Donny Cates has not held back with starting his run on Thor big as the God of Thunder has teamed up with Galactus to combat a threat to the entire Marvel Universe. That threat has come in the form of The Black Winter. Things got even more complicated as The Black Winter revealed to Thor that Galactus is one of his Heralds. That is a big twist given how powerful Galactus is and how he has had his own Heralds over the years. What does Cates plan on doing with this twist to Galactus’ history? And what does it mean for the future direction of Thor and Asgard? Let’s find out with Thor #6.
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Nic Klein
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Story Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The Silver Surfer appears before King Thor in his Asgard throne room. Silver Surfer says he heard about the battle that was felt throughout the galaxy. He also comments on how Thor has redesigned the entrance of the Bifrost. Silver Surfer asks what happened before Thor suddenly isolated himself.
Back in the past Galactus gets pissed off that the Black Winter thinks he is a Herald. The Black Winter easily shrugs off Galactus’ attacks and knocks him into a nearby moon.
Thor flies over and strikes Galactus with lightning. Galactus questions Thor about his attack as they should be fighting Black Winter together. Thor says that he is the only one that stands between Galactus and Black Winter. He ends his statement by saying he is not done dealing with Galactus.
Galactus fires a powerful blast at Thor out of anger. Thor blocks the attack and Galactus only has his current power level because he allowed it. Thor calls Galactus nothing more than an errand boy as he fires a massive lightning attack the overpowers Galactus attack.
In the aftermath of Thor’s attack Galactus body is completely fried. Galactus desperately tries to convince Thor that they need to defeat Black Winter together. Thor says he can deal with Black Winter alone since Galactus wouldn’t survive the fight anyways.
As Galactus tries to plead with him one more time Thor launches an even more powerful attack than before. As his attack grows stronger Thor states that this is all for the planets that Galactus consumed. Thor finishes his attack by throwing Mjolnir straight through Galactus, killing him in the process.
Black Winter says Thor has his gratitude and asks the God of Thunder to stand aside. Thor states that Galactus serves him. Black Winter wonders what Thor wants with Galactus. Thor powers up and says Galactus is now a bomb. Thor then sends a large stream of lightning through Galactus’ body until it causes a large explosion.
When the dust settles there is nothing left of Galactus except his armor. Similarly, all that is left of Black Winter is a snowflake that floats to Thor. Thor grabs the Black Winter snowflake and he is suddenly gives him a vision that makes him cry.
In the present Galactus’ helmet is shown to now be part of the entrance of the Bifrost.
In the Asgardian throne room Silver Surfer admits he slightly feels bad for Galactus after hearing how he was a Herald just like him. Silver Surfer then asks what the vision that Thor had was.
Thor grows silent as he remembers the vision of Thanos holding Mjolnir with the Infinity Stones attached to the hammer in one hand and a demonic black gauntlet in the the other arm. Behind Thanos are zombie versions of all of the heroes of the Marvel Universe.
Breaking out of the vision Thor mournfully tells Silver Surfer he only saw darkness and nothing more. End of issue.
The Good: Donny Cates and Nic Klein do not hold back in making sure you remember what happens with their opening story arc in “The Devourer King.” From the moment Thor launches his first attack on Galactus through the final page your jaw open in shock and excitement over what is happening. Everything about what happened was unexpected but completely earned given the way Cates and Klein crafted this story arc.
Opening Thor #6 with a scene that takes place after Thor and Galactus fight with Black Winter set the tone for this issue. Cates does a wonderful job carefully writing Silver Surfer’s dialogue to get across to the reader something major took place in the battle with the Black Winter. That idea is put over without giving away what exactly happened. This gives room for the reader to go into the flashback with only the knowledge that Thor survived. Everything else was up in the air.
That made Thor’s choice to utterly annihilate Galactus to be as impactful as it should be. Galactus is a has long been viewed as one of the most powerful characters in the Marvel Universe. Cates taps into that fact by showing Galactus that respect with the way he is taken out. Through all of Thor’s dialogue as he launched each attack there was a show of respect for how powerful Galactus was. Even Thor’s strongest attack wasn’t enough to destroy Galactus with one strike. It did take multiple powerful attacks to kill Galactus. This worked to put over how powerful Galactus was and Thor’s current power level as All-Father of Asgard.
This domination by Thor further pushed the narrative of the God of Thunder putting even more on his shoulders since becoming All-Father. You understand with how Thor talks down to Galactus that he feels an immense responsibility to protect not only Asgard but the entire Marvel Universe. Which has always been part of Thor’s character but this time it is different as he is in a position of power as All-Father that more is expected of him. And as things stand right now, this is a responsibility that Thor feels he can’t share with others, including Sif and Silver Surfer.
While that is emotionally heavy it does provide Cates the opportunity to deliver some badass moments for Thor. That is shown with not only how he takes out Galactus but also turns him into a bomb to destroy Black Winter. Seeing that type of power elevates Thor to a level even greater than before. He came across as the most powerful character in the Marvel Universe with how he took out Galactus and Black Winter.
Which makes the vision that Black Winter left Thor with be even more impactful. The vision of Thanos holding an Infinity Stone powered Mjolnir and symbiote-like gauntlet with all of the Marvel heroes turned into zombies in the background was a moment as a fan that you just think “WTF.” It is something that instantly makes you excited for whatever Cates has planned next. The way Thor was still shaken over the vision in the present made that vision even more exciting to see play out because it seems like that is an inevitable future.
Cates does a wonderful job using Silver Surfer to add greater importance to the story with Black Winter. Silver Surfer saying that he felt bad for Galactus after learning that his former master was also a Herald was a great character moment. Because while Galactus did make him do terrible things as a Herald, Silver Surfer can’t help but have some respect for Galactus’ power. At the same time, this scene worked to establish a connection between Thor and Silver Surfer. This connection can be something that can be developed as being important in whatever cosmic-level event that Cates has planned for the future.
For his part Nic Klein delivers some of his best artwork in Thro #6. The raw power in Thor’s attacks was awe inspiring. You could feel the power that Thor was wielding was just on another level from what we’ve seen before. The terror in Galactus expression once he knew that Thor had his number added to how well that entire sequence worked. Klein also did an excellent job making the double page spread of Thanos and the Marvel Zombies come across as a big event. It added to the excitement for what happens next in this series.
The Bad: Nothing
Overall: Thor #6 is a masterclass in not only how to craft an impactful ending but also how to make a statement with your first story arc in a comic book. Donny Cates and Nic Klein hit a grand slam with their work here. From the fate of Galactus to what that meant for Thor and the future of this series, everything that happened in this comic book is chef’s kiss. Cates and Klein’s work on Thor is something all comic book fans should be reading right now.
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