Thor (2014) #1 Review
Some months ago there was a big hubbub about how Marvel was "changing Thor into a woman", by which I mean they are replacing the title character in the comic book series. That is, we would ostensibly be following the adventures of a different (female) character, rather than Thor himself being physically changed into a woman somehow. So, today, the first issue of this new direction found its way into my hands, and I felt compelled to write a few words.
My first reaction is disappointment. Marvel pushes this big significant new thing, and then the whole issue ends up being about the original male Thor in the end. Only on the very last few instants of the issue does the new female Thor show up and does nothing more than pick up the hammer, and that's the end of this month's episode. She has all of one speech bubble, "There must always be a Thor." I for one came here to see the new Thor, and I felt cheated reading so much about old Thor.
On the other hand, writer Jason Aaron presents us with an interesting premise in that the leadership of the Asgardians is now contested between the traditional leader, male Odin, and his wife Frigga. The latter has been taking care of business while the former was gone, and now that Odin has returned, Frigga isn't easily pushed out of the driver's seat, thus setting up a husband/wife conflict. I felt that was a far more compellingly introduced subplot than anything else in the issue.
The villain and/or villains of the issue were paper-thin and written like typical cackling comic book evil. Wantonly murdering without any sort of remotely sympathetic or understandable angle, they're just one-dimensional bad guys that are due for a smacking down. No shades of Magneto's tragic past or Doctor Doom's nobility here, just boring cardboard cruelty and sadism.
Interestingly, there's a development on male Thor towards the end of the issue that is painfully reminiscent of what DC did to Aquaman in the early 1990s relaunch of that character's series. I mean for gosh sakes, two blond, bearded royals, and the exact same thing happens to them. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I can't shake the Aquaman vibes right now. Maybe it'll grow into its own thing over time.
So pulling that all together: Too much male Thor, too little female Thor. Uninspired villains. Aquaman retread. But nice Odin/Frigga conflict, which was more or less the best thing about the issue. I'll give this a couple more issues, but I'm not hopeful.
Grade: Two stars out of five.
My first reaction is disappointment. Marvel pushes this big significant new thing, and then the whole issue ends up being about the original male Thor in the end. Only on the very last few instants of the issue does the new female Thor show up and does nothing more than pick up the hammer, and that's the end of this month's episode. She has all of one speech bubble, "There must always be a Thor." I for one came here to see the new Thor, and I felt cheated reading so much about old Thor.
On the other hand, writer Jason Aaron presents us with an interesting premise in that the leadership of the Asgardians is now contested between the traditional leader, male Odin, and his wife Frigga. The latter has been taking care of business while the former was gone, and now that Odin has returned, Frigga isn't easily pushed out of the driver's seat, thus setting up a husband/wife conflict. I felt that was a far more compellingly introduced subplot than anything else in the issue.
The villain and/or villains of the issue were paper-thin and written like typical cackling comic book evil. Wantonly murdering without any sort of remotely sympathetic or understandable angle, they're just one-dimensional bad guys that are due for a smacking down. No shades of Magneto's tragic past or Doctor Doom's nobility here, just boring cardboard cruelty and sadism.
Interestingly, there's a development on male Thor towards the end of the issue that is painfully reminiscent of what DC did to Aquaman in the early 1990s relaunch of that character's series. I mean for gosh sakes, two blond, bearded royals, and the exact same thing happens to them. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I can't shake the Aquaman vibes right now. Maybe it'll grow into its own thing over time.
So pulling that all together: Too much male Thor, too little female Thor. Uninspired villains. Aquaman retread. But nice Odin/Frigga conflict, which was more or less the best thing about the issue. I'll give this a couple more issues, but I'm not hopeful.
Grade: Two stars out of five.