Avengers Now Review: Thor #1 by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman

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thor-001_cover

Thor #1

Written by Jason Aaron

Art by Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson

 

The short of it:

Roxxon is deep in the Norwegian Sea looking for…something, they stay vague about what exactly. It doesn’t really matter though, since they see mountains that shouldn’t exist and wind up being Frost Giants who destroy their sub, eat their sharks, and lay havoc to their underwater base with giant maces and axes. That THAT big oil! Up on the moon the people of Asgardia stand behind the All-Father and All-Mother as they attempt to talk to the Odinson, who has barely moved for weeks as he tries and fails to lift his hammer. Odin presumes Thor has been placed under a spell by one of his foes, but Freyja tells him of the events of Original Sin, and Thor won’t share the words Fury whispered to him to cost him his hammer.

Odin decides to his some Odinpower to fix the worthy issues, but finds that he enchanted a hammer so magical that he himself can not lift it. Freyja tries to ease her son by reminding him that he’s a hero with or without a giant hammer, but Odin’s ravens arrive to warn him of the Frost Giants on Midgard. Odin calls to return to Asgardia, Freyja calls for battle, and the two bicker until Thor stands up and walks off, saying he’s off to get a weapon before going home.

Back under the sea, the Roxxon survivors huddle up for warmth as they await their fate when Malekith arrives to explain why they’re there and to find what Roxxon dug up for himself. Thor charges in on a giant goat, wielding a giant axe, and Malekith prepares to have fun at his old foe’s expense. They fight as the Dark Elf taunts the Odinson, finally taking the upper hand as Frost Giant hands rip into the base and grab hold of Thor. Malekith talks about Thor’s lack of a hammer, and then proceeds to maim the God of Thunder.

Back on the moon, a shadowy figure stands above the hammer, states that there must always be a Thor, and then reenchants the hammer as she lifts it up to become the Goddess of Thunder.

 

What I liked:

  • Roxxon has attack sharks. Sharks with tech on their head and, what looks like, shiny golden metal teeth. So awesome, so Bond villain like.
  • Odin is back! The badass, angry, ultra dick they call All-Father! And he’s not happy with the fact that the All-Mother still wants to be in charge! Fun Odin is fun.
  • Any time a main characters gets maimed in a first issue, you’re off to a good start.
  • “Move, you blasted hunk of uru! ODIN COMMANDS THEE! I am the way and the wrath and the wonder! I AM HIM WHO SPEAKS WHILE GALAXIES OBEY!”
  • Russell Dauterman has breakout potential. This issue looks fantastic, and if he he sticks around for a while then this book will, at the very least, be a visual treat for his issues.

 

What I didn’t like:

  • There needs to be more consistency with the inscription on the hammer. It flips for the sake of readers way too often.
  • Too much time on Thor not being worthy, not enough on his fight with Malekith.
  • Odin is quick to go try and blame Loki, but the last I saw Loki was the one who went to bring him back to Asgard in the first place (still need to finish the Thor and Loki mini).

 

Final thoughts:

Odin is back in Asgard? Damnit, I knew I was forgetting something! As soon as I finish I’m going back to read the last issue of the Thor and Loki mini.

Not calling this book “Lady Thor” is going to take a lot of self control and willpower.

I seriously doubt that Freyja is the new Thor, but I’ll be damned if the book didn’t hint at it. At the very least she’s behind the new empowering.

So, here’s a nitpick that comes from one part my feelings on Marvel and their attempts to diversify their lineup with status quo shakeups, and one part from actually having read Thor: God of Thunder (for new readers, that’s the previous volume by Jason Aaron that ended two weeks ago, and that this is literally the next arc of that book with a shiny new number one)…Future Thor has the hammer. I mean, yeah, sure, there’s a long ass time between now and when that Thor exists, and at any point in between he could regain the hammer, but the point is…he regains the hammer. The ticking clock over this new Thor is already going, and I’m pegging it to expire at the same time as Falcon America. Next May. Possibly as late as August, but with enough lead time and backup artists, they’ve already proven with Superior Spider-Man that it only takes a year to do thirty-one issues, a few annuals, and call it a day.

Thor’s arm, on the other hand, that may last a bit longer. Old Thor is lacking an arm, and in something that amuses me greatly, Jason Aaron’s version of the character is not the first one I’ve seen like that. Dan Jurgens had done the same thing with his Future Thor in The Reigning at the end of his run. It seems Thor can’t escape eventually having one arm, one eye, and a big ass hammer.

There was a time and a place where this would have been Thor: God of Thunder #26.

Please tell me that Thor just has several Dwarven Axes, because if he busted out Jarnbjorn for this…dude. That’s the axe that caused literally every problem in Uncanny Avengers, why would you go anywhere with it?


Overall: 8.5/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.