Thor #11 // Review
The War of the Realms is two weeks away, and Thor #11, written by Jason Aaron, with guest artist Lee Garbett, and guest colorist Antonio Fabela, provides a sweet, simple calm before the storm. Previously, Malekith began a multi-pronged campaign to overtake all ten realms, and he has been surprisingly successful, so far. Thor, having lost Mjolnir in the heart of a sun, has ordered a vast arsenal of enchanted hammers to be made for his use in battle. Unfortunately, none of his new hammers can hold a candle to Mjolnir, as evidenced by him continually breaking them. With no rainbow bridge to travel to the other realms and no Mjolnir, the pressure to stop Malekith is starting to weigh on the God of Thunder.
Told mostly from the perspective of Thor’s mother, Freyja, this issue zeroes in on what she thinks makes him special. It’s a unique point of view, as no one else has had access to Thor that Freyja has over the years. Unlike Odinson’s father, she actually has a good relationship with her son and has sought to build him up throughout his life, rather than tear him down. On the tail of the previous harrowing issue that explored the terrible, antagonistic relationship between Thor and Odin, this chapter serves as an excellent palette cleanser and a sweet love letter from a mother to her son.
Aaron also explores how much Thor can’t see the good in himself this issue. His mother speaks of his mighty heart, but he can’t believe himself worthy of such praise unless he is fit enough to wield Mjolnir again. The problem is that Mjolnir was lost in the heart of a sun, and as far as Thor is aware, there isn’t much chance of it being intact in there. Nevertheless, he still ties his whole worth to his lost hammer, and for a character whose worthiness is everything to him, that is dangerous. With a war coming up, Odinson has to be in the right headspace, and it’s looking less and less like he’s going to be able to pull himself together in time.
Guest artist, Garbett, does an adequate job of illustrating this epilogue to the inevitably epic War of the Realms, but for such an intimate, emotionally-charged story, he does minimal acting with his characters’ faces. Without that key ingredient, some of the profound sentiment of the issue is lost in translation. Fabela, on the other hand, does an excellent job on the colors. Of course, he was given a lot to work with, as the opening scene takes place in the heart of a sun, but he rises to the occasion and delivers the visual highlights of the issue.
Overall, this might not be the most important issue of Thor you’ll read in the coming months, but it serves as a nice breath of fresh air before all hell breaks loose in The War of the Realms. Yes, it’s slow in pace, with even scenes of Thor and Freyja stopping natural disasters all over the world, seeming sleepy and mundane, but it’s also an important emotional beat that sets up the story to come. Could you skip this issue, and be fine going into Aaron’s mega-event? Yes. Is it recommended that you do? No.
