Jeez! I’m sorry this is so late! I had to work this morning. Otherwise we’re back with more comic book reviews! Just like last week, a bunch of my favorite comics came out this week and I didn’t want to leave my reviews of them in the dust. So I read some good comics and I’m prepared to talk about some good comics, like the end of Duke and some more Ultimate Spider-Man.

Comic Book of the Week goes to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #119 for getting the Darkest Hour train back on the tracks, just in time to announce the end of the series.

Meanwhile, I finally started playing God of War: Ragnarok after getting it for free with my Playstation 5 several years ago. It’s pretty much exactly what I expected, and that’s pretty nice. Beyond that, I also finally built the Optimus Prime LEGO set I bought several years ago. That was super fun as well.

Comic Reviews: Duke #5, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #119, and Ultimate Spider-Man #4.

Duke #5
Writer: Joshua Williamson
Artist: Tom Reilly
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Rus Wooton

I didn’t know that Duke was only a mini-series. Or did I? I can’t remember. Anyway, it comes to a clean end this week and sets up a big leap towards G.I.Joe in the Energon Universe.

Duke meets Destro, who reveals to our hero that he didn’t build Starscream. He offers to have Duke join him in figuring out who did, but Duke ain’t about to take that offer. Destro leaves him to be killed by the BAT, but Duke defeats that as well! The military then fakes Duke’s death after Destro blows up his factory, and Duke, Clutch, and the others are recruited into a secret government strike force dedicated to finding and destroying these robots in disguise!

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I would say this series, and this issue in particular, do a fine job of setting up Duke as potentially the main character of any upcoming, unified G.I.Joe comic in the Energon Universe. I know there’s still a Real American Heroes ongoing series, and that first we’ll get a bunch of other solo mini-series, but the core is now in place for some good Joe action. I don’t know if I’ll review everything that comes out, but I’ll probably definitely read them. These comics are doing what Hollywood never could: giving each main Joe character their own solo story before bringing them together Avengers-style. That’s a great way to do it and it works, because I’m fully on board with Duke’s little team here and I look forward to adding more familiar faces.

This issue serves as another look at Duke as a powerhouse, while bringing Destro out of the shadows. Duke defeats a BAT all by himself, with his bare hands, and it’s pretty cool. And Destro looks about as evil as Destro should, so that’s nice. Personally, I would have liked a longer scene between the two as they ponder the existence of the Transformers as equals, but what we got was enough for me. So I’m ready to move on and to see what else these stories have in store. Though, obviously, once Duke and Optimus Prime have an actual conversation, they’ll become allies in a split second. So the manufactured desire for destruction that ends this issue is obviously misplaced. But we’ll see how it all plays out.

TL;DR: This mini-series wraps up nicely with another fine look at the awesomeness of Duke. I’d say this whole series has done a bang up job of making Duke, the blandest of the G.I.Joes, into a character to root for and get behind.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #119
Writer: Melissa Flores
Artists: Simona Di Gianfelice with Marco Renna
Colorists: Raul Angulo with assistance by Jose Enrique Fernandez
Letterer: Ed Dukeshire

It was announced this week that Darkest Hour is intended as the grand finale for this entire 8-year run on BOOM!’s Power Rangers comics. I’ll believe it when I see it. I have to imagine it’s a popular series, and for sure it’s a popular brand. So until we get the actual announcement about what comes next, I’m just going to assume this will be another relaunch. Maybe they move on to Zeo? We’ll find out!

Fortunately, this issue of the seemingly endless Darkest Hour story is actually very good and coherent!

Various Ranger couples spend some time together in this moment of temporary peace, but Kyra’s attempt to steal the Power Eggs hasten the weakening of the shield. So these desperate times call for desperate measures: they will combine Tommy’s power coin with Drakkon’s power coin to create a White Ranger energy field so that the surviving Rangers can all morph safely — and becoming hybrid White Rangers to boot! Just like that one time, years ago, when they all became hybrid Green Rangers.

With this new protective, hybrid power, it’s time to make a mad dash for the Void to find a way to save the day!

Comic Rating: 9/10 – Great.

And just like that, I’m fully back on board with Darkest Hour! This issue felt double-sized it had so much happening, and all of it worked excellently to right the ship and get the story back on track. There wasn’t too much bloat, and most of the scenes focused on characters and character-based story progression. I was confused at the end of last issue that the Rangers had enough downtime to go hang out at Ernie’s Juice Bar. But now I’m glad we have that downtime, because I loved those simultaneous scenes of the various Ranger couples. Obviously I’m a huge Matt/Aisha fan, so I was very pleased to see both of them back in the action. Aisha was especially cool when she ended the issue by saving Rocky and Adam, going out on a limb and risking it all to save her friends. That was awesome.

The White Ranger hybrid costumes were also quite awesome.

I have no memory of the Void or the Solar Rangers, so I don’t have much context for where this story is headed. But I like this team and I’m ready to see them win the day. The characters all bounce off each other nicely, and there’s some good drama and pathos going around. Rita is in a really interesting place, and I love seeing that character fleshed out. I also like how Kyra hasn’t been fully abandoned, and she’s still bitter that she got replaced as Omega Blue by a cat. As much as this comic loves Yale, I stand by how weird it is. Though I remain wholly disappointed that they never expanded the Omega Rangers to the traditional five and never gave them a traditional sixth Ranger.

Also, speaking of things I don’t remember, who is the white-haired, white-dressed henchman working for Dark Specter? I don’t think I’ve missed a single issue of this series and I have zero memory of where this dude came from, only that he’s been in a few issues now. It’s so weird!

Alright, I managed to find his RangerWiki page and his name is apparently Angel and he showed up in issue #114, so he hasn’t been around long. The page has zero information on it, so I guess he’s just a generic henchman? I guess that works…

TL;DR: This issue is stuffed to the brim with great character moments, awesome action and nifty ideas. It also goes a long way to resetting the table of Darkest Hour and preparing us for the finale.

Ultimate Spider-Man #4
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit

Safe to say, Ultimate Spider-Man is my favorite of the new Ultimate comics, even though it doesn’t feel like it’s part of the weird new Ultimate Universe. It’s definitely a solid, clean slate version of Spider-Man.

Peter Parker and Mary Jane go out for a fancy dinner with Harry Osborn and his wife, Gwen Stacy. They talk about a wide variety of topics, mostly their various business ventures, like Oscorp backing up Ben and Jonah and their new media venture. Peter and Harry briefly discuss their superhero stuff when they’re alone.

Comic Rating: 8/10 – Very Good.

I’ve often said I want more superhero comics that aren’t just about action scenes and fighting bad guys. I want character growth. I want character interactions. I want characters to be able to stop and smell the roses sometimes, to really flesh out the story and the world. And that’s exactly what I get with this issue. We get to spend so much time just hanging out with Peter, Mary Jane and Harry, and then we get a great introduction to the whirlwind of a person that is this version of Gwen Stacy. It’s all quite wonderful! We learn about their likes, dislikes, their personalities, their businesses and their devotion to those businesses; this is an excellent issue that fleshes out the characters, adds to the overall story and expands the world here and there.

I love that there was no scene where something exploded outside and both Peter and Harry snuck away to change into costume. I loved how in sync the two couples were with one another, especially Peter and Mary Jane. I loved the budding friendship between Mary Jane and Gwen, and how awkward it was. I love how Harry revealed that he’s told Gwen everything about his being the Green Goblin, in contrast to Peter, who hasn’t told his wife anything. So much ground is covered, all four characters are nicely explored, and now I’m far more invested in everyone as the superhero part of the story comes back into focus in future issues.

TL;DR: A superhero comic slows down to let the characters smell the roses and I love that sort of thing. A lot of good work done on fleshing out the characters and their little world.

The comics I review in my Hench-Sized reviews are just the usual comics I grab from Comixology any given week, along with a few impulse buys I might try on a whim. So if there are any comics or series you’d like me to review each week, let me know in the comments.

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