Review: ‘Immortal Thor’ #5 Reveals The New Thor Corps And A Clever Victory

Loki is the trickster god. When Thor gathers a totally new Corps of Thunder Gods, it’s not Loki’s wits that save the day, but the Odinson himself. 

Al Ewing, Martin Coccolo, Matthew Wilson and Joe Sabino bring the first arc of this volume to an end with a clever twist.

Thor, Beta Ray Bill, Valkyrie, Loki and Storm have come together to face Toranos. As the quintet battle the elder god, the Earth itself is at stake. But when Thor plays a desperate gambit to win, he learns a secret that could shake him to his core. 

Too many writers write Thor as a hulking musclehead who’s drunk even when he’s sober. Ewing knows that Thor is more than that. Though most of the issue features a clever Mjolnir swapping fight between the heroes and the elder god, Thor’s solution is smart. He’s fought Loki for eons, of course he knows how to trick an enemy to win. Ewing makes it all engrossing, and sets up the next arc perfectly to make it clear he has long-term plans as well.

Coccolo and Wilson continue to make this book look great. Coccolo’s layouts drive the action so the scale of every moving piece is clear on the page. Toranos is always in splash pages or is breaking through panel borders. The immortal weapons are always flying at the reader, and the Thors are surrounded constantly by lightning. Wilson’s colors make the red of the capes pop and uses pale yellows and blues to make the flashes of lightning pop off the page.

Sabino continues to make the old world style fonts look modern. There’s a lot of exposition in the opening pages, and he makes it move briskly and clearly. The dialogue between a bunch of heroes could get muddled and busy, but he makes it feel snappy and natural.

Immortal Thor #5 is available now from Marvel Comics.