Writer: Dan Jurgens Artists: Stuart Immonen (p), Scott Koblish (i)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Plot: With Thor sealed away inside a healing chamber, we see his fellow gods are fighting a desperate struggle to save the Earth from the fire god Surtur. As it becomes more & more apparent that Surtur is going to emerge the victor, we see a weakened Odin decides that if nothing else he has to be on the battlefield when the gods of Asgard make their last stand. Meanwhile the separated Jake Olson manages to alert Tarene of Surtur's rampage, and using her power as the Designate, she is able to speed up Thor's healing, so that what would've taken days occurs in seconds. With Thor back in action we see the battle is tipped back in the heroes favor, as Tarene calls upon her considerable power, while Thor uses his mjolnir to direct it, and Odin acts as the vessel to contain it until it can be used to strike down Surtur. While this plan is a success, and Surtur is vanquished, we see this victory has come with a price, as a god of Asgard has fallen in combat.
Comments: Boy is this a bad time to be a comic book character. While DC is leading the charge in knocking off various characters to give their "Our Worlds At War" crossover that extra punch, Marvel isn't exactly innocent when it comes to dishing out the "shocking deaths". Out of the five Marvel titles I picked up this week, this is the second death of a fairly major character, though I must confess I have some questions about the validity of the death that occurred over in the pages of this week's "Fantastic Four". In any event, while the death that ends this issue could easily be reversed by a future writer, I must confess I'm eager to see how this character's demise will impact the life of Thor. In fact part of me is rather glad to see this character taken out of the picture, as seeing how it will affect Thor's future as a hero of Earth has me quite curious. Plus, try as I might I never saw this departed character as anything but a convenient obstacle that Thor writers could draw upon when they needed to make Thor's life more difficult.
I realize that this is his book, and that past stories have established that out of all the gods of Asgard, Thor is definitely the one you want in your corner when you're facing the end of the world. However, this issue is almost insulting in the way it makes the combined effort of all the other gods look like a mere drop in the pond when compared to the ocean of power that is Thor. I mean I thought the whole purpose of this story was to showcase the other gods while Thor was put on the shelf for a couple issues, but apparently Dan Jurgens is either unwilling, or unable to come up with a story in which Thor doesn't play a key role in the final victory. This isn't a team book, so I understand why the book presents Thor in the best possible light, but when the writer makes an active effort to remove the main character from the battle, then it's almost cheating to have this same character rushing back to save the day, after establishing that the battle is shifting against the heroes.
Stuart Immonen is a solid artist, and it's his art that gives this book its epic-like feel, as the story is rather underwhelming when it comes to offering up this same feeling. The opening shots of Surtur are absolutely lovely with my personal favorite being the amazing double-page spread that opens the issue. Now the inking by Scott Koblish does seem a bit heavy in areas, but then again I noticed that Stuart Immonen's work always has this look to it no matter who's inking it, so I'm not sure the inker is a fault here. Stuart Immonen does have a style that lends itself well to this book, as it does have a sense of scale to it that nicely compliments the big, over-the-top action that is a regular part of Thor's adventures. With this said, I must say that it's easy to see why Tom Raney's work on the cover earned him a shot as the book's monthly artist, as the sense of power presented on this cover hasn't been seen in this book since John Romita Jr.'s departure.
Final Word: A big, somewhat empty climax to the Surtur arc, as Dan Jurgens spends the issue making it look as dire as possible, before having the whole deal wrap up with a splashy display of power, and the sacrifice of a fairly major supporting cast member. Now looking at this story as a springboard for future stories, it does a nice job setting up a new status quo, and it does deserve mild applause for its willingness to kill off such a big player, but when all is said & done this book isn't doing much beyond standard super-heroics. We have a big impressive villain, the seemingly hopeless stuggle, and then Thor arrives with his quick-fix solution. There's nothing here that really grips you, as if to tell you that you're seeing an epic struggle.
