Mighty Thor #5 Review and Spoilers

[Raye]

I think Loki thinks he would be better off in Jotunheim, especially with his now Royal family connection to Asgard.

But that's an aside. I think the real point here is that this is a mixture of Fraction and Aaron myths here, and I wish it was Fraction writing this. We are getting back to the original structure of the Norse world with Culs reappearance being the first Alfather brother, and, King Laufey existing again. Here we have elements of Lokis trauma ringing through the ages, with his trauma from his father, his uncle Cul, and his adopted father Odin, and it all comes into view as this drama of where is Loki going to go with this? All Lokis life Cul and Laufey were dead, and all Loki had was being rejected as a viable monarch in favor of Thor. Well now Thor is out of favor and in jail. What does Loki think is his rightful place the heirachy of the 10 worlds?

[JKtheMac]

When Loki and Cul were having their little chat, Cul mentioned that the dagger was poisoned, which meant that Loki was either really good or really bad at poisoning since Freyja had not died.

Had a chance to check now and yes that is where the discussion is. Although it is ambiguous because the poison is referred to as hearsay. To quote "Your blade was poisoned they say. Though the fact that she isn't dead already tells me you're either very bad at the art of poisoning or very, very good at it."

I would suggest it could also mean it wasn't poison, afterall there is no physical blade and the evidence is in Freyja's body with Odin and he isnt telling. Or it could suggest the magical blade wasn't prepared by Loki anyway and so his skill in poisoning is not in question.

I don't think it was poison at all, but we don't really know either way. It would seem to be guilding the lilly to have a magical blade with poison on it.

[Raye]

I am assuming Cul was working with more information than just guesses, that they had some of Asgard's healers attend to Freyja and they determined it was poison. I think Loki summoned the dagger with magic, (as he's done before, he's summoned both Laevateinn and Gram to his hand with magic before this) but it wasn't like MADE of magic. The veins and such on her face also definitely suggested poison of some kind to me. Also, Loki left the dagger behind, it's laying beside Freyja after he teleports away.

[Riimi]

Had a chance to check now and yes that is where the discussion is. Although it is ambiguous because the poison is referred to as hearsay. To quote "Your blade was poisoned they say. Though the fact that she isn't dead already tells me you're either very bad at the art of poisoning or very, very good at it."

I would suggest it could also mean it wasn't poison, afterall there is no physical blade and the evidence is in Freyja's body with Odin and he isnt telling. Or it could suggest the magical blade wasn't prepared by Loki anyway and so his skill in poisoning is not in question.

I don't think it was poison at all, but we don't really know either way.

Conservation of detail. There's no reason to bring it up unless the author is purposefully trying to lead readers to a false conclusion. Besides, if it's unimportant, the whole interaction with Cul could have been skipped. Aside from that, all we get is Cul saying that Malekith won't take Asgard (easy to infer that the second in command wouldn't want someone else to take over) and Loki rejecting being called an Odinson...but that rejection is redundant after he backstabbed Freya.

On a different topic, I thought it was cool how Thor fought strategically. Not sure if the powerup she got from the locale would have been enough to beat Odin, but it was the best shot she had.

Are the beings on the last page (the ones who captured the previous Thor) members of a known faction?

[JKtheMac]

Conservation of detail. There's no reason to bring it up unless the author is purposefully trying to lead readers to a false conclusion. Besides, if it's unimportant, the whole interaction with Cul could have been skipped. Aside from that, all we get is Cul saying that Malekith won't take Asgard (easy to infer that the second in command wouldn't want someone else to take over) and Loki rejecting being called an Odinson...but that rejection is redundant after he backstabbed Freya.

There would still be reason to bring it up. It refelects Cul's preception, his willingness to accept what he hears if it supports his prejudice (again political) and may become the received wisdom (propoganda).

On a different topic, I thought it was cool how Thor fought strategically. Not sure if the powerup she got from the locale would have been enough to beat Odin, but it was the best shot she had.

Totally agree, although it isnt clear if it was her intention, it made for a very nice story touch, and reinforced that Asgardia is still in or near the solar system without being tied down into specifics. Because it was vague when they said it had been moved further from Earth as to exactly where it was.

Are the beings on the last page (the ones who captured the previous Thor) members of a known faction?

I have no idea. Anyone else? It is very odd. They look like fantastical thugs of a trollish type but we don't see a lot of detail.

[JKtheMac]

I am assuming Cul was working with more information than just guesses, that they had some of Asgard's healers attend to Freyja and they determined it was poison. I think Loki summoned the dagger with magic, (as he's done before, he's summoned both Laevateinn and Gram to his hand with magic before this) but it wasn't like MADE of magic. The veins and such on her face also definitely suggested poison of some kind to me. Also, Loki left the dagger behind, it's laying beside Freyja after he teleports away.

See the way I see it from the panel it isn't very solid at any point. The most solid we see it is just the tip. And I think we can say with near certainty that Odin flew back, picked her up and marched out. I don't think we would have the 'they say' line if it was fact. But I have been wrong about these things before, I am just giving my impression. Lets face it I was certain Odinson was in one of those guard costumes.

[Raye]

See the way I see it from the panel it isn't very solid at any point. The most solid we see it is just the tip. And I think we can say with near certainty that Odin flew back, picked her up and marched out. I don't think we would have the 'they say' line if it was fact. But I have been wrong about these things before, I am just giving my impression. Lets face it I was certain Odinson was in one of those guard costumes.

Even if no one examined her, they could easily examine the dagger.

[JKtheMac]

Yes I was just coming back to acknowlege that we do see it on the ground. I have only now been able to read the issue with proper time to study the pictures. So it would appear the dagger is more real and more examinable than I was suggesting.

This is also why my synopsis is shorter than usual.

BTW it does look like landing on the Red Spot was happy accident, as opposed to tactics.

[leo619]

*WWE Jim Ross Voice* By God, By God! Loki nearly broke her in half! Damn that son of a....


That's what it reminded me of when I saw this, I was like what is this, a WWE heel turn? LOL. Loki's literally the Randy Orton of the Marvel Universe.

[Hypestyle]

will there be an Odinson miniseries?

With the Thor/Odin space battle, were they actually on planets or in vacuums? How did they deal with the various atmospheres, or the lack thereof?

[Rc1ca]

They deal with it most likely with magic , or plot device. if they need to fight in space they will fight in space with no trouble there. The fact that they are"gods" as well as able to go from earth to Jupiter in seconds or minutes. Is called I believe suspension of disbelieve . Laws of physics and science need not apply

[jazzflower92]

Okay, Odin trusting Cul is just one big character derailment due to all the crud that Cul pulled during "Fear Itself" and all his other actions in the past. It's bad enough they trusted Loki in the past before he tried turning over a new leaf for good, but the fact that Odin would trust his brother whose known to be treacherous is beyond stupid.

[AnonymousODG]

Power levels are not how you write story. There is no power scale in the MU outside of guides and RPGs. That is why 'who would win' arguments are pointless. Even if you apply a top trumps approach to story you still end up with surprises.

I have gone over why Odin is not necessarily as powerful as even he thinks, in previous issue threads, but in this story we don't get to see a full on fight. Really it is only just starting, and Thor has already used two trump cards, possibly her only two worth using. And both of them felt legit and worth the pages spent on them. Odin didn't seem particularly hurt.

So yes Odin would probably win, and probably would have won, that doesn't mean he gets to click his fingers and win. He isn't that kind of deity in the comics, and he is potentially deluded about what kind of deity he really is.

I mostly agree with what you say here. But Odin has figuratively snapped his fingers and humiliated Thor before. But I honestly had no issue whatsoever with the fight. Not more than a volume ago, Thor was taking it to Gorr the God Butcher who, by my estimation, exceeded the Odinpower. So it's not like this performance should be completely out of left field. Thor has fought Skyfathers and Abstracts throughout his career.

Besides, it was such a sick fight. Odin was being plowed through the solar system like a ping pong ball bouncing off of moons and planets and being swallowed by the Great Red Spot storm while Jane Thor is blitzing him. That was just sensational. I mean, that friggin storm is bigger than the entire planet Earth. I gotta say, between the 3 Thors fighting Gorr, Old Galactus fighting King Thor and Jane Thor fighting Odin, Aaron sure knows how to write cosmic battles.

will there be an Odinson miniseries?

With the Thor/Odin space battle, were they actually on planets or in vacuums? How did they deal with the various atmospheres, or the lack thereof?

They've been depicted as not needing to breathe really. And writers have touched on how Thor can talk to people in a vacuum. Magic, basically.

[Doctor Know]

All rise for the Queen.

[JKtheMac]

I like how there has been a long history of Stark and Thor moments. How Stark refuses to believe he is a god, and then how when confronted with it he still can't quite get his head around it.

My favourite part of this is the way Stark calls on Odin in Fear Itself, to use their "technology" AKA enchantments. He knows it's magic but the only way he can deal with it and use it is to think of it as tech.

(I wanted to link to the retcon where Thor holds Stark's hand in a similar way to The Doctor and Rose and makes Stark realise he is a god, but I can't remember where it was.]