Siege: Thor

Thor (2007) (Collected Editions) #5

by Kieron Gillen, Billy Tan, Jamie McKelvie (Illustrator)

Asgard lies under Siege! As the evil eye of Norman Osborn falls on Asgard, what happens to neighboring Broxton, Oklahoma? What unexpected enemies will be drawn to the scene like carrion to a carcass? And what unlikely heroes will rise to the town's defense? The Asgardians face the battle of their lives...and the showdown that's coming may end their new life on Earth as quickly as it began!

Collecting: Thor 607-610, New Mutants 11, Siege: Loki

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Fantasy, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

144 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

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

Reviews

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Honestly lost interest. Thor is such a tough sell for me. This one didn't work for me either.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siege: Thor is a collection of tie-ins to 2010s big crossover Marvel event Siege. All of these tie-ins are written by Kieron Gillen, including some issues of Gillen's ongoing Thor title, a Loki one-shot, and an issue of New Mutants. There are a variety of talented artists here who each do a great job with their respective stories but the sheer number of illustrators in one small volume leads to a slightly uncomfortable read that is constantly changing in tone. Adding on to that, they are very much tie-ins to help flesh out the Siege event and without Siege itself included in the collection the stories themselves ring hollow. While there is an arc to follow the characters through, without reading Siege (in particular Siege #4 which happens towards the middle/end of the trade) the story barely holds together.

Kieron Gillen's Thor run overall has a very distinctive feel to it that can make it difficult to read. It's more or less a conclusion to J. Michael Straczynski's run, which was cut short because Straczynski did not want to work alongside the Siege event, and attempts to finish up dangling plot threads in a respectful manner. Like Straczysnki, Gillen focuses more on Asgard's supporting cast and setting than Thor himself giving prominence to characters like Balder the Brave, Loki, and Volstagg. He also attempts to bring Thor up to date with the rest of the Marvel Universe, referencing events like Avengers Disassembled: Thor and Civil War, and brings a more "fantasy" theme to his run. Gillen likes to play with parts of Norse myth, supernatural powers, and Hel itself. While commendable for its world-building the lack of focus on the titular Thor character and its reliance for stories not contained within the trade (like Siege itself) makes this a disjointed read that's hard to recommend unless you're already aware of the late-2000s era Marvel continuity.

[Sonic · Rating 1 out of 5]

For-The-Love-A-Jack-Kirby, don't buy or read this crapola!

[Mike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ridiculously rushed, disjointed and random. Feels like the leftover scraps from the Siege meta-scripting sessions. Nothing particularly exciting, moving or compelling about these issues.

And the art feels second-rate - as if they sub-contracted the work on a semi-random basis to whoever in the "farm team" had some spare time. Issue 610 had a nice "tying up loose ends" feel to it, but nothing surprising, novel or creative in the telling. Sad, sputtering end to the great trajectory that JMS laid out.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though Gillen's writing isn't quite up to Straczynski's standards, this is a close and a very consistent continuation of his storyline. This one starts off weak, but by the end is really sharp, especially with the characterization and background for Loki and the continuation of the story of William.

The two other issues included here, the Siege: Loki and the New Mutants #11, are quite strong as well ... though they're as much precursors to Journey into Mystery as they are Thor tie-ins.

[Harley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, though the mutants 11 comic didn't make much sense, Tyr will never die.

Pros
Good to see that most of the norse gods where called by there actual name, being a pagan you don't get that much.
Tyr will never die
Great art for Siege Loki, and Thor 607 - 609
Cons
Loki making a deal with Satan made no sense as they mixed Christian and Pagan religions together.
Siege Loki was good wish they added one more instead of the X-mutants 11
Mostly good art except for the siege Thor 610, which that art was way to realistic.
No Fenrir with Tyr :(
In Conclusion
I enjoyed this one very much only 3.5 out of 5 cause of alot of cons in my eyes, if you like Thor comics defently pick this one up, as it goes will with the new Ragnerock movie.

[Simon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, look, here's the fucking problem with Marvel's stories. I read this TPB and it DOESNT CONTAIN THE FINALE TO THE STORY!

That happened in some other title, christ knows where, because the TPB didn't even bother fucking telling me where the other critical parts of the story are.

So one issue ends with the Asgardians going off into the final battle, and the next issue begins with them victorious. What. The. Actual. Fuck.

And of course this makes this TPB completely unreadable, because it's like having chapters 3, 9, and 14 of a novel. And just being asked to try and guess what happens.

Stop the fucking bullshit Marvel.

[Jimbo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Asgard, Loki and Thor's side of the Siege.

Starting with Loki killing Knut who saw the upcoming attack.

Heimdell's being swept away from being able to see until it is too late to warn Asgard

Volstagg battle with Ragnarok, the clone/android of Thor.

Dani Moonstar's contract with Hela and her being Hel's Valkyrie needing to take the fallen soldiers to Hel--leading them--even though she ends up not being there for souls eaten by the Disri.

The Real Thor taking out Ragnarok and leaving King Baldar as king even though he is pardoned and can return to Asgard.

The Beautiful Rainbow bridge that now sits utop the Avenger's Tower, where once Sentry's home sat.

Wonderful stories

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great artwork throughout. well written story. It helps if one can read ALL the Siege... gns together though. Good insight into Volstagg and Kendra this book. However, the Dani Moonstar story seems to have been thrown in as filler

[Linda M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book because it was on the list of things to do (read a graphic novel) for the summer reading program for adults. Not my cup of tea.

[B]

I kind of remember this? Volstagg versus Ragnarok and some kind of thing with Loki being tricky ? It seems weird that the Thor book in the Thor event is not more exciting.

[ISMOTU · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ragnarok is here…again. Asgard falls. Kieron Gillen is setting up his new take on the god of thunder here.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A senseless attack on 60+-year-old characters in the Marvel Universe by a writer who's obviously under contract with Marvel to do just THAT.

[Stephanie Cullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the artwork and the Dani Moonstar issue.

[mayleh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Que hq incrível!!

Eu só me pergunto se o loki morreu mesmo ou é mais de um dos fingimentos dele?

Eu jurava que o thor ia voltar a ser rei nesse final.

[ila · Rating 3 out of 5]

"as long as two asgardian brothers stand together... asgard stands too"

they have lost their original home, they were forced to move to earth, their souls were dispersed among all corners of the earth and they had to go in search of each other, they had finally managed to rebuild their home yet it was once again destroyed. and in spite of all of that, they do not succumb to hopelessness but - as soon as the battle is over - they quickly get to work looking for survivors and rebuilding their home anew. the asgardians are incredibly brave people, their spirit is just unbreakable and their love for their people can triumph anything else
and i believe the last issue (#610) is a perfect example of this

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reminded me why the big events can kill the momentum in a book. Since I haven't read Siege, I had no idea what was going on with Volstagg or Asgard (though I quickly realized it was pretty important to the story) and it took me half of the first issue to figure out what was going on. It was frustrating how some of the biggest parts of the story happen in Siege and not in these issues so the reader feels like they're missing a key part of the story. The story itself isn't bad, but it isn't great either. It is mostly a lot of fighting which is a little dull after just getting a more interesting story with a lot of fighting in the last arc. To make matters worse, the art gets progressively worse as time goes on. This was the worst art in the series since it was relaunched. All of this is leading me to stop reading Thor and to go find something that is more of a safe bet in the Marvel Universe. I really want to read Jason Aaron's run on Thor, because the character can be great, it is just a shame how quickly this book fell apart after a very strong couple of story arcs.

[Sunil · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Thor comic is one with barely any Thor at all! I do enjoy Volstagg quite a bit, though. In any case, this book is rather hard to follow as part of a crossover event where major events occur between issues, which makes the book not feel like a cohesive narrative at all (the New Mutants story thrown in at the end doesn't help in that respect either). I enjoyed Volstagg and the little bits with Kelda—the juxtaposition of an all-powerful goddess with normal people is amusing—but the best issue is Siege: Loki, and it has the worst art, whereas the art is great in the Thor issues even though I didn't know what the hell was going on most of the time. There was fighting? Asgard? Asgardians? More fighting? Maybe there was a story. Possibly. Also there was Thor eventually.

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The only thing worth reading in this collection is "Siege:Loki", with art by Jamie McKelvie, in which we see how devious Loki really is (if any of us still had any doubts) and his deal with Mephisto.

The other Siege tie-ins collected here are at best simply okay. Luckily, "Siege:Loki" is also collected in Siege: Battlefield.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining, but forgettable. Really, since Gillen took over, I've had a hard time reading this with full interest. Thor barely shows up and it Gillen thinks Baldur is a good replacement, he's wrong. If there ever was a character I could move on from, it's Baldur. Maybe it's just how they write him, but he's not a strong (or bright) character. The Thor clone shows up and fights a bit, but it all seems rushed and meaningless, since the main story is happening in "Siege". Maybe the next volume will be stronger.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Siege told from the Thor books, so gives a little of his perspective, but a lot more of Loki's and Asgard in general.
It has a lot more POV from Volstagg, Heimdall, Balder (as King), Tyr, and Hela (queen of Hel). Interesting stuff here, focuses on Loki and manipulating the situation to his advantage, but also showing the Asgardians in trouble which never happens, so it is nice to see vulnerability. A very solid companion piece to the main story.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't the best way to do an event tie-in. There are jumps in the plot and necessary references to the main event without much explanation in this book.

That said, Gillen's knack for pacing and dialogue make this an impressive book. He works it out to a point where the missing points aren't completely necessary. The art is perfect. The fact that it switches artists for who is the focus is awesome.

[Silas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a complement to the Siege storyline, this was quite enjoyable. As a standalone Thor story, less so. This volume looks at the events of Siege from Asgard's point of view. It also wraps up a few story elements from previous Thor stories, as well. I liked how Ragnarok, the Thor android clone was dealt with here, as I was never terribly fond of the character in the first place. Overall, this captured the feel of Asgard well, and made the event more enjoyable for me.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a secondary storyline to the main Siege plot, this volume leaves much to be desired. We open with Volstagg rumbling with the Ragnarok android, jump to a Loki one-shot, fall back into the main Siege, conclude a Thor vs. Ragnarok rumble, and finish with a New Mutants issue. Without a high working knowledge of the Siege events or the Marvel Universe, this volume will leave you lost.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

First off, the Seige:New Mutants story was in this also?!? Why put it in that worthless Dark Wolverine volume I just finished?!?! (See Seige: X-Men).

Moving on. Thor wasn't really even the focus of most of this, it was about Loki and his back-alley deals to get us here. Loved it, thought it was the best Seige book I have read this far.

[Aaron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting Siege tie-in, though you'd think it would be of more importance what with Thor being one of the most important characters in Siege. Gillen still struggles to follow in JMS's footsteps, but does a passable job.

[Andriek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still didn't like the Heimdal plot point, and also the bit with Tyr going to die "prophecy" because in the main story you know Ares did, and so it failed to build suspense. But all and all it was still a good tie in as to what the Asgardians were doing

[Kristina Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This focuses on the heart of the Siege storyline. The Asgardian gods' reactions to the events around them. Volstagg's remorse, Loki's mayhem, Balder's doubt and Tyr's shame. A reminder that Asgard isn't just a legendary realm but a home.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel using the voluminous Volstag, their very own Falstaff, as the impetus for attacking Asgard. Truly the concoction of a morally depraved mind, one such as Norman Osborne. Oh, nevermind.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man against the gods as Asgard hovers over Oklahoma. Exciting, innovative times for Thor and the Marvel mythology.