Published On: 2017-01-11 by Marvel
Artist: Russell Dauterman
Colorist: Matt Wilson
Letterer: VC's Joe Sabino
Catch-up on Last Issue
In the Mighty Thor #14, the League of the Realms rescued Queen Featherwine from the clutches of Malekith.
In This Issue of The Mighty Thor #15
Asgardia is attacked by the Shi’ar and the Imperial Guard in a surprise attack. It’s aliens, star ships and super humans versus Asgards best. The Imperial Guard are after Lady Thor by the order of the gods of the Shi’ar, Sharra and K’ythri. We’ve heard their names as curses for many comic years, but now Jane Foster and her hammer meet them in person. It’s been forever since we saw Heimdall let loose. He has a one of the best lines in this issue as he fights the unstoppable Gladiator.
What Else Happens in this Comic?
Cul Borson has had Jane Foster on his list for many moons. He’s finally found a way to rid himself of the pesky human. How will Jane wriggle out of this trap and keep Cul from wrecking the Congress of Worlds.
The Comic's Themes
There’s been a huge, ongoing theme in all of the Thor comics of this era. Are gods worthy? You’ll find easter eggs and hints about this theme throughout the rest of the run on The Mighty Thor. Thor Odinson lost the ability to lift Mjolnir because he believed he was unworthy.
Gor the Godkiller, the major villain in Thor Love and Thunder, is hinted at in this next arc.
Wear the Thor
How's The Mighty Thor #15's Writing?
The Dialogue
For those unfamiliar with the Shi’ar, this race of aliens is best described as intersteller religious zealots. If their gods say it, the Shi’ar do it. Jason Aaron colors the dialogue of all the Shi’ar aliens with this religious fervor. The Asgardians are their normal Viking selves.
Read all the dialogue very closely. There are phrases — seeds — that hint at things to come. Once we’ve read the entire series of The Mighty Thor and watched Thor Love and Thunder, we’ll need to revisit just to find all the nuggets we missed on this first read.
Showing Versus Telling
Like most issues of the Mighty Thor, this issue is all out action from cover to cover. The creative team shows us every wonderful moment from the first punch to the introduction of the Shi’ar gods.
The Vibe
The Mighty Thor #15 is pure comic book fun. It wouldn’t work in any other medium. There are so many connections to previous stories and characters. Only comic geeks can handle this level of in-world connections.
Comic Art Review
One of the many reasons The Mighty Thor #15 is a worthy successor of the original X-men stories is it uses the bug designs for the Shi’ar space ships. Russell pulls from comic art master Dave Cockrum’s original designs. If you had Cockrum’s source material, why wouldn’t you grab the good stuff. There are so many characters in this issue. Russell draws thunder guard, the Warriors Three, Sif, Lady Thor, the Imperial Guard, Shi’ar soldiers and more all in action sequences.
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- Mighty Thor 15 Cover
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- Mighty Thor 15 Cover Alt Deodato
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- Mighty Thor 15 Cover Alt 2
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- Mighty Thor 15 Cover Alt 1 Ryan Sook
On the Cover
Marvel pulled out all the stop with issue 15 of The Mighty Thor. We have five covers, and they are fantastic.
The primary cover is by Russell Dauterman and it’s one of his best covers for this series. Lady Thor, Prince Odinson and many story elements all combine into a visual feast.
The second cover by Christian Ward perfectly captures all of the story so far in this series. Odin, Exterminatrix, and Jane all arranged in a heavily graphic presentation. Fantastic.
Superstar artist Mike Deodato Jr created a cover with Lady Thor looking absolutely heroic.
The cover by Andrea Sorrentino is just wow. Gladiator floating infront of Lady Thor reflected on her helmet is an inspired design. Normally Gladiator looks heroic. On this cover, Lady Thor’s death has arrived in the form of Gladiator.
The final cover by Ryan Sook shows us Lady Thor in all her glory flying through the cosmos.
The Comic Panel by Panel
One of the few disadvantages of reading comics digitally is two page spreads don’t translate very well. We either see single pages or really small two-page spreads. Russell uses a mix of panel shapes and designs that jump pages increasing the scope of the fight.
Colorist Matthew Wilson’s creativity knows no bounds. There is so much happening with color in The Mighty Thor #15. Heimdall’s use of the Rainbow Bridge as a weapon is all about color. Shi’ar weapons and technology use energy in many interesting ways — again all created through coloring. On the last page, look at how the Shi’ar gods glow. Their very palace is ethereal. Look at the backgrounds. The skies around Asgardia twinkle with starlight and stretch into infinity.
VC’s Joe Sabino has a lot of dialogue to move through in this set-up issue. Character introductions, scene settings, and explanations all happen without getting in the way of the action. It’s the hallmark of a lettering master.
World Building
The story starts on Asgardia where we are shown buildings and pavilions as the Shi’ar conquer the citadel. At the end of the issue, the Imperial Guard drop Lady Thor in the lair of their gods, the M’kraan Palace.
Play the Thor
Hear the Thor
Who's In This Issue of The Mighty Thor #15
- Gladiator
- Cul Borson
- Thunder Guard
- Kid Gladiator
- Manta
- Warstar
- Neutron
- Smasher
- Starbolt
- Sif
- Hildegarde
- Warriors Three
The Big Question for Next Issue
Why are the Shi'ar gods after Lady Thor?
Collect the Thor
What sort of enemy has dared to try and face the immovable Heimdall?
The unstoppable kind.
Who Will Like The Mighty Thor #15?
The question should be ‘who wouldn’t like Mighty Thor #15’. There’s something for everyone in this issue. The Shi’ar are a cosmic level power making them good opponents for Asgardia. The Imperial Guard are good opponents for the warriors of Asgard. They are unbelievably strong and resilient fighters.
I Need More Content like The Mighty Thor #15
If you’ve never read the original appearances of the Shi’ar and Imperial Guard, start your adventure with X-men #107 or Classic X-men #14. It’s a classic for a reason. Continue with The Dark Phoenix saga. It’s less about the Imperial Guard and Shi’ar but still important (and one of the best comic book stories ever told).
Should You Buy This Comic Book?
I see three stories in a trilogy of Shi'ar-based tales that capture the original magic of this alien race. The first is the original X-men #107 that introduced the Imperial Guard. Jean Grey as the Phoenix saves the universe. The second story is the Dark Phoenix Saga where Phoenix is captured by the Imperial Guard. This issue of the Mighty Thor would be the start of the third part of the trilogy. Anything between Dark Phoenix Saga and this story doesn't meet the bar. Hold on to you hammer, this is going to be a wild and wonderful tale. Buy it.