Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Martin Coccolo
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Cover Artist: Alex Ross
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Things were looking up for Thor: Mjolnir is reforged, Loki is back as an ally, the Bifrost Bridge has been fixed, and he’s back on Earth. But that all changed when the elder god Toranos of the Utgard Realm arrived and engulfed all of New York into a great and terrible storm too powerful for even Thor to command. Read Immortal Thor #2 to see the God of Thunder clash with the gigantic Thunder God.
If you’re interested in this comic, series, related trades, or any of the others mentioned, then simply click on the title/link to snag a copy through Amazon as you read the Immortal Thor #2 Review.
Review:
Okay, so it’s Thor vs. Toranos, the Utgard-Thor who wields the thunder and lightning as literal weapons. Everything about this fight just screams “EPIC!” but we don’t really get all of it. Not yet at least. You’ll see what I mean in the rest of the review.
The comic starts with a small prelude about how knowledge and power always come with a price and this directly links to Thor’s fight with Toranos as he’s pushed from the get-go to use the deadly and grand power of the Odin-Force, now the Thor-Force or the All-Power as it’s described in this comic. Admittedly, the fight between the two doesn’t last very long but that’s only because Thor uses not only his great powers but also his cunning and wit to think of a tangible solution to defeat Toranos and get him off Earth. But the trouble doesn’t stop there, for the synopsis does mention Loki, and you do get Loki in this comic but in a different manner than expected.
As I said, the fight between Thor and Toranos isn’t as long or as epic as you might think it could be. Don’t get me wrong, Toranos looks great, Martin Coccolo does an excellent job in illustrating this elder god and everyone and everything else in the comic. The problem is that the fight doesn’t really make good use of demonstrating Toranos can really do. However, because of how the battle ends in this comic, the story directly establishes that this was just the first round and there will be a second one very soon. It’s only thanks to Thor being concerned for the safety of New York and the Earth that his objective was not just defeating Toranos but banishing him from Earth, at least long enough to draw his attention away from it.
Even though the action was relatively short-lived, the comic does an excellent job with the writing as Al Ewing keeps up the great characterization of Thor, showing both his warrior side and heroic spirit working in tandem with each other. This is evident during his battle with Toranos but it’s after his first battle with the titanic god that Thor’s heroic and kingly aspects get to show up as well. Mainly when he helps fix the damage done by Toranos in a way only he as a sky father deity could. Then later again when he has his encounter with Loki which has some funny and heartwarming moments in it thanks to Al Ewing once again capitalizing on the past history of Thor to inform his judgement and decisions in the end of the comic.
Final Thoughts:
Immortal Thor #2 delivers the first clash between Thor and the dreaded Toranos of the Utgard Realm. Now, the battle between the two isn’t that extensive and not too much happen, but it is resolved by Thor using both his power and guile. The rest of the comic does a solid job setting up the next batch of trouble Thor has to deal with thanks to Loki, but there’s a mystery as to why it’s happening for readers to learn in future issues. Judging by the end of the comic, readers can expect more chaos to follow in the next issue.