WOTN Review: Thor #3 (Marvel)

The Price of Power in Thor #3

The latest run of Thor has provided us with a God of Thunder who has undergone many changes. He now has more mantles than ever to carry, yet it seems like his battle is far from over. At least, not if Thor #3 has anything to say about it.

This series is the first time in years that we’ve seen a new creative team swoop in and take over. It’s safe to say they’re working hard to leave their mark. And they’re doing a brilliant job of it, at that.

Thor #3 brings with it so much action (of the fighting variety, of course), some shocking twists, and even a little drama. It’s an enthralling read from start to finish, especially for fans of many secondary characters known to appear in Thor’s series.

Writing

Thor #3 is one of those specular and memorable issues that you just can’t get out of your head. Considering how impressive (and highly talked about) the last issue was, that’s actually quite a feat. Donny Cates has taken the reigns for this series and isn’t afraid to go big.

If you’ve been following the series or are a fan of specific characters, you know who exactly Thor is about to battle here. (The cover gives a very good hint on this matter). To say that it’s a dramatic fight would be a significant understatement.

What is so impressive about the fight is how raw it is. Not just the battle itself but all of the meaning behind it. All of the rage. The sense of loss. It’s all there and then some. This battle carries much more weight than expected, and the conclusion clarifies that it will have lasting (and very surprising) effects.

Seeing Thor’s perspective was enlightening as well. This series has really gone above and beyond in regards to showing how much Thor has changed. The storytelling style picked for this issue really drove that point home.

Art

In case it wasn’t clear, a lot of Thor #3 involved one dramatic fight. It was in no way, shape, or form boring. And it gave the artistic team a lot to work with. This was a dramatic issue, full of poses and hits and impact.

It can be difficult to show massive levels of power and scale, especially when floating out in space. Yet our artists managed to do exactly that and more. Everything felt so much larger than life. The impacts may have been solely visual, but sometimes, it almost felt like you could hear them.

Nic Klein (pencils/inks), Mat Wilson (colors), and VC’s Joe Sabino (letterer) worked together to bring us this intense issue. You can see how much thought ensured our eyes followed the events. No punch went unnoticed. Nor did the emotional toll go ignored.

Conclusion

Thor #3 was every bit as dramatic and haunting as fans were led to hope. We may have known this fight was coming (courtesy of the conclusion from Thor #2), but there really was no way to prepare for what happened.

This issue went a long way in showing fans how Thor has changed and the weight he now carries. We’re left wondering what will happen next. As well as what the next cost will be.

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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