I have been loving the Thor book since Jason Aaron started writing Thor: God of Thunder.  He truly has a great feel for adventures worthy of a Thunder God.  I had my doubts when the new female Thor was announced.  Very few of them remain.  The new Thor, whoever she is, keeps proving herself, and doing so really well.  This issue, she not only needs to deal with Maleketh and Dagger the Minotaur, but the original Thor comes by, and he wants his hammer back. 

The hero vs hero fight is a long-standing tradition in comics, and, honestly, one I don’t like much.  The circumstances are usually strained, and the fights often ridiculous.  This time around, it makes a lot more sense.  Thor is pissed off, injured, and feels that this woman has stolen his hammer.  He’s had Mjolnir a very long time, and he feels betrayed and wronged.  And, let’s face it, Thor’s always had a temper.  So he and the new Thor fight.  A lot.  To the amusement of the bad guys looking on.

By the end of the fight, a few things get resolved.  Mjonlir has chosen this woman, and left Thor.  Thor himself gives his name to the woman, which is going to get confusing at time passes.  And one of the “suspects” as to who the woman with the hammer is gets definitively eliminated.

Plot: Even with the cliché of hero vs hero, this was a good issue and the fight actually worked.  Aaron is doing great work.  I’m giving this a 4.5 out of 5.

Art: I wasn’t really familiar with Dauterman until this run, but he and Wilson do great work together.  This is some gorgeous stuff.  I’m giving it a 4 out of 5.

Positives: The fight makes sense.  We get at least one suspect knocked off the list.  There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind now that this woman is the proper wielder of Mjonlir.

Negatives: I’d like some kind of a clue as to who she is.  Right now it’s not I haven’t figured it out, it’s it really doesn’t seem like I’ve been given enough to work with.  And I’m always going to be a bit biased about the hero vs hero thing, even when it’s well handled.

I said when this was announced I thought it would be temporary, and I still do.  I suspect the big guy from Asgard will have his hammer back eventually, especially with the movies and cartoons showing him, not her.  But I’m enjoying these stories, and not feeling like I’m just killing time until the Odinson picks up the hammer again.

Thor 4

Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Russell Dauterman
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover: Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson