, special powers, and giant mechas called Zords. Over the decades, the franchise has expanded into multiple TV series, films, comics, video games, and merchandise, becoming one of the most successful children’s franchises in the world.
