Like “Shave And A Haircut” ending without “two bits,” I couldn’t officially walk away from Jason Aaron’s horrible Thor run until I saw how “Godbomb” played out. Glad I did, because it solidified my decision to abandon the God of Thunder until Marvel gets him a new writer.
In typical Aaron style, the entire run of Gorr The God Butcher has dragged on way, way too long. Eleven issues. Nearly one whole year spent on one storyline. That can be interesting, but not when you have four or five issues of straight filler. Thor: God of Thunder is very Jason Aaron in another way. It started out great and ended badly.
The first introductions to Gorr The God Butcher were impressive. Here was a new kind of villain, one who slaughtered gods because he felt they were liars. Aaron was on a roll, and even the multiple timelines involving Thor were interesting. As much as I despised Aaron’s run on Incredible Hulk, I was rooting for him with Thor. Gorr’s ultimate plan was a Godbomb, a device that would destroy all the gods Gorr hadn’t killed with black ooze called the Necrosword. This all sounded absolutely ass kicking.
So what happened? Mainly, it’s Aaron, who never met a slice of minutiae he couldn’t turn into a full issue. The back-story of Gorr, which changed him from enigma to typical pissed-off bad guy getting revenge. It snatched all the intrigue out of Gorr. Then there were the multiple “gathering of the storm” issues. Aaron would set it up as though something was really going to happen in said issue, but nothing ever did. His build-ups with zero resolution quickly became frustrating.
Finally, the whole Gorr story was to be resolved. Thor: God of Thunder #11 would finally give us the battle we deserved. Three various Thors, one as a young man, one as an old and embittered leader, and the modern day Thor we all know, had united to take down the God Butcher. In issue #10, they were defeated, and Gorr readied his bomb. How could the Gods of Thunder ever defeat such a monster? Oh, well, modern day Thor sucks in the entirety of the Necrosword and then blasts it back on Gorr, which kills him. Then modern Thor dies, but don’t worry its only one timeline so it doesn’t matter.
Wait. What?
Yep. After eleven issues waiting for a massive battle, we get two pages of Thor sucking in black ooze and vomiting back on Gorr. It could be the most anticlimactic battle ever. It’s so dull that the death of Thor doesn’t even blip on the emotional radar. How can a writer take such a great story and drive it into the ground? Well, based on his work with Wolverine, Hulk and now Thor, it’s just how Aaron writes.
Esad Ribic’s art is still gorgeous. Nobody can draw darkness the way he can. The scenes between the Thors and Gorr are stunning. Ribic’s ability with shadowing is the backbone to the action in this issue. The evil he creates is palpable. Between his style of detail work on the faces of the characters and the ominous way he shades the backgrounds, Ribic always keeps a sense of foreboding. In the center of issue #11 is a double page splash where Thor fires the Necrosword back at Gorr. It’s a prime example of how wonderful Esad Ribic’s work is.
While visually stunning, ultimately the war between Gorr and Thor turned out to be a bore.
(5 Art, 2 Story)
