After a strong opening couple books in Jason Aaron’s Jane Foster Thor run the series has stagnated under the “Mighty Thor” banner, never rising above “meh” and, for the last couple, “zzz…”. That said, Jane Foster’s time as Thor ends on a high note with her final adventure in The Death of The Mighty Thor. As much as I hate how Marvel don’t seem to have any ideas for new stories beyond the now boilerplate death/resurrection plotlines, this death storyline was surprisingly good, not least because Aaron throws in a clever bait’n’switch at the end.
The volume is bookended by two anthology-style bumper issues – The Mighty Thor #700 and At the Gates of Valhalla (a way cooler title for this final book!) – which weren’t bad but were full of very forgettable short stories. Frog Thor (hoho) does some Frog Thor things, King Thor’s granddaughters are still being daffy, someone called Queen Karnilla is dead, the War Thor rides again. Eh, who cares about the fat Asgardian whether he turns evil or not? And turning a good character evil temporarily is such a hack move. This War of Realms storyline too is doing nothing for me – Malekith shit-stirring as usual, snore.
So: onto the main event! Jane Foster’s chemotherapy hasn’t been working because every time she turns into Thor the transformation wipes out the treatment’s effects. She’s been getting sicker this whole time – so much so that if she becomes the God of Thunder one more time, it might kill her. And then Mangog, the ultimate judgment of the gods, lands on the Bifrost Bridge to destroy Asgard once and for all. This sounds like a job for… oh. But will she?
Ok, so Hela predictable, clichéd even with the seemingly unstoppable big bad monster slotting in just when the story requires one to be there to punch; I still really enjoyed it. It’s because Jason Aaron’s such a good writer that he can take this sort of archetypical storyline and make it immensely entertaining. He slowly builds up the tension for the reader, showing Mangog bringing Asgard to its knees, contrasted by Jane in the hospital, and you’re waiting for her to heft Mjolnir and call down the thunder one last time – oh, it’s good! It’s made all the more dramatic through the flashbacks from defining moments in Jane’s past – it really feels like events are cresting for an epic end.
It was satisfying to finally see the moments leading up to Jane going to the moon to pick up Mjolnir that first time in Original Sin, as well as seeing Jane as Thor without the helmet – unsurprisingly she’s a knockout! Jane and Odinson kissing in the burning ruins of Asgard was just fucking cool and seeing the creative team behind the series having a drink at the bar while Thor and Hercules arm-wrestled was a cute Easter Egg. And then of course the “death” itself was unexpected.
I can’t say enough good things about Russell Dauterman’s art. I never heard of him before Jane Foster Thor and I don’t think I’ve seen him draw anything else so far but he’s a name I’ll definitely look out for in the future. He’s got such a cinematic eye, such a confident line and such a great sense of style that every book in the series has looked absolutely incredible thanks to him. Whether he’s drawing dialogue or action, there’s always a vivid kinetic energy on the page and he’s a perfect match for Aaron’s quality writing. Well done, sir!
I’d say this is a fine ending to a fine character but we all know superheroes never die – I fully expect to see Jane return as Thor again one day and I look forward to it. It is a mighty ending though – for now!
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