Writer: Jason Aaron

Art: Michael Del Mundo, Marco D’Alfonso, and VC’s Joe Sabino

Price: $3.99

Release Date: July 10th, 2019

To end the War of the Realms, Thor made a sacrifice that will leave him forever changed. Now, he must face the choices he’s made in this week’s all-new THOR #15 by Jason Aaron. What lies ahead for the God of Thunder? Let’s dive in and find out!

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Jason Aaron concludes his WAR OF THE REALMS event by showing readers where the main players are at after the epic battle royal. Thor has a difficult time accepting the title of “All-Father Thor” while Jane Foster somehow joined with the War Hammer. Meanwhile, Loki heads out to presumably lead the Frost Giants and Malekith is sent to Hel to experience his worst nightmare for eternity. Folks, that’s literally the issue, which was kind of the problem with this week’s THOR.

The problem was that the issue lacked substance or that “pop” a normal Aaron THOR comic has to it. Aaron normally finds some clever way to throw readers emotions into the comic making fans connect with the characters. However, there was no bound or relationship formed with the characters in this issue. It felt like readers were simply told a summary of the status quo moving forward, which is very uncharacteristic of Aaron.

That said, Aaron attempted to give readers “the feels” twice. The first moment was when Thor was discussing with his past and future selves about becoming the All-Father while the second instance was finding out Malekith’s punishment for eternity. Thor eventually accepts being the new All-Father, which wasn’t a surprise to this reader at all and didn’t need multiple pages to drive that premise home.

Additionally, Malekith is forced to watch his younger self play with puppies in a field endlessly. Really? That’s the punishment for the man who killed millions and brought the realms to their knees. Sure, his dogs ate him but his afterlife is spent watching his younger self have fun with puppies. Is that supposed to be funny? Is it supposed to be some type of sneaky punishment that’s supposed to hit fans hard and really mean something to us?

This reviewer has read every issue of Aaron’s THOR run and I know Malekith stretches way back in Aaron’s mythos, including stories of his childhood. However, am I supposed to believe that a dark elf playing with puppies is torture? This fan thought Malekith was going to spend eternity reliving the moment his mother sold him into slavery over and over again. That would have hit this reviewer more in “the feels” than puppies.

Maybe Aaron was overworked, rundown, and simply tired after this event? WAR OF THE REALMS encompassed the entire landscape of the Marvel Universe for months with tie-ins and special WAR OF THE REALMS series that spun out of the main event. To orchestrate this task, organize a line-wide spectacle of this magnitude, and do so very well for almost 68 issues (including tie-ins, extra series, and WotR books) is daunting. Aaron may have just slipped a bit crossing the finish line. This reviewer’s hope is that the next THOR issue concludes Aaron’s run with power, dignity, and the emotion this reviewer has felt since THOR: GOD OF THUNDER.

FINAL THOUGHTS

if you’ve been following WAR OF THE REALMS since it began, then the completist in me says that you need this issue. If you’ve been following Aaron and the God of Thunder for years now, then again this issue is a must for you. However, if months of the WAR OF THE REALMS has taken its toll on you and you’re ready to move on, don’t buy the issue. The emotionally charged passion for the character didn’t seem to be present throughout the comic and it felt like a quick wrap up to put a bow on the war, the event, and his THOR run. With next issue concluding this epic collection, this reviewer hopes to be wowed like he’s been most of Aaron’s THOR run to this point.

7/10