The new age begins.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jason Aaron
Art: Russell Dauterman
What They Say:
Who is the new and mysterious woman wielding the Hammer of Mjolnir? Let she who is worthy possess the power of the Mighty Thunderer! Introducing a Thor that the Marvel Universe has ner’ encountered before. But is this new Thor Asgardian, or from Midgard?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
It’s admittedly been a few years since I last read a Thor book, but I’ve enjoyed the character for many years, going way back to my early 80’s experiences with Walt Simonson on the title that just defined it as a big, messy fun. The last few years have been good to the character in the larger sense with two standalone feature films and a solid appearance in The Avengers film, as well as a little Asgard goodness making its way onto TV as well. With the debut of this new book, we get something from Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman that takes the culmination of the recent Original Sin storyline and pushes things in a really intriguing new direction on a number of levels. Thankfully, Aaron does something a lot of creators can’t seem to manage these days – he makes it accessible to someone just walking into the title.
If there’s a downside to the book, it’s that the new title character is barely in it. But even that works in a way as it builds a whole lot of anticipation and those last panels simply give you goosebumps.
The premise here is solid enough though that it fully sustains interest even without her because it establishes so much foundational material. With Thor having had the wind knocked out of his sails in the recent events from Original Sin where Nick Fury whispered unknown words in his ear while on the moon, Thor has lost the ability to pick up his hammer and use it and its powers as he has for many, many years. He’s spent a lot of time practically coddling it, begging it and pleading with it to allow him to hold it, to realize that he is worthy. It’s a humbling series of moments and one that Odin certainly doesn’t like to see now that he’s returned. Asgard, now known as Asgardia, has undergone a lot of changes recently as Freyja took on the role of the All-Mother in Odin’s absence, but with his return she’s convinced that they need her guidance more than his. And with his old school ways of essentially barging in and taking everything over, it certainly feels like a warranted opinion. The way he deals with everyone is near a tyrant, especially when it comes to his son. But there are curious twists to the issue of the hammer being unresponsive as even Odin cannot lift it, and he was the one that placed the enchantments on it. Suffice to say, things in Asgardia feel very divisive.
As this plays out, events start to take shape on Earth because of all of this. With the potential of Thor being weakened and Asgardia not unified behind a leader, and possibly the All-Mother not being the same level of ruler as Odin, a group of massive Frost Giants have surfaced in the depths of the Norwegian Sea in order to find an item of some sort that was lost to them. The Roxxon facility there ends up in a pretty bad place because of it since there’s no real defense against frickin’ frost giants, but it turns even worse when Malekith arrives as well and nearly lilts his way towards getting the answer he needs – along with a few more bodies dropping around him. The comment he makes about how frost giants even freeze stars is quite chilling to hear, but it works to cement that larger and otherworldly scale of things that can take place in a book like this. Not surprisingly, Thor does manage to arrive here with new weapons to try and deal with the giants and Malekith, but he’s a shadow of his former self and is largely disposed off – of panel at that, which leads to quite the ominous tone as the hammer on the moon is finally pulled up.
In Summary:
I haven’t read too much by Jason Aaron before, having been out of Marvel Comics for the better part of twenty years, but I definitely like what he does here in a big way. The opening issue is pretty well packed with political intrigue in Asgardia, familial issues coming into play and the angst and fear that resides within the hollowed out Thor who has lost a big part of his identity. The most impressive piece was watching Freyja here as she signals that it really is time for a change in how things are done, and that’s something that can really play out well, particularly now that Odin is back and a whole different kind of conflict can arise. While I’m a bit mildly miffed at not having as much of our new title character as I would want, the book as a whole really is a very strong work that sets up a lot, taking what happened before and encapsulating it well while also moving forward at the same time. And it’s also beautifully illustrated. Russell Dauterman really knocks it out of the park here in giving it a kind of life and scale that fits perfectly, reminding me in a lot of ways of some of my favorite Barry Windsor-Smith works in terms of layouts and details in the designs and backgrounds. The characters just have such character about them in their faces and costume design that the detail keeps you lingering far more than you do in many books.
As an opening issue, they really hit it out of the park here and essentially demand you come back for more. I can’t wait.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Marvel Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: October 1st, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
