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The War of the Realms
The War of the Realms
Collects War of the Realms #1-6.
Asgard. Alfheim. Heven. Jotunheim. Muspelheim. Niffleheim. Nidavellir. Svartalfheim. Vanaheim. All of the Ten Realms have fallen to Malekith and his army, except one: Midgard. Home to Thor's beloved humans. Home to heroes and gods alike. Now, at last, Midgard burns. All hell breaks loose in New York City as Malekith and his allies begin their invasion - and our greatest heroes watch as Earth falls! With Thor trapped in the land of the Frost Giants and Earth's forces overwhelmed, Black Panther, Jane Foster and Doctor Strange undertake a desperate gamble. What can possibly stop Malekith and his army? Spider-Man, Daredevil, Punisher, Ghost Rider, Blade, Hulk and more join the fray as Jason Aaron's epic Thor saga explodes across the Marvel Universe in an event for the ages!
Asgard. Alfheim. Heven. Jotunheim. Muspelheim. Niffleheim. Nidavellir. Svartalfheim. Vanaheim. All of the Ten Realms have fallen to Malekith and his army, except one: Midgard. Home to Thor's beloved humans. Home to heroes and gods alike. Now, at last, Midgard burns. All hell breaks loose in New York City as Malekith and his allies begin their invasion - and our greatest heroes watch as Earth falls! With Thor trapped in the land of the Frost Giants and Earth's forces overwhelmed, Black Panther, Jane Foster and Doctor Strange undertake a desperate gamble. What can possibly stop Malekith and his army? Spider-Man, Daredevil, Punisher, Ghost Rider, Blade, Hulk and more join the fray as Jason Aaron's epic Thor saga explodes across the Marvel Universe in an event for the ages!
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 27, 2019
128 people are currently reading
576 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,366 books1,682 followersJason Aaron grew up in a small town in Alabama. His cousin, Gustav Hasford, who wrote the semi-autobiographical novel The Short-Timers, on which the feature film Full Metal Jacket was based, was a large influence on Aaron. Aaron decided he wanted to write comics as a child, and though his father was skeptical when Aaron informed him of this aspiration, his mother took Aaron to drug stores, where he would purchase books from spinner racks, some of which he still owns today.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
Aaron's career in comics began in 2001 when he won a Marvel Comics talent search contest with an eight-page Wolverine back-up story script. The story, which was published in Wolverine #175 (June 2002), gave him the opportunity to pitch subsequent ideas to editors.
In 2006, Aaron made a blind submission to DC/Vertigo, who published his first major work, the Vietnam War story The Other Side which was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Miniseries, and which Aaron regards as the "second time" he broke into the industry.
Following this, Vertigo asked him to pitch other ideas, which led to the series Scalped, a creator-owned series set on the fictional Prairie Rose Indian Reservation and published by DC/Vertigo.
In 2007, Aaron wrote Ripclaw: Pilot Season for Top Cow Productions. Later that year, Marvel editor Axel Alonso, who was impressed by The Other Side and Scalped, hired Aaron to write issues of Wolverine, Black Panther and eventually, an extended run on Ghost Rider that began in April 2008. His continued work on Black Panther also included a tie-in to the company-wide crossover storyline along with a "Secret Invasion" with David Lapham in 2009.
In January 2008, he signed an exclusive contract with Marvel, though it would not affect his work on Scalped. Later that July, he wrote the Penguin issue of The Joker's Asylum.
After a 4-issue stint on Wolverine in 2007, Aaron returned to the character with the ongoing series Wolverine: Weapon X, launched to coincide with the feature film X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Aaron commented, "With Wolverine: Weapon X we'll be trying to mix things up like that from arc to arc, so the first arc is a typical sort of black ops story but the second arc will jump right into the middle of a completely different genre," In 2010, the series was relaunched once again as simply Wolverine. He followed this with his current run on Thor: God of Thunder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
April 3, 2022
In 2010 the Marvel Event Siege came to an end, and this ended the sublime and wondrous Brian Michael Bendis Marvel-Avengers-verse of the last decade, and for me the end of a new golden Marvel age. Nine years on, and another mediocre event (compared to that previous decade) in the shape of the War of the Realms was thrust about us True Believers!
The Dark Elves and their allies overrun Earth and the shocked and battered Nine Realms; led by Earth and Asgard our heroes have to make their last stand on Earth. Such a huge story should have had a devastating impact on Earth (see The Authority, Vol. 1: Relentless, Planetary, Volume 1: All Over the World and Other Stories, The Boys Omnibus Vol. 1 or any other non-Marvel books for what I mean.)... and as ever post-Bendis, there lies my fundamental issues there are no real impactful outcomes, nobody really dies, there's no real jeopardy for the characters and all this creates a certain lack of empathy for long time comic book readers like myself? 7 out of 12 for the dramatic highs and lows by numbers that Marvel has become!
2019 read
The Dark Elves and their allies overrun Earth and the shocked and battered Nine Realms; led by Earth and Asgard our heroes have to make their last stand on Earth. Such a huge story should have had a devastating impact on Earth (see The Authority, Vol. 1: Relentless, Planetary, Volume 1: All Over the World and Other Stories, The Boys Omnibus Vol. 1 or any other non-Marvel books for what I mean.)... and as ever post-Bendis, there lies my fundamental issues there are no real impactful outcomes, nobody really dies, there's no real jeopardy for the characters and all this creates a certain lack of empathy for long time comic book readers like myself? 7 out of 12 for the dramatic highs and lows by numbers that Marvel has become!
2019 read
February 5, 2020
Run your asses off, kids!! Frost giants are smashing the sh*t out of New York City
Maleficent, the evil (natch) dark elf from the so-so second Thor flick has chaos on the brain and ground zero is NYC. He’s got evil, yet hot, angels; the aforementioned Frosty the Snowmen; walking rotisserie flame people from the BBQ realm; and a bunch of trolls ( i.e. I make $2600 per week working from home, and so can you! ).
This, the core volume, can move at a break neck pace, in its efforts to incorporate all perspectives on this cross over event, but that seems de rigueur for these books.
If you dig the idea of Daredevil with god-like abilities…
…or like a triple scoop of Thors ( + one)…
…or see Tony Stark getting wasted with a bunch of dwarves…
…pick up those tie-in books.
Bottom Line : This is the decent culmination of Aaron’s sometimes excellent run on Thor and one of the better recent Marvel crossover events.
Loki tastes like chicken.
July 11, 2023
It is so great when a comic/book lives up to its name and hype. To be honest I when the War of the Realms came out, I did not really know much about it. I can not understand why, as this is probably the most epic Marvel story in comics. I would put this right up there with Endgame.
Of the 10 Realms 9 have fallen only Earth/Midgard is left, and it is not going down without a fight. All the Avengers and heroes and heroines stand with the survivors of the other Realms. Once again, everyone steps up.
If I have one complaint, it is Spider-man. Wolverine called Spider-man an idiot and I agree with him completely. I have hated the way Marvel has devolved his character. He acts more like Spider-boy or Iron-child. That is my only complaint.
This is an all action comic, from beginning to end. I am not even a Thor fan, but I love this series. I think he steps up big time. The other characters are also great, but all in all, Thor is the linchpin. In all honesty, that is the way it should be. The cover gallery contains all the variants and a thumbnail version on the actual covers. Summary totally epic story, great artwork, and totally awesome series.
Of the 10 Realms 9 have fallen only Earth/Midgard is left, and it is not going down without a fight. All the Avengers and heroes and heroines stand with the survivors of the other Realms. Once again, everyone steps up.
If I have one complaint, it is Spider-man. Wolverine called Spider-man an idiot and I agree with him completely. I have hated the way Marvel has devolved his character. He acts more like Spider-boy or Iron-child. That is my only complaint.
This is an all action comic, from beginning to end. I am not even a Thor fan, but I love this series. I think he steps up big time. The other characters are also great, but all in all, Thor is the linchpin. In all honesty, that is the way it should be. The cover gallery contains all the variants and a thumbnail version on the actual covers. Summary totally epic story, great artwork, and totally awesome series.
December 2, 2019
This is the kind of event I can get behind. It's a culmination of the story Jason Aaron has been writing in Thor for 7 years. The War of the Realms has been going on for the last couple of years across the 10 realms of the world tree and now finally comes to Midgard. It's full of action along with some surprises and some character moments. The characters that get pulled into the book actually make sense and don't feel shoehorned in to force a crossover in their own book.
Russell Dauterman's and Matthew Wilson's art is crisp, clean, and vibrant. They've been working on Thor for a long time so it makes sense they would draw this event.
Russell Dauterman's and Matthew Wilson's art is crisp, clean, and vibrant. They've been working on Thor for a long time so it makes sense they would draw this event.
May 9, 2020
I’ve bagged on a lot of event comics in the past several years—not because I dislike them conceptually (quite the opposite, actually, given that Age of Apocalypse remains one of my all-time favorite comic stories and I bought every single one of the 8,439,231 issues that it spilled over into), but rather because so many of them stall, interrupt, or otherwise obliterate any attempt to build character and story momentum in the books that get sucked into them; the execution rarely matches the inventiveness of the high concept; or they effectively constitute an editorial-driven push the reset button for a set of characters for no particular reason other than to 1) sell a bunch of books as part of the event; and 2) pave the way for a new set of creators to take books that may have been doing just fine in totally different directions.
But credit where credit is due: War of the Realms is delightfully entertaining, more so than it has any right to be. Jason Aaron gets Thor—it may be blasphemy, but I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed any other writer’s run on the book more—and this mashup of epic fantasy and high-octane action movies delivers thrills, a bit of pathos, and even a few laughs (so, the opposite of a date with me, which delivers snores, a LOT of pathos, and several attempts at what most might recognize as humor, but would universally acknowledge as the humor equivalent of passing a kidney stone through a particularly narrow urethra; to be fair to myself, though, the night would probably at least end with ice cream, though much of that would take up residency on my chin and shirt).
Well worth a read if you’re in the mood for a big-screen summer four-color popcorn blow-em-up.
But credit where credit is due: War of the Realms is delightfully entertaining, more so than it has any right to be. Jason Aaron gets Thor—it may be blasphemy, but I’m not sure I’ve enjoyed any other writer’s run on the book more—and this mashup of epic fantasy and high-octane action movies delivers thrills, a bit of pathos, and even a few laughs (so, the opposite of a date with me, which delivers snores, a LOT of pathos, and several attempts at what most might recognize as humor, but would universally acknowledge as the humor equivalent of passing a kidney stone through a particularly narrow urethra; to be fair to myself, though, the night would probably at least end with ice cream, though much of that would take up residency on my chin and shirt).
Well worth a read if you’re in the mood for a big-screen summer four-color popcorn blow-em-up.
April 24, 2022
What can be said about it thats not already been said?
Just epic in every sense of the word as it wraps up everything Aaron has been building upto in his run.
So it starts with Malekith invasion and his dark council and the fall of heroes as it happens in event comics and we learn how various heroes are fighting off multiple threats and the new status quo of the world and then the big fight and what happens next. Plus Thor rescue and his quest in the sun, Avengers making counter-plans, the fate of the Valkyries (which was sad) and then them coming together and that moment where its the gathering of Thors, coming of the hammer and the big end war.. so worth it and it wraps up nicely!
Its bold and daring and not everyone might like it, but then again its wrapping up whatever Aaron had been building upto in spectacular fashion and just amazing art and each page a marvel to look at and I love the narration and it makes it feel all the more epic, and just amazing evening read for sure! <3!
Just epic in every sense of the word as it wraps up everything Aaron has been building upto in his run.
So it starts with Malekith invasion and his dark council and the fall of heroes as it happens in event comics and we learn how various heroes are fighting off multiple threats and the new status quo of the world and then the big fight and what happens next. Plus Thor rescue and his quest in the sun, Avengers making counter-plans, the fate of the Valkyries (which was sad) and then them coming together and that moment where its the gathering of Thors, coming of the hammer and the big end war.. so worth it and it wraps up nicely!
Its bold and daring and not everyone might like it, but then again its wrapping up whatever Aaron had been building upto in spectacular fashion and just amazing art and each page a marvel to look at and I love the narration and it makes it feel all the more epic, and just amazing evening read for sure! <3!
March 8, 2020
Well, that was bloody EPIC! While it wasn’t perfect (there were pacing issues and I’m sure some characters were in two places at the same time) this was one of the best crossover events I’ve ever read. There were some real jump-off-the-sofa-yelling moments and I even had a tear in my eye a couple of times. As the culmination of Jason Aaron’s seven year run on Thor, it was most definitely worthy.
To anyone with a different opinion I SAY THEE NAY!
To anyone with a different opinion I SAY THEE NAY!
August 6, 2022
Marvel crossovers can be exhausting. It's a shame, as War of the Realms is the climax of writer extraordinaire Jason Aaron's excellent Thor run--years in the making--which been so acclaimed as to inspire the most recent film.
It is ironic that the main villain is the dark elf Malekith, who was probably propped up because of the sub-par Dark World film, and by 2019 he was still a big bad in the comics universe. In any case, it is a lot of fun to have high fantasy elements interact with superheroes.
It's all about trolls and dwarves, invading the real world. Enjoy Captain America with an axe and Spider-Man in one of those Viking helmets. It is cool, for example, how Daredevil is incorporated in Heimdall's role as overseer of the cosmic gateway. The Punisher doesn't quite work in my opinion, shooting cold iron bullets at frost giants, but it is an interesting juxtaposition. Well, gotta love Iron Man building an armor for Odin!
Much of this is meant to be funny.
The fatal flaw of these flagship crossovers, is that it all feels very rushed. Like the main storylines are occurring in other books, and War of the Realms # 1 - 6 is just a general summary.
Overall, I couldn't recommend the saga of Jane Foster's Mighty Thor enough. There's Unworthy Thor, future King Thor. And, Gorr the God Butcher which began Aaron's arc remains one of the all-time great Thor stories. Yet War of the Realms simply doesn't live up to what came before. Read it for the sake of being a Marvel completist, and it also ties into the same author's Avengers at the time. Just don't expect too much more than a bit of fun riffs on Tolkein-esque battling.
Not Jason Aaron's best.
It is ironic that the main villain is the dark elf Malekith, who was probably propped up because of the sub-par Dark World film, and by 2019 he was still a big bad in the comics universe. In any case, it is a lot of fun to have high fantasy elements interact with superheroes.
It's all about trolls and dwarves, invading the real world. Enjoy Captain America with an axe and Spider-Man in one of those Viking helmets. It is cool, for example, how Daredevil is incorporated in Heimdall's role as overseer of the cosmic gateway. The Punisher doesn't quite work in my opinion, shooting cold iron bullets at frost giants, but it is an interesting juxtaposition. Well, gotta love Iron Man building an armor for Odin!
Much of this is meant to be funny.
The fatal flaw of these flagship crossovers, is that it all feels very rushed. Like the main storylines are occurring in other books, and War of the Realms # 1 - 6 is just a general summary.
Overall, I couldn't recommend the saga of Jane Foster's Mighty Thor enough. There's Unworthy Thor, future King Thor. And, Gorr the God Butcher which began Aaron's arc remains one of the all-time great Thor stories. Yet War of the Realms simply doesn't live up to what came before. Read it for the sake of being a Marvel completist, and it also ties into the same author's Avengers at the time. Just don't expect too much more than a bit of fun riffs on Tolkein-esque battling.
Not Jason Aaron's best.
October 4, 2019
"A Hammer doesn't make a Thor, a Thor Makes his Hammer!"
If this is the end of Aaron’s Thor run, then it’s a satisfying one.
Aaron spun many tales and loose ends throughout his fantastic Thor run and they are all answered in this tale.
A satisfying end to a legendary run.
If this is the end of Aaron’s Thor run, then it’s a satisfying one.
Aaron spun many tales and loose ends throughout his fantastic Thor run and they are all answered in this tale.
A satisfying end to a legendary run.
December 10, 2019
Wait, are we really getting two GOOD events in one year? I first read Absolute Carnage and LOVED it. With this being close to the grand finale of Aaron's epic long run on Thor, did it live up to the hype?
Thor has had enough. He is just trying to chill and be a god. But loki comes and lets his brother no it won't be that simple. He needs help. He's badly hurt. BUT IT IS LIES! The dark elf Malekith has plans to conquer all the realms, and his first plan of action is take out Thor, Loki, AND the Valkyries. Who will stand up to the elf? The warriors of earth all band together, Cap, Wolverine, Spider-man, Punisher, Daredevil, and more! Thor enraged, earth under attack, people dying left and right, this is the end of days!
This was a goddamn motherfucking blast. So many huge fights, but they feel heavy, with fantastic art, and stellar moments from multiple characters. Humor given by multiple characters including Spider-man and Wolverine. Great epic fights with Thor, Odin, and more! Surprise return of characters I've REALLY missed. All wrapped up in fantastic art. The only negative was the final issue felt just like a set up chapter for 4 new series, two looking boring.
This is a event worth checking out for sure. A 4 out of 5.
Thor has had enough. He is just trying to chill and be a god. But loki comes and lets his brother no it won't be that simple. He needs help. He's badly hurt. BUT IT IS LIES! The dark elf Malekith has plans to conquer all the realms, and his first plan of action is take out Thor, Loki, AND the Valkyries. Who will stand up to the elf? The warriors of earth all band together, Cap, Wolverine, Spider-man, Punisher, Daredevil, and more! Thor enraged, earth under attack, people dying left and right, this is the end of days!
This was a goddamn motherfucking blast. So many huge fights, but they feel heavy, with fantastic art, and stellar moments from multiple characters. Humor given by multiple characters including Spider-man and Wolverine. Great epic fights with Thor, Odin, and more! Surprise return of characters I've REALLY missed. All wrapped up in fantastic art. The only negative was the final issue felt just like a set up chapter for 4 new series, two looking boring.
This is a event worth checking out for sure. A 4 out of 5.
July 13, 2019
I had pretty much written this event off because a lot of the pre-War of the Realms stuff I saw was very unimpressive. Much to my surprise, though, this turned out to be a lot of fun. From the first issue to the last, it is just one constant fight with more heroes than you can shake a stick at. Imagine the last battle in Endgame stretched out to a six-issue graphic novel. Bonus points for Spider-Man and Iron Man lightening things up with some pretty funny lines (as an aside: why is Spider-Man's name hyphenated and Iron Man's name isnt? The world may never know...).
There are a couple of negatives though, and they mostly have to do with the Omega issue:
The Omega issue was just a glorified commercial for some new books Marvel is going to be pumping out.
.
.
There are a couple of negatives though, and they mostly have to do with the Omega issue:
The Omega issue was just a glorified commercial for some new books Marvel is going to be pumping out.
.
.
November 4, 2019
It feels like the War of the Realms has now dragged on for years, so when Aaron decided to finally kick it into high gear, and encompass the rest of the Marvel Universe, I was ... wary. Especially after the mediocrity of so many big crossovers at Marvel.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find this is actually good. It does a great job of bringing the War to an end, on Midgard. Thor and Jane both get great parts in the story. So do Freyja and Odin and several other cast members of Thor. The Marvel Universe also gets some great supporting roles, particularly Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Punisher.
And then we get some nice repercussions coming out of this.
The book does occasionally feel too neatly plotted, but it's still a fun read.
So, I was pleasantly surprised to find this is actually good. It does a great job of bringing the War to an end, on Midgard. Thor and Jane both get great parts in the story. So do Freyja and Odin and several other cast members of Thor. The Marvel Universe also gets some great supporting roles, particularly Daredevil, Spider-Man, and Punisher.
And then we get some nice repercussions coming out of this.
The book does occasionally feel too neatly plotted, but it's still a fun read.
June 30, 2019
Doth mine eyes deceive me?! An entire event series with just one dedicated artist? An event with much planning and aforethought? Well, dear me if this isn't the best event series since, uh, Secret Wars. But also it's a great end to a phase of Aaron's Thor run. But the art is great (as is Wilson's colors) too. Lots of great moments of import that have been set up in previous issues. Lots of funny bits as well.
July 11, 2019
This is the best Marvel event in years. Probably my favorite. Jason Aaron's story telling along with Russell Dauterman's stunning art was such an enjoyable ride. This team has been building this for years and every book has been constantly better than the last... every issue, tie-in, mini series or on-going has been magnificent. Aaron's Thor years have been amazing and will forever stand out in the history books.
August 15, 2020
This story has an epic feel to it and the art is really nice for the most part (there are a few pages that seemed rushed). However, as usual for these large events, there are a few too many characters involved to properly develop the character arcs. I would have preferred this if it focused more tightly on Thor and the other characters from Asgard. Instead, we get scenes of characters like the Punisher, Venom, and Daredevil that don't really lead to any character development.
March 24, 2020
As far as comic book events go, this is a pretty good one but not as exceptional as the rest of Aaron's Thor run. There's all kinds of wacky, event-level weirdness--Daredevil-as-Heimdall! Venom-Malekith, The Punisher riddling Frost Giants with lead--but not as much of the heart and soul that made the rest of Aaron's run stellar. I'll give a slight caveat to that in that the last issue focuses mostly on Thor's journey from the start of his run and caps off in satisfying fashion. The rest of the stuff is a mix of continuation of stories from issue to issue, and some seriously random stuff Frankensteined from tie-ins. You know, usual event-fare.
I think there's an epilogue miniseries (King Thor?) that may be worth me picking up, but if this were the end of the run, I'd be satisfied. War of the Realms is overall fun but not essential.
I think there's an epilogue miniseries (King Thor?) that may be worth me picking up, but if this were the end of the run, I'd be satisfied. War of the Realms is overall fun but not essential.
August 17, 2019
The culmination of Jason Aaron's Thor run, an event 7 years in the making, finally hits the Marvel Universe as the War Of The Realms comes to Midgard.
War Of The Realms is a summer blockbuster. It's high action, high stakes, character deaths galore (although there's quite a few fake-outs), but it never loses sight of the fact that it's meant to be the end of something, not a springboard for the next Marvel relaunch or status quo, which is a wonderful change. Aaron does his best to catch you up if you're not familiar with his previous stories, but having read the rest of his Thor run will mean you get a lot more out of the payoffs in this story than if you hadn't.
There are still a few twists and turns, a couple of unexpected developments, and the way in which the War is finally won is just perfect, a love-letter to everything Aaron has been doing with this character across the last seven years. War Of The Realms feels important to Thor and his companions, as it should, but it's on such a big stage that it also justifies itself as an event - if this was just another arc of Thor, it wouldn't have done the story justice, so I'm actually pleased Marvel ramped it up into its own event for a change.
The art from start to finish is from the incomparable Russell Dauterman, who is second-to-none when it comes to Thor. His art's fantastically detailed, and even with each of these issues being extra-sized, they all shipped on time, and each page looks as painstakingly detailed as the last. It's just beautiful.
War Of The Realms is what a Marvel event should be - earned, justified, and a hell of a lot of fun. Or maybe a Hel of a lot of fun, if we're staying on brand.
War Of The Realms is a summer blockbuster. It's high action, high stakes, character deaths galore (although there's quite a few fake-outs), but it never loses sight of the fact that it's meant to be the end of something, not a springboard for the next Marvel relaunch or status quo, which is a wonderful change. Aaron does his best to catch you up if you're not familiar with his previous stories, but having read the rest of his Thor run will mean you get a lot more out of the payoffs in this story than if you hadn't.
There are still a few twists and turns, a couple of unexpected developments, and the way in which the War is finally won is just perfect, a love-letter to everything Aaron has been doing with this character across the last seven years. War Of The Realms feels important to Thor and his companions, as it should, but it's on such a big stage that it also justifies itself as an event - if this was just another arc of Thor, it wouldn't have done the story justice, so I'm actually pleased Marvel ramped it up into its own event for a change.
The art from start to finish is from the incomparable Russell Dauterman, who is second-to-none when it comes to Thor. His art's fantastically detailed, and even with each of these issues being extra-sized, they all shipped on time, and each page looks as painstakingly detailed as the last. It's just beautiful.
War Of The Realms is what a Marvel event should be - earned, justified, and a hell of a lot of fun. Or maybe a Hel of a lot of fun, if we're staying on brand.
July 18, 2022
Well, usually, i don't give a damn about any mega saga on DC or Marvel. For me, chronology, tie ins and all that shit that will change a super hero book for a couple of months and then just disappear after it, it's the real problems with mainstream super hero genre. It's some of the reasons that new readers don't get their hands on all of it.
But the War of the Realms, for me, it's a like a child from another dad. I've read every single issue from Jason Aaron's run on the God of Thunder, so i just couldn't let this pass. And god, i'm so glad that i didn't!
Everything made sense on this one. It's Jason, Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson playing D&D with the Marvel characters. It's super fun, with all of the changes that happens here, with all the weapons having a bad ass name, and Thor finally getting his redemption after defeating Malekith. This is a mega saga that it will really worth it your time.
But the War of the Realms, for me, it's a like a child from another dad. I've read every single issue from Jason Aaron's run on the God of Thunder, so i just couldn't let this pass. And god, i'm so glad that i didn't!
Everything made sense on this one. It's Jason, Russell Dauterman and Matthew Wilson playing D&D with the Marvel characters. It's super fun, with all of the changes that happens here, with all the weapons having a bad ass name, and Thor finally getting his redemption after defeating Malekith. This is a mega saga that it will really worth it your time.
February 25, 2023
Malekith has waged war on the 10 Realms and has now come to Earth seeking to take it over.
The Marvel cast of heroes of course stands against him.
War of Realms is the typical Marvel event comic book. Everyone joins together to save the Earth. I used to love these events, but if one out of ten of them are any good I'd be surprised.
2.5 out of 5 stars
The Marvel cast of heroes of course stands against him.
War of Realms is the typical Marvel event comic book. Everyone joins together to save the Earth. I used to love these events, but if one out of ten of them are any good I'd be surprised.
2.5 out of 5 stars
January 21, 2020
Jason Aaron has been working up to this in his writing on Thor for some time, culminating in this huge Marvel-wide event with numerous tie-ins across multiple titles and a central narrative with an epilogue. It's only the central narrative and the epilogue that are collected in this volume.
Malekith leads a great war of some of the ten Realms accessible from the Yggdrasil against many of the others. By the start of this book, all other Realms have fallen and the battle has come to Midgard: the Earth of the Marvel universe. We have Thor and the Asgardians, but also Jane Foster who takes up the hammer of the War Thor to become Thor again, and a whole host of others including Daredevil, the Punisher, the Avengers, Wolverine and many others.
I've been in and out of Aaron's Thor arc for some years (I'm only an infrequent comic reader), but thoroughly enjoyed the whole Jane Foster as Thor series and I wanted to see how he'd finish up the story he was teasing back then. I'm very glad I did as this was one of the best "event" comics I've read. There's clearly lots of stuff that's been hived off to the tie-ins, but the overall story makes sense and feels complete in this volume.
Malekith leads a great war of some of the ten Realms accessible from the Yggdrasil against many of the others. By the start of this book, all other Realms have fallen and the battle has come to Midgard: the Earth of the Marvel universe. We have Thor and the Asgardians, but also Jane Foster who takes up the hammer of the War Thor to become Thor again, and a whole host of others including Daredevil, the Punisher, the Avengers, Wolverine and many others.
I've been in and out of Aaron's Thor arc for some years (I'm only an infrequent comic reader), but thoroughly enjoyed the whole Jane Foster as Thor series and I wanted to see how he'd finish up the story he was teasing back then. I'm very glad I did as this was one of the best "event" comics I've read. There's clearly lots of stuff that's been hived off to the tie-ins, but the overall story makes sense and feels complete in this volume.
March 21, 2021
Po dlhej dobe konečne dobrý marvel event. Úžasná akcia, hlasky a kresba. Občas som sa trochu strácal, ale inak som si tento kusok užil. 4,5*/5*
October 2, 2019
War of the Realms offers an example of exactly what Marvel events should be: action-focused, character-heavy, light on McGuffuns, light on info-dumping. Malekith has arrived on Midgard to conquer the final realm among the ten. A loquacious narrator provides the necessary backstory (although you're really going to want to have read the previous ten or so Thor volumes). Earth's many, many heroes join the battle, with Thor and his Asgardian brethren taking point. Honestly, from front to back, War of the Realms is one big battle.
Sure, some scenes could have used a little more explanation. The book is dialogue heavy, but it's mostly used for quips and "HAVE AT THEE" statements. Characters rarely explain their actions - that's for the narrator, who often does so in flowery language that obscures what's going on. Fortunately, War of the Realms is simple enough that the reader can quickly fill in the blanks. And I should be clear: the quips and the Asgardian battle cries are a delight. I didn't expect to chuckle while reading War of the Realms.
This event is also the rare one that comes to a satisfying conclusion. The war is over, Thor is , and...not much else. I guess a single panel sets the stage for a confrontation with Carnage, but otherwise the thing is done - and done in a bloody, epic final battle that lives up to expectations. This is some good Marvel, on par even with the Avengers movies. Hey, Kevin Feige? Maybe adapt this one next.
Sure, some scenes could have used a little more explanation. The book is dialogue heavy, but it's mostly used for quips and "HAVE AT THEE" statements. Characters rarely explain their actions - that's for the narrator, who often does so in flowery language that obscures what's going on. Fortunately, War of the Realms is simple enough that the reader can quickly fill in the blanks. And I should be clear: the quips and the Asgardian battle cries are a delight. I didn't expect to chuckle while reading War of the Realms.
This event is also the rare one that comes to a satisfying conclusion. The war is over, Thor is , and...not much else. I guess a single panel sets the stage for a confrontation with Carnage, but otherwise the thing is done - and done in a bloody, epic final battle that lives up to expectations. This is some good Marvel, on par even with the Avengers movies. Hey, Kevin Feige? Maybe adapt this one next.
July 11, 2019
”War is War. Giants just take more bullets is all.”
Jason Aaron’s Masterclass On How to Write a Great Event Comic® will teach you just three lessons:
1. The event should come at the end of a long road of build-up and storylines leading into it, not something thrown together to chase what’s popular.
2. Work with one artist who knows the ins and outs of the story being told and the characters populating it so well that they can make every panel into a genuine work of art, and then do it over and over again.
3. Find a truly unique premise around which you can build a properly grand story, then swing for the fences and just tell the most epic tale possible.
May 26, 2020
A perfectly fine crossover event. Nice art, good dialogue, a death or two, a resurrection or two. If we didn't have these sort of things every six months or so, this might even have been sort of special, but as another sausage out of the machine, it's perfectly fine. Building toward The War of the Realms has certainly kept me reading Thor comics for far longer than any time in my life since Walt Simonson's run back in the 1980s.
August 3, 2020
*Sighs* I thought I'd learned my lesson when I finally gave up on Aaron's Avengers run.
This has all of the same problems. The only thing that makes it marginally more enjoyable is that there's 90% Thor/Norse characters here - and as I've always said, Aaron does those characters and themes well. (The complete butchering of the Valkyrie aside (and oh my god does that really, really suck).
Ignoring the characterization and dialogue for Steve, Carol, Tony, and just about everyone not from Asgard or associated with Asgard, this book is almost okay to read. I liked what happened with Loki, Thor and Frigga's characters. Jane was okay - I'm wondering why the Valkyrie needed to die for her to become one? How strange.
Anyway, I can't recommend this. I was not super thrilled with it. I felt like the non-Norse characters were shoe-horned in so we could call this an event and I think it would've been a lot better if this had just happened in a Thor book and the other characters' responses were covered solely in their solo books, by the writers assigned to those characters.
However, I really enjoyed Tom Taylor's War of the Realms tie in. That was great!
This has all of the same problems. The only thing that makes it marginally more enjoyable is that there's 90% Thor/Norse characters here - and as I've always said, Aaron does those characters and themes well. (The complete butchering of the Valkyrie aside (and oh my god does that really, really suck).
Ignoring the characterization and dialogue for Steve, Carol, Tony, and just about everyone not from Asgard or associated with Asgard, this book is almost okay to read. I liked what happened with Loki, Thor and Frigga's characters. Jane was okay - I'm wondering why the Valkyrie needed to die for her to become one? How strange.
Anyway, I can't recommend this. I was not super thrilled with it. I felt like the non-Norse characters were shoe-horned in so we could call this an event and I think it would've been a lot better if this had just happened in a Thor book and the other characters' responses were covered solely in their solo books, by the writers assigned to those characters.
However, I really enjoyed Tom Taylor's War of the Realms tie in. That was great!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2021
Delivers what it says, nothing more nothing less... Decent crossover, with some really good spin-offs!
January 19, 2020
So this is a bit like the Infinity War film in that its mostly bunches of people punching things in various locations, also like Infinity War if you havn't read/seen the surrounding material you might be playing catch-up story wise. I'm just assuming such material exists i read this very much in isolation ;) .
To make another comparison because its lazy and effective... its a bit like Captain America Civil Way in that Civil War is still a Captain America movie despite all the guest stars and this at the end of the day is a Thor story.
Its a bit hard to believe the scale of events at times and the sheer power of many of the heroes does make it seem a bit Zulu-esque in places.
Overall pretty well told with many characters i like although i'm not a big Thor fan. It very much has that MCU charm and is very nice to look at.
To make another comparison because its lazy and effective... its a bit like Captain America Civil Way in that Civil War is still a Captain America movie despite all the guest stars and this at the end of the day is a Thor story.
Its a bit hard to believe the scale of events at times and the sheer power of many of the heroes does make it seem a bit Zulu-esque in places.
Overall pretty well told with many characters i like although i'm not a big Thor fan. It very much has that MCU charm and is very nice to look at.
July 26, 2019
3.5 stars. Man this made me mad. This run started off with so much potential. The story grabs you and draws you in for ride in such an awesome manner. As I was reading issues 1-4 I just couldn’t wait for the next book. Then it just lost all its steam in 5 and 6. I mean there was some cool stuff set up at the end that I’m looking forward to, but it’s like Aaron just gave up or stopped caring nearing then end of this. This easily could have been 4.5-5 stars if he had stuck the landing.
July 9, 2019
"If only Thor can save the day... Then we simply need more Thors."
June 22, 2020
4.5
War of the Realms has been one of the Marvel books I wanted to read. I've been looking at the Annihilation Omnibus but decided to spend my time reading this series instead. Jason Aaron is the man who has the task of bringing all the Marvel characters into this event and I must congratulate the guy. This is action packed from the beginning. It has so many characters that don't receive a fair spotlight Blade for example. As cosmic storylines go, this has a lot to recommend it.
Why the 4.5?
This is my second event storyline by Marvel and must say they handle them better than DC. DC are better at the Gotham vigilante characters but Marvel knows how to do the giant events. Jason Aaron has come straight into this from a long running Thor series that has been highly recommended to me. I avoided picking this up in issues and I think I made the correct choice as this needs a collection to strengthen the overall storyline. I'm not a giant Marvel reader but this was a lot of fun considering I hated the Thor Dark World film. This serves the central villain of that film with respect.
War of the Realms has been one of the Marvel books I wanted to read. I've been looking at the Annihilation Omnibus but decided to spend my time reading this series instead. Jason Aaron is the man who has the task of bringing all the Marvel characters into this event and I must congratulate the guy. This is action packed from the beginning. It has so many characters that don't receive a fair spotlight Blade for example. As cosmic storylines go, this has a lot to recommend it.
Why the 4.5?
This is my second event storyline by Marvel and must say they handle them better than DC. DC are better at the Gotham vigilante characters but Marvel knows how to do the giant events. Jason Aaron has come straight into this from a long running Thor series that has been highly recommended to me. I avoided picking this up in issues and I think I made the correct choice as this needs a collection to strengthen the overall storyline. I'm not a giant Marvel reader but this was a lot of fun considering I hated the Thor Dark World film. This serves the central villain of that film with respect.
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