Donny Cates and Nic Klein have been putting Thor through the ringer as the current All-Father of Asgard deals with everything he saw in the future vision that Black Winter gave him. A big part of that future vision was wat appears to be Thanos conquering the Marvel Universe by using an Infinity Stone-powered Mjolnir and controlling all the superheroes in zombified form. This latest story arc with Torunn Grønbekk, who has been doing a lot of work in the Thor franchise, has come on as the writer for “The Legacy of Thanos” story that has Thor teaming with the Valkyrie Runa to save his baby sister, Laussa Odinsdottir, from the clutches of Corvus Glaive. Let’s find what happens next wit Thor #30.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Torunn Grønbekk
Artist: Nic Klein
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: Joe Sabino
SYNOPSIS
In the Wasteland of Chaotic Magic Thor and Runa find a Time Echo that has them experience a clash between Bor Burison (Thor’s grandfather) and Thanos.
Elsewhere Corvus Glaive draws blood from Laussa Odinsdottir to tap into Asgardian magic and open the door at the end of Wasteland of Chaotic Magic.
As that goes on Thor and Runa battle a horde Draugr. After defeating the horde of Draugr they continue their journey with Runa going over Bor’s sorcerers’ theories on what happens with souls.
Thor and Runa finally find Laussa as Corvus struggles with understanding why the door of Wasteland of Chaotic Magic does not open. Thor quickly defeats Corvus, with Odin’s spirit within Mjolnir killing Corvus.
Laussa reveals to Thor that the door did not open because Bor’s blood that’s inside her needed to touch the shadow under the alter. Thor thanks his sister and asks Runa to take Laussa to safety while he sees what is behind Bor’s door in Wasteland of Chaotic Magic.
Ignoring Odin’s spirit telling him to not open the door, Thor is shocked at what he finds behind Bor’s door.
Elsewhere the magic-warped beetle returns to Doctor Doom to relay a message to its master that makes Doctor Doom happy to hear about. End of issue.
REVIEW
Thor #30 is a comic book that is more of a building block than one full story. Given how we’ve been moving more towards the dark future Black Winter forced Thor to witness this is exactly what is needed at this point. We need to see how more of the cosmic side of the Marvel Universe with Thanos merges into Thor’s mythology.
Torunn Grønbekk continues to do a great job carrying how Donny Cates has used all of Thor’s mythology within the Marvel Universe to make this story feel like it’s building off everything that came before. The writing for Thor in particular gets across as a hero who is carrying this great weight. Thor’s dialogue is further enhanced by Nic Klein’s fantastic artwork that shows how when not in the middle of the action Thor is much more tired than even he knows. That’s where Klein as the long-term Thor artist really comes into his own as we’ve seen how he has drawn Thor from the beginning of this series up until now.
The way Thor is portrayed is complimented by what Runa brings to the table. Her knowledge of not just Asgardian magic but also of Bor Burison helps give context to the greater scope of what is going on. Especially with the Time Echo vision that Thor and Runa saw that showed them a Bor vs Thanos battle we needed that context. It also digs into more of how magic is a big part of Asgard’s mythology and how Bor has all these things hidden that Thor has yet to discover.
Thor and Runa’s partnership also works to further put over how valuable having allies is to Thor. He is still new to the job and needs allies that he can trust. We’ve seen Thor bring in Sif and Beta Ray Bill along with having a working relationship with Loki. Runa is another character that adds a lot to help Thor, especially on the frontlines of things as she is someone that can watch Thor’s back. This is something we see with the incredible double-page spread done by Klein that showcases Thor and Runa fighting a horde of Draugr.
Odin’s spirit talking to Thor added a good sense of tension to this issue. Grønbekk was careful about not overdoing it when Odin tried to warn Thor. It was just enough that when we do see Odin speak through Mjolnir it hit on the fact something big was about to happen.
Corvus Glaive’s part in the story was more of a mixed bag. Corvus Glaive himself just never got past being an ends to a means. In this case, Corvus was just meant to lead Thor into opening the mysterious Bor Burison door. Corvus even went out looking like a nameless punk that never was a true threat other than being the one that kidnapped Laussa Odinsdottir.
Speaking of, Laussa Odinsdottir’s role is what made it so Corvus’ part in the story wasn’t a complete loss. Grønbekk and Klein nailed how while being a baby Laussa has her own agency as a character. Being Odin and Freyja’s daughter already makes her special. Grønbekk and Klein do a lot of work in showing how she is a powerful baby that she was able to resist helping Corvus open her grandfather’s door. Just in that act, we are given a good idea of how strong Laussa is and can become the older she gets.
Now the ending of Thor #30 with Doctor Doom being connected to is something when we get is an immediate wait-and-see. It works as a good hook ending that leaves you guessing what comes next. But as with similar hook endings, the effectiveness of Doctor Doom’s appearance will rely on how it is followed up in future issues of this story arc.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Torunn Grønbekk and Nic Klein create a wonderful story that dives further into Asgard and Thor’s family history with Thor #30. All in the process of further developing the greater story around the dark future vision that Thor was given by Black Winter. It all builds further excitement into whatever the endgame of this narrative will be
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10