Thor #5 Review: It's Unfortunately a Swing and a Miss

Thor and Galactus stand together against the sentient force that ended the universe before the one we know, empowered and bloodied but ready for a fight … with a heck of a twist ending.

Here's the thing … this book is gorgeous. Thor is awash in the power as the All-Father and the added might of the Power Cosmic, bestowed by Galactus, and he may not have made as much of a visual impact since John Romita Jr. showed the Thunder God stand against Thanos and Mangog. Nic Klein, Matt Wilson, and Joe Sabino present a simply magnificent show of power and divine glory, and that's well worth seeing.

Sadly, the story behind it is much less impressive. While Thor technically fights against the end of everything, there's a lot of voiceovers telling you what's happening more than the visuals show, and that's literally the opposite of what any high school writing teacher would mark you down for. The actual mechanics of this battle are largely abstract, and that's less engaging than this conflict should be. Likewise, its montage section was too "inside baseball" to connect, trying to shortcut the idea of a threat without developing it natively.

Admittedly, there is one twist in the last act of this issue that's a true surprise, a layered revelation that could make one stop and think about literally hundreds of previous stories a different way. It's one of those moments that overcomes a lot of deficits, but this issue still is far more sizzle than steak. Swing and a miss, alas, but here we are. RATING: MEH.

Thor #5
By: Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Oliver Copiel
THE BLACK WINTER IS HERE. A god. A king. A herald. Every title Thor has worn has come with its own powers, its own terrible responsibilities. But none of them will be enough to stop the Black Winter. To save the Ten Realms – the entirety of the Multiverse – the Odinson must become something else …