The Immortal Thor vol. 4: The Son of Thor

Thor is still persona non grata with the inhabitants of Midgard after he was framed for the death of Dario Agger by the Enchantress and Skurge.  Though he was set up, he’s still the honorable type and returns to that realm to help set everything straight with law enforcement.  Except things don’t go as planned when his attempt to surrender is interrupted by the Radioactive Man, who’s revealed to be in cahoots with Mr. Hyde, the Cobra, and the Grey Gargoyle.  Together, they prove to be a formidable threat to the Thunder God, one that he’s going to need some assistance to overcome.  It’s just that this time, the price Thor has to pay may be an unexpected boon to his current situation.

Four volumes in and writer Al Ewing continues to move pieces around the board that is this series.  While the fight against the above-mentioned supervillains is a nice slab of superhero action, it’s also meant to camouflage the fact that there’s a lot of setup going on here.  From the machinations of the one scheming to put Thor in their debt, to the return of the sub-titular character, to the impending return of Dario Agger to public life, to the doom that is said to await the Thunder God, it feels like the writer is doing the heavy lifting here to set up the end of his initial run in the next volume.  Though there’s not a lot of payoff here, there are still interesting things being done here, and the cliffhanger at least promises a memorable confrontation for next time.

Current artist Jan Bazaluda handles all of this capably in their issues.  I wouldn’t say the material is elevated in their hands, but there are certainly moments of striking style and the more fantastical parts of the story are rendered well.  We do get a jam issue featuring the work of nineteen different artists that hangs together in how it depicts one character getting back up to speed after some time away (and hinting at more setup as well).  That helps the issue stand out, but the writing and art overall make this feel like a transitional volume that will likely read better once the entire run is over with.