The Mighty Thor 8 review

So far I’m really enjoying this series as a whole. Jane Foster as Thor is a nice change of pace, and the fact that being Thor is killing her only makes her more worthy to wield the hammer while Odinson is unworthy. Of course it would be nice to learn exactly why Odinson is unworthy, but for the time being, I’m enjoying this series. That said, this issue isn’t as good as usual.

Don’t get me wrong, all of Jane Foster’s scenes in this issue are fine. The opening montage is a fun look at what her life as Thor is like. She doesn’t just spend her time saving Earth from major threats, but uses her power to help dig water wells in deserts and giving terminally ill people one last adventure before they pass. Although I should say the panel where she drinks isn’t healthy for a cancer patient – alcohol has a funny relationship with cancer. At least from what I’ve read, some types of booze can help prevent certain types of cancer if you don’t have it, but if you do have cancer, it’ll make it worse. Since wielding the hammer isn’t curing Jane of cancer, she probably shouldn’t drink. Anyway, the montage ends with her showing up for another chemotherapy session with the narration “I hate Tuesdays”. This Tuesday is made worse when some SHIELD agents come by to ask questions about Thor.

The interrogation scene is amusing, and it also leads to Jane and Agent Solomon talking about Odinson in a nice dramatic moment. These parts of the comic, and the ending teaser of their first team up, are really good. The meeting between a bunch of rich villains from across Earth (and a couple not from Earth) isn’t as good though. The entire meeting is the rest of the rich jerks accusing Roxxon’s CEO of hiding information from them. This scene feels kind of slow and isn’t nearly as entertaining as most of the Roxxon Ceo’s scenes in this series. There are also a couple characters that probably shouldn’t be there. Sebastian Shaw is wearing his traditional look, even though the last we saw of him, he not only didn’t remember his old self, but he wanted nothing to do with his former shady ways. The other character who shouldn’t be there is one of the Hellfire brats. Thankfully she doesn’t say much, but when will writer Jason Aaron learn that these characters aren’t all that popular? Also, if Sebastion Shaw is back to his old ways, why hasn’t he taken back the Hellfire Club by force? He’s more than smart and strong enough to take the kids on.

As usual, the art by Russell Dauterman is the best art I’ve seen this week. Every single panel is full of detail, from the opening page where Thor breaks apart an asteroid, complete with a variety of shattered rocks and a very well detailed Earth in the background. Jane looks both tired and annoyed in the close-up of her face when the SHIELD agents introduce themselves. The backgrounds are complete with a variety of buildings in outside shots, with the Universal Bank in Switzerland particularly impressive with its level of detail. The colouring by Matthew Wilson is equally great. Everything is bright, colourful and shadows and light reflections look very realistic.

This issue isn’t as good as usual for The Mighty Thor, mostly because of the mediocre villain meeting, but it’s still an enjoyable comic. Aaron is clearly building up a big story, but sometimes you need a downtime issue like this to give the story a break. If you’re a Thor fan who isn’t bothered by Jane Foster taking over while Odinson is unworthy, you should give this series a chance.

7.5/10