You’re the living embodiment of the God of Thunder, but you’re separated from your magic hammer, and falling to you inevitable doom. What do you do, GO! Your Major Spoilers review of Mighty Thor #4 awaits!
MIGHTY THOR #4
Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Russell Dauterman
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Mighty Thor: “The War of Realms rages as Malekith’s siege consumes Alfheim, home to the light elves. Malekith’s forces attempted to bomb the capital of Alfheim, Ljosalfgard, but Thor destroyed the bombs in the air. The explosion separated Thor from Mjolnir, resulting in an unconscious Jane Foster plummeting from the sky…
Meanwhile, in Asgard, an increasingly unbalanced All-Father Odin brings All-Mother Freyja to trial for treason.”
WAR AND POLITICAL INTRIGUE
We open with Asgardia in a state of emergency, as Freyja is brought to trial by her own husband for her part in empowering Jane Foster as the new Thor, while Thor herself is caught up in a war between dark and light elves elsewhere. It quickly becomes clear that Malekith has plans inside his plans, and he makes what seems like a good faith offer to end the war between the elves…
…with a wedding between himself and Queen Aelsa of the light elves. Thor is excluded from their conference, meaning she misses the sight of Amora The Enchantress killing Aelsa’s mystic advisors and maybe possibly ensnaring her will. With that situation entirely out of control, Thor returns home to Asgard to find that Odin’s trial of his wife is going just as poorly, with a riot in the streets (brought down by Cul The Serpent, Odin’s not-at-all-trustworthy brother, using the power of the Destroyer) and upheaval in the palace. Upon arrival, she is ordered by Odin to kneel, and defies his power, leading to…
LOKI IS A STITCH
…THOR hitting ODIN in the face with her hammer, and a cliffhanger promising Odin vs. Thor for next issue. Jason Aaron’s script is all the right kinds of infuriating, with our hero being left out of the loop on all fronts, verbally abused and ignored, leading to her (entirely understandable) moment of pique near the end. Russell Dauterman’s art is truly inspired, as well, with wonderful expressions (Loki, greeting his father, has a bizarrely joyful grin, while Thor herself has a moment of pure adrenaline awesome on page three that has to be seen to be believed) and great body language. Indeed, the only downside of the issue comes in the fact that the reader ends up being as frustrated as the thunder goddess by the end, leading me to rant at Odin, snarl at Cul and sincerely want to see Malekith beaten senseless with a hammer, a problem which many lesser comics would love to have…
THE BOTTOM LINE: SERIOUSLY INTENSE
This issue is a turning point in the arc and in the life of the characters, leaving me both looking forward to and terrified by what happens next, especially for our hero. Mighty Thor #4 is well-written, well-drawn and well-executed, resulting in a very impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars overall, and making me hope that there’s more coming from this creative team after this arc ends…
[taq_review]