Thor #491: Review

Oct 1995

Warren Ellis, Mike Deodato Jr.

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Story Name:

Worldengine Part One of Four: Nailed Up

Review & Comments

Rating:

Thor #491 Review by Peter Silvestro (April 30, 2024)

Review: Warren Ellis? The Extremis guy? The Transmetropolitan, Authority, Planetary guy? Who also did some cool James Bond stuff for Dynamite? That Warren Ellis? Hmmm. Odd choice for Thor. Especially in the 1990s. And for an ongoing rather than a limited series. Very odd. But then he was a new guy with everything I’ve listed still ahead of him. This brash youth was selected to lead Thor in a new direction and he did, sort of. Mainly by having Thor lose his flowery speech and jump into bed with Amora. The new direction just looks like cutting Thor off from most of his supporting cast and letting him brood. It’s Mike Deodato’s art that stands out; his earlier style looks to be imposing a Jim Lee/Rob Liefeld sheen onto Barry Windsor-Smith’s Conan. Not quite as extreme though the bodies are still bulkier (for men) or impossibly slim (for women) than the comic book norm. At least he doesn’t furnish Thor with a leather jacket full of pockets. (What would Thor keep in his pockets? House keys? Change for the subway? Gummi Vikings? An ID that says, “Ex-God of Thunder?). Deodato is likely restraining himself mightily as his next big project is Hulk. Talk about a bulky body…. Anyway, he would find a more mature level in his craft soon enough. The story is a bit drawn out: Three issues of Thor following up hints and clues while Detective Curzon follows Thor. All of the plot is jammed into the final issue. Good enough story but …we’ll see.

Comments: “The beginning of a whole new era!” Thor suddenly speaks modern English, a side effect of dying, apparently; Ellis calls attention to it.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Thor #491 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Thor is dying. He has taken himself to the top of an unfinished Manhattan skyscraper to write his diary. He records how he appealed to his father Odin for help but the All-Father refused, blaming Thor for having forsaken his birthright to live on Midgard. Thus, he is barred from Asgard and Red Norvill has taken his place as the God of Thunder. Then the decaying corpse of a warrior climbs into sight, muttering, “Come to help you die.” Thor summons Mjolnir to him and smashes the interloper, discovering it is made of bone, cheap radio parts, and ash wood. More arrive. Thor fights them all, wondering who could have sent them, knowing he was dying….

At the swanky Ash Hotel, Amora the Enchantress summons all of the rich and powerful men she has under control and orders them to find Thor for her….

Having defeated all of the corpse-warriors, Thor pursues the last one which has fled into the night. He follows it into the sewers where he discovers a massive machine connected to Yggdrasil, the World-Ash. As he wonders at the sight, he is struck from behind and loses consciousness….

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