REVIEW: Thor, #2

[Tofali]

I want the new Thor to be the female Loki sent by the All-Mother if Freyja herself can't be the new Thor. However from the inner dialogue she isn't Asgardian.

[Post Monster]

... where on earth are you getting the impression she's not human? I got the exact opposite impression. She is clearly 100% regular human. She lacks the Asgardian font in the thought balloons and her dialogue balloon before she was in Thor mode, and her thoughts seem very human to me.

How does all that antiquated internal dialogue feel Earth-like to you? Humans wouldn't think like that.

I'm gonna be POed if it's some boring nobody. I'm sick of writers spitting out new characters I don't care about while ignoring established characters that need development.

Aaron should not feel obligated to shoehorn existing characters into a story they may not be appropriate for, or use them just for the sake of using them. Story first.

Frigga wouldn't be shoehorning given her dialogue in issue 1.

[quinnzel]

This is probably one of my favorite books out right now. I enjoyed issue 1 immensely and the second issue was a lot of fun, too. I think I'm going to be with this one for the long-haul.

[Raye]

How does all that antiquated internal dialogue feel Earth-like to you? Humans wouldn't think like that.

I'm gonna be POed if it's some boring nobody. I'm sick of writers spitting out new characters I don't care about while ignoring established characters that need development.


Frigga wouldn't be shoehorning given her dialogue in issue 1.

The spoken dialogue was Mjolnir's influence, I thought that was pretty clear. Mjolnir is acting as a filter, changing what she says to be more Asgardian sounding. Her thoughts without Mjolnir acting as a filter are very human. She also clearly had no real understanding of Asgardian stuff beyond the veeeeery basics, Mjolnir was basically feeding her the information she needed to know.

And as i said before, i really don't think Aaron should feel obligated to use characters just because they already exist if they don't fit with the story he wants to tell. These books don't exist for the purpose of developing characters, they exist to TELL STORIES. Characters get developed as a side effect if that development is relevant to the story being told. There isn't, and shouldn't be, a quota on how often character X needs to appear. I get having favorite characters and wanting to see them, but I don't want those appearances to come at the expense of the story, and I would rather they appear when a writer really wants/needs them to be there, because they are more likely to be treated well when that happens. This story could very well depend on the new wielder being human and not very knowledgeable about Asgard. It could be absolutely essential to what happens in the plot, or maybe it's just a way of explaining how Mjolnir/Asgard works, since that is easier to do with a character that knows very little about it, as we learn along with them. (and yes, I know these subjects, Asgard in particular, have been covered before, but the publishers tend to like to revisit and update these things) So if that is the case, yes, Freyja or any other Asgardian (and to an extent even Jane since she has much more experience with all things Asgardian than Roz) would be shoehorned in. I think Freyja's dialogue was a red herring, and she really has something else in mind.

[Post Monster]

The spoken dialogue was Mjolnir's influence, I thought that was pretty clear. Mjolnir is acting as a filter, changing what she says to be more Asgardian sounding. Her thoughts without Mjolnir acting as a filter are very human. She also clearly had no real understanding of Asgardian stuff beyond the veeeeery basics, Mjolnir was basically feeding her the information she needed to know.

So the hammer makes you sound Asgardian now? Like a reverse Donald Blake? I hate Donald Blake. How lame. And I don't think her thoughts are particularly Earth-like either; they seem to be walking a thin line.

But what I really hate are Humans Are More Special Than Everyone trope that gets dragged into scifi and fantasy all the freaking time; human morality pets have to teach the inferior aliens is such an overused, self-glorying, narcissistic trope. Blah.

And as i said before, i really don't think Aaron should feel obligated to use characters just because they already exist if they don't fit with the story he wants to tell. These books don't exist for the purpose of developing characters, they exist to TELL STORIES. Characters get developed as a side effect if that development is relevant to the story being told. There isn't, and shouldn't be, a quota on how often character X needs to appear. I get having favorite characters and wanting to see them, but I don't want those appearances to come at the expense of the story, and I would rather they appear when a writer really wants/needs them to be there, because they are more likely to be treated well when that happens.

We're just going to disagree on this, because there are plenty of characters who would be more appropriate to fill this than some new soon-to-be-dumped background character. Any Asgardian female for starters. Roz is just another pointless filler character that will never appear again once the arc is done, which means the story is irrelevant and will be forgotten as soon as it's over (no lasting impact). I just don't give a crap about half the insert-human characters that pop up these days because I know they will be discarded with each new writer. I highly doubt there's anything in this story that requires an Earthling vs an Asgardian.

It's pretty obvious this is going to be feminist story, since there have been numerous hint about that in the last several arcs, and it's not like Asgardian women are a bunch of wimps who need Earth Chick to teach them how to stand up for themselves or to be a role model. Frigga is the perfect choice after Odin's little rant in the first issue, and because we will see her over and over. That means we get actual repercussions when Thor gets his hammer back.

[Raye]

No, not reverse Donald Blake, that would imply she thought Asgardian and talked human. It's consistent with what has come before. I really don't see where you are getting her thoughts sounding Asgardian, because they read as anything but to me. Would an Asgardian would think to themselves "How do I fly? I CAN fly with this thing, right?" or "I AM? holy crap." or "Oh man. Oh, wow. Quick, say something badass." among numerous other examples? I mean, she's using human slang that only a few Asgardians that spend a LOT of time among the humans would ever use. If anything, a bit of her human side leaks into the spoken dialogue at times, not the other way around. (and hopefully that will continue, so more of her own personality shines through, and it's just that Mjolnir takes a heavy hand early on) not the other way around.

And every character was new at some point. If no one ever gave new characters a chance, we'd be missing out on a lot of great characters that are around today. Yeah, not every new character sticks, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't be created. Quality of a character isn't dependent on how old they are. I have loved Roz's appearances so far, and while she hasn't appeared a lot so far, I think she has a lot of potential. That's not to say she will be around forever, and while she may (or may not. only time will tell there) go away after this story is done, it won't make the story less entertaining.

We don't know how appropriate Freyja may have been, because we don't know what the story is yet. (also, she has recently been up to some shady ****, I can't see her being worthy at the moment) The story isn't just 'woman picks up the hammer' there will be more to it, and the fact that she is human may be essential to that story. I am not getting a 'she's going to teach them all a valuable lesson' vibe from this. She is obviously special, or at least Mjolnir things so, but I don't think it's because she is human or anything. None of this is implying that Asgardian women are 'a bunch of wimps' Mjolnir has always been very picky about who is worthy, that none of them were able to lift it doesn't mean they aren't still strong characters. I very much doubt it will end with her teaching them lessons on how to do things. I apparently edited earlier right around when you posted, so I added some stuff to my original reply, but to repeat, I suspect that she is human is, at least in part, just as a way to give us a POV character to learn about Mjolnir and Asgard with. Mjolnir's enchantment has never been terribly well defined when it comes to exactly what qualities contribute to someone being 'worthy' and it appears to have evolved anyway. That she is new to all this means she will have to learn everything from the ground up, and we will learn with her, and maybe have all that finally explained. It's probably not about a human teaching the Asgardians a lesson, I doubt very many of the Asgardians will take her seriously at all. It will likely be her vs Asgard for most of it, because they want the hammer back, and in their eyes she is a thief. If she is accepted by the Asgardians I suspect it will be grudgingly, and more about having the the hammer back than her.

I think Freyja has another role in all this, and one that is likely much more important for Asgard than carrying Mjolnir, even if it may not result in as much panel time.

Frankly, it sounds to me like you are looking for reasons to hate on this because your favored character to wield it may not be true.

[jazzflower92]

I still wish they could have made it Jarnsaxa. Or someone else in Norse mythology they have not used yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1rnsaxa

[HaveAtThee]

I don't get Mjolnir affecting the wielder's dialogue to sound "Asgardian." Sounds like a pretty childish concept.

[quinnzel]

I don't get Mjolnir affecting the wielder's dialogue to sound "Asgardian." Sounds like a pretty childish concept.

I'm completely new to the world of Thor, so I'm probably totally off-base here, but I kind of thought maybe it was because Mjolnir instills the spirit of the thunder god within the wielder?

[Rosebunse]

I'm completely new to the world of Thor, so I'm probably totally off-base here, but I kind of thought maybe it was because Mjolnir instills the spirit of the thunder god within the wielder?

I think you must have beginners luck, my friend, because that sounds like it's probably the best explanation.

[runguy]

I think you must have beginners luck, my friend, because that sounds like it's probably the best explanation.

More specifically whoever "re-enchanted" the hammer (its now if SHE be worthy) made sure that it came with "instructions". I also wonder if whoever is behind the hammer reacted to what Fury told Thor to make him unworthy (e.g. we need a God of Thunder) or is the person behind all of this.

[Rogue Star]

The spoken dialogue was Mjolnir's influence, I thought that was pretty clear. Mjolnir is acting as a filter, changing what she says to be more Asgardian sounding. Her thoughts without Mjolnir acting as a filter are very human. She also clearly had no real understanding of Asgardian stuff beyond the veeeeery basics, Mjolnir was basically feeding her the information she needed to know.

And as i said before, i really don't think Aaron should feel obligated to use characters just because they already exist if they don't fit with the story he wants to tell. These books don't exist for the purpose of developing characters, they exist to TELL STORIES. Characters get developed as a side effect if that development is relevant to the story being told. There isn't, and shouldn't be, a quota on how often character X needs to appear. I get having favorite characters and wanting to see them, but I don't want those appearances to come at the expense of the story, and I would rather they appear when a writer really wants/needs them to be there, because they are more likely to be treated well when that happens. This story could very well depend on the new wielder being human and not very knowledgeable about Asgard. It could be absolutely essential to what happens in the plot, or maybe it's just a way of explaining how Mjolnir/Asgard works, since that is easier to do with a character that knows very little about it, as we learn along with them. (and yes, I know these subjects, Asgard in particular, have been covered before, but the publishers tend to like to revisit and update these things) So if that is the case, yes, Freyja or any other Asgardian (and to an extent even Jane since she has much more experience with all things Asgardian than Roz) would be shoehorned in. I think Freyja's dialogue was a red herring, and she really has something else in mind.

Thanks for the link. It helped a new reader like me out a lot.

[quinnzel]

I think you must have beginners luck, my friend, because that sounds like it's probably the best explanation.

Oh, cool! Thanks!

More specifically whoever "re-enchanted" the hammer (its now if SHE be worthy) made sure that it came with "instructions". I also wonder if whoever is behind the hammer reacted to what Fury told Thor to make him unworthy (e.g. we need a God of Thunder) or is the person behind all of this.

Was it re-enchanted or is it just that no one up to lady Thor picking up Mjolnir was deemed "worthy" and they mention in issue #1 that all of the other men had tried to pick it up? And then when she picked it up, the text was changed to "she" because she was the only person who had come along who was worthy to wield it? *just throwing out random theories*

[HaveAtThee]

I'm completely new to the world of Thor, so I'm probably totally off-base here, but I kind of thought maybe it was because Mjolnir instills the spirit of the thunder god within the wielder?

No. The worthy wielder is able to possess the power of Thor in extreme circumstances (see: Beta Ray Bill, Captain America). When Cap lifted Mjolnir he never "inherited" Asgardian speech patterns. This is a totally new concept to someone else wielding Mjolnir, and one that is rather goofy.

[quinnzel]

Hmm. Well, if the new wielder is Asgardian, that would explain it away. Or they're just trying something new. But if the wielder is someone like Freyja as has been speculated or another woman from Asgard then the speech pattern would make sense. Maybe they'll explain it later on.