Comics / Comic Reviews / Marvel Comics

The Mighty Thor #1

By Dan Horn
May 3, 2011 - 13:05

Previously, in order to stop an otherworldly and apocalyptic onslaught, Thor split the World Tree, Yggdrasil, with the Odinsword, thereby cutting off the minions of the encroaching dimension, but also creating a mysterious aurora borealis affect above Broxton, Oklahoma, the earthly locale where Asgard now abides.

The strange lights above Broxton send shock waves throughout the little community of simple, god-fearing Americans, calling into question there own faiths and beliefs. How can a Judeo-Christian god exist if Asgard, the mythical land of the Norse gods, rests in their very hometown?

The World Tree's spilled light has also attracted the attentions of others, a certain planet eater and his silver herald...

Thor, Sif, and eventually the reincarnated Loki, who's just a tike now and whom I can't help but associate and compare to Damien Wayne, are commissioned by Odin to retrieve the heart of Yggdrasil, a seed which emits the "light without heat." The World Tree is not without its own defenses, though, and Thor receives an interesting wound from one of Yggdrasil's "antibodies."

The Mighty Thor #1 is beautifully illustrated by long-time Thor artist Olivier Coipel with extravagant finishes by Mark Morales and Laura Martin and company. The colors are vivid and diverse. This is what comic books should look like, a bright pop-culture explosion.

The story, however, is a bit bland. Save for the aforementioned wonderful juxtaposition of quaint, heartland religion and of gods battling rainbow monsters directly above those small-town Christians' heads, this issue doesn't read so much like a punctuated opening as it does a parenthesized prologue. I felt like the World Tree's "antibodies" were an uninspired plot device to put some action sequences into the inaugurating chapter of this series. How many times do heroes have to fight giant antibodies? That is one comic book chestnut I wouldn't mind never seeing again.

The allusion to an imminent showdown with Galactus and the Silver Surfer definitely whet my appetite for next month's issue, though. I'm looking forward to this story picking up.

Rating: 6.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12