The undead Thor is headed into Helheim to look for his brother, Balder, and the ruler of Helheim, Hel. Come check out our review of Ragnarök: The Breaking of Helheim #2 by IDW Publishing.

RAGNARÖK: THE BREAKING OF HELHEIM #2

Writer: Walter Simonson
Artist: Walter Simonson
Colorist: Laura Martin
Letterer: John Workman
Editor: Scott Dunbier
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: September 25th, 2019

Previously on Ragnarök: Thor is driven by a vision from Allfather Odin. A great battle between the gods and their foes will result in the death of all the gods and everything in ruins. Thor thus enters the Dusk Lands to find allies to help him in his quest.

TO THE LAND OF THE DEAD

Thor’s descent into Helheim is blocked by a gigantic building where Thor is quickly ambushed by a bunch of Draugr. Thor allows himself to be captured without a fight and meets a man who has taken the name Freyr despite not being the god. Thor assumes the fake identity of Bjorn and sees Freyr’s cockiness as he sentences Thor to work in the mines. Some of Freyr’s servants are able to recognize Thor despite Thor being undead. It is revealed that Freyr is using the Draugr to mine soul iron. Soul iron can be used to bring people under Freyr’s control with just a small cut of the weapons. However, a dwarf overhears this conversation and brings it to Freyr’s attention and Freyr gives the order to flood the entire mine with lava.

CREATED BY A GREAT TEAM

I find it funny that Walt Simonson has had several great runs running Marvel’s interpretation of Thor and has thus come to IDW to write an undead Thor. His interpretation of a Thor without a jawline is a cool touch and his writing is well paced. I thought it was wordy at times but it was never enough to take me out of the pacing of the story. Thor seems like a hero that you want to root for which almost feels like a contradiction because he is a draugr. I applaud the work written here and the art from the team.

Thematically, I think the story is trying to pit Thor against a villain that is his opposite but something that Thor could one day become. Freyr represents a man who has taken advantage of opportunity and then abuses his power. He then gloats about it to Thor. This is a reflection on what the cockiness that Thor has shown in his mythos and a representation of what power can do. This extends to what could happen to us if we ever lose sight of our humanity. Great villain for Thor and a great villain for us to reflect ourselves upon.

BOTTOM LINE: A GREAT BOOK TO PICK UP

Ragnarök seems like a great series that is deeply rooted in Norse myths and I love modern reimaginings of the old stories. I have a lot of catching up to do but I think this will be on my reading list from now on. It is well written, well drawn, and overall a solid issue in the series.