Reviewed by Quirky Cat on
This volume of Mighty Thor contains four issues in the current plot, as well as a single issue of Generations: The Unworthy Thor & The Mighty Thor. Pretty much every Marvel series that has/had multiple people as the same hero got a “Generations” story (Captain Marvel and Captain Mar-Vell, Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel, Spider-Man and Spider-Man, Iron Man and Ironheart, etc). Despite the somewhat gimmicky nature, they’re actually pretty decent to read, if nothing else to see all the different characters get a chance to interact in unanticipated ways.
Warnings first: So something pretty horrible happens to a bunch of children Volstagg was helping. I won’t go into the details, but I will say that once I realized the implication I what I was being shown…I felt sick. I imagine many readers will feel the same way. However, this is a fairly important plot point, as it explains Volstagg’s actions from this point onward.
Can I just say wow? The latest few rounds of Thor haven’t been afraid of hitting on some pretty intense subjects, but still, I can’t get over some of the things that happened in this volume. While Malekith was barely shown in this volume, his presence was still felt (dare I say he actually feels more intimidating when he’s working behind the scenes like this?).
You’ll probably remember how volume three left off (who could forget); with Mighty Thor wanting to talk to Unworthy Thor, clearly about to spill her secret to him. It was bound to happen, really. She respects him too much to keep it a secret from him, even if we all knew he’d react like a little bit of a child when he realized it. Which is essence is what occurred. The conversation between them is still worth reading, as he reveals some more of his faults (self-awareness is important) and also shows that despite his hurt he clearly still cares for Jane (his actions speak that very clearly).
Speaking of Jane, I’m more than a little worried about who now knows her secret identity. At least twice this volume we see her transition between Thor and Jane where she wasn’t careful about who was around her at that time (first when she picked up the hammer, Thor had her outside of an Asgaridan medical center, and second when she dropped the hammer in front of a friend). I don’t know if anything will come of this, but I honestly am very concerned. Add that on top of the concern about her illness and I’m pretty much a wreck. Before now I’d been deluding myself that this series might end in something other than Jane’s death, but every volume has me less and less convinced of that.
As for what everyone else is up to in this issue; Volstagg and new council member friend, Agent Solomon take a trip to check on the refugees, only to arrive in time to see things go very very poorly. I honestly am having trouble forming words to cover what happened (and I don’t really want to spoil it anyway. Let’s just say I’ve never seen someone as kind and sweet as Volstagg come that close to breaking and crossing a line. It was brilliantly written.
The last issue is a bit of a break from the rest of the series, which considering how intense it’s been is a nice change of pace. Mighty Thor and Unworthy Thor (as in, the younger Thor that had yet to earn the respect of the hammer) team up to fight a common enemy. Both Thors learn a lot about the experience, and of course banter and yell back and forth at each other. It’s all pretty light and amusing.
I loved this issue, and while I’m very much looking forward to the next volume, I’m also a bit afraid of it. I know every volume is bringing me a step closer to the inevitable end of the series, and I’m dreading it. Though to be frank I’d rather a series end as planned than drag on too long, so I’m trying to be positive here. No matter how I feel about it, the next volume won’t be out for another couple of months.
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Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 January, 2018: Finished reading
- 21 January, 2018: Reviewed