PREVIEW: Thor: God of Thunder, #25

[CBR News]

On a bellow of thunder and the crack of lightning comes the Thunder God, one last time! Today, Marvel is proud to present your first look at THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #25, the oversized final issue from New York Times Bestselling writer Jason Aaron as he assembles a bevy of the industry's greatest artists for a titanic tale that should not be missed! Witness new stories of the Thor from each era as well as the untold origin of one of the God of Thunder's greatest foes! Plus, before THOR #1 hits in October, be there when the new Thor makes her thunderous first appearance inside this epic, oversized issue!
First, it's Young Thor vs. the Frost Giants as Jason Aaron and artist Simon Bisley (2000 AD) tell you a tale the brash, youthful God of Thunder as he wields his enchanted battle axe Jarnbjorn against the worst Jotunheim has to offer! Then, Aaron reteams with his artistic collaborator from Scalped, R.M. Guera, to bring you the blood-soaked origins of one of the God of Thunder's most maniacal villains - Malekith the Accursed! Witness the untold origin of the ruler of the Dark Elves as he cuts a bloody swath across the Ten Realms in his rise to power and prominence!
Finally, as the Thor of today deals with the startling fallout of Original Sin, fast forward to the future as Aaron and blockbuster Thor: God of Thunder artist Esad Ribic bring you a new tale of King Thor and the Girls of Thunder. Deep in the halls of Asgard, Thor's granddaughters have uncovered a startling secret chapter of Thor's past. A secret long since buried. Who is the new God of Thunder and why was her existence kept secret?
Be there when one chapter in the God of Thunder's life reaches its end...and another begins. No fan can afford to miss out on the epic, oversized THOR: GOD OF THUNDER #25 when it thunders its way into comic shops and onto digital devices this September!


Full article here.

[hunterrose64]

Wonder how the new Thor is going to sell....

[Sardorim]

Is that blonde lady in the armor with those other ladies supposed to be the new Thor?

[MichaelAngel0]

Is that blonde lady in the armor with those other ladies supposed to be the new Thor?

That's Frigg, granddaddy Thor's granddaughter, and wielder of Storm Bringer.

It hasn't been confirmed/announced who the "new" Thor is, but she's a favorite among the community to be the one under that mask.

Please don't let it be Thor Girl Marvel.

[Raye]

Will be sad to see Ribic go... but at least we get one more story with him first.

Intriguing that for some reason the new Thor's identity was covered up/kept a secret far in the future.

[HaveAtThee]

Twenty five issues of brilliance comes crashing to a halt. Shame. It was a great run for the Thunderer.

[Raye]

Well, Aaron is still going to be writing the new Thor book, so.... Not exactly 'crashing to a halt' at least on on the writing side. (and the at from what i have seen looks like it will be good, just... not Ribic, but then, who is?) I see it as pretty much the same run, a continuation of the same story. Just a change of title marking the start of a big new chapter and get some publicity.

[Eisenhorn]

That's Frigg, granddaddy Thor's granddaughter, and wielder of Storm Bringer.

It hasn't been confirmed/announced who the "new" Thor is, but she's a favorite among the community to be the one under that mask.

Please don't let it be Thor Girl Marvel.

Yeah. I was thinking it might be one of his granddaughters -- it would fit into the whole Thor-In-Three-Eras story Jason Aaron has been telling.

[Eisenhorn]

Well, Aaron is still going to be writing the new Thor book, so.... Not exactly 'crashing to a halt' at least on on the writing side. (and the at from what i have seen looks like it will be good, just... not Ribic, but then, who is?) I see it as pretty much the same run, a continuation of the same story. Just a change of title marking the start of a big new chapter and get some publicity.

I wouldn't worry about the creative direction of Thor -- despite editorial and marketing talking up the female Thor storyline, based on the interviews with Jason Aaron, this sounds like something he had planned for a while. It fits in with his examination of Thor's motivations, the kind of hero/god he is and how he's evolved over the ages. Jason's told great Thor stories these past couple of years (some epic, some action and some smaller stories) and is the same writer who had Thor give Galactus a beat-down -- erasing years of Thor jobbing by writers like Fraction (on the main Thor title) and Bendis (on Avengers). He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

As for the art, like you, I've seen the previews and they're good. There are many artists I'd like to see take on Thor art duties at some point. For instance, I'd like to see Jerome Opena given a chance to draw Thor and I would love to see Stuart Immonen take on art duties on Thor once again. Besides -- some people were equally skeptical when Olivier Coipel stopped drawing Thor and some were saying that "Ribic is no Coipel" but now everyone's like "by Odin's beard! No one shall replace the Mighty Esad!"

[Prof. Warren]

Twenty five issues of brilliance comes crashing to a halt. Shame. It was a great run for the Thunderer.

Seeing as Aaron will still be writing and Thor will still be a part of the cast and everything that's happening in the book is coming out of Aaron's long term plans, I don't expect any drop in quality. This has been probably my favorite Thor run ever so I highly doubt that Aaron is suddenly going to not be writing a great Thor book.

[ShaokhaN]

Yeah. I was thinking it might be one of his granddaughters -- it would fit into the whole Thor-In-Three-Eras story Jason Aaron has been telling.

It's very much a possibility, but at the same time given the publicity the female Thor has gotten I wonder if Marvel would not have preferred an already established character to take the mantle, so that the eventual reveal may make more of an impression on readers who did not follow Aaron's run.

[Raye]

I think many people are assuming much more editorial control with this story than there really is. I think Frigg is the most likely candidate, it fits with several details we already know. They are both blonde. (I somehow doubt 'blonde hair' is part of the 'power of Thor' that you get when you pick up the hammer) We know from interviews that Loki plays a part in this story. The assumption is that it's regular present day Loki, but we do have a Loki from the future in Agent of Asgard right now, and he is up to no good. Maybe Frigg is chasing him down? trying to minimize the damage he does? And as we see here, her identity was later covered up. If it's Frigg, that could explain why, since if she learned about it too early that could screw up the timeline or something.

I wouldn't worry about the creative direction of Thor -- despite editorial and marketing talking up the female Thor storyline, based on the interviews with Jason Aaron, this sounds like something he had planned for a while. It fits in with his examination of Thor's motivations, the kind of hero/god he is and how he's evolved over the ages. Jason's told great Thor stories these past couple of years (some epic, some action and some smaller stories) and is the same writer who had Thor give Galactus a beat-down -- erasing years of Thor jobbing by writers like Fraction (on the main Thor title) and Bendis (on Avengers). He deserves the benefit of the doubt.

As for the art, like you, I've seen the previews and they're good. There are many artists I'd like to see take on Thor art duties at some point. For instance, I'd like to see Jerome Opena given a chance to draw Thor and I would love to see Stuart Immonen take on art duties on Thor once again. Besides -- some people were equally skeptical when Olivier Coipel stopped drawing Thor and some were saying that "Ribic is no Coipel" but now everyone's like "by Odin's beard! No one shall replace the Mighty Esad!"

I've seen freakouts like this before, where everyone assumes a book is doomed based on some solicit or whatever, and then it ends up being a fan favorite. I really am not worried, I have loved Aaron's Thor run so far, and see no reason why it would start sucking now. Some of the best stories are about a character going through a low point in their life, reexamining what it is that makes them tick and all that, and i am pretty sure that is what we are going to be getting, more or less.

[Geralt of Rivia]

No reason to worry, in Aaron I trust with Thor.

[MikeMC005]

Yeah. I was thinking it might be one of his granddaughters -- it would fit into the whole Thor-In-Three-Eras story Jason Aaron has been telling.

I don't think its one of the grand daughters mostly because if they are uncovering the secret of who the "Female Thor" is wouldn't they already know?

[Raye]

not if she goes back in time after she reads it.