“The Reigning, prologue: Earth 2020”
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artist: Scot Eaton (p), Cam Smith (i)
Publisher: Marvel
Well, if that new title doesn’t tell you what’s going on in Thor these days, I don’t know what I can say. After a powerhouse issue last month, a turning point was reached in this title, and this month Jurgens takes us into the future of a world where Thor is “Lord of Earth”. Old Thor flame, Jane Foster, is the focus of this months installment as the Scarlet Witch gives birth to a child that is then secreted away by her brother, Pietro, in order to circumvent Thor’s program of birth registration. There have been a lot of changes over between last issue and this. Loki is strutting around in Dr. Strange’s cloak, Thor and Amora are now parents, and Tony Stark (whose technology was almost a match for the Asgardians) is apparently dead after some brutal interrogation techniques.
Eaton’s artwork is workmanlike and keeps the storytelling clear and fluid, although the shot of Odin’s statue overlooking Mount Rushmore doesn’t really work from a realistic point of view, taking up what should be empty sky. New Asgard is nicely designed, looking as if it were built on the ruins of both New York and old Asgard. The sly looks on both Loki’s and Amora’s faces in the final panels are fairly unnerving, especially when we take into consideration the rest of the shot: Thor’s back turned to us as he stalks away saying only the simple line “Process them.” Jurgens continues to write a very compelling Thor, who seems to be dreading every single action he feels that he has to take to make the world a better place. I just hope that he can actually build an argument for the side of the resistance (something that was never really well-defined leading up to all of this).
All in all, this series continues to maintain a pretty high level of drama and even with shuffling artists has kept a moderately consistent artistic feel. I really want to see where this story is going to go.
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