The Mortal Thor #10 – Hammer and Stone

Thor finds himself reborn, in a reality where Earth is unaware of Asgard having ever existed. The Mortal Thor finds our title character as, Sigurd Jarlson, a New York construction worker, haunted by dreams of time as a king. After defending his neighborhood, Sigurd finds himself hunted by the Roxxon Corporation. As Thor begins to remember his story, a villain from his past, Dr. Chen Lu, better known as Radioactive Man, reappears. Lu seeks to rid the world of Thor before he can remind them of Asgard and his power. Now the real battle begins.

This review is brought to you by Nerd Initiative’s Shawn!

Creative Team

Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Pasqual Ferry
Color Artist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Writing

Al Ewing continues to tell a really great story with The Mortal Thor. I love that we are seeing Sigurd begin to remember more and more of his life as Thor. We are seeing some of the same Thor traits but Ewing is giving them to us in a stripped-down version. We get to see what Thor looks like without powers, relying on his sheer willpower to succeed. This issue began to reap the fruits of those planted seeds in a really enjoyable way.

The battles in this issue are phenomenal, but Ewing really captures how sinister Dario is. It’s not enough to defeat Thor; he wants to consume him, to be in total control. Ewing shows exactly how disposable Dario views everyone in his quest to establish control. I love the cliffhanger that Ewing leaves readers on this issue because it left me instantly excited for the next issue to see how this plays out. Mortal Thor continues to tell an interesting story that develops more of Thor’s character apart from just his strength and status as a God.

Art

Pasqual Ferry and Matt Milla really got to show off this issue. It shows a little more action than we’ve seen in previous issues, and Ferry really shone with those conflicts. The art was crisp and clear and really well drawn, even in the chaos of battles.

Milla does a great job with colors. I really loved the way he colored Duval. Every color felt purposeful. Milla really captured the colors of Roxxon. The building still felt full, but the color palette created the drab corporate feel for the building perfectly.

Final Thoughts

This continues to be a really good story. It feels like the foundation that Ewing has been building is finally getting the walls and roof put on it. This story that has been taking shape is finally letting us see what it looks like with a coat of paint and I love it. I’m really excited to see where the next few issues take this story. Mortal Thor has been building to the kind of conflict we see in this issue!

Overall Grade: 9/10

Are you enjoying Mortal Thor? Let me know in the comments