Writer: Jason Aaron
Artist: Aaron Kuder
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: August 24, 2022
Review by: Carl Bryan

Synopsis:

THE FISTS OF THE UNWORTHY THOR! 

Meet the most broken Thor in the Multiverse. One who watched Asgard burn, watched Midgard be defiled and was helpless to stop it, as he’s a Thor who cannot lift his own hammer. 

In desperation, Thor will turn to another of the Earth’s great powers, becoming a pupil of the Thunderer of mystical K’un-Lun, the guardian of the immortal Iron Fist.

Positives:

Jason Aaron provides a new incarnation of Thor who is tormented by his hammer, Mjolnir.  To be fair, Mjolnir appears to be a puppy with no master and is hanging around not necessarily to torment Thor, but to remind, cajole, and push Thor to find his sense of purpose again.

Like the movie incarnations, we do see frames where we see a young Thor wielding his hammer, a bearded season Thor in battle, and an alcoholic fluffy Thor who is tossing beers at his beloved hammer.  

Jason Aaron sets the stage for Thor to go through this pity party of sorts, complete with his hammering his own hammer with punches that bloody his hands.  Until he meets Lei-Kung, Guardian of K’un Lun and the ancient secrets of The Iron Fist.

Cue the Rocky Training music and we see where this is going!  Part Rocky, Part Kill Bill …but all Thor in his training, we get a new Thor and arguably a new role for Mjolnir.  

Positives 2.0

I am still a fan of Thor with long locks and clean-shaven.  We cannot fault artists for wanting to give fans the similarity between Chris Hemsworth and the comics, but Thor’s behavior should really match his looks.  The temper tantrum Thor displays should be one of youth, but we now have a clean-cut and well-coiffed beard Thor.  Maturity?  I hope not.  Thor has always been a God of Impulse in some ways, and I hope Jason Aaron keeps that!

Love the art and love the surprise ending at the end!

Negatives

Time Travel…Multiverses..and the numbering of Thors.  It’s a lot to jump into when you are getting back into the Avengers.  There are a lot of rules in both time travel and different universes and versions.  I get it is an artist and writer playground to do a lot of new things with the character, but the growth we see in one arena may not carry through with other comic versions.  

That being said, I am a traditionalist in Making Mine Marvel!  Meaning, I want one hero for each character.  

Final Thoughts:

This story is reminiscent of those “come to terms” movies in how a hero reaches a pit of despair but battles back to be a better version of themselves.  It was a great break to give Thor arguably a more harnessed power without his beloved hammer.  But like any pet with a heart, Thor needs his hammer, and his hammer needs him!

7/10