The most powerful monster in the Power Rangers franchise has arrived in the comics complete with an all-new origin story.
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for Power Rangers Unlimited: Edge of Darkness #1 by Frank Gogol, Simone Ragazzoni, Igor Monti, Sabrina Del Grosso, and Ed Dukeshire, on sale now.
The Power Rangers have been divided by the next latest threat headed their way, and it is the most imposing enemy they have seen so far. While the Empyreals have been traversing the cosmos destroying world after world, the Omega Rangers have been helpless to stop these alien invaders. As menacing as the Empyreals are, they are merely the heralds of an even more horrifying villain – Dark Specter. This classic Power Rangers villain has only ever been glimpsed before in the comics, but now he is poised to make his first real debut.
Edge of Darkness opens on the desolate, burning remains of Hartunia following its annihilation at the hands one of the Empyreals. Alone, the Phantom Ranger wanders the wastes, observing the destruction all around him and reporting back to Zordon. While the extent of their relationship is still unknown at this point, it’s clear that the Phantom Ranger and Zordon have been working together for a long time, and they are both aware of the seriousness of the current situation. As the Phantom Ranger ventures deeper through the wreckage of Hartunia, he comes across a troubling sight that he recognizes from thousands of years ago. The Phantom Ranger calls out to Zordon, alerting him that their worst fears have come true. Dark Specter has crossed over into their world after so much time spent looking for a suitable vessel.
While the Dark Specter of the television series was the same sort of power hungry tyrant as his comic book iteration, the two couldn’t be further apart in terms of their physical attributes. The original Dark Specter was depicted as a monster on the television series, whereas the version seen in comics is something far greater. Much like the Morphin Grid and its energies are the manifestation of life throughout the universe, Dark Specter is the manifestation of death, destruction, and evil.
However, Dark Specter exists in another dimension and is incapable of entering the universe without a suitable host. Thousands of years ago that host was intended to be a young girl named Rita. Thanks to the Phantom Ranger and Lady Fienna, Rita’s body was rendered inhospitable to the evil overlord, although that didn’t stop his forces from twisting her into the original Power Rangers, Rita Repulsa.
Now that Dark Specter has crossed over into the universe, the Empyreals are no longer the greatest threat that the Power Rangers have to deal with, which might just spell their absolute doom. The Omegas have been incapable of stopping the Empyreals at every turn, and they’ve run out of allies to help them in their fight.
The Power Rangers are now on a collision course with the most powerful force of evil they have ever seen. With their already mounting troubles continuing to add up, the Rangers will now have to face an even more dangerous threat that they might be ill-prepared to handle.
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