Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by: Carlos PachecoAs Asgard celebrates victory, rumblings of Ragnorok near. What shocking revelation will the All-Father unveil to his chosen son? And what does Baron Zemo have in store for the gods? Jonathan Hickman (SHIELD) and Carlos Pacheco (Ultimate Avengers) rock out another thrilling tale of Thor’s thunderous debut!
Millar’s Ultimates left the origins of Ultimate Thor a bit ambiguous. That’s okay, though, because I feel that Thor’s origin is one that should be told by a different kind of writer — as much as I loved The Ultimates. Someone like, say, Jonathan Hickman, perhaps? I enjoyed the first issue of this mini, so follow the cut to see if the second issue compared.
One of the main distinguishing features between the Thor of Marvel and the Thor of mythology is the blend of science fiction and fantasy that Marvel’s Thor is placed in. Even when Thor has been kept away from superheroes in his own title, there has been a sort of techno-feel to 616 Thor ever since Jack Kirby drew him that has just stuck with the character. This is even more present in Ultimate Thor, which is why Hickman was an excellent choice for this mini.
So far Jonathan Hickman has been giving us a story on three fronts: the ancient history of Asgard, the exploits of Baron Zemo in World War II, and the ever-ambiguous “now.” Last issue we knew that the three narratives were connected, but it was never explicitly stated how. This issue reveals a tie between the two past narratives, but we’ll have to wait until next issue (or even the final one) until we know how it plays into the “present” — if it even does. The previously mentioned blend of sci-fi and fantasy plays into this triple narrative: the ancient Asgard part of the story is pure fantasy, the modern era is sci-fi, and the World War II portion is a nice blend of the two.
As much as I’m enjoying this, the whole balance of the three narratives makes it hard to judge this mini on an issue-by-issue basis. The reveal at the end was great, and I’m definitely invested, but there’s just too much left up in the air; there’s a possibility that it could all fall apart in the end, devaluing the first couple of issues. But let’s be honest, Hickman hasn’t let me down yet, and I doubt that he will start with this mini. Throw in some great pencils from Carlos Pacheco, and you’ve got something that is definitely worth buying.
Final Verdict: 7.8 – Buy it!
