By Sam Christopher
I’ve said before I’m not a fan of all the Siege stuff going on in the Marvel Universe. I am, of course, following the story in Thor’s book so…
Thor #608 gives us more of the battle between Ragnarok and Volstagg, while Kelda goes to tell Bill’s parents of his death. Meanwhile, the taking down—quite literally it turns out—of Asgard continues. This last is what I have the least to say about here, as it seems to be the least story in the book, I’m guessing because it’s the main story in the Siege mini. There’s also a sub-plot involving Tyr, the God of War, and the prophecy that in the coming battle the God of War would die. Why no one thinks about the fact that Ares is lying at Death’s door even as we speak is beyond me. Volstagg’s plight is interesting in that he has to battle the likeness of his good friend Thor and also has to safeguard the mortals of Brockton, while Kelda’s thread is heart wrenching and well-written up until the moment she’s called to step outside by the forces of our government.
Then we move into the Siege: Loki One-Shot, in which we find the God of Evil tracking legends and securing a real estate deal for his daughter. This is actually a pretty good book, which I’m especially appreciative of since I very nearly didn’t buy it. I bought it hopeful of it giving me a more complete picture of what was happening with the overall Siege storyline since I’d made the decision not to buy the whole thing. On that score it only really succeeded in that it showed me the “voice of the Green Goblin mask” to be Loki. The rest of the book was very good and I enjoyed the story but it didn’t really tell me anymore about what was happening in other books here. It does give us a little more on Loki’s motivations and some of the other behind-the-scenes things going on.
And then we get to Thor #609, in which Loki gives Balder a twisted version of the truth, from Bor’s murder to Heimdall’s semi-blinding. All the way through the explanation I’m thinking, “Why is Loki’s head still attached to his shoulders?” I mean, I know why but… We get some more of Volstagg, more of Tyr facing what he believes to be his fate with the bravery one would expect of him, and, best of all, more Kelda with Bill’s parents. Really good stuff.
And now for something completely different… Thor and the Warriors Four #1 finds the kids of Power Pack seeking out the God of Thunder in order to get Idunn’s Golden Apples—they keep the Norse Gods young—for their Grandma. The kids see a lightning flash across the city and follow it to… Throg and the Pet Avengers! How can you not love this story? As a backup feature we get to see what happens when Hercules, the Prince of Power, babysits for the Power clan. Very funny stuff. But then we moved to Thor and the Warriors Four #2 and things really darken… well, maybe not. “You’re Thorse, right? Half-Thor, half-horse?” “I am Beta Ray Bill.” “But you’re a horse with the power of Thor, right?” “I am an alien—“ “Do you know a horse named Whitey?” Really, REALLY funny. Just excellent writing from Alex Zalben, with cool art by Gurihiru.
Moving on to another god we get to Hercules: Fall of an Avenger #2. Athena has taken the mantle of Ruler of Olympus and chosen Amadeus as her champion. But there’s another god who has a problem with that, the leader of a faction of Olympians who believe that Athena shouldn’t profit by the underhanded and dark machinations she herself set forth. They choose their own champion and there’s a battle. There’s a quest. There’s an ending that’s really a beginning…
…the beginning of a new miniseries, in fact. Prince of Power #1 picks up where H: FoaA left off. Amadeus is routing money to Bruce Banner and the two have cooked up a plot to find Hercules and bring him back. For some reason here they’re trying to keep their activities secret from Athena, which is odd because Cho pretty much told her what he was going to do at the end of the last mini. Anyway, this is a good start for this series. It has heroes and Councils of the Godseseseses and Thor. There’s also an evil Asgardian god I’ve never heard of. Well, he’s not really a god, either. He’s kind of a demi-god. I think. Whatever, good story.
