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Thor by Jason Aaron #12-15
Thor by Jason Aaron: The Complete Collection, Vol. 5
The myth-making climax of Jason Aaron’s legendary THOR run! The Odinson has regained his mantle — but Mjolnir has been destroyed! With conflict spreading through the realms, Thor will need new hammers. Lots of them! But will any amount of weapons be enough against such threats as the unstoppable Juggernaut and the Queen of Cinders? Valkyries, angels and more join the fight as the dark elf Malekith’s War of the Realms spills into Midgard, engulfing Thor and all those he loves! Everything is about to change, for Thor and for Asgard. Then, at the end of time, witness the final fate of the ancient King Thor — as he encounters a very old friend, and faces his hated stepbrother Loki one last time! Jason Aaron and artist Esad Ribić reunite for the epic conclusion!
COLLECTING: Thor (2018) 1-16, King Thor (2019) 1-4
COLLECTING: Thor (2018) 1-16, King Thor (2019) 1-4
496 pages, Paperback
First published April 19, 2022
17 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Jason Aaron
2,344 books1,672 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
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April 3, 2023This collection does not include War of the Realms. So read the first 11 issues, read War of the Realms, and come back for the rest.
Aaron's seven-year Thor run concludes here. And while there's more of the up-and-down quality I've come to expect, it's a pretty good conclusion overall. The first six issues, however, are possibly the lowest point of Aaron's run. Thor and Loki go to Hel, Hela's getting married, Baldr's there, Thanos shows up, and fighting ensues. Aaron's writing doesn't have any nuance whatsoever, it's so by-the-numbers. And Mike del Mundo's garish, ugly art doesn't help the story at all. The future Thor stuff is interesting but it's drowned out by a huge, dumb fight.
The next five issues, essentially a lead-up to War of the Realms, are much better. Each issue more or less stands alone and focuses on a different character. The one about Odin is the best of the bunch, but the others aren't far behind. The Roz Solomon issue shows some really interesting developments. And del Mundo's art is better here than in the opening issues somehow. Maybe because there's less over-the-top fighting and more talking? Either way, I'm happy to say that Aaron hasn't lost his touch.
Then War of the Realms happens, which I read and enjoyed quite a bit. Issues 12-14 here are decent but inessential tie-ins. Issue 16 is a nice send-off for present-day Thor.
The collection ends with the King Thor miniseries, where Aaron revisits old Thor from the future and tells the last Thor story. I didn't think about this connection until now, but Thor creating life on Earth to his liking is similar to what Lucifer does in Mike Carey's series. Anyway, the final issue is the real star, a great culmination of everything Aaron did with the character. The last few pages are just about perfect.
Aaron's Thor was a rocky but generally impressive run. He set out to tell a definite Thor saga, incorporating Thor from the past, present, and future, and even ushering in a new hammer-wielder. He succeeded in some places and fell short in others. The Jane Foster stuff, especially the beginning and end of her tenure as Thor, was the highlight for me. The evolution of Thor's relationship with Odin was also great, and King Thor had some epic, memorable moments. But his run is too inconsistent and contains too much wheel spinning for me to consider it one of the greats. Good for sure, but I have to think that Aaron could have written a better, tighter Thor saga.
Aaron's seven-year Thor run concludes here. And while there's more of the up-and-down quality I've come to expect, it's a pretty good conclusion overall. The first six issues, however, are possibly the lowest point of Aaron's run. Thor and Loki go to Hel, Hela's getting married, Baldr's there, Thanos shows up, and fighting ensues. Aaron's writing doesn't have any nuance whatsoever, it's so by-the-numbers. And Mike del Mundo's garish, ugly art doesn't help the story at all. The future Thor stuff is interesting but it's drowned out by a huge, dumb fight.
The next five issues, essentially a lead-up to War of the Realms, are much better. Each issue more or less stands alone and focuses on a different character. The one about Odin is the best of the bunch, but the others aren't far behind. The Roz Solomon issue shows some really interesting developments. And del Mundo's art is better here than in the opening issues somehow. Maybe because there's less over-the-top fighting and more talking? Either way, I'm happy to say that Aaron hasn't lost his touch.
Then War of the Realms happens, which I read and enjoyed quite a bit. Issues 12-14 here are decent but inessential tie-ins. Issue 16 is a nice send-off for present-day Thor.
The collection ends with the King Thor miniseries, where Aaron revisits old Thor from the future and tells the last Thor story. I didn't think about this connection until now, but Thor creating life on Earth to his liking is similar to what Lucifer does in Mike Carey's series. Anyway, the final issue is the real star, a great culmination of everything Aaron did with the character. The last few pages are just about perfect.
Aaron's Thor was a rocky but generally impressive run. He set out to tell a definite Thor saga, incorporating Thor from the past, present, and future, and even ushering in a new hammer-wielder. He succeeded in some places and fell short in others. The Jane Foster stuff, especially the beginning and end of her tenure as Thor, was the highlight for me. The evolution of Thor's relationship with Odin was also great, and King Thor had some epic, memorable moments. But his run is too inconsistent and contains too much wheel spinning for me to consider it one of the greats. Good for sure, but I have to think that Aaron could have written a better, tighter Thor saga.
August 20, 2022
The war of the realms.. talk about an anti climax. Way too many important things happening off screen, which is disappointing for what's supposed to be a "complete collection". Didn't see much at all for a war that lasted almost 7 years and 100 issues across all 10 realms.. I liked the ending, though.
March 4, 2023
One of the most epic comic book stories ever written. By epic, I mean story which covers adventures of one God from the time of the Vikings to the end of time. Truly an achievement of storytelling on a timeline humans can truly appreciate.
June 6, 2025
So listen. When I first began this journey, Thor to me was a blond dunderhead assured of his own power who used to many "thees" and "thous". After Jason Aaron's literally cosmic Thor run, I feel completely different. Stunning art, unexpected world building at every turn, complex characters, and the goodest murder dog you ever did see. This is the saga of Thor, the god constantly working to become more and more worthy of the people who depend on him. Also, Jane. JANE!! JAAAAAAANE
July 25, 2022
We have reached the end of Jason Aaron's run of Thor. This volume features a lot of art by Mike Del Mundo, which may have diminished the experience for me a bit. Del Mundo does crazy interesting art, but I found it somewhat tiring to read. In general the images feel like really busy album covers or posters. They're rad, but they lack the clean points of focus I would like in a comic layout. To be fair that improves over the course of the run.
I'm kind of annoyed they didn't just include War of the Realms in this, since like half of the book is set up for that. If I'm being honest I think the set up for that event runs a little long, and it meanders a bit. Part of what's so good about Godbomb is that it's tight. The main run in this definitely isn't. That being said, War of the Realms itself is good, and there is some nice character development for both Loki and Thor throughout. I haven't read the Cates run yet, but I will be very disappointed if he just throws all that aside and resets the character. This was a long run, and I think Aaron's work with Thor should have a significant lasting impact.
This also contains King Thor, which is Aaron's goodbye to the character, and it's fantastic. It has that same mix of well executed theming and epic scale that made Godbomb amazing. It's definitely the highlight of this collection for me.
I'm kind of annoyed they didn't just include War of the Realms in this, since like half of the book is set up for that. If I'm being honest I think the set up for that event runs a little long, and it meanders a bit. Part of what's so good about Godbomb is that it's tight. The main run in this definitely isn't. That being said, War of the Realms itself is good, and there is some nice character development for both Loki and Thor throughout. I haven't read the Cates run yet, but I will be very disappointed if he just throws all that aside and resets the character. This was a long run, and I think Aaron's work with Thor should have a significant lasting impact.
This also contains King Thor, which is Aaron's goodbye to the character, and it's fantastic. It has that same mix of well executed theming and epic scale that made Godbomb amazing. It's definitely the highlight of this collection for me.
June 17, 2022
An astonishing conclusion to one of the greatest runs in modern comic history.
Aaron and co have managed to, both thematically and technically, tie together 100 issues of intergalactic and internal strife. They came in with a clear idea, offer countless branches of stories for future writers, and cap off the very idea of Thor in these pages. We are provided the largest-scale war in comics history and jump into the future to show the final days of All-Father Thor, giving readers the final Thor story of all time.
Besides the scale of the entire run, this book also has great minor moments of unparalleled creativity. All-Father Thor vs Old-Man Pheonix was amazing, but then they take it a step further. King Pheonix, God of Fire vs Fist of Iron, Starbrand Supreme, Mystic Master Doom.
I mean, that's the kind of stuff that nerds can't help but talk about.
This run is as timeless as it's characters and will go down as one of the greatest of all time. It's worth your time, time and time again.
5/5 stars
Aaron and co have managed to, both thematically and technically, tie together 100 issues of intergalactic and internal strife. They came in with a clear idea, offer countless branches of stories for future writers, and cap off the very idea of Thor in these pages. We are provided the largest-scale war in comics history and jump into the future to show the final days of All-Father Thor, giving readers the final Thor story of all time.
Besides the scale of the entire run, this book also has great minor moments of unparalleled creativity. All-Father Thor vs Old-Man Pheonix was amazing, but then they take it a step further. King Pheonix, God of Fire vs Fist of Iron, Starbrand Supreme, Mystic Master Doom.
I mean, that's the kind of stuff that nerds can't help but talk about.
This run is as timeless as it's characters and will go down as one of the greatest of all time. It's worth your time, time and time again.
5/5 stars
October 23, 2022
With volume 5 read, I can now confidently claim that Jason Aaron’s run on Thor is amongst the best comics Marvel’s published. Even if tie in stories, like Original Sin, are not as strong, Aaron’s blend of deeply emotional motivations for his characters coupled with his attention to detail in the mythologies influencing Marvel lore results in an end point that resonates with Aaron’s story arcs from his opening issues.
May 6, 2024
Make sure you got War of the Realms on the side ready to jump into at about the halfway mark of this! This, connected with that, does make an insane finale for one of the best comic runs ever made here!!! The future Thor plotlines stand out the strongest here, in my opinion and make for stories that seem impossible to forget because of its scaling and messages!
August 12, 2022
While I don't think the series ever regained the strength of the original few issues with the God butcher, this has been a thoroughly enjoyable read, and the ending hit quite a few chords with me. Would absolutely recommend a complete read through.
November 12, 2022
Ран Аарона завершен, и это было то еще путешествие. Очень увлекательное, по большей части, и даже не в самые лучшие свое моменты все равно интересное. Всецело рекомендую.
June 6, 2024
A lot more marvelly event stuff, but it really gets back to what initially made the run great in the last couple of issues, I just wish there was more of that
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews