HaveAtThee

Characterization doesn't matter in comic books anymore. Only plot does. For better or (usually) worse.

I haven't read comics in years but this new "retcon" is fairly cringeworthy. It's almost an advertisement as to how important a strong editorial board is. Jim Shooter is rolling in his grave, lol.

I don't mind Sif intervening in the fight as she cares for both, but the attitude with which she does is a bit juvenile. Would've been one thing to say something along the lines of "My King, I have abandoned my post in hopes to quell this needless conflict between you and Bill" in an appeal to reason. Then again, it is a preview.

@phisigmatau: It all comes down to editorial discipline. Shooter was able to reign over, arguably, Marvel's greatest era in terms of consistency. Continuity was upheld pretty well. Sure, he ticked off some writers and is a polarizing figure but look at how many excellent runs on the big titles there were. X-Men, Thor, Avengers, Iron Man, etc. all had seminal runs during his era. The rare time there were deaths they mattered and it was only when he got axed that Marvel started drifting away from continuity and went with some fairly idiotic creative ideas (Spider-Man "Clone Saga", Eric Masterson Thor, etc.)

Curious if this new look will last or if Cates has him revert back to "normal" with the Destroyer arm. Interesting that Galactus sees Thor as his potential demise.

The advent of the dumb Civil War and subsequent events have rendered villains as a sideshow much of the time. It's one thing for heroes to occasionally disagree or even have a physical confrontation, but it's a very tired trope in the last 15 or so years.

That Galactus cover looks pretty sweet.

Someone wielding the Necro Sword? No idea. Haven't read a comic in some years. I'm debating on picking up this new team's run. The art looks nice, though.

@asgardianweapon: Not really. Not anymore. They went with the more MCU-ish explanation of them being some sort of advanced alien race with futuristic technology and super powers since around 2010 or so. Brand synergy and all that BS.

And when I mean mythological, supernatural or fantasy that can encompass a horror story, a cosmic story, a mystical story (ex. Dr. Strange), a war story, etc. The big problem of Thor/Asgard is accentuating the connection to Earth and having them spend too much time around Earth and humanity. The beauty of the Asgardian pantheon is that they occupy their own "realm" in space where they can traverse the cosmos as well as visit Earth from time to time.

Some readers obsess over the "relatability" of Thor (or other powerful non-human characters) but trying to pull him down to Earth stunts his unique character range. After all, the old adage "how can I miss you if you don't go away?" bears some truth. Thor shouldn't be some jock frat-boy constantly hanging out at Avengers mansion. His appearances should be sporadic and meaningful. So when the others are like "crap, what do we do" Thor should tip the scales.

Mythological/Fantasy. Push the more mystical/supernatural/magical aspect of the Norse Gods. There was an interesting nugget during (of all people) Fraction's run where Thor went to get the god-seed and he was injured, revealing the nature of his wound to look like some sort of mystical element. Hickman also had a scene early in is Avengers run where (forget the villain's name) someone was doing some sort of psychic examination of Thor and commented on how his biology can't be traced to the molecular level and it's as if he merely exists on some ethereal plane. Little subtle things like that make Thor unique among the major franchise characters.

Since the MCU/Disney influence the Asgardian mythos has looked more sci-fi.