I read the first trade of Cates' run.
My thoughts:
- Cates definitely seems to understand the grandeur and epic myths of the franchise more than Aaron did in my opinion. Not that Aaron couldn't be epic, but it was always peppered with jokes or references or something that felt too much like the real world or humanity that it took me out of it. The characters and the threats feel like gods and divine beings, not just playing the part, and the dialogue is far more natural compared to Aaron where characters talked normally except for when he actually tried to make them sound a little more "Asgardian." And sometimes they just sounded too normal.
- I get Cates is probably going to do his own thing with it but I really feel like it was too soon for another story about Mjolnir being hard to lift or being wielded by other people.
- It was nice to see Thor looking like Thor again. I feel like that was probably the biggest accomplishment of this run. No short hair, no Hercules beard, no metal arm or missing eye, he just looks like Thor again. I also like how he had a normal Thor form and a Herald form.
- Yeah, Galactus came off kind of weak and petulant. I mean, it's one thing to set up a threat tied to Galactus' origin and that he's afraid of, but it's another thing to take away all of his mystique and have Thor tear through his arms and legs with Mjolnir like they're made of wood. I feel like the epicness of what Cates was going for would be more pronounced if they felt earned with a properly written Galactus.
- As sad as it was, I was kind of satisfied seeing Thor man-handle Bill if only because I'm so used to Thor being seen as lesser to other hammer wielders (not Bill specifically). I'm glad Bill seems to be forgiving Thor by the end, though.
- I feel like if this were the last era of Thor, Sif would just stand on the Bifrost all day looking at stuff and not jump in to save Bill or talk Thor down. It's nice to see Sif actually being relevant again. Could Cates be building up to a new Thor/Sif/Bill triangle?
- The only really "jerk" moment I saw with Thor in this volume was when he starts to go overboard in fighting Bill and Sif had to step in and take Mjolnir away, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been.
- Thor isn't mentioning mead every issue. Volstagg's the one who keeps bring it up. The one time we do see Thor drinking at the end, it feels appropriate after what he's seen and been through, and probably not something that'll become too frequent.
Last edited by GodThor; 01-27-2021 at 07:52 AM.
Slowly starting to collect Simonsons full run in single issues. Just filling in a few spaces before I’m done. Quick question - where does the Balder The Brave mini series fit in terms of reading order??
Am I right in thinking #356 and #370 are not part of the run?
Thor #12 variant cover by Mico Suayan, colours by Rain Beredo
In Avengers 42 Bleeding Cool Enormous Retcon Thor History
https://bleedingcool.com/comics/majo...-thor-history/
if this is true then Aaron deserves a Nobel prize for destroying Thor's history completely.
Last edited by GodThor; 02-01-2021 at 06:19 PM.