PREVIEW: Thor, #2

[Superchick]

I don't know if I dig it. It's like Odin sealed away his son inside the hammer and people just wear him like a suit. It just seems weird to me.

Donald is Thor and Thor is more than a manner of speaking and dressing.

[IcemanJeff79]

Am I misremembering, or in Stan Lee's original run (the early "Journey" issues before the classic Lee/Kirby run), when "Blake" first got Thor's power, he also had a modern inner monologue. In fact, I believe in his first few issues, his speaking voice was also modern and gradually became more Shakespearean as Thor's true personality made its way to the fore.

[Superchick]

The early Journey issues were Larry Leiber mostly. Donald was Clark, Thor was Superman. That was it, it wasn't more complex. He banged his hammer and his appearance and speech changed but he was still Donald inside. The first signs of confusion came because Thor took to speaking about himself in the third person. Hence modern writers have played with a split personality angle that wasn't originally there.

Maybe that is why I liked the preview so much. That is so much fun. I love the original Journey into Mystery run.

For reference and relevance:

[Blunderman]

Am I misremembering, or in Stan Lee's original run (the early "Journey" issues before the classic Lee/Kirby run), when "Blake" first got Thor's power, he also had a modern inner monologue. In fact, I believe in his first few issues, his speaking voice was also modern and gradually became more Shakespearean as Thor's true personality made its way to the fore.

As Superchick explained above, things were really simpler in the beginning, Thor's classic mannerisms grew more consistent with time. You could see it as a parallel with the Hulk, since what passes for 'hulkspeak' came into being only after a while; in both cases, their patterns estabilished themselves so firmly than it took years to find ways around them.

Still, if the hammer can act as a catalyst, why not?... Especially as it is the original, the one that's been most constantly linked with its owner. Copies of Mjolnir have worked differently - Stormbreaker used to return Beta Ray Bill to his original form when in staff form, while Ororo Munroe's speech wasn't influenced by a hammer crafted as part of Loki's plans (IMHO, I guess that means -Claremont's- writing is Uru-resistant... or that is purple enough on its own to surpass Asgardian standards, take your pick; Artie Adam's work on that story was exceptional, by the by).

Christopher Priest, on another hand, made it a point to have Deadpool stick to Shakespearean form when transformed by yet another fake Mjolnir - Loki's doing, again - though that was definitely a parody...

EDIT: the way manga or visual authors sometimes tackle this problem is interesting, since they start at the pronouns, including the way a character introduces himself. See for example how Gilgamesh uses ware to say "I" in Type-Moon's Fate franchise.

[sifighter]

This sounds like a lot of fun to be honest, I think the thought balloons add a nice dose of comedy with the serious asgardian drama in her voice. Also she acts a lot like anyone would if they suddenly got the powers of Thor. I think I like this new Thor.

[gurkle]

Ok, the thought baloons kill this. Suddenly the book became far less interesting.

Aaron's made use of thought balloons in a lot of books he's written. Usually for some specific effect, like adding some comedy or characterizing Firestar in Amazing X-Men or, in this case, showing us that the new Thor is probably not an Asgardian. I think he uses them well and I like that he tries to see how they can be made to work in a modern comic.

[troynos]

I'm on board with those that think the thought balloons kill it.

[Thad937]

sif dyed her hair blonde!? please!

I love the idea of it being Sif, she rocks.

Curious. It's someone who has watched Thor in action, so she must be close to him in some manner. I just... I can't quite figure it out.

I agree, makes me think that it's a mortal woman. I'm guessing Sharon Carter.

[Prof. Warren]

I love the thought balloons, especially as they actually serve a vital purpose here. For one, they put us directly in the head of a character whose identity we don't know yet. That's an important tool for helping to not just reveal clues as to the new Thor's identity but to also help the reader feel more closely involved with a character that is still unknown. Also, by contrasting the ordinary language of the new Thor's thoughts with the Asgardian tone of the spoken dialogue, it's not just a reveal that the new Thor is (likely) from Earth but we can appreciate the contrast between Thor's inner confusion and sense of discovery and the bold stance expressed in the dialogue.

Definitely a wise choice from Aaron. Plus, it's just always nice to see a call back to thought balloons in the modern age.

[Cap10nate]

I agree, makes me think that it's a mortal woman. I'm guessing Sharon Carter.

I don't think that it will be Sharon Carter. It looks like Remender is going to make her a Hydra agent.

I'm going with the Jane Foster approach. She knows him and she has been in Asgard as part of their Senate so she would be one of the few humans outside Avengers that would actually know that the hammer was on the moon. Also, Aaron set her up as a selfless woman by having her refuse Asgardian aid for her cancer and I believe Thor called her a warrior in one of the issues she was in so that could all be foreshadowing that she would be worthy to lift the hammer.

[Fokken]

This looks tremendous.

Beautifully illustrated, in all aspects, from pencils to inks to colors to lettering. Tremendous.
The dialogue has me extra curious -- and its disappointing to read so much immediate outrage to the variation between thought and speech when we'll likely be given a very legitimate reasonable answer. Maybe not this issue, but eventually. This is a first, as I understand it -- the whole claiming of the hammer by someone other than Thor -- and therefor we've yet to be presented with the ramifications and/or effects of said claiming when you're someone other than Thor.

I'm excited to see what Aaron's got up his sleeve with this.
And again, Dauterman is the life blood of this title. So amazing.

[sifighter]

You know I love the theory that Jane Foster could be the new Thor but even if that turned out to be true it doesn't really explain how she would have gotten to the moon, especially if she's a cancer patient.

[SXVA]

Weird... i get the vibe it was written in a way that was for first time comic readers or something.

I'm now a believer in the "it's Jane Foster" theory after seeing how it's separated and the sense of wonder from the character and general vibe of the character, my previous thoughts in who it was wouldn't be like that.

[Cap10nate]

You know I love the theory that Jane Foster could be the new Thor but even if that turned out to be true it doesn't really explain how she would have gotten to the moon, especially if she's a cancer patient.

Isn't she in Asgard though because she took Volstagg's spot in the Senate. She could have been there when all of the Asgardians were on the Moon with Thor before Odin commanded them all back to Asgardia.

[Hypestyle]

Her thoughts are presumably human. Thus, the alter ego is a human. Hopefully she won't be revealed until a year or so from now.