Thor #14 // Review
Will young Thor finally become worthy of wielding the mighty Mjolnir? Find out in Thor #14, written by Jason Aaron, with guest artist Scott Hepburn, and guest colorist Matthew Wilson. Previously, Malekith invaded Midgard as part of his mission to take over all Ten Realms, and every hero available rose up to try to stop him. Capturing Thor’s parents, Malekith held them hostage and demanded to only see Thor, or they would die. Odinson, thinking himself clever, has now recruited three more Thors from throughout time and space, to finally put an end to Malekith.
While the main “The War of the Realms” story has been taking place over in the miniseries of the same title, Aaron has been using the Thor solo book to tell fun, or poignant, stories that focus on the side characters of the event. This issue is no exception to that precedent, but it does offer up the slight twist of the “side character” being the Young Thor from Viking times. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t land with quite the same impact as the previous tie-in issues did. With the last two chapters tying only tangentially to the main story, you needed to know very little about what was happening to enjoy what you were reading. This issue, however, is set mostly right smack in the middle of the final battle with Malekith, but still presented as a side story. If you haven’t read the concluding issue of The War of the Realms yet, you are definitely going to have questions, such as: how did Jane Foster get a repaired Ultimate Mjolnir, and what’s the deal with Malekith having leveled up? A simple editor’s note telling you to read Realms first could have solved the problem simply.
The story revolves around the young Thor being frustrated at not being able to lift Mjolnir, because he is not yet worthy, and it should have been a big, compelling story, but it comes off feeling a little flat, and unimportant. This is mostly due to it being wedged into the larger Realms story, and not being given its proper time and place to be executed. Instead, Aaron delivers a rushed, forced story that is, quite frankly, disappointing in every way.
Guest artist, Hepburn, on the other hand, does not let the readers down. He delivers a solid, clean, crisp action story with little-to-no faults, and may leave some people wanting him on a Young Thor ongoing, exploring his adventures with the Vikings of Midgard. Similarly, guest colorist Wilson also brings his magic to the thunder and lightning of this title, leaving no one disappointed in his unique color palette.
In the end, despite containing a crucial moment in Young Thor’s life, this book felt like filler, only taking place between the moments of a better story. It’s sad to see a great writer like Aaron stumble just as he’s only steps away from the finish line, but it won’t keep him from being remembered as one of the greatest Thor writers of all time.
