The Mortal Thor #13 – A Great Hall, As Empty As His Heart

Wreathed in grief and bound in his mother’s web, Magni, the son of Thor, must now take up the crushing burden of Asgard’s throne. With Thor living as Sigurd Jarlson, The Mortal Thor, and Midgard not remembering Asgard, can Magni handle leading, or will he fall? Is a new Ragnarok to travel across the Golden Realm?

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Creative Team

Writer: Al Ewing
Artists: Juann Cabal
Color Artist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Joe Sabino
Cover Artist: Alex Ross

Writing

I didn’t expect Ewing’s impeccable use of time dilation in this issue, but it was so perfectly done. You could feel the emotion coming off the page in Magni’s conversations with Hogun. It really sells what is seemingly the theme of this issue, in that time erodes all things, yet grief can lock you in a void. Ewing continues one of his signature abilities right from the first page of blending very high-concept fantasy with classic literature. This issue and indeed the entire The Mortal Thor series has functioned much as Ewing’s treatise on cosmic bureaucracy and this is perhaps nowhere more visible than in The Mortal Thor #13.

The time jumps are a brilliant bit of mind game Ewing plays with the reader. As the scales increase exponentially, you would be remiss to not feel an escalating sense of claustrophobia and isolation much in the way that Magni does. The combination of Hogun’s counsel with the escalating time scale makes Ewing’s final twist at the end feel one that is earned and not just put in as a method of moving the story along. Amora is brilliantly written in this issue, showing the true villainy that she is capable of.

Art

Juann Cabal comes out strong in this issue. The strong vertical and horizontal lines he uses in the throne room really help to sell the feeling of isolation that Magni feels both within himself and in the actual story. Another aspect of Cabal’s work that stood out was that as the years pass, the panels pull in tighter, really helping Ewing sell not only the isolation but the feeling of time slipping away. The massive scale of the new throne that Magni sits on makes a strong contrast against his small figure making his role as “All-Father” seem all the more hollow.

Matt Milla does a great job pushing tonal shifts through his coloring as the bright golden hues of the Golden Realm slowly shift to more cold, washed-out blues through the issue. Milla’s use of color also helps sell the expressions of the characters. From Amora’s coy smirks to the subtle color shifts in Magni’s face across time, it really helps convey the emotion as the time shifts.

Final Thoughts

The Mortal Thor #13 does a beautiful job as a bridge issue. This story could have easily felt like filler ahead of Thor’s milestone #800, but it wasn’t. Instead, Ewing and Cabal turned this issue into a sort of standalone psychological character study. They do so in a way that may reverberate beyond this issue, ensuring that the issue has actual stakes rather than simply filling the time until a milestone issue. The ending of the issue sets energetic if not rebellious tone as we move into the next arc and the Queen in Black storyline.

Overall Grade: 9.5 / 10

What did you think about this issue of The Mortal Thor? Let me know in the comments