Thor by Jason Aaron (vol. 5): The Goddess of Thunder

This series may be about the Goddess of Thunder now, but it’s still the same great read that Aaron has been delivering since taking on the character.  It all starts off with a bit of setup to illustrate the former Thor — now being called the Odinson — and his struggle to accept his current unworthiness and Malekith’s latest scheme.  The two collide in bloody fashion (and reveal the origin of the Odinson’s metal arm from the “Time Runs Out” volumes) while we then get to see that a woman is now worthy of wielding the power of Thor after a mysterious female picks up Mjolnir from its resting spot on the moon.  This is all in the first issue.  The three that follow continue the frenetic pace as the frost giants of Jotunheim invade Midgard to recover the skull of their former King Laufey.  Their belief that Thor has now been humbled turns out to be their undoing as this new female incarnation shows them that she is not to be trifled with because of her sex.  Even if the frost giants turn out to be cannon fodder, this means she still has to deal with Dario Agger  (CEO of Roxxon, occasional  minotaur, and current holder of Laufey’s skull), Malekith himself, and a very angry Odinson.

It’s a great start to the career of this new Thor.  (Yes, her identity has been spoiled for me but I’m going to continue to play along in case anyone reading this remains unaware of it.)  Aaron sets up a suitably heroic threat for her to overcome, and she displays some real guts and ass-kicking skills — along with some ingenuity in wielding Mjolnir — that make her an easy character to root for.  The artist of this arc, Russell Dauterman, also displays some impressive attention to detail with his character designs and environments while also making the action appear suitably epic.  Though the opening story is clearly designed to give the new Thor a solid win, that apparently conflicts with Aaron’s long-term plans for this series.  So even though she’s able to stop the threat of the frost giants, Agger and Malekith prove to be too crafty to suffer her wrath here, which is disappointing.

The final issue in this collection shows Thor interacting more with the Marvel Universe, by breaking the most-deserving jaw of the Absorbing Man, and how the Asgardians are reacting to her presence.  Save for Freya, the answer is “not well” and it sets up the main conflict for the next volume.  Jorge Molina provides the art for this issue and while I really like his new simplified art style, it’s something that works best with a really bright color palette.  Not the low-light murk that the artist himself decided to present here.  It’s still a solid issue  overall, showing that further interaction with her fellow superheroes and villains is something to be looked forward to.