Waterstones Thor By Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection Vol. 4

Author: No More, Mr Mice Guy

Rating: 5

Review: This volume collects Unworthy Thor (2017) #1-5, Mighty Thor (2015) #20-23, Generations: Unworthy Thor & Mighty Thor (2017) #1, Mighty Thor (2015) #700-706, Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla (2018) #1. I read these in the paperback collections they were first collected in, which I review individually below. The Unworthy Thor 4-stars This collects the five-issue mini-series of that ilk. It starts in the middle of a fight, and it ends with the resolution of that fight, but in between as well as seeing the start of the fight, we also get more character development for Thor than many previous writers failed to deliver in decades of his adventures. We also discover just what he was told that made him feel unworthy, and by the end he convinces himself that he is so unworthy that I was expecting hammers to come flying in from all directions and knock some sense into him, though admittedly Beta Ray Bill did try his best. There are also guest-stars galore, some of whom we know, some we don’t, and others that were so unexpected that it was a genuine “hang on, where did they come from, and how come I didn’t notice they were missing” sort of moment. There are cross-continuity scenes aplenty, and not just for this series; and there are others where you just know that there is something brewing further down the line – and that’s apart from the more obvious ones. This is a genuine Thor volume, which fits into the overall Thor, Angela, Asgardia continuity, and no doubt will be shown to be an essential part of whatever it is that the writers are planning. If you have been reading the Jason Aaron run of this title, then this is an unmissable story, that reaches right back to the opening storyline, so, err, don’t miss it. THE SPOILER ZONE THE SPOILER ZONE THE SPOILER ZONE I reckon it’s Balder, but only because he usually wears purple gloves. Thor – The War Thor 5-stars This collects issues #20-23 of volume 7 of the Mighty Thor’s current title, along with the “Generations” one-shot “The Unworthy Thor and the Mighty Thor”. Although this mostly self-contained story is deserving at least of a four+-star rating, by the time it is all done it will definitely be a 5-star epic overall. The front-of-stage story sees someone pick up the spare hammer that has fallen out of the Ultimate universe during the Secret Wars event and ended up in Old Asgard, where the Odinson has been keeping an eye on it – see The Unworthy Thor for the background to that. That someone is very angry at the latest atrocity in the War of the (Ten) Realms, and seeks vengeance on the current ruler of Muspelheim – Surtur being absent after his last invocation of Ragnarok – who is allied to Malekith and responsible for it. Unfortunately the power of the Ultimate hammer is overwhelming, channelling as it does the energy of an entire lost universe. Only the real Thor can stop the War Thor from repeating the aforementioned atrocity, but she is currently at death’s door (which has a completely different meaning when you are dealing with Norse gods, but that is just another thing we have to keep in mind for the next couple of volumes) and cannot survive many more transformations into the Mighty Thor; though there is always the temptation to remain Thor and abandon her human body – but as we learn during the course of this story, and the one-shot which supports it – that way lies ‘unworthiness’. So, what is a true hero to do? Well, this is a Marvel Comic, so we know what to do, much to the anger and despair of the Odinson, who happens to be cradling the dying body of Jane Foster, and having a heart to heart conversation about the whole Thor business. I have to admit I was fully expecting him to make a grab for Mjolnir when it came calling, in order to save Jane and rekindle his ‘worthiness’, but it is not time yet, so off she goes to confront the War Thor and try to save both him and his victims. As I said above, the front-of-stage story is the War Thor and his war on terror, but the heart of the story is really about the struggle to do what is right, and the whole worthiness business, which is part of the overall story arc, and which only became clear to me during the Shi’ar War in the previous volume, where, hopefully, we all realised that the Odinson was right in his declaration/discovery (in the Unworthy Thor and the Original Sin event, respectively) that ALL gods are unworthy, as Jane has been demonstrating - by being worthy in the face of all the said gods. The next volume is entitled “The Death of Thor”, and though Thor has been dead before, we wait to see who will be proving themselves worthy this time round. Thor – The Death of the Mighty Thor 5-stars This collects the legacy-(re)numbered issues #700-706 and the “At the Gates of Valhalla” one-shot issue. #700 is at least 50 pages long, so this is a big volume. This volume indeed contains the Death of the Mighty Thor: not a hoax, not an imaginary story, as they used to say when I was a child, and the publishers needed to make it clear that the story was indeed “in continuity”, as they say nowadays. It also contains several other deaths, as the Mangog arrives to devastate Asgardia and kill everyone. I had a picture in my head ever since reading the Unworthy Thor story of Jane reaching for Mjolnir for the final time, and the Odinson grabbing it in order to save her, and thus becoming the Worthy Thor again. I suppose that’s how it would have worked out once upon a time, but nowadays the storytelling and the storytellers have gone way past my limited imagination. So, this is an extended farewell story for the Mighty Thor, as well as providing some secret origin scenes that have been left out of previous issues, including those for Jane Foster and the Mighty Thor herself. The regularly scheduled storylines also continue, with the War of the Realms escalating and a successful re-enactment by the Mangog of the destruction of Asgard from the recent film. This is an excellently scripted and illustrated volume, with twists and turns, happy and unhappy endings, and so on, and so forth. “Are you the god of hammers”, as somebody recently said… THE SPOILER ZONE THE SPOILER ZONE THE SPOILER ZONE So, the “Gates of Valhalla” one-shot sees King Thor’s granddaughters for the future travel back in time to meet their heroine, but arrive too late. “No… I think you’re exactly the woman we wanted to meet”

Author: Clifford A. Hicks

Rating: 5

Review: I’ve never been a massive Thor fan but Aaron’s run on the book was nothing short of extraordinary. Read all 4 volumes in his complete collection.