The War of the Realms is finished, but what comes next for Thor? Asgard must be rebuilt, but he can’t do it by himself.
After the past several issues of Thor having focused on characters other than Thor, it’s wonderful to have him back. Post-War of the Realms lends a lot of possibilities with what can be done with the character, but this issue chooses to be simple. Because of that simplicity though, the issue is all the better for it. This is a character-focused piece with no action to be found and it is brilliant and emotional because of that.
Jason Aaron has done an absolutely incredible job for the past seven years on the character and this issue really feels like a wrap on his work with Present Thor. The way that he handles Thor in this issue makes it feel like he has said all that he has had to say for that character. Anything else would be redundant and it’s beautiful because of that. Aaron is able to pull out of all the emotional stops here and makes none of it feel sappy. Everything about it feels earned. This has been a character-defining run for Thor and this issue proves exactly why that’s the case.
While this is a Thor-heavy issue, he’s not the only one shown to have their lives immediately changed. Malekith is dead and in Hel, which feels every bit as satisfying as it should. Loki, on the other hand, is scheming yet again. Not because he wants to kill Thor though, but simply because he doesn’t any other way. This goes on for every single character that has had a major role throughout Aaron’s run on Thor and all of them feel right. None of the endings feel disparate from the character and because of that, each end has an emotional punch.
Mike Del Mundo’s art adds immensely to the emotional impact of the story as well. Usually, his style is extremely bright with highly saturated colors, but here everything is muted. This works in favor of the story being told because it gives weight to the journey Thor has been on. He is surrounded by destruction, but there’s is still light on the horizon. There’s hope for a better tomorrow. This is gleaned from the writing, but it’s exemplified by the wonderful art from Mike Del Mundo.
Every single panel in this issue has emotion seeping out from it, ranging from fear to joy. There is such an array of emotion on display in this issue that it’s difficult to comprehend how one artist can do such a great job on all of them. Yet, Mike Del Mundo does so with this issue.
