Thanos breaks up with Hela, Thor becomes the God of Hel, and Balder comes back to the land of the living all in this week’s THOR #4 as Jason Aaron reintroduces the Valkyries and Karnilla becomes Hela’s new Hel bride. Let’s dive in!
WRITTEN BY: Jason Aaron
ART BY: Michael Del Mundo
COLORS: Marco D’Alfonso
LETTERS: Joe Sabino
WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
THOR SPOILERS TOO!
To see what happened the last issue, click on the writers’ name below.
Summary
With a little help from Loki, Thor went to Valhalla to get the Valkyrie to help in their war in Hel. Odinson manages to rally the Valkyrie to fight by his side, and the army from Valhalla heads to Hel to stop the Queen of Cinder, the Fire Goblins, and Malekith’s war on the Nine Realms. Meanwhile, Thanos breaks up with Hela, Thori tears apart some Fire Goblins and the rest of the sons and daughters of Odin join in the battle.
Thor returns with his borrowed Valkyrie army, puts on Hela’s crown, and becomes the God of Death. Using his newfound power, he throttles Cinder and ends her reign. However, Hela gets her crown back, refuses to help fight Malekith, and becomes Queen of Hel again. Lucky for Odinson, Thor manages to gain Balder to help on his quest to stop Malekith thanks to some slight of hand by Karnilla, who is Hela’s new bride of Hel.
The Best Part
Aaron has been writing some version of the character Thor, as well as the supporting cast, and all Realms associated with Thor since 2012. The writer has a long history with Asgard, the Nine Realms, Odin, and all of his sons, daughters, and relatives. Heck, Aaron has written many of the items this new run his referencing.
Thus, Aaron captures the witty banter between the brothers Loki and Thor, as well as makes the squabbles come off as familiar and refreshing even when surrounded by life-threatening danger. Every word he chooses to use is carefully crafted to fit each Asgardian and submerses the reader into the story making them feel apart of every event.
My point is that the extended time Aaron has been working on Odinson has helped him genuinely portray the character, the terminology, and dialogue better than anyone else could in all the Realms (at Marvel). Merely reading the banter and conversation between every character involved in his story fits so well. The way Aaron writes Odinson is as if he’s shared many pints of mead with this Asgardian, Norse, God of Thunder. As silly as it is to say, Aaron may very well be an adopted Odinson by this point.
The Art
Michael Del Mundo’s art is very fluid and has a surrealistic vibe to it that fits this comic perfectly. Truthfully, Del Mundo’s style is not my favorite choice. But, his almost painted tone weaves so closely with a story that comes across more mythological, cosmic, and otherworldly. Marco D’Aflonso uses colors that are strong, vivid, and even jarring at times. D’Alfonso creates drastic color differences throughout the issue that help amplify key moments and items like Odinson’s hammer, Thori hilariously mauling Cinder’s Fire Goblins, and Thor becoming the God of Death. Plus, the art wouldn’t be complete without Joe Sabino’s lettering adding to the Asgardian feel with each written letter and spoken word resembling a Viking, Norse lettering style, as well as wonderful pacing and panel layouts to draw the reader through each page.
Should you buy this issue?
Yes! It was pretty dang good. From Thori chewing on every last Fire Goblin, Odinson becoming the God of Death, Thanos dumping Hela for his old main squeeze, and Balder coming back to life, this issue was nonstop action, witty banter, and creative fun from jump street. Aaron knows Thor like a brother and has ways of telling stories about the character that feels like everyone’s tossing a few pints back at the local watering hole. And if Aaron’s style doesn’t tickle your fancy, Del Mundo’s mesmerizing art will draw you into the story. Pick this one up and hop on board.
Should you add this to your pull list?
Definitely! If you love Thor, there is no one better to currently capture his voice than Aaron. His love for the character, Odinson’s mythos, and the Asgardian Realms are magnificent. Plus, readers are already aware of the overarching theme, which is Malekith trying to destroy the Nine Realms. However, how will Malekith destroy the Realms and what role will the future King Thor play into his story? The future Thor, as well as his granddaughters, are the part I’m looking the most forward too and it seems like that could be exactly what Aaron is giving us next issue. Moving forward, this is the perfect place for new readers to jump into the series.
What did you guys think of THOR #4? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter @dispatchdcu. If you would like to read more of my reviews, click HERE!
