There’s a new Herald of Galactus and his name…Thor. Tasked with helping Galactus regain his power in order to stop the Dark Winter. Spoilers for Thor #2 follow.
The first issue of Donny Cates’ and Nic Klein’s Thor was an outstanding new start to this series. Coming off the back of Jason Aaron’s run is no easy feat, yet they did so wonderfully. Their second issue continues that momentum in a great way as well. They are obviously going their own way with this story and that’s all for the better. This is an exciting read and only hints at what’s to come.
For so long in most mediums, Thor has always been portrayed as a loose cannon. He works with others yes, but he almost never is the one playing second fiddle. He rarely is forced to take orders from anyone, and yet, he often chooses too when with the Avengers. In this issue, we really get to see a Thor who is being forced to take orders. Orders that burn him to his very core. And we get to see his reaction to said orders and they are none too pretty. This issue presents a very different dynamic for Thor and Galactus and it’s one that’s fun to explore. They’re reluctant allies at best, so to see Thor toss Mjolnir through Galactus’ hand and knee to save a planet’s inhabitants is exciting to behold. It’s a relationship that’s going to be fun moving forward.
We also get to see the Black Winter at play in this issue and it really establishes the threat of it. It brings this almost intangible sense of cosmic horror to the series and this issue does so in three pages. That’s pretty incredible to be honest. The only real problem I have with this part is the fact that the Earth being destroyed is obviously the Justice League’s. DC and Marvel do this all the time, thinly veiled uses of each other’s characters, but it’s way too obvious here. It almost feels like the issue is taking a shot at DC. That is 99% probably not authorial intent, but it does slightly come off that way.
As for Nic Klein’s art, it’s fantastic throughout the issue. There’s a swift brutality that accompanies so many pages of this issue that it’s more reminiscent to East of West than a Marvel comic. He manages to combine the cosmic insanity that this book is obviously going for with a grounded reality. It’s not something that is easy to do by any stretch, yet Klein manages to make it look effortless. Matt Wilson’s coloring is exceptional as well and really captures the horrific circumstances that Thor is currently in.
[…] CHECK OUT: Thor #2 Review: A Multiverse of Cosmic Horrors and Monsters […]