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I have mixed emotions about this reboot. Issue one of the new series by J. Michael Straczynski was big on emotion and visceral impact, but thin on story. It was like the opening sequence of a huge Michael Bay film. You get a lot of sound and fury as the credits roll by and you have high hopes for the film, but you don’t get any chance to check out the deeper story. It’s all flash and no immediate pay-off. That in a nutshell would be my review of issue one. It has a lot of emotion. It will get you worked up for what lies ahead. That said, it doesn’t yet have the payoff you may be looking for from a series kickoff.
In issue #1 we have a wiser and stronger Donald Blake talking to Thor about what he wants to do with his life. Thor, convinced that all this is behind him, needed a bit of convincing. The promise of the return of Asgard (though we’re hearing it will be based in Oklahoma rather than somewhere past the Rainbow Bridge) causes Thor to take the first step back to the world of the living.
I think Straczynski sets up a lot of the upcoming story when Donald Blake explains to Thor…
Check out Thor #1, check back for Thor #2. Given the events of Civil War, the role Thor may play in the future of the Marvel Universe and the fact that Straczynski is at the helm, it looks like Thor’s return may be a very good thing. I may be reaching a little, but it felt like a rebirth of sorts. This issue had a real phoenix from the ashes feel to it that may just herald the beginning of a new day for the Marvel storylines. There was hope in these pages. Could this be a turning point as the dust of the war settles? We’ll see…
Scale of 1 to 10 ... 6.5 |
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This page last updated on
September 18, 2007
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Thor’s back. After reading issue one of the new ongoing series, I’ll admit that I’m more excited about that fact than I was before I turned that first page. That alone is a real success for this issue. For me, the character of Thor and the whole Asgardian mythology has always been at best a ho-hum, yea whatever kind of experience. I know that will read like sacrilege to some, but even the classic Walt Simonson years never really got me all that excited about Donald Blake and Thor. For this longtime reader, it was always Thor in the Ultimates series that struck me as the more interesting interpretation of the character. The traditional winged-helmed wonder many have come to love through the years just never really did much for me, but I thinking that may soon change.
This could easily have served as a #0 issue rather than a #1. I hope things evolve a bit stronger and quicker in the issues ahead. Knowing Straczynski’s previous Marvel work, I have no doubt that will be the case. Having read the issue twice, it does make me question my longstanding opinion of Thor thinking, “this could be cool” or “maybe I’ve been missing something”. That’s why I explained above that my questioning my opinion of the character could be a real success for this issue. If they can take a traditional non-Thor reader like myself and make me feel as if there may be more to the character than I’ve seen previously, that could be a real win in terms of picking up readers. Readers are certainly something previous Thor series have struggled to maintain.
It’s clear that this time out, Donald Blake will not simply serve as a mild mannered doctor and simple alter-ego. Here he seems primed and ready to go toe-to-toe with his mighty counterpart. That was certainly one element that has already drawn me, just a little, into the story. I think there is more to Dr. Blake than we may know as hinted when he explains “I have walked in the void of nonexistence for a long time and I have seen far more that I can ever tell you.” There are almost hints of Dr. Stephen Strange in that moment that I welcome.