Review: Thor: God of Thunder Volume 4: The Last Days of Midgard

Quick Summary

Pros: This is an enjoyable story with a great cast of characters. The plot itself is extremely unique and shows a different aspect of superheroes’ lives. The artwork is incredible.

Cons: The book’s moral message is undercut by some of the plot twists.

Overall: This is a great book that continues the thrilling and epic adventures of Thor. Though some minor flaws prevent it from being as good as the past volumes, this is still a solid story overall. The unique plotline, moral message, and return of future Thor give fans exactly what they need from the book. Despite not being the best arc in the series, this is still something that would give most other comic books a run for their money.

Story

Though Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 4: The Last Days of Midgard is an enjoyable and entertaining comic book, it is the worst volume in this current run on Thor. It still excels in mixing high fantasy with modern day morals, especially in regards to the environment. However, it stumbles in its delivery of the message and does not provide nearly as much excitement as previous installments. This is still a fantastic comic and a worthy addition to the series, it simply is not quite as good.

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The main plotline in this book follows Thor’s battle against an evil corporation headed by a malevolent CEO, who readers later discover is a Minotaur. It parodies modern day capitalism, emphasizing the greed of man and the consequences that it can have on normal people. This company pumps toxic chemicals into the air, sells basic necessities at an inflated price, and generally relishes in their own power. The Minotaur even goes so far as to torture his own workers and then strikes Thor through extremely unconventional means.

Instead of simply attacking Thor through the use of supervillains or monsters, he sets up pollution spewing factories right outside Asgard and goads Thor into attacking them. This allows him to obtain a restraining order against Thor, effectively blocking the God of Thunder from his own home. Tying up people in legal hell, destroying small towns, and causing overwhelming pollution to the Earth are things that real world companies do, making this story far more relatable that many others. It is a rage inducing, yet remarkably clever, alternative to a standard conflict and is handled in a way that works as both high fantasy and societal criticism.

However, in the same way that the presentation of this villain leads to a unique story, it also severely undercuts the environmentalism message. Instead of showing corporate greed and its effect on the environment as a human problem, perpetuated by regular beings who just happen to be in power, the book presents it as something coming from a demonic origin. This, in turn, suggests that the problem’s only solution can come from a superhero. It effectively divorces laypeople from the goal of saving the environment by suggesting it is a concept too grand for them to handle. I don’t think this was Aaron’s intention at all, but it is something that comes across in the way this arc reads.

Alongside all of this, is the story of a future Thor battling Galactus for the fate of a dying Earth. This story is interwoven with current events in order to demonstrate parallels that help drive home the book’s other themes of dedication and letting go. This works on many levels as it gives an action packed alternative storyline, allows readers to see Old Thor again, and sets up additional stories for the future. With the book’s environmentalism theme reading somewhat weak, it is fantastic to have this here to bolster up the book’s overall meaning.

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Art

This is a dark story, one filled with corporate greed and noxious pollutants, so it needs an art style to match. Thus, the return of Esad Ribic is more than appreciated. Ribic transforms the doldrums of Midgard into a sprawling fantasy world fitting the God of Thunder himself. Character designs are on point, the atmosphere is perfectly maintained, and the art is detailed throughout. This is a good looking book and one that continues the awesome visual legacy of these past few volumes.

Continuity

Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 4: The Last Days of Midgard follows the events of Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 3: The Accursed.

The story continues in Thor Vol. 1: The Goddess of Thunder.

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

• Asgard’s current location is the result of the beginning of Thor Vol. 1 by J. Michael Straczynski.
• The last issue of this book makes a quick reference to the events of Original Sin.