BattleWorld: Thors #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jason Aaron
Art by: Chris Sprouse
Two of the most interesting aspects of Marvel’s “Secret Wars” have been the tie-in books that compliment the main story, and the Doom’s Thor police force, naturally making “BattleWorld: Thors #1” one of the most eagerly anticipated tie-ins to the blockbuster event, especially on the heels of Jason Aaron’s latest critically acclaimed run of “Thor”. The beauty of theses tie-ins is too see Marvel characters you love, but maybe have not seen in a while be put into new an interesting situations. In this case Aaron chooses to combine all the best elements of a cop procedural from the buddy cop trope to the murder mystery case to make for one of the best “Secret Wars” tie in’s to date.
Aided by the focused and cinematic art of Chris Sprouse, Aaron is able to craft a believable and stakes filled police drama even with the most unbelievable elements. All the comradery and tension you would expect from your typical crime drama are here, but with Beta Rey Bill, Groot, and even Thorg among others. Aaron puts the Thor characters you have been wanting to see for sometime into fitting and riveting roles, as we see Thorg as Forensics expert, Ultimate Thor as the typical jerk cop, 616 Thor and Beta Rey Bill as the 
buddy cops, Groot as the comedic relief, Loki as the informant, and of course Odin as the demanding chief. This group of flawed, but entertaining Thor Cops must work together to stop something very rare in Doom’s new reality: a serial killer, one that has murdered the same person five times. You have to love Aaron’s ability to organically craft what some might consider confusion in the form of multiple character incarnations, and weave that into a gripping narrative.
As interesting as this books primary plot thread and characters are, the book really thrives in the witty banter that Aaron writes for the Thors as the go back and forth with one another. Whether it is at a crime scene or at a bar off duty arguing about how many Hulks and Ghost Riders they have nabbed, the human element of partnership and friendship among people with the power of Gods is really what drive this book. At the same time it is during those down moments that the book can meander a bit, but with an event as drawn out and encompassing as “Secret Wars” that has to be somewhat expected.
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