What goes up, must come down. It was cool when Jane Foster picked up Mjolnir but the clock started ticking the second she did. Nothing personal, that’s how it is for pretty much all legacy characters. Wally West was the main Scarlet Speedster for decades and even he wasn’t untouchable. Now we’re on to the next chapter and Jane’s going in an all-new, all-different direction. How’s it going for her so far?
Written by Al Ewing & Jason Aaron
Illustrated by Pere Pérez
Lettered by VC’s Joe Sabino
Colored by Jesus Aburtov
HEROES OF MEDICINE UNITE! But are they all about to become doctors to the dead?! Doctor Strange, Night Nurse, Cardiac, Faiza Hussain and more join forces with Jane Foster for a supernatural medical emergency that will give you heart palpitations!
Over the first five issues, Jane Foster really struggled as Valkyrie but still managed to triumph and embrace her new role. “Valkyrie: Jane Foster” #6 kicks off the new arc, ‘Strange Aeons’. Along for the ride for this new arc is guest artist Pere Pérez. The art is good for the most part but there are some issues. One thing that always irks me in comics is when background characters are missing details. In all fairness, they won’t be as detailed as the characters in the foreground but still. There are multiple panels where characters just off to the side are completely missing mouths. Again though, the majority of the art works in this issue. Both the opening and closing pages of this issue are as chilling as the creative team intended them to be. There are some other creative moments too. For example, it’s cool having a portal expand out of one of those motivational posters found in doctor’s offices. It’s also good to see that his ‘death-balls’ are like Cafu’s, growing larger and opening their hungry maws the closer that death is.
It should be noted that this issue isn’t action-heavy at all. It’s understandable that that would be a problem for some. At the same time though, that feels more like a deliberate choice in #6 rather than an oversight. As the first issue of this arc, it’s mainly concerned with setting the stakes and putting the pieces into place. If this were a heist movie, we’re in the part where they’re assembling the crew. The job the crew is assembling for is a doozy too. It’s such an interesting premise, trying to stop the death of Death. It’s also a really fitting choice for this book as it helps solidify that Valkyrie isn’t really a superhero per se. Jane Foster is a super person, yes, but her new job is vastly different than what the Avengers are doing. She’s a specialist.
The other characters are great as well, all the other ‘specialists’. This issue quickly endeared me to Dr. Rudy Gillespie, Jane Foster’s boss at the morgue. He seemed a one-note supporting character at first but if there’s one trope I love it’s ‘we knew your secret I.D. all along’. I don’t mean when it’s played for emotion though, I mean when the supporting character knows because they aren’t a total idiot and haven’t said anything because it was never relevant before this point. I loved it when it’s happened in titles like “Ultimate Spider-Man” or “Jupiter’s Legacy”. It has never not entertained me.
Then we have the ‘mighty medics’ that Doctor Strange assembles for Valkyrie. It’s great to see the love shown to obscure characters in this issue. Co-writer Al Ewing has always been great at putting a spotlight on lesser-known heroes. For example, there was Night Thrasher in “Contest of Champions” and White Tiger in “Mighty Avengers”. Here we have the likes of Dr. Faiza Hussain, who started off as a British superhero fangirl and ended up wielding Excalibur. Cardiac is an obscure sometimes-friend, sometimes-foe of Spider-Man. He’s a vigilante who hates corrupted medical practices. There’s also Night Nurse who runs a clinic for superheroes and Manikin, who I literally knew nothing about and had never had of. I was a proud owner of a Marvel Encyclopedia in my youth so I usually know the gist of a character but not this time. The guy apparently was in Alpha Flight and can turn into a futuristic version of himself or a primal caveman version…it’s so weird and so awesome at the same time.
The character that surprised me the most though was Death herself, the patient the medics are trying to save. She’s a great example of a character I just know the gist of. She’s silent, mysterious and Thanos has a crush on her. That’s typically all you need to know. In this issue, Death has a strong presence even though she’s hardly ever seen, given foreboding titles like the Undiscovered Country or the Last Enemy. Doctor Strange can teleport to her realm from anywhere because…Death is everywhere. The most interesting wrinkle about the character arrives casually in discussion between Strange and Foster. The reason Death has clothes, the reason she has suitors like Thanos is because…she wants to understand us. The same way that we struggle to comprehend Death, she’s struggling to make sense of us. I find that absolutely fascinating and really can’t wait to see the doctors work to heal her.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – The doctors are in!
