Thor: Thunder In Her Veins

I read my comics in digital format for the most part. I buy comics when they are on sale.  Getting a comic for $2.99 seems a good deal to me! 

Let me start with the art. Great stuff. It's not the best I've ever seen Thor. I've been reading comics since the late 70s. I've seen George Perez, Walter Simonson, John Buscema, John Bryne. Art is subjective and this may be some people's personal interpretation. It's fun stuff, and I like it. 

Next, let me talk about the writing. There are crisp bits that stand out. The whole title "Thunder in Her Veins" is a play off of the situation the Thor finds herself in. See Thor is Jane Foster. 

Jane has a long history with Thor. A former love interest, a former nurse, a former doctor, and now a cancer patient. She is not doing well. But the writing. "The flesh is weak but the thunder is strong" is solid. 

The whole cancer thing? This aspect of the character bores me to tears. It bores me for the same reason the "Odinson" losing an arm bores me. It bores me for the same reason anytime Vision is physically destroyed. Anytime Wolverine is injured. It's meaningless. 

She has cancer because she chooses to have cancer. That's it. In a world of gods and magic and various cures for anything, for Jane to have cancer is a weak plot device.

Thankfully the series doesn't use it too much. In most of the collection, Jane is Thor.

The series works the war of the Asgard mythology worlds. The dark elves, the light elves, the trolls, the fire giants, the frost giants and of course, Asgard.

In the middle of all this? The new and the hunted Thor.  

Outside of Jane's cancer, the 'boring' stuff continues to be the choice of characters. Cul the 'Serpent' wasn't that interesting when a whole event was dedicated to him. Here he comes off as more boring if possible. More useless. If he's pulling Odin's strings, it'll be even more worthless and wasted. His whole "Corps" of the hammer using individuals who look like Thor wannabes from the late 80's metal hair band even worse.

Odin being an ass in and of itself continues to be annoying. It's not that he should "NEVER" be such, it's just it's been done so many times. Do we really need it again? 

Now Thor being a legacy character has a lot of history. This, however, is an interesting mix as there is Jane's personal history, and then the history of the 'Odinson.' Sometimes they correlate in interesting ways. 

For example, one of the Odinson's oldest foes is his adopted brother Loki. Jane has suffered many times at the hands of Loki since she was Thor's love interest.

So when the two meet?

 It doesn't go well.

This is a recurring theme for the new Thor. Acting out with initial violence or being perceived to do such.
In an interesting twist on things, Loki, in part due to his popularity in the Avenger's movie and of course, his role in the Thor movie, and in the first resurrection of Thor back into the Marvel universe in the first place, Loki has gone through MANY changes.

He's been Loki: Agent of Asgard . He's been Kid Loki, a member of the Young Avengers.  He's been good, bad, and everything between.

One of the most interesting takes, though, is when the new Thor meets this version of Loki.

This is a version that does surprisingly well in this new battle between Thor and Loki.

The top notch art and the solid storytelling make it a fight worth remembering and one that would be hard to beat if this collection didn't quickly surpass it.

So another one of those classic fights, "Thor vs. Odin" right up to bat! And man, I love that bottom panel. Captures the energy just right.

And this full splash page? Another great example of why I'm enjoying the art in this collection. You can feel the blows!

Thor vs Odin is often a one sided fight. It's usually one that Thor quickly loses. But the 'new' hammer seems to have several tricks of its own. I'm almost wondering if the hammer is possessed by 'the real' Odin and that it's moving on it's own ways and methods.

And regarding Loki and character growth? Who knows what games he's playing. He's written remarkably well here. The complexity hinted at in the blow.

I can get why some people don't like "Thor" as a woman without a name change but peeps, I tell you, you're missing some great classic comics. Solid art, solid writing, and while I'm not a huge fan of everything, there's more than enough to get me waiting for the next collection.

Thor (movie 2011)

If one were to say I was slightly behind the times, well, they would not be wrong. Thanks to the wonderful magic of Netflix, I finally managed to watch Thor.

I'll be pointing out some spoilers below as I ramble about my thoughts on the movie and the comic character and how Marvel has treated him and what that could mean to a game.

In the movie, as in the origin story, Thor's arrogance is what leads to his downfall to Earth. In a Dungeons and Dragons game, amnesia is a standard way to represent a character that once was very powerful and 'remembers' (gains experience points) his abilities as the game progresses. This whole banishment and weakening bit, could be another good example of how to take a character concept and bring it to the table. Sure, the character might have memories of vast power or used to own artifacts, but now? He's got to struggle alongside everyone one else.

Another potential bit here that is often used to good effect in the comics, are the ties of family. Walter Simonson owned Thor for many years in terms of art and storytelling ability. His tales were epic and involved many different aspects of Thor and his family's relationship.

One of those interesting aspects, is his brother Loki. When you have relatives, well, things can get messy. The closer the relative, the more messy it can be. The writers for the movie, do a great job of at first making Loki look very compelling as a character and even a bit tragic but his various double crosses and the depth of his animosity towards his brother quickly banish those things. Jealousy is a powerful motivator and it is one that the Game Master should use for his own PCs, especially if they are related to the characters.

But anyway, when looking at one bit Walter did for Thor, it's a scene with Odin in the middle and his two sons moving forward to protect Asgard. Odin shouts out, "For Asgard." Thor shouts out, "For Odin." Loki shouts out, "For Myself." The motivations of the characters can go a long way in providing numerous gaming sessions with them. By making them relatives of the characters, you also provide a bit of rational as to why the player characters wouldn't necessarily kill them. Mind you its not a card you can use too often, especially if you never use it to the player's advantage.

What do I mean? There have been times when Loki has been beneficial to Thor. Mind you, they were almost always for Loki's own benefit and for his own reasons, selfish often, but Thor did benefit from them. By allowing these family members to come to the aid of the player characters, you give the players another reason not to simply kill them when push comes to shove.

Another aspect to the family here though, is Thor's father, Odin. In Thor and Loki Blood Brothers, first a comic then a motion comic, Loki accuses Odin of using Loki to make Thor look better. Of providing Loki as a foil that the Realm may gather again, as a singular force which all may heap their scorn on. At the end even as Loki has a change of heart, Thor escapes from what is supposed to be certain death and ends the threat of Loki but sets Loki on his course forever more after that.

Father figures are very powerful figures. In this case, both literally and figuratively. In role playing games, that may also be true. In the Greek and Roman Pantheons, Zeus is the father of several of the gods and is also one of, if not the most powerful deity.

When reading comics or watching movies, be on the lookout for things that you can crib for your own game. You never know when they may come in handy.