Fear Itself #7 - Thor's Day

ugh. Fear Itself...you left a bad taste in my mouth... you made me stop reading New Mutants AND Black Panther...very counterprotuctive

I was not a fan. Fear Itself was terrible. I can't think of  a recent major crossover event I liked less.

WOW!! MARVEL SUCK'S!!!

if that was the best Marvel has they need to go back to the drawling board, when that character died I felt nothin', 10 years ago I was a total 'make mines Marvel guy' but the last few years they have continued to drop the ball. The crossover books have really great buildup but when its time for the conclusion its a total lackluster, be it for the fact that Marvel themselves spoiled it months beforehand or you have to purchase 2 - 6 other side stories to get a...bleh you know what basically I did not like it and I will not be getting any of the "Point" issues.

Theres one thing I don't like about big event comics like this and its only came to light after I got into reading some manga (One Piece, Bleach) and its that the big final battles are often anti climatic. The final battle of Secret Invasion and the 4 issue battle that was Siege I did enjoy, however I havent read this series yet so I cant have an opinion on it but both scenes were basicly a large group of heroes fighting against a large amount of the events main villains.

The good thing about One Piece and Bleach is that when it comes to fights they often pair off characters for brawls and what not so why can't they start doing that in comics? Like Ive heard a lot of critisim about the whole Worthy vs Mighty so I think it could have been executed a lot better if the Mighty had split off and paired up against a member of the Worthy that they might have a connection to and brawl it out then. It would be better than just having a pile of splash pages showing a huge battle...in my opinion anyway. I'm just saying because I wanted certain characters to fight against certain characters during Siege ie Wolverine V Daken, Spider-man vs Norman Osborn (for a while at least) when it comes to situations like this all we get is a sucker punch and a witty one liner... -.- If things like this were allowed to happen then maybe it would give meaning to the whole BIG part of the event

I still say, I'm sorry but, the Sin I like is the crazy teenager. She was awesome. This sin is kinda ho-hum. Lots of power...blah..blah...blah... now she's a dime a dozen.

Thank god it's over!

So...Thor is dead again, Bucky is dead "again", and Steve is Cap once more?

Can someone answer me four things I cannot figure out:

1. Why did the Serpent transform into...well a serpent? I would think being a human size target that could counter Thor's sword with a giant hammer and myriad of powers would be more useful then turning into a giant target with some flame breath?

2. Why did Thor die? In the battle all we see is the Serpent wrap its tail around Thor a couple of times and maybe some energy explode out of its head when it died. Then we see Thor fall over and die. I don't recall seeing anything to convey a sense of injury on Thor's part or even his armor being badly damaged.

3. What was Odin's plan again? I know raze the Earth to cut off the Serpent's power supply, but how was this meant to work. His point of attack was straight into the Serpent's own army. Asgardians would be too busy fighting them to kill any humans. Besides, by the time Asgardians with swords could kill enough humans to even put a dent in the Serpent's food supply wouldn't most or all Asgardians be dead anyway? They were attacking at the heart of the Serpent's power in the middle of nowhere with only a small town near by. If you need to slaughter a populace to weaken the enemy wouldn't it be a better idea to start somewhere that is highly populated like New York, L. A., India, or China?

4. If Thor was able to easily bring back Loki and Odin why cannot Odin do the same for Thor?

@Nasar7: Nah I understand your stance & opinion. I love the "thinking man" stuff and I do like JMS's Thor more than Fraction's. With that being said, this is a comic with Thor....who has a Giant hammer..... and I feel like you do need that big hollywood fight scene at the end. With JMS's run, if you read just his Thor, it feels like a let down to me to end it with Bill. Then with Gillen's run, it feels so rushed and you don't get that epic battle between brothers or even the "talk" that Thor promises he will have with Iron Man again.

Sorry, maybe i'm just ranting over the Thor Omnibus by JMS.....

Fear itself has probably been my least favourite event in a long time, actually I did enjoy it a bit more the Flashpoint. But for a Marvel event it's been one of the weakest from my opinion

@Nasar7: I agree, loved JMS's run. read the first three issues of fractions run and it was just too much of the "TOO BIG TO GRASP FOR HUMAN MINDS" stuff going on.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers said:

@TheGoldenOne: I love JMS's run but after reading it again, felt like it is missing something because he left early. In a Thor comic, I want to see Thor hitting stuff and JMS in the end didn't provide enough of that for me because he did leave early. Thor fighting Iron Man was cool and that's really the only scene that I can think of that made me realize how awesome Thor really is. Kelda & Bill and all that other stuff are cool but in the end, Thor has a really big hammer and I want to see him use it.

Then when Gillen took over, it felt like the story was forced to try to wrap up whatever JMS had set up and to get ready for Siege. Was not a big fan of his Thor but I won't judge him on that cause I think he was placed in a bad situation and I love his other stuff including what he's doing now with Loki.

Fraction's Thor to me has a good balance of fun w/some cool moments in between. Loki coming back as a kid and I see a lot of haters for the Galactus arc but just read the battle forums and that Fraction arc is what these kind of comics should be about. I want to say Fraction is an intelligent Loeb. I hate reading Loeb's stuff with a passion but if I was a 10 year old picking up a Loeb comic, I would think its cool and fun. With Fraction, it's fun and I don't have to dumb myself down to a 10 year old to enjoy it.

Not trying to diss your opinion, but all the reasons you list for loving Fraction's run on Thor and Mighty Thor are the exact reasons I hate it with a passion. JMS/Gillen's Thor = thinking man's Thor. Greater focus on plot, adventure, characters. Fraction's Thor = macho, action-movie Thor. Greater emphasis on hitting stuff with a hammer.

So glad they split up Mighty Thor and Journey Into Mystery.

@Shamelesslysupportinaznballers said:

@TheGoldenOne:Then when Gillen took over, it felt like the story was forced to try to wrap up whatever JMS had set up and to get ready for Siege. Was not a big fan of his Thor but I won't judge him on that cause I think he was placed in a bad situation and I love his other stuff including what he's doing now with Loki.

Fraction's Thor to me has a good balance of fun w/some cool moments in between. Loki coming back as a kid and I see a lot of haters for the Galactus arc but just read the battle forums and that Fraction arc is what these kind of comics should be about. I want to say Fraction is an intelligent Loeb. I hate reading Loeb's stuff with a passion but if I was a 10 year old picking up a Loeb comic, I would think its cool and fun. With Fraction, it's fun and I don't have to dumb myself down to a 10 year old to enjoy it.

One of the problems Gillen has been saddled with is his work on Thor has been saddled to other writers stories. First he had to finish up JMS to get back to SIEGE. Then he had to work around SIEGE. In JIM he has had to work around Fear Itself. The Desir story was about the only story he wrote that was his own and I think it was pretty good.

As far as Fraction a lot of people were looking forward to his Thor run based off of his Ages of Thunder stories. They have just been left disappointed. Aside from the somewhat radical alteration in characterization the main problem is pacing. Fraction starts off with good ideas, drags out the middle, and rushes the end. Loki has been used well since his return. It was the way he was returned that people had issues with. Asgard is not even rebuilt and Thor is saying he misses the one who caused the mess and the deaths of hundreds of Asgaridans. He outright insults everyone who died in SIEGE by bringing Loki back. This was during a time when Thor knew Heimdall was being driven mad by visions of the World-Eaters and Thor ignored it. He ignored Balder's order to let Loki stay dead. Balder who was his king at the time. He insulted everyone by bringing Loki back. And to top it all off Thor acts like he cannot even begin to understand why everyone is displeased with Loki's return when he was standing in the middle of the reason. Don't even get me started on the problems with the World-Eaters.

The Galactus/Odin battle was more of a disappointment because the way it was built up. This was a confrontation many fans have been wanting to see for years if not decades. Fraction in interviews and in the comics themselves highlighted that this was a battle between two characters that could do just about anything. A battle that would be far beyond the scope of mortals or most gods. All we got was a telepathic battle that two human telepaths could do and a giant headbutt. As far as battles between two nigh-omnipotents or even cosmic characters go it was very disappointing. I can think of at least half a dozen off the top of my head that were handled far better. So I think there is reason for disappointment. Fraction seems to be trying to return Thor to the cosmic, godly stories of old where Thor went to fantastic places and battled epic villains instead of the more modern Earth-bound ones. Unfortunately, due to pacing and characterization he has so far come up short. Its not an artist problem it is the writer.

@TheGoldenOne: I love JMS's run but after reading it again, felt like it is missing something because he left early. In a Thor comic, I want to see Thor hitting stuff and JMS in the end didn't provide enough of that for me because he did leave early. Thor fighting Iron Man was cool and that's really the only scene that I can think of that made me realize how awesome Thor really is. Kelda & Bill and all that other stuff are cool but in the end, Thor has a really big hammer and I want to see him use it.

Then when Gillen took over, it felt like the story was forced to try to wrap up whatever JMS had set up and to get ready for Siege. Was not a big fan of his Thor but I won't judge him on that cause I think he was placed in a bad situation and I love his other stuff including what he's doing now with Loki.

Fraction's Thor to me has a good balance of fun w/some cool moments in between. Loki coming back as a kid and I see a lot of haters for the Galactus arc but just read the battle forums and that Fraction arc is what these kind of comics should be about. I want to say Fraction is an intelligent Loeb. I hate reading Loeb's stuff with a passion but if I was a 10 year old picking up a Loeb comic, I would think its cool and fun. With Fraction, it's fun and I don't have to dumb myself down to a 10 year old to enjoy it.

@TheGoldenOne: Its a fun read from Ages of Thunder to now. Difference of opinion I guess.

I agree with the reviewer, it's not bad if read all at once but the pacing is horrible and it didn't get the whole theme of fear going. There are some cool things that happens in this last issue but the problem is that it happens all in that last issue.

Also a big fan of Fraction but not so much when he has to write an ensemble of main characters. His Iron Man, Thor, Iron Fist are all great. His Fear Itself & Uncanny X-Men, not so much.

Fear Itself was so bad, it could make an onion cry.

the renumbering of Uncanny X-men had nothing to do with Fear Itself

@Trodorne said:

To think that Flashpoint and Fear Itself started at the same time. Flashpoint finished with one sole purpose in mind, to change the DC continuity and allow new stories to be told. plus we got the new 52 issues which some of the changes are pretty awesome. Hell even the some of the tie ins were worth reading (Batman Knight of Vengence, Abin Sur Green Lantern, Citizen Cold, Emporer Aquaman...etc) and what did marvel come out with at the end of this event. pissed off people at Matt Fraction, Splitting and renumbering again of Uncanny X-men, At some point soon Maestro is coming back, waiting for the next event shattered heroes to come out to tell us how everyone is suffering through the aftermath of Fear Itself.

the renumbering of Uncanny X-men had nothing to do with Fear Itself

I love Matt Fraction's writing, but Fear Itself...

pathetic event fraction should retire before anymore damage

To think that Flashpoint and Fear Itself started at the same time. Flashpoint finished with one sole purpose in mind, to change the DC continuity and allow new stories to be told. plus we got the new 52 issues which some of the changes are pretty awesome. Hell even the some of the tie ins were worth reading (Batman Knight of Vengence, Abin Sur Green Lantern, Citizen Cold, Emporer Aquaman...etc) 
 
 and what did marvel come out with at the end of this event. pissed off people at Matt Fraction, Splitting and renumbering again of Uncanny X-men, At some point soon Maestro is coming back, waiting for the next event shattered heroes to come out to tell us how everyone is suffering through the aftermath of Fear Itself.

Since this is now over maybe the next issue of Cap will feature Natasha waking up and Bucky stepping out of the shower. Come on Brubaker, you can do it.

@Cafeterialoca said:

Thank GOD this awful event is over!

Shame on anyone who thought this was a good event.

QFT. And now we can finally have those gorgeous Journey Into Mystery covers without that lame Fear Itself banner.

@Osiris1428: cuz tony doesnt like black people. look at rhodey. when he got started he wore an old iron man suit. "handmedowns".

This was the 'Mortal Kombat 2: Annihilation' of comic books. series. The evil guy turned into a A giant serpent in the end...sigh...This was kind of stupid. And why couldn't Luke and Jesica have some cool weapons???

Great review, summed it up perfectly. A rather bland event with flashes of greatness just washed over completely. It felt so rushed which was crazy considering how much the early issues dragged their feet. Journey into Mystery and Iron Man tie-ins were this events saving grace for me. Kid Loki is pretty badass.

Thank GOD this awful event is over!

Shame on anyone who thought this was a good event.

@higher_evolutionary said:

pathetic event fraction should retire before anymore damage

the damage has already been done. He's a virus. I left Marvel because of him and Loeb. They have wayy too much power.

@Golden Cod: All the Super Soldier Serum does is make you a peak human. Black Widow and Hawkeye are skilled (and a bit enhanced in the case of the Widow), but they're not peak humans.

@higher_evolutionary said:

pathetic event fraction should retire before anymore damage

Bad event? Maybe. Bad writer? Not by a long shot. Fraction is doing amazing things with certain characters (Iron Man) and I look forward to Defenders.

Honestly, I thought the ending to Siege was a lot more uplifting than the Fear Itself ending.

@SexualLobster said:

Captain America.. a peek human, that is able to deal with enemies that Asgard was having trouble with..

Stupid as fuck.

He's got Super Soldier Serum yo. Hawkeye and Black Widow are the only peak humans on the team.

This event was not for me. I think the killing of Bucky after just bringing him back has done it for me. I wanted the last page to show him in an underground complex somewhere with Nick Fury or someone and having him become Americas Winter Soldier or USAgent or anything like that. Have him almost be the secret Captain America. But no he's just dead. What a waste of a character. If anyone wants Fear Itself then here http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250914639760 I don't.

@higher_evolutionary said:

pathetic event fraction should retire before anymore damage

Bad event? Maybe. Bad writer? Not by a long shot. Fraction is doing amazing things with certain characters (Iron Man) and I look forward to Defenders.

the whole story was flat for me, i'm frankly glad it's over

Captain America.. a peek human, that is able to deal with enemies that Asgard was having trouble with..

Stupid as fuck.

pathetic event fraction should retire before anymore damage