Who is Tanarus, and why is he the new God of Thunder?
It's an interesting new direction for this book, with lots of surprises and unexpected events. The twist at the end suggests that this story is just kicking into gear. Read Full Review
Back during FEAR ITSELF #7.2, I said that Tanarus seems like a bit of an ass; I'm actually glad I was right about this, and that Marvel wasn't expecting us to take him seriously as a replacement for Thor. I fully expect the "right" God of Thunder to be back in the winged-hat and chainmail in the next couple months, especially after a nice jaunt to the underworld. Read Full Review
Marvel's put themselves in a bit of an unenviable position, using the same trick three times in as many weeks. Fortunately, it's a gimmick that bears out in at least two of those cases, including The Mighty Thor. The process of death, rebirth, and death again, ad infinitum, is the basis for Norse mythology, and begrudging Matt Fraction and crew an exploration of that principle doesn't change the fact that his take on it is, so far, intriguing and in line with the Mighty Marvel tradition of telling a good story, and telling it well. The Mighty Thor will have its haters, but the fact remains that a good story is a good story, and this is a good story. Read Full Review
That aside, there's still a chance for this arc to really get moving. The pieces are there for a really interesting story to set the wheels in motion for the new “status quo” for this title and the Journey Into Mystery title, but I just wish the mystery behind Tanarus would have remained that way for a bit longer. Read Full Review
That said, there's plenty of material to chew on here. I was never 100% sold on the idea of bringing Odin back into the mix, so having the All-father replaced by a triumvirate of women is a welcome shake-up. The chaos and political upheaval in Asgard after Fear Itself is pretty compelling so far. It's also satisfying to see Fraction make good use of the all the Nine Worlds. As with "The World Eaters," Pasqual Ferry is adept at capturing the surreal story tone and the diverse looks of these mythological characters. Fraction's script is more jumbled than it needs to be given the various characters and conflicts, but it never fails to entertain. Read Full Review
The Thor-centric epilogue to "Fear Itself" disappointed me, but Matt Fraction has turned my opinion around. In "The Mighty Thor" #8, he and Pasqual Ferry set up a lot of interesting plots like Tanarus, the new (or old) God of Thunder, Asgardia, Loki's schemes, and Thor possibly not being as dead as we thought he was. That this issue so clearly draws upon Fraction's work to date is encouraging, as well. Once again, "The Mighty Thor" is an exciting read and I can't wait to see what happens next. Read Full Review
This is a time stalling story arc, which, in all probability, will only be remembered as a footnote in Thor's coming back to life journey. Read Full Review
Decent, but plays it safe. Read Full Review
Ferry saves this comic book again. Just like Salvador Larroca on Invincible Iron Man, he makes a comic book which would be unreadable at least pleasant to look at and probably props up the work of Fraction, helping cover all the problems in the script. Read Full Review
The art doesn’t help either. This is a dark storyline; it needs solid art, bold lines and a powerful presence. Instead artist Pasqual Ferry’s work is light, almost the illustrations of a fantasy book for children. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Ferry, but his work isn’t right for this story arc. It’s the same problem that the last run of Aquaman encountered. The last few issues of the final run had a fantasy element and the art followed suit but didn’t work. The same thing holds true here. The Mighty Thor is a book about Norse Gods, war, battles and magical elements mixing with the mortal world. It needs a storyline you don’t need breadcrumbs to follow and art that leaps off the page. In short, it doesn’t need what it currently has. Read Full Review
Cover-*****
Writing-*****
Art-****
Story-*****
Boring and kind of unnecessary issue. Asgard seems brainwashed after the death of Thor in Fear Itself as no one remembers Thor and the Mighty Tanarius has replaced him. All except Loki, who only remembers Thor thanks to the three witches. The All-Mothers are beginning to make reforms to Asgard as Tanarus is revealed to be Ulik in disguise in a plot by the trolls to take advantage of the power vacuum left by Thor and Odin. At the end of the issue Thor is seen with more dead people about to be Eaton by the Demomorge.