War Of The Realms #5: Holding The Shores Of Midgard
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The coalition of the Ten Realms are taking their last stand against Malekith’s forces on Midgard–and they may just turn the tide. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Aesir, the Vanir, the Light Elves, the Dwarves, the Dora Milaje, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Punisher, Wolverine, Iron Fist, Captain Britain, and Jane Foster have banded together and have pushed Malekith’s forces back. However, Malekith is still out there, and Thor has nailed himself to Yggdrasil, the World-Tree, growing out of the sun to find answers on how to beat Malekith.
War of the Realms #5 gives the reader a pastiche of the turning point of the war as the heroes of the Ten Realms attempt to cleanse the Earth of Malekith’s filth.
It’s an epic view of Avengers and gods joining together against Trolls, Dark Elves, Angels, Fire Goblins, Frost Giants, and dark gods. It’s fairly light on story as a result, and you don’t know what the new threat is until the end of the comic.
While War of the Realms #5 is still a lot of fun, the series has definitely fallen into the trap which has snared so many of the big Marvel summer events. The story is so big and broad that the comic itself doesn’t know where to focus. Thor and Jane Foster are the core of this issue, but even they don’t have much fo the attention. It’s a little odd considering how many War of the Realms spin-off stories there’ve been; one would think that the main story could focus its plot more.
Russell Dauterman’s artwork continues to be one of the strongest aspects of the comic. The characters, action, and even the way he plays with the panelling all work together to make War of the Realms a visually stunning book. Matthew Wilson’s color art compliments it well, giving the book the right fantastical and cosmic tones for the plot.
War of the Realms #5 is a fun comic, even if the plot is fairly thin. We get to see our heroes pushing back against Malekith and his dark gods while Thor and Jane Foster try to discover how to end this war. It’s a solid read, and I can give it a recommendation. Feel free to check it out.
War of the Realms #5 comes to us from writer Jason Aaron, artist Russell Dauterman, color artist Matthew Wilson, letterer VC’s Joe Sabino, cover artist Arthur Adams with Matthew Wilson, and variant cover artists Giuseppe Camuncoli with Elia Bonetti; Victor Hugo; Pepe Larraz with David Curiel; Mark Texeira with Rachelle Rosenberg; and David Yardin with Edgar Delgado and Mike Hawthorne.
Final Score: 7/10