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War of Realms Thoughts
6 years ago
Hey, been a while since my last journal I know.
Lately I've been considering giving reviewing another go, and recently I prepped up this review on the recent Marvel Comics event, War of the Realms. Likely gonna start a WordPress account, but figured I'd give FA a start first. Enjoy ;)
After six years of build up, several relaunches, and even a new Thor for a period of time, The War of the
Realms has finally come and gone. Did it live up to the hype? Or was it just another overblown event
that continues the fatigue readers have had with Marvel's annual crossover comic events these last few years?
Having read the core story and even some of the tie ins, I can safely say that this may be the best event
Marvel has had since Secret Wars 2015. Though what exactly makes it so? Here are some factors on why
The Good
#1 Proper Build Up
One of the biggest issues I among others have with a lot of recent events, is that they have a tendency of
coming out of nowhere. A big story that brings the whole Marvel Universe together and affects the status quo suddenly comes into play, roping in at least one title you're reading.
Thus, you end up having to read the new storylie for sometimes several months,
even if you originally had no intention of reading it. Meanwhile, the fact that everything gets
crammed into one 6-8 issue limited series, makes the whole thing comes off as rushed and
uneven.
Fortunately, War of the Realms manages to avert this pattern. As mentioned before, Jason Aaron has
been building up to this in his Thor run since 2013, and thus has been able to set up key points early. All of Thor’s key story points had already been covered: Malekith the Accursed returning from
Hel and forming an army;, the discovery of the tenth realm Heven,;Jane Foster becoming Thor when
Thor Odinson had become unworthy of Mjolnir,; Loki's conflict with his revived father,; and Thor
working to make the most without Mjolnir as Malekith's conquest approaches Midgard,. Thus, in War of the Realms the core story is able to get to the titular war as early
as the middle of issue 1, allowing enough time to focus on the war and resolve
plot threads in a way that feels natural. The event was meant to be the big climax to Aaron's run, that focus helps a lot with the story’s flow.
#2 It Aims To Be A Good vs. Evil Story
In contrast to many events in recent years, where the heroes are put up against each other for one
reason or another, War of the Realms chooses to avoid that and actually have the heroes...fight the
villains (Shocker I know). Having heroes have to go up against each other can make for good conflict,
and it was a novel idea for the most part for Civil War and Avengers vs X-Men, but
after several of these, it does understandably getntiresome as well as make the fans wonder
why their heroes go against each other so often?
War of Realms' conflict is bassicly that Malekith and his army across Nine of the Ten Realms, are
launching an invasion to conquer Earth, and the heroes of the Marvel Universe must band together and
stop that from happening. In essence, the heroes doing their job, and that's all the fans really want and
need. After several events involving mistrust among super heroes, even if it's just against one, seeing
them actually band together to stop a world threat without any hesitation, is definitely a breath of fresh
air, reminding us on why we love these characters.
What also is a breath of fresh air, is in the absence of any shocking gimmicks,
or the set ups for the aftermath, at the expense of the story itself. It's not testing the heroes' morality to
the brink like Civil War 2,; it doesn't bring two groups of heroes against each other while
accidentally making one unsympathetic like Inhumans vs. X-Men, and it's not tying in to a
massively controversial run like Secret Empire.
#3 It doesn't Go Overboard With Ongoing Tie-Ins
While I wouldn't say every event has been guilty of this, a common complaint is when many then ongoing titles have an arc that ties in with the event. As I mentioned earlier, there are always some readers who don't intend on reading the event, but then at least one title they're into gets a tie-in arc. Just like that, they are instantly roped into the whole thing by force in order to be able to fully understand key points from the original title they were reading. Running new events for two to three months doesn't help the matter. It sometimes seems like a cheap way to boost sales for certain titles, whether it's to make more from already successful ones, or give a push to titles that are struggling. Unfortunately this tactic rarely actually works. For example, in 2013, Fearless Defenders' sales had quickly slipped, so they gave it a tie in issue to Infinity. Ultimately, things didn't change, and Fearless Defenders was cancelled two issues later.
War of Realms, while having plenty of tie-ins, kept a balance to it all. Marvel surprisingly didn't have it tie in with some of their best best-selling titles (Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk) nor some of their A-List characters (Captain America, Black Panther). While lesser titles did get tie ins, several of them were either already reaching the end (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Asgardians of the Galaxy) or had their tie in arc run 1-2 issues instead of at least 3 (Fantastic Four, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur). While there were a few top selling titles to receive tie ins, they had better reason to be part of the event. For example, Thor and Avengers were both also written by Jason Aaron, while Venom as a character now has connection with The Necrosword from early in Aaron's run.
There's also the matter of making the core story connect too much with tie ins, in order to get certain details. While the first half of War of the Realms does have some parts designed to set up certain tie ins, it's possible to read the core story itself without having to read a single issue from a single tie in, you don't have to worry about suddenly needing to read New Agents of Atlas, The Punisher, Deadpool, Tony Stark Iron Man, and Journey into Mystery in order to understand why certain things are happening, or reasons for a character's actions, etc. While I did read some tie ins, and do feel they do a good job adding to the event as a whole, reading them was completely optional. If you don't want to break the bank or add more weight to your reading list, then skipping on them is an option.
#4 A Hopeful and Complete Ending
Obviously I can't explain what happens, but I can say that it averts two common issues with how comic events tend to end. The first is how it ends with our heroes at the bottom and needing to climb up again. This can make for a good character arc, but when overdone and badly executed, it can get irritating real fast. The second is an ending that feels less like a finale and more like set up for tons of new titles and/or status quo for already ongoing titles. I'm happy to say that War of the Realms was able to avoid these tropes, and did so quite fluidly.
In terms of set up for new titles, there is still some of that, in the form of the new Loki and Valkyrie: Jane Foster books. Still, it’s a significantly lower amount compared to other events I've seen in recent years. Plus, in these examples the build up felt natural. These are both characters in Thor's gallery, so the event utilized the development they had throughout Aaron's Thor run to give it proper flow.
Even with some set up for new titles, the ending of the core story still feels like a genuine end. Again, can't say why, but I can say it ties up the loose ends for both War of Realms, and Aaron's near seven year long run with The God of Thunder.
In terms of a hopeful tone? Only thing I can say without spoiling, is that unless you're REALLY nitpicky, the ending is one that's guaranteed to make Thor fans smile.
#5 Keeps the Aftermath to Thor Titles
War of the Realms knows to keep it's aftermath to the Thor related titles, and only those titles. While using a large portion of Marvel's roster in the event, the fallout is kept only to Thor and it's spin offs, as well as Avengers (as Aaron is also writing it). If you don't really intend on reading War of The Realms, then you won't have to worry about Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, or how ever many other titles you're reading and/or plan to read suddenly requiring you to read a title from a different property to understand what follows.
With these points, it's pretty clear that I really did enjoy War of the Realms. However, despite all my praises, it's not quite perfect. While I would love for more people to check it out, it is probably best to also speak of the faults I did find.
#1 It Requires Familiarity With Jason Aaron's Thor Run
Since this is intended as the big climax to Jason Aaron's Thor run, it's clear you'd likely have to read that first. As I mentioned earlier, it's been running for almost seven years now, so that is quite a lot of reading. Going from Thor God of Thunder (2012), to Thor (2014), to The Mighty Thor (2015), to Thor (2018), while also having the core story and the Thor and Loki The Tenth Realm tie in of Original Sin, Secret Wars: Thors, and The Unworthy Thor between it all, means almost 100 issues total. That is a lengthy reading list for even the most avid fan. While I do still believe having a lot of build up helped the event's story flow significantly, this much build up does reduce accessibility.
I would say if you started at just last year's Fresh Start relaunch, you can still get enjoyment and understanding of War of Realms. I do however, believe you should read the whole run if you really want to get the full effect of the series. On it'sits own, it's a terrific run on the character of Thor Odinson and Jane Foster.
Fortunately, Marvel has started to release the entirety of Aaron's run in Complete Collection trade paper backs, which will likely be the cheapest way to get the whole run. And while I don't use it myself, I am certain that Comixology may have some good deals to help catch up without breaking the bank.
#2 Thor Himself isn't Featured for Half The Story
While this is a Thor centered story, and he does still play a the most important role in the entire war, Thor himself is actually not present for half of it. He's the primary focus for the first half of issue 1, but then spends the rest of the first half of the story trapped in Jotunheim. While he is around for the second half, it's mainly set up for the final battle between him and Malekith.
I understand what Aaron was going for, in that he wanted to showcase various parts of the war with different sets of heroes, both from Thor's cast and outside. The final battle is definitely worth it, but I do feel that Thor should've gotten some more to do. After all, this is his story.
I wouldn't say the story forgets about him, far from it. But when reading a Thor centered story, I do expect to see plenty of Thor.
#3 Certain Battles Occur Off Screen
Lastly, the series showcases the leaders of Malekith's armies from across the ten realms, but we don't get to see fights against all of them. While several battles do, whether in the core book or certain tie ins, others only get relatively brief fights, or have them occur off screen.
An example is the storyline of Sindr, Queen of Cinders, who initially has a pretty good showdown with the titular team in New Agents of Atlas, followed by a brief, one page escape to take on Captain Marvel plus The Agents, and a one page resolution in the last issue of the core story.
I get it's not possible to put everything in without making things disorganized, but when you tease things such as potential showdowns, and utilize parts of them, then surely the audience is going to want to see the full thing.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I say that The War of the Realms lived up to its hype, and brought a satisfying climax to Jason Aaron's Thor run. While you may have to either go in from the Fresh Start relaunch, or do a lot of reading first hand, I can assure you that it will be worth it. And even if you're fatigued from so many event comics in the 2010s, this is one that I think may be an exception.
Lately I've been considering giving reviewing another go, and recently I prepped up this review on the recent Marvel Comics event, War of the Realms. Likely gonna start a WordPress account, but figured I'd give FA a start first. Enjoy ;)
After six years of build up, several relaunches, and even a new Thor for a period of time, The War of the
Realms has finally come and gone. Did it live up to the hype? Or was it just another overblown event
that continues the fatigue readers have had with Marvel's annual crossover comic events these last few years?
Having read the core story and even some of the tie ins, I can safely say that this may be the best event
Marvel has had since Secret Wars 2015. Though what exactly makes it so? Here are some factors on why
The Good
#1 Proper Build Up
One of the biggest issues I among others have with a lot of recent events, is that they have a tendency of
coming out of nowhere. A big story that brings the whole Marvel Universe together and affects the status quo suddenly comes into play, roping in at least one title you're reading.
Thus, you end up having to read the new storylie for sometimes several months,
even if you originally had no intention of reading it. Meanwhile, the fact that everything gets
crammed into one 6-8 issue limited series, makes the whole thing comes off as rushed and
uneven.
Fortunately, War of the Realms manages to avert this pattern. As mentioned before, Jason Aaron has
been building up to this in his Thor run since 2013, and thus has been able to set up key points early. All of Thor’s key story points had already been covered: Malekith the Accursed returning from
Hel and forming an army;, the discovery of the tenth realm Heven,;Jane Foster becoming Thor when
Thor Odinson had become unworthy of Mjolnir,; Loki's conflict with his revived father,; and Thor
working to make the most without Mjolnir as Malekith's conquest approaches Midgard,. Thus, in War of the Realms the core story is able to get to the titular war as early
as the middle of issue 1, allowing enough time to focus on the war and resolve
plot threads in a way that feels natural. The event was meant to be the big climax to Aaron's run, that focus helps a lot with the story’s flow.
#2 It Aims To Be A Good vs. Evil Story
In contrast to many events in recent years, where the heroes are put up against each other for one
reason or another, War of the Realms chooses to avoid that and actually have the heroes...fight the
villains (Shocker I know). Having heroes have to go up against each other can make for good conflict,
and it was a novel idea for the most part for Civil War and Avengers vs X-Men, but
after several of these, it does understandably getntiresome as well as make the fans wonder
why their heroes go against each other so often?
War of Realms' conflict is bassicly that Malekith and his army across Nine of the Ten Realms, are
launching an invasion to conquer Earth, and the heroes of the Marvel Universe must band together and
stop that from happening. In essence, the heroes doing their job, and that's all the fans really want and
need. After several events involving mistrust among super heroes, even if it's just against one, seeing
them actually band together to stop a world threat without any hesitation, is definitely a breath of fresh
air, reminding us on why we love these characters.
What also is a breath of fresh air, is in the absence of any shocking gimmicks,
or the set ups for the aftermath, at the expense of the story itself. It's not testing the heroes' morality to
the brink like Civil War 2,; it doesn't bring two groups of heroes against each other while
accidentally making one unsympathetic like Inhumans vs. X-Men, and it's not tying in to a
massively controversial run like Secret Empire.
#3 It doesn't Go Overboard With Ongoing Tie-Ins
While I wouldn't say every event has been guilty of this, a common complaint is when many then ongoing titles have an arc that ties in with the event. As I mentioned earlier, there are always some readers who don't intend on reading the event, but then at least one title they're into gets a tie-in arc. Just like that, they are instantly roped into the whole thing by force in order to be able to fully understand key points from the original title they were reading. Running new events for two to three months doesn't help the matter. It sometimes seems like a cheap way to boost sales for certain titles, whether it's to make more from already successful ones, or give a push to titles that are struggling. Unfortunately this tactic rarely actually works. For example, in 2013, Fearless Defenders' sales had quickly slipped, so they gave it a tie in issue to Infinity. Ultimately, things didn't change, and Fearless Defenders was cancelled two issues later.
War of Realms, while having plenty of tie-ins, kept a balance to it all. Marvel surprisingly didn't have it tie in with some of their best best-selling titles (Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk) nor some of their A-List characters (Captain America, Black Panther). While lesser titles did get tie ins, several of them were either already reaching the end (Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Asgardians of the Galaxy) or had their tie in arc run 1-2 issues instead of at least 3 (Fantastic Four, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur). While there were a few top selling titles to receive tie ins, they had better reason to be part of the event. For example, Thor and Avengers were both also written by Jason Aaron, while Venom as a character now has connection with The Necrosword from early in Aaron's run.
There's also the matter of making the core story connect too much with tie ins, in order to get certain details. While the first half of War of the Realms does have some parts designed to set up certain tie ins, it's possible to read the core story itself without having to read a single issue from a single tie in, you don't have to worry about suddenly needing to read New Agents of Atlas, The Punisher, Deadpool, Tony Stark Iron Man, and Journey into Mystery in order to understand why certain things are happening, or reasons for a character's actions, etc. While I did read some tie ins, and do feel they do a good job adding to the event as a whole, reading them was completely optional. If you don't want to break the bank or add more weight to your reading list, then skipping on them is an option.
#4 A Hopeful and Complete Ending
Obviously I can't explain what happens, but I can say that it averts two common issues with how comic events tend to end. The first is how it ends with our heroes at the bottom and needing to climb up again. This can make for a good character arc, but when overdone and badly executed, it can get irritating real fast. The second is an ending that feels less like a finale and more like set up for tons of new titles and/or status quo for already ongoing titles. I'm happy to say that War of the Realms was able to avoid these tropes, and did so quite fluidly.
In terms of set up for new titles, there is still some of that, in the form of the new Loki and Valkyrie: Jane Foster books. Still, it’s a significantly lower amount compared to other events I've seen in recent years. Plus, in these examples the build up felt natural. These are both characters in Thor's gallery, so the event utilized the development they had throughout Aaron's Thor run to give it proper flow.
Even with some set up for new titles, the ending of the core story still feels like a genuine end. Again, can't say why, but I can say it ties up the loose ends for both War of Realms, and Aaron's near seven year long run with The God of Thunder.
In terms of a hopeful tone? Only thing I can say without spoiling, is that unless you're REALLY nitpicky, the ending is one that's guaranteed to make Thor fans smile.
#5 Keeps the Aftermath to Thor Titles
War of the Realms knows to keep it's aftermath to the Thor related titles, and only those titles. While using a large portion of Marvel's roster in the event, the fallout is kept only to Thor and it's spin offs, as well as Avengers (as Aaron is also writing it). If you don't really intend on reading War of The Realms, then you won't have to worry about Amazing Spider-Man, Immortal Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, or how ever many other titles you're reading and/or plan to read suddenly requiring you to read a title from a different property to understand what follows.
With these points, it's pretty clear that I really did enjoy War of the Realms. However, despite all my praises, it's not quite perfect. While I would love for more people to check it out, it is probably best to also speak of the faults I did find.
#1 It Requires Familiarity With Jason Aaron's Thor Run
Since this is intended as the big climax to Jason Aaron's Thor run, it's clear you'd likely have to read that first. As I mentioned earlier, it's been running for almost seven years now, so that is quite a lot of reading. Going from Thor God of Thunder (2012), to Thor (2014), to The Mighty Thor (2015), to Thor (2018), while also having the core story and the Thor and Loki The Tenth Realm tie in of Original Sin, Secret Wars: Thors, and The Unworthy Thor between it all, means almost 100 issues total. That is a lengthy reading list for even the most avid fan. While I do still believe having a lot of build up helped the event's story flow significantly, this much build up does reduce accessibility.
I would say if you started at just last year's Fresh Start relaunch, you can still get enjoyment and understanding of War of Realms. I do however, believe you should read the whole run if you really want to get the full effect of the series. On it'sits own, it's a terrific run on the character of Thor Odinson and Jane Foster.
Fortunately, Marvel has started to release the entirety of Aaron's run in Complete Collection trade paper backs, which will likely be the cheapest way to get the whole run. And while I don't use it myself, I am certain that Comixology may have some good deals to help catch up without breaking the bank.
#2 Thor Himself isn't Featured for Half The Story
While this is a Thor centered story, and he does still play a the most important role in the entire war, Thor himself is actually not present for half of it. He's the primary focus for the first half of issue 1, but then spends the rest of the first half of the story trapped in Jotunheim. While he is around for the second half, it's mainly set up for the final battle between him and Malekith.
I understand what Aaron was going for, in that he wanted to showcase various parts of the war with different sets of heroes, both from Thor's cast and outside. The final battle is definitely worth it, but I do feel that Thor should've gotten some more to do. After all, this is his story.
I wouldn't say the story forgets about him, far from it. But when reading a Thor centered story, I do expect to see plenty of Thor.
#3 Certain Battles Occur Off Screen
Lastly, the series showcases the leaders of Malekith's armies from across the ten realms, but we don't get to see fights against all of them. While several battles do, whether in the core book or certain tie ins, others only get relatively brief fights, or have them occur off screen.
An example is the storyline of Sindr, Queen of Cinders, who initially has a pretty good showdown with the titular team in New Agents of Atlas, followed by a brief, one page escape to take on Captain Marvel plus The Agents, and a one page resolution in the last issue of the core story.
I get it's not possible to put everything in without making things disorganized, but when you tease things such as potential showdowns, and utilize parts of them, then surely the audience is going to want to see the full thing.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I say that The War of the Realms lived up to its hype, and brought a satisfying climax to Jason Aaron's Thor run. While you may have to either go in from the Fresh Start relaunch, or do a lot of reading first hand, I can assure you that it will be worth it. And even if you're fatigued from so many event comics in the 2010s, this is one that I think may be an exception.
