The concept of the Norse god Thor is a public domain idea, not owned by any one company or conglomerate…. and he’s got a grudge against Malcolm Dragon! Your Major Spoilers review of Savage Dragon #257 from Image Comics awaits!

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SAVAGE DRAGON #257

Writer: Erik Larsen
Artist: Erik Larsen
Colorist: Nikos Koutsis
Letterer: Ferran Delgado
Editor: Gavin Higginbotham
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 24, 2021

Previously in Savage Dragon: When your book has been around since 1993, you’re bound to make a few enemies along the way. The Norse Thunder God Thor returns to exact revenge on Savage Dragon and his unholy offspring.

REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED WITH FRIES

In an undisclosed frozen location, a young woman is approached by a boy named Mikki, who warns her to stay away from her home. Inside, his father, Thor, is killing her husband, stealing his eyes (!!) and basically proving himself to be a brutal monster of a being. In Toronto, Malcolm Dragon continues to have problems accepting the extra-dimensional duplicate of his father (the original Dragon from Erik Larsen’s pre-Image works), even though the merging of universes means that he has the memories of his alternate selves. For his part, Paul is quite happy to be living with Alex, so much so that he proposes to her on the spur of the moment. When Thor enters Canadian space, the North Force arrives to move his family to a secure location, rebuffing his assistance as he’s nothing but a reality star, but Malcolm stows away on their helicopter, allowing him to see Thor tear the heroes to pieces, literally in at least one case. When a stray shot kills his son Mikki, though, Thor rages out of control and vows to kill them all!

AND THEN IT GOT SERIOUS

Like so many Savage Dragon battle issues, this one just sort of bursts into existence, picking up from the quiet couple of last issues and launching straight into the ol’ ultra-violence, and… I sort of like it? With this series being a more realistic comic (for some values of realistic, anyway), it’s nice to see something just pop up and our hero have to deal with it immediately. Larsen has Savage Dragon down to a science by now, and this issue proves it, showing us the loving relationship of Malcolm and Maxine, little moments with Angel, with Paul Dragon and other bits of the cast. It’s also interesting to see how Malcolm is viewed by other members of the superhuman community, with the only downside being the sheer viciousness of Thor. Even by Savage Dragon standards, he’s a complete bastard, and I sincerely hope that next issue features his godly comeuppance.

BOTTOM LINE: ANOTHER FUN CHAPTER

If you had never read Savage Dragon, this issue might not give you a whole lot of idea what his deal is, but it would be a pretty strong introduction to the cast and the basics, with a little violence, a little domestic drama and a lot of personality. Savage Dragon #257 may be the best comic you read this week with waist-down nudity, exploding heads and a marriage proposal in it, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall.

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