Original Sin: Thor & Loki #4 *Spoilers*

[Expletive Deleted]

Original Sin: Thor & Loki #4 (of 5) (AKA Original Sin #5.4) by Aaron, Ewing, Bianchi, Garbett, Pieruccini, Dall'Aldi, and Woodard. Out today . . .

Spoilers, obviously.

The angels think they have Thor at their mercy. They think Loki has betrayed Asgard. They think Asgard is vulnerable. They . . . are not going to have a very good day, as it turns out.

We start out with Thor being tortured by the Queen of Heven and taunted by Loki. Thor's taking it pretty stoically, and he's repeatedly asking the Queen about his sister. The Queen sends Loki off with a fleet to attack Asgard. Loki, after a stirring, somewhat tongue-in-cheek speech, proceeds to trick the angels into slamming their warships against the impenetrable barrier that Odin erected around Asgard after Fear Itself. They breach the barrier, but in the process the entire fleet is destroyed. Loki kills the angels' battle commander for good measure. Back with Thor, he reveals that while they've been torturing him, he's been preparing his own surprise. They have him restrained, along with Mjolnir, but they've overlooked the thing that makes Thor a god. Heven, being in its own little plane (until recently) doesn't really have weather, so they don't know about thunder. Thor, in a seriously bad-ass moment, calls the storm and detonates Heven's citadel. Freed, he summons Mjolnir and confronts the Queen again. Back in the newly re-opened Asgard, Loki brings in the big gun. She convinces Odin to return.

Even though they're using the artistic clash to signal location changes, I'm still not loving the combination of Bianchi's more baroque style and Garbett's more house-style approach. It takes me out of the story. That said, this was a fun issue. Loki gets her moment of glory (and cracks a few jokes, which is always nice), and Thor . . . I mean, damn. That's one for the highlight reel. Angela's part of the plot is still a little thin (she really only gets a brief scene where Loki talks at her), but hopefully Odin's arrival will move things forward on that front.

Anyone else pick this up?

[MindofShadow]

One of the stronger non-hammer lightning feats in recent memory with Thor.

Glad that Aaron/Ewing continue to show how powerful Thor is even without Mjolnir. That was a serious feat. Before Aaron got on Thor, all we saw was Thor smash people with Mjolnir or shoot lightnign with Mjolnir. Since Remender and Aaron have gotten ahold of him, we are seen huge lightning feats without Mjolnir and cool portals being opened again.

Reminds me of when Young Thor first blasted Gorr with lightning when they first met.

[Mahes]

I liked it for the most part. One of the top Thor feats for sure. Really like the focus on non-Mjolnir powers. The Loki bit was predictable but still done well and was in character. The only minus on the issue was the development of the Angela sub-plot.

[Danvidar]

Another enjoyable read. The Thor scene was well done, Loki's was expectred but pulled off well, glad to see that the Pale King was as suspected Odin. The one complaint is there is hardly any Angela.

[Corvinas]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned that with the barriers around Asgard shattered and Odin returned (and having forfeit the game), there's that other little tidbit of the Dark King. I would assume that means Cul the Serpent is free as well, since that was clearly the other player.

[Raye]

Yeah, the Serpent being free again (not to mention alive, but we kinda knew that already) is a pretty big deal. I wonder what they're gonna do with him?

I liked this issue. I was hoping for a bit more with Angela, but I am guessing that's mostly next issue. The stuff with Loki's baby murdering speech was hilarious, and only he can make a betrayal heartwarming.

[Moriarty]

didn't expect Odin to return. i'm kinda surprised they would use the Serpent. the events of Fear Itself seem pretty well forgotten in the Marvel Universe.

[Mahes]

I'm surprised that no one mentioned that with the barriers around Asgard shattered and Odin returned (and having forfeit the game), there's that other little tidbit of the Dark King. I would assume that means Cul the Serpent is free as well, since that was clearly the other player.

Forgot about that part. I wonder if he'll be showing in Thor as a foe for the new Thor.

[Danvidar]

Forgot about that part. I wonder if he'll be showing in Thor as a foe for the new Thor.

If Aaron's war of realms storyline carries over to the new title, he might appear in that.

[Punisher007]

Loki being Loki, I love it. Thor got to be badass (which I hope will satisfy those who complained about him losing last issue). The only minor complaint that I'd make is that Angela hasn't appeared/done as much in this series as I would have liked.

[pugbuddy]

Loki being Loki, I love it. Thor got to be badass (which I hope will satisfy those who complained about him losing last issue). The only minor complaint that I'd make is that Angela hasn't appeared/done as much in this series as I would have liked.

As one of those "who complained about him losing last issue" (although my complaint was mainly in how his loss was portrayed), I'll give credit where it is due. This was a very good, if "light", issue. As previously stated, Loki had a nice showing and Thor had a very fun and impressive moment. The storyline didn't really move forward much, as several have noted.

My main complaint with the storyline overall is that it lacks the fun of an invasion of Asgard. The angels of Hevan are interesting enough to carry the villain role, if you buy their motivations and organization, but I dislike all of the "super science" battlefleet stuff. Mjolnir is the greatest weapon in the Nine Realms; where are all the other interesting weapons that the Angels could have (something like the old Warlock's Eye or Orakal helping the trolls)? This story needs a little more imagination and a bit more depth to it to be really good. I'm mildly annoyed that they didn't take that extra step to make it really shine...but there is one issue left. Unfortunately, I don't think that is enough to clear up all the loose ends and still give everyone (Angela, Odin, Cul?, Loki, the Queen of Angels....) enough say to bring it to a satisfying conclusion....

[Punisher007]

I would argue that the more mystical aspects of Thor and Loki's powers/weapons vs. the more sci-fi ones that the Angel's use is an interesting contrast/conflict. Just like their wildly different ideologies also make for interesting contrasts.

[pugbuddy]

I would argue that the more mystical aspects of Thor and Loki's powers/weapons vs. the more sci-fi ones that the Angel's use is an interesting contrast/conflict. Just like their wildly different ideologies also make for interesting contrasts.

Fair enough. But it strikes me as odd that the Angels, who have wings and apparently had little issue moving between the realms before their exile, would feel the need to build a giant fleet of battleships. It's almost as if they only built them to say "we have a ship that can destroy a planet! Huzzah!"....

Then again, while I do tend to favor the more down-to-earth approach in characters, I know that "super tech" has always been a part of the Thor/Asgard/Nine Realms "universe".

[ImprobableQuestion]

God Loki was funny this issue. "Baby murder will happen! At almost tedious length!" (Huzzah!)

[jackolover]

I would argue that the more mystical aspects of Thor and Loki's powers/weapons vs. the more sci-fi ones that the Angel's use is an interesting contrast/conflict. Just like their wildly different ideologies also make for interesting contrasts.

I was shocked by the ease of the Angels dispatch as they crashed their war fleet into the Asgard Barrier, and no alarms were set off. The bloodthirsty way Loki just sent them to destruction, while putting the Angel General to the sword, (was it the truth sword?), took me by surprise. I didn't think the end of the armada should have been so violent. Sure, Loki gave them a chance to reverse their attack against Asgard by admitting they couldn't murder Asgardian babies in their sleep, and none of the Angels took a backward step. That to me, was the stroke of the last straw as far as Loki was concerned, and a valid question to ask in those circumstances.

Like others I believed this may have been the last issue and was wondering how starting with Thor captured and Loki a traitor, we would get to Angela embracing Thor and Loki and heading off back to Asgard. But we didn't get to that point. We got to a point where the overconfidence Queen of Heven saw her kingdom in ruins, and Loki betray the Angels by destroying their Battle Squadron. Angela did not appear for much more than to feel bemused at Lokis goading at how well off Angela was now in Heven. We still get no idea how Angela was transported from Earth space to Heven space. And, it now seems that the only way that Angela is going to accept that she is Thors sister is by Odins direct intervention. It was truly a triumph for the two sons of Odin, Thor for his burst of fury, and Loki for his defence of Asgard. It was a real victory for Loki who is thought of as just a God of mischief, but to see this dedication, it puts Loki in a new high category.

And yes, the shock release of Cul, the Serpent, is a strange revelation to occur in an Original Sin tie-in, rather than the main book itself. I thought it was going to be something way more serious than the arrival of Loki in the time constrained forest that Odin was keeping Cul, to overturn Culs imprisonment, and yet, there was no celebratory fanfare on Culs part at being released.

It is Jason Aaron the writer of Original Sin, who is writing the Thor-Loki tie in, series as well. Aaron writes the revelation of Nick Fury being this inter dimensional warrior, who protects the Earth from all threats, while giving the super heroes the luxury of being able to ethically hold their heads up high, in a token effort of stalling super villains at what they do. Now, Aaron is telling a story of a kingdom in Asgard, that never existed before, being revealed, like some secret failure of Odins where one of his offspring was sacrificed for the sake of some ethical line Odin wouldn't cross. Jason Aaron is delivering two stories for the price of one, here, with equal ferocity of impact to the Marvel Universe. Nick Fury destroying dimension invading hordes, and Odin isolating Heven in a separate dimension out of embarrassment of failing to abide by a protocol he had agreed too.