Dr. Jane Foster is dying of cancer.

She is also The Mighty Thor; transforming into the God of Thunder when she picks up the enchanted mallet Mjolnir!

When she transforms into The Mighty Thor, all toxins and illnesses are purged from her Asgardian body because gods do not succumb to the frailties of man.

When her godly duties are done and Dr. Foster reasserts, the cancer comes back with a vengeance and is even more resilient than before.

Thor #1 begins with Jane receiving a chemotherapy treatment. As she watches TV, a catastrophe threatens to destroy Washington D.C.  She has no choice but to stop in the middle of her treatment (knowing the cancer will be even worse when she returns) and turn into Thor to help her fellow Avengers who are already on the scene.  It turns out that this disaster is just the beginning of something much, much worse.

Who knew dying could be this much fun?

The art in The Mighty Thor #1 is phenomenal.

Jane’s story is written with thoughtfulness and compassion and I wish that the entire book had the same focus. It starts to get a little muddled in the middle with dark elves and light elves, Odin being a jerk and not talking to anybody, Freyja questioning the whereabouts of the Odinson, intergalactic senators spouting their clichéd misgivings when Jane tries them that the shit is about to go down. Because even though she can pick up Mjolnir and turn into freaking Thor, the senate still assumes that her chemo addled brain can’t tell the difference between danger and safety.

Seems legit.

When the narrative shifts its focus on Jane, her cancer and her explanation on why she just can’t be Thor all the time; the book really starts hits its stride.

It’s a recommended read. I’m putting it up there with Extraordinary X-Men #2 as my must reads of November.

I give it 4 out 5 Mjolnirs.

Until next time, happy reading!