Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- The Mighty Thor Vol. 11

Quick Summary

Pros: The battles taking place here are incredibly intense and, typically, deal with well-written concepts. The characters are almost always charming and add a lot to the narrative. The artwork looks great and properly depicts the events of this story.

Cons: The opening story arc is lackluster and retroactively damages an earlier story. Karnilla is somewhat poorly written.

Overall: Intense action and great characters make this a book worth reading. This collection has deadly villains, amazing heroes, and artwork that make their encounters look as stunning as one would hope. There are a few places where the narrative suffers but the positives here definitely outweigh the negatives. Readers looking for a fun collection of Thor stories, especially those interested in action and other Asgardians, should consider reading this volume.

Story

Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 11, by Gerry Conway and John Buscema, is a collection filled with stories that emphasize intense action and great character moments. Nearly every page is a battle for life and death, where it always appears as if the heroes are in serious danger. The number of heroes and the quality of their interactions are also high, as the members of the “Thor Family” take center stage. This creates a narrative that is fun to follow along with. The tradeoff is that the opening story arc is pretty lackluster and Karnilla is treated rather poorly. Overall though, this is a solid collection that most readers will enjoy.

(spoilers start here)

The Mighty Thor Vol. 11 starts out a little rough. The debut story arc has Thor and his allies facing off against the Mangog, whose presence here is poorly justified. This was a character who’s journey reached a deep and beautiful conclusion many issues ago. Now, his clumsy return takes away some of this beauty and also makes the current story feel like a cheap attempt to cash in on a great villain. 

Luckily, the writing gets better as the new creative team settles into their role. They detail an exciting fight against Pluto that puts the life of Odin in jeopardy and an equally treacherous fight against Mephiso. However, the real gem of this collection is a battle against an aspect of Ego, the living planet. This is an incredibly creative take on a previously introduced character that fits the high-cosmic ideals of this series.

Throughout all of these stories, the thrilling approach to action is one of the most consistently positive attributes. Each battle has dangerously high stakes that pose a threat to one of Marvel Comics’ most powerful heroes. Even the opening story, which was otherwise lackluster, manages to produce some serious tension and display great moments from the characters.

The other consistently positive attribute in The Mighty Thor Vol. 11 is the characters. The Warriors Three, Sif, Balder, Heimdall, and even Odin all become more integral to the story, rather than just being part of the supporting cast. There are even places where somewhat significant character development takes place, such as when Odin’s carelessness is called out by his own son. Meanwhile, new characters are also introduced, providing even more opportunity for great character moments. All of this helps make the community of Asgard feel more cohesive and important, rather than just being a place Thor visits sometimes.

The only downside, from a character development standpoint, is that Karnilla, a previously admirable and powerful character, becomes a generic stereotype of how women were written at the time.

(spoilers end here)

Art

The artwork in The Mighty Thor Vol. 11 sees John Buscema continue his already fantastic work on the series. Buscema depicts the characters in ways that allow their emotions to come through clearly, increasing the quality of the character interactions that form an integral part of this volume’s narrative. Buscema also brings a ton of creativity in introducing or reintroducing the characters and locations seen throughout this volume, which is particularly enjoyable in the case of Ego. All of these positives become even more prominent when used in one of this volume’s full-page spread. These pages are simply stunning and allow for a moment of awe or reflection before moving on with the rest of the story. Essentially, the artwork in this collection looks great and makes the reading experience even better.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 11 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 10 (Review).

The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 12 (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• The mythos behind the Mangog is explained across Thor #154-157, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 7 (Review). 
• Thor’s fight against the Controllers is detailed in Thor #131-133, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 (Review). 
• Thor previously fought Pluto in Thor #127-130, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 4 (Review).
• Thor’s last encounter with Mephisto is mentioned here. This encounter took place across Thor #180-181, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Mighty Thor Vol. 9 (Review).