Cates, Klein, Wilson, and Sabino bring us THOR vs. BETA RAY BILL, the showdown of 2020…?
Chris Eddleman: We’re three issues into the new run on Thor, and we’ve finally gotten a big source of interpersonal conflict—that being between our titular hero and his old foe turned friend, Beta Ray Bill. Will this be another simple superhero misunderstanding in the true Marvel fashion, or are we going to have some good conflict generated here?
Vishal Gullapalli: BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL! I love this horse-faced alien man so much and I’ve been really excited for him to show up in this book. I honestly tend to dislike hero vs hero types of stories, but this one was built up really well in just two issues. Alas, these two brothers will not be able to get along, it seems.
The Story of Bill
CE: So Bill is a pretty interesting story in that he is, in fact, a horse-looking alien [Ed. note: *cough* a Korbinite – which I know we’ll get to, but] who once acquired Thor’s powers and then managed to acquire his own abilities, as well as his very own hammer—Stormbreaker. Vishal, why do you think Bill has such a stake in this conflict?
VG: That’s an interesting question – to my knowledge, Bill has positioned himself as the champion of the downtrodden and the savior of those without gods, so of course he’d take offense to his former brother Thor partaking in the wholesale destruction of a populated planet. Damn the reasons, damn the moral gray area, these people just lost their home, and if there’s one thing Bill knows more painfully than anything else, it’s losing one’s home. But let’s backtrack, because this issue doesn’t explain very much about Bill’s backstory (not that it needs to). Chris, do you want to explain a little more about the Korbinite Knockout?
CE: So Beta Ray Bill first showed up in the best Thor run of all time, that of Walt Simonson. I mean, right away he smashes the old logo on the cover, which is frankly amazing. Anyway, Bill is a Korbinite, which is an alien species whose galaxy was destroyed by the forces of the demon Surtur. When Thor went to investigate the Korbinite ships coming through the Sol System, they recognized him as Asgardian magic and attacked. Bill managed to get Thor’s “walking stick” away from him in the middle of combat, which gave the alien Mjolnir/Thor powers. Eventually they battle for the right to wield Mjolnir, with Bill sparing Thor after the God of Thunder loses. Odin makes Bill his own hammer, and the Korbinite helps the forces of Asgard in fighting Surtur. However, importantly to this story—Bill eventually leads his people to a new planet, which they call New Korbin. And guess what happens to it? Well, it becomes a certain cosmic entity’s lunch. So Thor teaming up with Galactus is a pretty big affront to Bill, and it’s honestly hard to blame him. It’s easy to see Galactus sometimes as a force of nature, but I think that’s denying his very real agency—an agency that Thor has aligned himself with for better or for ill.
VG: It’s really heartbreaking to see these two stare each other down like this. They’ve been brothers in arms for so long, and have had each other’s backs for as long as they’ve known each other. Bill even offered Thor Stormbreaker when Thor became unworthy to wield Mjolnir! This meeting has tensions incredibly high, and it really could only end in tragedy.
CE: I’ve got to give the introductory pages a bit of a kudos as well, as they paint this issue-long fight as being more important than a time that Thor fought bad guys for two whole years. I’ve kind of eye-rolled slightly at the introductions in the past two issues (but only a little) but I think this one really hyped up the issue. Kind of the equivalent of the promo package before a big wrestling match. And this fight takes up pretty much the entire issue.
Norse God of Thunder Meets Horse God of Thunder
VG: Yeah, this fight is pretty much all 22 pages of this issue, and while I frequently complain about decompressed comics, it’s hard to say that I didn’t enjoy the Hel out of this one. A big part of that is definitely Nic Klein’s art – every Thor-damned page of this book is gorgeous. He and Wilson are an absolute dream on this book, and I wouldn’t give them up for the world.
CE: I’m 100% with you. Single fight comics have to be pretty fantastic for me to enjoy them, but this one was visceral and emotional. Klein and Wilson are all-stars, and this run allows them to really flex their muscles. Also, I particularly liked how Bill changed his tune throughout the fight. He came at first thinking that Galactus had corrupted his friend because he honestly could not fathom the God of Thunder betraying his values like this. He starts off convinced that Thor can be changed, but after Thor changes back from his Herald form, Bill kind of snaps, and rightfully so. These gents are brothers.
VG: Bill’s reaction when he hears Thor claim that he gave Galactus his word is gut-wrenching. This issue is really just several stabs to my heart over and over again. Seeing him realize that his brother actively chose to enact this genocidal act makes me feel so sad, and I might honestly have been mad about it if it wasn’t written so damn well. He also changed out of his Asgardian gear for something more alien (or maybe Roman), a visual sign of just how separated he is from his once-brother. Which leads into the biggest part of the issue, one that may change things for a long time.
Mistakes of Kings
CE: So it’s becoming pretty clear in this issue that Thor’s “whatever it takes” attitude in this series is having some pretty detrimental effects on the rest of his supporting cast. He completely wrecks his friend Bill, destroys his hammer, leaving Sif to come in to save our poor horse lad. Ultimately Thor neglects his duties as king in the service of fighting “the greater evil.” He still has a moment of defiance against Galactus, but it reads more as hubris to me than righteousness. Thoughts?
VG: Thor is definitely going way too far – both of his moral compasses have turned against him now. The only thing that would be more damning is if Jane came out to stop him, too. Destroying Bill’s hammer might be the point of no return, though – I don’t know if Bill could (or should) ever forgive him for it. I can see Thor’s perspective on this, but it’s really worrying how he’s lost sight of the smaller people. It’s not enough to just provide a new home for those you’ve permanently displaced, and there’s pretty much nothing you can do to make up for aiding the destruction of their homeland. This is a really tragic tale.
CE: I think this could be a whole article but, the Black Winter seems to be somewhat of a climate change metaphor, with Galactus being a wealthy person who is terrified of losing their station as mass resource consumer. So Galactus has to convince the little people that he has to have certain destructive appetites, or the Black Winter cannot be stopped. Meanwhile, Thor is assisting in this madness while neglecting his duties as a community leader in the service of an ultimately destructive force. I’m still not convinced the Herald’s plan of “let Galactus have five particularly good cookies” [Ed. note: *CHORTLE*] is the only way out of this, and the appearance of Sif as a voice of reason after the appearance of Bill as well is starting to seal it for me. It’s kind of no wonder Mjolnir is getting heavier, right?
VG: Seeing Bill able to keep Mjolnir from returning to Thor was all the evidence I needed to know that he’s going down a path I cannot follow. Thor’s spent a long time trying to be a hero, but maybe being a King is a step too far for him. No matter what the reason, it’s really hard to watch him continue to make these mistakes – and I am loving every second of it.
CE: Yeah while this issue was kind of a one beat story, it was very enjoyable and I’m happy to keep with it, with the caveat that another meaty plot issue like #1 would be a welcome sight soon. Granted, the emotional beats are completely spot on, so I’m definitely in for the ride.
VG: Once again, I really need to talk up Klein and Wilson’s work on this issue. There’s very few ways to make issue-long fight scenes engaging from start to end, and fantastic art is the best one. Obviously Cates’ dialogue is a big part of it, but I don’t think it’s possible to overstate how breathtaking every single inch of this book was. It’s a masterclass in comic art.
Marvelous Musings
- Bill holding the hammer even when it’s ripping up his arm to stop his friend. I felt that.
- The two big splashes are incredibly done. Excellent work by Klein and Wilson.
- “I will not be judged by you.” However, Thor is definitely being judged by us.
- Cool full page splash of Sif, who has some history with both of these boys.
- Thanks to editor Allison Senecal!
Chris Eddleman is a biologist and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and far busier than he would like. He’s currently reading through the entirety of DC’s New 52 (for some reason) and logging his experience.
Chris Eddleman is a biologist and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths.
Vishal Gullapalli is highly opinionated and reads way too much.
