Thor: Latverian Prometheus

Thor (2007) (Collected Editions) #4

by Kieron Gillen (Writer), Kelly Sue DeConnick, Stan Lee

Dr. Doom has committed barbaric atrocities against the Asgardians living in his realm of Latveria. Now Balder has marshaled his forces, and called upon the counsel of his general, Tyr, the God of War. Even the outcast Thor has rallied to the defense of his people. But what secret weapon has Doom wrought with secrets plundered from Asgard? And whose side is the duplicitous Loki truly on? Also, finally restored to her own body, Sif sets out with Beta Ray Bill to fight her way back to true warrior's glory.

Collecting: Thor 604-606, Sif 1, material from Thor 600

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Mythology

120 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2010

About the author

Kieron Gillen is a comic book writer and former media journalist.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been wondering how the Asgardians got from Latveria (at the end of Thor, Volume 3) back to Kansas (in Siege). And now I know. I kind of feel bad for Gillen. He was given the unenviable job of hitting the reset button, but not too hard. By the end of the book, we're back where we were before the Asgardians moved to Latveria: Asgard itself floats above Kansas, Thor is in exile, Balder is king, and Loki has his ear. A little disappointing, and it makes me wonder what the point of the whole Latveria storyline even was.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was decent.

This wraps up what Michael was heading for. Doom is now going face to face with everyone. However, this isn't before Loki plays his whole "I'm such a bad person, punish me" but secretly being a trickster. On top of that Thor comes down from the skies to face doom once and for all.

It's decent fight, decent dialogue, decent art, decent everything. Doesn't have a great ending and doesn't do much I didn't expect but it works. A 2.5 out of 5.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The conflict this conveys should be powerful and staggering - Doom with such power vs. Asgard warriors? Yet it feels like it was over almost before it started - like they needed to quickly tie up the Asgard-in-Latveria plotline before moving on to Siege. Had to be done, and I don't envy the authors who had to clean up the loose ends, but still feels like it cheapened everything that JMS tried so hard to build. Reasonable telling of the tale, but still tastes a little of ash in my mouth.

[William Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thor and Conan the Barbarian are my two main obsessions. Comic books, action figures, magazines, movies, posters, anything I can get my hands on. I adore the fighting, the women, the fearlessness, the mythology. I just can't get enough of it. So it pains me to no end when someone just can't seem to do the characters justice in their titles. Thor, especially. There have been too many writers that just cannot grasp the essence of the character, who refuse to use the entire breadth of mythology and the Marvel-built mythos. Fortunately, after Straczynski's fabulous run, this volume was put into the capable hands of Kieron Gillen.

Gillen is probably the most adept conjurer of Asgardian stories that Marvel has seen since Walt Simonson. Between his small Thor run and Journey Into Mystery, the man can do no wrong. Although I found the story here to be slightly anorexic, it comes off without a hitch and does the Thunder God justice.

Having Doctor Doom make an appearance made me giddy. Sometimes I feel DD is underutilized, not written to his full diabolical potential. But here we get a glimpse of the man as a magician, scientist, villain and megalomaniac. It is the ultimate combination of everything Doom was meant to be. So how could I not give this slight volume 5 stars strictly based on the fantastic characterization?

Having seen plenty of ups and downs in this title as of late, this is a stellar example of Thor writing as it should be.

Add in the always gorgeous artwork of Billy Tan and we have the perfect book. Maybe not a classic, but perfect all the same.

Writing: A
Art: A

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gillen's take on Thor is just so-so. Loki just isn't the treacherous mastermind he was under the pen of JMS, but more of a guy that knows how to run his mouth. The final battle between the Asgardians and Dr Doom is rather anti-climactic, and when Loki is seemingly restored to Balder's good graces and Thor is not, I can only SMDH.

This collection also includes a tale of Lady Sif, a one-shot written by Kelly Sue DeConnick, and it reinforces that I usually don't like what she writes. It's rather one-dimensional with some cliched comic relief panels. Turned me off, rather.

Siege is next, and I have no idea what that is. If Gillen is writing, I may wait for a while before picking it up.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

The culmination of a phenomenal, character-defining run by J. Michael Straczynski falls pretty flat when handed over to a different writer. It plays out decent enough, but all the dramatic weight of what JMS built is lifted and replaced with feather-light action and no suspense. Loki goes from a Machiavellian mastermind to a guy who's just pretty good at lying. Worth reading to finish out the story, but really nothing special.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting, if not uneventful, start to Kieron Gillen's run.

The dialogue is suitably sumptuous, as Gillen always manages. And the story has some clever surprises as it builds towards the first major fight.

But by its end, we find ourselves having see little forward progression, and all the major players exactly where they were when we began.

A fine opening entry, but a still feeling like a bit of a treadmill jog.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doom vs Thor!!! Gillen pens a fantastic Doom and Loki for that matter. This book is definitely reliant on the antagonists but its done very well. Doom's machinations all come to a head and they are gruesome. I actually which the story wasn't rushed into only three issues. The art by Billy Tan was spectacular. Overall, a very good read that could have been elongated.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maybe I needed to have read more of the storyline before this TBP...

[Maythavee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this volume but it just isn't the same as Straczynski's writing.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels like a slow conclusion to the Straczynski run. No big changes yet. Fine, but weird that it doesn't feel like a lead-in to Siege, right?

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fills in a few gaps in the Thor storyline but didn’t really do much other than reinforce how horrible Doctor Doom’s ambitions can be.

[Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely an obvious quality drop due to the author change, it felt...off.

[matt murdock · Rating 3 out of 5]

are they ever going to Not fall for loki’s shit

[Melia Glubka · Rating 5 out of 5]

this series very easily made its way onto my list of favorite comics ever.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kieron Gillen jumps into the Asgardian pool with a splash, continuing the battle against Dr. Doom. A worthy continuation of a well received run.

[Aiden Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty cool book. I read this with no prior knowledge of this Thor run and it made sense pretty good throughout and had some fun Loki and Doom moments. lots of great action scenes too!

[ila · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel like the fight between the Asgardians and Doom's army, though impressive, should've lasted longer. overall, this volume was very fast-paced, maybe a bit too much for the importance of the events told here

[Majortomisajunkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Splendid hard-fantasy story.

#604-606 are completely Thor vs. Doom. Although, there are a few fluent threads (Loki-Asgardians-Kelda) but all we need is Thor kicking someone's ass, right? And from now and forever Kieron Gillen is my personal comic-God. His S.W.O.R.D, Ares and Phonogram are much more than impressive. In this regard, it is a pity that he was merely filling in Thor & Beast/dragon/green-haired sexy comic canceled after the fifth issue. I demand a public castration of Marvel's editor-in-chief.

Another small note - in this arc we have an ideal Doctor Doom. Sinister, treacherous, scary - IN UR FACE, MILLAR. Nobody remembers The Masters of Doom... And of course Billy Tan. I confess, I've never been a fan of his work, even more - I thought that the second volume of Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (remember, with Regie Hudlin?) was terribly drawn. Than it came the Uncanny X-Men with Ed Brubaker and I was surprised with the art, which, from the beginning, mixed up with Mark Silvestri's. Than B. Bendis intercepted Malaysian and put him on his medicore New Avengers. I didn't like the story itself (Doctor Woodoo? Are you kidding me? Tho, Remender's doing a great job in Avenger of the Supernatural. Nightmare and all that stuff...) and maybe that's why the artwork seemed decent too. But now I solemnly swear - Tan perseveres. His new awesome manner of imitation Koipel/Djurdjevic charmed me & my aesthetic taste (pathosly, i know).

So, Siege is next. Damn hard waiting for it.

[C.J. Edmunds · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's a frequently used or heard saying that Lightning never strikes the same place twice. In this case, having been "burned" by expecting a lot from my current catching-up reading of Thor, I've learned not to expect anything and surprisingly get more out of it.

Perhaps I'm bound to compare it with my love for Green Lantern. But then again he's human with alien powers and this one is a god exiled and having to live with humans. Nonetheless after finishing the 3 compiled books by Strazinsky with the promise of more conflicts and Loki-infused treachery, I just had to prep myself up to be struck by the Thunder god and get this edition that collects, Thor #604-606 and Sif #1.

Surprisingly I enjoyed it more than the last compiled book as it showed how brutal and Machiavellian Dr. Doom really is (ha, as if I suspected otherwise); forging an alliance with Thor's evil brother Loki only to further his own nefarious purposes. Won't say what it is, should you decide to check it out on your own. But suffice to say that I felt this continuation had a good balance of action and heart as Thor and Balder struggle to fight against "former" Asgardians in a race to save the goddess, Kelda, mortally wounded in the previous collection and to give Doom a lesson he so deserved.

For now, I'm content that I'm at least updated a bit in the goings on of our Asgardian heroes as this collection prefigures another crisis in the Marvel Universe which is SIEGE. After Civil War, House of M, Secret Invasion, I think I wanna take a breather and check out what's going on the DC Universe. :)

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kieron Gillen was set up with an unenviable task and doesn't completely botch it, but the resolution to the reestablished Thor created by J. Michael Straczynski doesn't get terribly grand or epic. Worse is Billy Tan's more complex lines which would be fine normally, but contrast significantly with the style of his predecessor.


The Asgardians have been betrayed by Dr. Doom and Loki and pretty much this book is all out fight. I'd say there's more to it, but really it's not terribly exciting. There are no huge surprises, sadly. I don't hate it but it's just sort of there.

There are some forgettable back-up features, one of which does a solid job of making light of Thor's return, but the Sif story does her and Beta Ray Bill a disservice and the art is substandard. There's also a Stan Lee told story which is very retro and kind of cute, but doesn't really bring anything great to the collection.

Library it, don't buy.

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wrapped up all that had been going on in Thor reasonably well. Gillen's writing hasn't overly impressed me in Uncanny X-Men, but he fills in reasonably well here. This was really one big fight in an attempt to get revenge. There were some dark and gruesome moments to keep the reader's attention. Doom is certainly evil incarnate. By the end, I did wonder where this series is going to go after this story and the change in writer made it feel like Gillen is jumping in and trying to shift directions because there was no plan or direction in place. Obviously, this is not his fault, but it is making the book suffer. The art also has gotten a little worse as well. I really liked how Billy Tan draws Doom, but there were some panels that looked rushed or ugly. With an event tie in next, I am fully expecting to lose interest in what has been an awesome book. Here's to hoping that doesn't happen.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, Gillen is left to pick up the pieces after JMS failed the Thor comic.

On the plus side, I'm really pleased to see the Latveria story finished after JMS left it hanging with his abrupt departure. On the minus side, Gillen finishes up the story by scripting three issues of fight. It's all competently told fighting ... but there's not much more. I also never felt like I understood why Loki brought Asgard to Latveria in the first place. Shouldn't there have been some master plan? It couldn't have been just to get Baldur's ear, could it, because that'd be ridiculous complexity.

In any case, this three-issue appendix to JMS' run is adequate and nothing more.

(I didn't bother reading the Sif comic or the other non-Gillen add-ons.)

[TJ Shelby · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the drama behind this mini-arc conclusion is almost as good as the Gillen's story, this was great and filled with amazing art. The reason it gets 3 stars instead of 4 stars is because of the filler issues in the trade paperback. Gillen's three issue arc concludes where the JMS story left off, namely, with Thor banished and the rest of the Asgardian's in Latveria due to Loki's interference.

Going thru the rumor mill is that Straczynski walked after major disagreements over the Siege crossovers interfering with where he wanted to take the Thor story line. On a positive note, I hear Thor will be graced by the writing skills of Matt Fraction (who did amazing with Iron Fist).

[Neil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thor and the Asgardians vs. a team up of Loki and Dr. Doom. This should have been MUCH more epic... especially when it comes to Doom wearing Destroyer armor. Unfortunately it is mostly a straight up slug fest with little drama. The most disturbing part was that a classicly "noble" villain, Doom, was shown to be a butchering psychopath, up to his eye-slits in gore. Maybe I've missed some kind of supposedly "kewl" updating of a classic villain, but this seemed totally out of character.'

An unfortunate end, to an otherwise promising plot.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thor = awesome. It's really as simple as that. Apart from the issues that follow up on the last issue of JMS' run, this volume also contains a story featuring Lady Sif, which was all right, a story by Stan Lee from Thor 600, and a very funny Mini Marvels story, which made me laugh a lot. If you know and like Thor, you should read this, if you don't you should go and pick up the first trade of J. Michael Straczynski's run. Verily!

[Jerry Daniels · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thor: Latverian Prometheus jumps into action with Asgardian Kelda confronting Dr. Doom, ruler of Latveria and Loki's cohort in bringing about the demise of other Asgardians, especially Thor. While context to this story is provided in text, references to other events in Thor's history lack it, making the story less than easy to follow.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredibly short volume that works to get Thor ready for Siege. The Asgardians have to leave Latveria, and how it happens is clean and nice.

The Sif storyline is awesome. It is what really earns this volume its fourth star.

[Blair · Rating 2 out of 5]

Talk about a toss-away comic. If you're going to keep releasing trades, Marvel, please make them coherent.

[Brian Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

***star only review***