Thor: The Deviants Saga
Thor: The Deviants Saga – Robert Rodi & Stephen Sergovia (Panini / Marvel)
Ah, the battles and conflicts of immortals, perfect comic fodder that I’ve been greedily feasting on for slightly more than three quarters of my life. The various conflicts of deities and creatures of mythology are a particular weakness of mine, one that I find myself constantly having to feed, so the arrival of ‘The Deviants Saga’ was like being blessed by manna from Heaven. At least, it would be if I believed in Heaven which I don’t, or the concept and idea of blessing, which by extension of my already admitted Atheism, I obviously don’t. Still, I was kind of excited (understatement of the year) when it arrived and dived straight in. ‘The Deviants Saga’ opens as The Deviants (an offshoot of humanity created by The Celestials whose every member us genetically individual, a quirk of the species which in turn has granted each and every member of the race a unique power or ability, sort of like The Inhumans without Terrigen mists) are dying. Thanks to a plague, every male member of the species has become sterile, and in an effort to save her race, Ereshkigal ventures to the remains of Asgard in order to find one of Odin’s trinkets, one that will save her race and in doing so, will grant her supreme power. Discovered by Thor, she narrowly manages to escape with a device that can destroy reality, and Thor realising the power she has stolen, sets out to stop her and reclaim it before the Deviants can harness it’s power and use it for their nefarious purposes. Realising that he has no way of finding the kingdom of the Deviants, Thor enlists the help of the last remaining Eternals, which in turn sets in motion a change of events that can’t, and doesn’t end well. Although, I can’t help feeling that the shock ending is the precursor to some world changing event, but as that’s just another of my notoriously unreliable hunches, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens. It’s an epic story, that works with, and incorporates a huge amount of history, that if like me (that is, you’re a bit of a fan-boy), you’ll embrace wholeheartedly, but if, on the other hand, you’re a bit of a noob, you might find it a little confusing as Rodi takes it for granted that his readers have a working knowledge, and appreciation, of the history of the races and (some of the) characters involved. That said, if you are a fan, ‘The Deviants Saga’ is compulsory, a perfect reminder of just why Thor has become such an iconic character, and is a more than worthy addition to his chronicles and legend. Prepare for thunder, Thor is here… Tim Mass Movement
