Thunderstrike 5 of 5

Thunderstrike, written by Tom DeFalco. Penciller is Ron Frenz, Inker is Sal Buscema.

Okay, so it seems a little strange that I am reading "5 of 5" when I have only read one and I think perhaps part of 2. And I have absolute zero exposure to Eric Masterson, the original Thunderstrike, so for the most part, I am walking in completely blind.

I remember Tom DeFalco from some Spider-Man titles and Mike tells me that he has done a lot of editing work, which sounds familiar, so it should be relatively good, right?

With a short burst of googling, I found that apparently DeFalco, Frenz, and Buscema actually do a good amount of work together. Or at least they have worked together on "Superman Beyond". That cohesiveness usually translates to a great comic--like Pak and Van Lente or Bendis and Romita Jr. They just work well together, and that's why they continue working together.

Right off the bat--there is about zero chance I am reading this entire recap page. You remember those Red Hulk Recap pages from when Jeph Loeb was writing?

They caught you up with just a few words and several pictures. I LOVED that. I just want to jump into a comic when I pick it up, not spending 15 minutes catching myself up to speed. It takes you out of the moment, out of the excitement. And the fed-ex package coloring dominating most of the text just makes me bored and confused.

Quick question: Eric Masterson's mace does not exhibit the same "only he who is worthy" blah blah blah crap that Thor's hammer Mjolnir has going on, does it? Because that wouldn't fully explain why Captain America had it, unless he was worthy...but then it's talking about this Adam Mann trying to steal it...wouldn't it be a pointless endeavor to try and steal an item that you would never be able to pick up?? Just general thoughts.

Also...if Mangog is a Thor villain, why would Thor not show up to help eliminate the threat? Or is he too busy with the "Fear Itself" storyline to be troubled with this? Is this storyline part of the 616 universe, or is it off on it's own??

I love Thunderstrike's new look. I mean, really:

This is cool and all, but how is some jerk high schooler supposed to rock it?

On the first page, the "The Storm and the Sacrifice!" page...I know it is kind of a small quibble, but I have always preferred those deep theological thoughts more like protagonist narration, a la Spider-Man...

...than to actually be very unnatural thought bubbles. Narration doesn't necessarily have to have the tone of the character to make sense; but thoughts usually have to be in voice. See what I'm saying?? Especially since I don't see a kid standing there in front of a huge mystical bad-guy thinking about the moral implications of violence. It would only make sense if he thought he could possibly reason a way to a peaceful solution, but this is obviously not even a consideration here, so why spend the time and energy and effort contemplating whether or not violence is the answer?

Dear god, every one is saying all their thoughts aloud in front of what has all ready proven itself to be a sentient being that is fluent in English. Mark that down as the absolute worst battle strategy ever--announcing your every move takes away the element of surprise, and it gets annoying very quickly.

Am I the only one who is f*cking sick of "I am the best at what I do..." wolverine? The only time I was not annoyed to see the beginning of that phrase was when it ended "and what I do is very pretty!".

HA! If even the villain Mangog is getting ticked off and annoyed with the dialogue, maybe they should rethink their battle plan.

There's Thor. That's good. But--correct me if I am wrong--hasn't Thor handled Mangog all by his little lonesome in the past?? And isn't bringing in the big guy detracting attention from the insufficient main character? In the final issue of a mini series, normally I like to see the flagship character to finally come into his own and start kicking ass and taking names; not playing crowd control so we can see the resident badass steal the thunder. (Sorry--no more puns).

Also, "...the biggest gun of all!" does not sound like Steve Rogers at all. Like...at all. Even a little. He respects Thor, sure, but he doesn't idealize him.

Thor, apparently fresh from ballet, leaps on the scene with a glorious grand jete. Is this a new scare tactic??

Admittedly, a man who is not afraid to rip his nut sack asunder is probably pretty hardcore. That would probably scare the hell out of me.

Once again, forgive me but....Mangog and Thor have met before, yes? Then why do both feel honor bound to remind each other of their shared past? "Mangog is the living hatred of a billion billion beings!". Yeah, thanks--got that from your business card. Also, do you have a stutter? Surely "billion beings" would have been adequate--do you really need "billion billion"?

Thor's spectacular splits were unable to defeat the monster--you have officially thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the guy, as you so kindly called out before the big god showed up....time to hit the showers and call this one a draw.

Do those goggles help Thundestrike see at all? Or is it just to look cool?? I guess it would keep the worst of the debris and blood splatter out of his eyes. Maybe all the heroes should wear some sort of protective eye gear. Also, if I had known that the mouth-guard down there was covering a douchey sixteen year old chin growth, I would have asked him to put it back on. That's just embarrassing, dude.

Also, it seems like Kevin is trying to be quip-y and witty like spider-man generally is...but is failing horribly. It's painful. You're not funny kid. You should stick to your strengths, like.....ummm....

-cough- Anyhoo....

Dammit, now even Thor is saying "a billion billion beings". We do realize that is how children speak, right? "Nuh-uh, because I gots the power of all the power of infinity times a bajillion!" wouldn't have sounded more out of place.

Am I the only one that thinks Kevin has milked his dad's death for all the sympathy he's going to get? Come on kid, get a new gimmick.

Mangog--which is a giant armored monkey everyone in the near vicinity is currently focusing on was able to sneak up on a Thor. How easily can a 3 story monkey sneak ANYWHERE, little less in full body armor?!

Now Mangog is officially stating aloud things he has previously IN THE ISSUE stated aloud. It's like they are petrified we are not listening and may have missed it. How could we have possibly missed this painful back-and-forth?

What is the point of the avengers if they are apparently completely impotent against even a single villain? Steve Roger's entire plan is "stand back and hope someone else saves us! Do nothing!". Sounds like Steve, doesn't it?

If Mangog is the embodiment of hate, then isn't the only way to defeat him with loooooovvve? Should the avengers join hands and stand around Mangog, hurling not arrows and venom blasts, but compliments and flowers??

Which gives me a thought--it's not going to be that hokey, painfully stupid "Mangog's power is being fueled by Kevin's hatred toward Thor over his father's death! Kevin, in order to save us all, you MUST forgive Thor!! Let go of the anger in your -clutches chest- heart!"??? Surely not. That would actually make me vomit, and I don't think they want to make me physically sick, right?

STEVE, GODDAMMIT!!! Drop the damned "Big Gun" stuff!! Nobody says "big guns" that much. You sound like you are on the set of a corny gay porno :-/

Ohhhhh, it's Iron Man coming to the rescue. He's just late as fuck because he apparently decided walking from DC was a better idea than, I don't know...perhaps flying? Utilizing his suit, jumping on a helicarrier, or taking a cab were all apparently not options.

Tony's big plan involves a huge cable which 1) apparently supplies electricity for all of New York and 2) is casually laying on the ground so that any jackass can trip over it and pull it out of it's (what I assume) comically huge outlet. He is going to plug himself in, depriving all of the city--including hospitals and prisons, mind you--of electricity so that he can blast Mangog with a blast that may or may not hurt Mangog. But that Thor can undoubtedly simulate with lightening that won't kill everyone reliant on machines to live. Luckily, Tony mentions that he has probably permanently fried the city's power grid. Neat.

Mangog: "At last! Your plan stands revealed! You seek to entrap me"

Brilliant deduction, if this hadn't happened on the page just before--

Gruenhilda: Our combined magicks will surely banish him!

Seriously?! She literally yelled their plan to everyone for 10 blocks, and Mangog reiterated. That happened.

This issue proves that "throw your hammer at it, Thor" is literally the answer to every question ever. Young hero falls into another dimension and is about to get burned alive in the sun? Throw your hammer at it. Found a nail sticking out of the wall? Throw your hammer at it. Grandma got cancer? ...you get the idea.

Also, wouldn't mjolnir shatter Kevin's spine, and therefore any hope of him walking again? Super depressing way to end a series, and a really shitty way to make up for killing Kevin's father.

Thor's big excuse for never being there for Kevin in some 16 years of life was "well, I was busy....". Kind of weak there, Thor.

Hiding the mace on a necklace is kind of a neat concept. The walking cane that Donald Blake had was cool because he could bang it on the ground and lightening would come and the transformation would take place.....but could you imagine the unimpressive "-ting-" that teeny mace will make when he wants to change?

In civvies, Gruenhilda looks like an older woman skeeving on a teenager.

And so ends a mini-series that reminds me why the superhero registration act was a good idea.

~Andie~