Friends, the Marvel trinity is spotlighted this week as former A Thor Subject writer Vishal Gullapalli hits us with his thoughts on Thor #7, the most handsome man in comics podcasting Dan Grote gives us the business on Captain America #23, and Spider Correspondent Tony Thornley takes a much deserved break to check out a brand-new run with Iron Man #1!
Thor #7
Written by Donny Cates
Drawn by Aaron Kuder
Colored by Matt Wilson
Lettered by VCās Joe Sabino
So, the last issue of Thor ended with Chris and I deciding to stop our regular coverage of it, which is honestly the most damning thing I can say about it. I have next to no interest in a rehash of Donny Catesā greatest hits, this time with some extra Thor in it. Sadly, that ends up being what a decent portion of this issue is, just by virtue of Cates blatantly tooting his own horn around halfway through the issue. That aside, though, there are some genuinely interesting and fresh ideas in this issue, and thankfully they are the main focus.
Letās look at the good first – this issue follows up on what was in my opinion the most interesting and riveting part of the first arc of the book, albeit not exactly in the way I was expecting. A few months and a pandemic ago, we saw Loki lift Mjolnir for the briefest of moments, and if you read our writeup for it you would have seen me freak out about the potential for a callback to Agent of Asgard. Cates follows up on this with an angle I genuinely did not see coming, which I found fairly impressive.
Weād gotten a lot of narration over the first six issues talking about how Thor was finding Mjolnir heavier and heavier, and that it was something worrying him. I, along with probably every reader, surmised that this meant that Cates was going to do yet another unworthy Thor storyline, a mere 3 years after the prior one. And Cates knew thatās what we all assumed – itās why this issue landed as well as it did. No, itās not that Thorās becoming unworthy – itās that the enchantment on Mjolnir has changed. Not only is Thor himself finding the hammer heavier to lift, itās become trivial for everyone else to lift it. I was really pleasantly surprised by this development and storyline, and I hope Cates is able to maintain this feeling for this arc, because Iām still feeling fairly sour on how the last one ended.
And speaking of feeling sour, this issue isnāt all surprisingly fresh content. No, thereās a scene in the middle thatās basically a conversation between Thor and Beta Ray Bill, that starts off with Cates begging the audience to buy his Guardians of the Galaxy and Death of the Inhumans books. Itās something that comes off super tacky, especially after the ending of the last issue did the same thing with his Thanos and Venom runs. At a certain point, how well he writes the characters stops mattering when he keeps reminding us that this isnāt the first time heās written them. Iām tired of being constantly reminded of this, and I really hope heās able to pivot to something that feels a lot more fresh. Cates has shown that he has that ability, even within this issue, so Iām going to hope as hard as I can.
Also, while Nic Klein isnāt on the book this issue, heās not missed as much as I would have expected, because Aaron Kuder and Matt Wilson do much more than a serviceable job taking over here. The bookās gorgeous from beginning to ending, and if Kuder was to alternate with Klein on this book, Iād be a very happy man.
Captain America #23
Written by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Drawn by Bob Quinn
Colored by Matt Milla
Lettered by VCās Joe Caramagna
Seven years ago, Rick āDrown in hobo pissā Remender trapped Steve Rogersā on-again, off-again girlfriend Sharon Carter in a dimension ruled by Arnim Zola and eventually brought her back aged up. It was the exact sort of comics plot that was created to be undone, and Ta-Nehisi Coates finally undid it this week as the result of a fight with the X-Men villain Selene.
Cap #23 wraps a two-issue mini arc that started with Sharon — whoās been leading a group of various Marvel women as sort of Steveās backup squad — demanding agency, exhibiting awareness of decades of shoddy character work in declaring, āI am so very tired of asking, of begging — begging, dammit — for people to save me.ā This leads her to don the Iron Patriot armor previously worn by Norman Osborn, James Rhodes and Toni Ho and take the fight to Selene just as she was about to feast on Americaās Ass.
Itās a powerful moment for Sharon, one that shows that even though sheās old, she still has power, brains and value. Maybe itās because I recently read the first two issues of AHOY Comicsā Ash & Thorn (Ed. Note: Darn right you did), but Marvel could use more kickass older women. More Agatha Harknesses, Madames Web and Aunts May. Heck, at least have enough to cast a Golden Girls reboot.
Being old — and relating to old-soul Steve Rogers — at least set her apart from the rest of the pretty, young white women who make up the traditional lineup of Avengersā girlfriends, your Pepper Pottses, Betty Rosses and, prior to her Mjolnir makeover in 2014, Jane Fosters.
But, hey, itās Marvel. Nothing character growth can stay.
Also, Coates made her do this:
NO! BAD SHARON! THATāS A BAD SHARON!
Anyway, thatās Sharonās deal. It gets another plot thread tied up as we head toward issue #25 and the resurrection of the Red Skull, as Coatesā statement on the state of concentrated power in America turns more and more into traditional Cap storytelling.
But you non-Cap-reading X-fans may be wondering: The hell is Selene doing here?
Since the first issue of Coatesā run, Selene Gallo (Did you know she had a whole name? I didnāt!) has been a member of the Power Elite, a cabal of wealthy, powerful people who sort of operate like the Defenders of villainy, in that theyāre not really a cohesive team, but Steve and company have to fight through them all to get to the big bad, the Skull. Sheās taken her penchant for building whole societies meant to serve her thirst for life energy and turned it into Adamsville, a blue-collar farming town for poor, straight, white men whoāve fallen on hard times and miss a time when hard-working straight, white men worked the earth with their hands and made a living, dammit. And she takes those men and drains them of their life essence to feed a fancy necklace around her neck that also has a piece of Sharonās soul in it.
K.
Anyway, Seleneās presence in this book has long left me to wonder whether this Cap book ties into larger Marvel continuity at all. But then Shuri says:
Oh yeah, Shuriās in this book, too. She really doesnāt do much, which is a damn shame.
Anyway, since Selene most definitely killed more than no man, one wonders if sheāll get tossed into the hole along with Sabretooth in the X-books. Itād be more than those books are doing with her now, to be honest.
Iron Man #1
Written by Christopher Cantwell
Drawn by Cafu
Colored by Frank DāArmata
Lettered by VCās Joe Caramagna
Some comics out there are the equivalent of fine dining- deep, thoughtful satisfying reads that youāre better for having read. Others though are just a fatty, cheesy, saucy hamburger (maybe with a salty pork product on top)- largely empty calories, little nutritional value, but damn if youāre not glad you read it. Iron Man #1 is the latter.
We start with a premise weāve seen before- Tony Stark rejecting the normal trappings weāve seen him with- his company, his billions, his fancy toys- and going back to basics. Itās capitalismās ultimate superhero ārejectingā capitalism- even though he still has the billions, the garage full of vintage cars, and hall of armors. So naturally this ānew and improvedā Tony Stark arriving in New York City, flush with cash, makes waves, including with some unsavory super-types.
This is by no means a bad story. Cantwell clearly had a lot of fun writing it and thereās a lot of fun to be had. The superheroics are a blast, and the hints of the new supporting cast is interesting. The highlight of the issue is by far the team-up with Hellcat, a character that Cantwell has confirmed is sticking around. Itās a throwback, including elements like the suitcase armor, the back to basics attitude, and even some eighties and nineties villains.
Itās not going to be for everyone though. Thereās elements here that donāt quite click, like the use of Twitter as a narrative tool, or Tony keeping everything while heās trying to say he changed and doesnāt need the trapping of his old life. A lot of it is cliched and tired, even if the text recognizes that and calls it out.
The art throughout this issue does a lot of heavy lifting. Cafu makes Tony feel slightly schlubby and it works. He gets the wind taken out his sails several times throughout the issue, and Cafu makes you feel it. He does great splash pages, and exciting action work. He even makes another throwback- the ānewā Alex Ross-designed armor- feel fresh and futuristic, even though itās just the suitcase armor of the seventies with a new coat of polish.
After an issue thatās so stuck in the past, I think this series is much more dependent on the future. It needs to forge ahead and do something interesting with this new status quo and the new mysteries it leaves us facing. Otherwise itās just going to be a redux of the Bob Layton or Matt Fraction runs.
This issue was a big greasy cheeseburger, and I really enjoyed it despite its many flaws. To keep enjoying it though, itās going to need to evolve, or that big greasy cheeseburger isnāt going to be enough.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
Tony Thornley is a geek dad, blogger, Spider-Man and Superman aficionado, X-Men guru, autism daddy, amateur novelist, and all around awesome guy. Heās also very humble.
Dan Grote is the editor-in-chief of ComicsXF, having won the site by ritual combat. By day, heās a newspaper editor, and by night, heās ā¦ also an editor. He co-hosts WMQ&A: The ComicsXF Interview Podcast with Matt Lazorwitz. He lives in New Jersey with his wife, two kids and two miniature dachshunds, and his third, fictional son, Peter Winston Wisdom.
