*** (three of five stars)
Favorite Quote: "My, Mr. O'Hara! You're very knowledgeable. Are you a Thorite?" "No. Just an object of Thorite worship." "Ahh. Mr. Stone warned me you were quite the kidder." -- Miss Gibbons and Miguel
Summary
Dictating an e-mail, Jordan Boone tells a friend, Henri, that his personal stock has fallen with Tyler Stone as a result of the virtual-unreality incident, as well as his conflict with Miguel (who Jordan describes as Stone's pet). Jordan notes that Stone got nervous about him asking about "Valhalla" and includes an image of it, a huge tower, in his e-mail. Jordan tells Henri that he continued digging after Stone told him that he couldn't be involved in the project and found out everything. He tells Henri that he's about to do something outrageous that will put everything they did as "videogoths" to shame. He advised Henri that, if he doesn't hear from him, things have gone bad and sends the e-mail. Just then, someone appears at his door and knocks him unconscious, dragging him from his apartment.
In Downtown, Miguel battles some Fenris thugs, to the cheers of the people living in the buildings surrounding the fight. "Bloodsword," the leader of the Fenris gang, appears and attacks Miguel with his sword. Miguel grabs the sword between his open-faced hands and then uses his talons to slice it to pieces. With Bloodsword weaponless, Spidey knocks him unconscious and reminds the gang of his declaration at the church (last issue), that the people of Downtown are entitled to peace. The Fenris flee and the Downtowners surround Spidey, praising him as their savior. A woman asks Spidey to heal her child and he tells her that he'll ask Thor before he departs for Uptown. He stops by the stash of clothes he hid on the top of the Downtown understructure, and, while changing clothes, notes how he feels dirty every time he goes Uptown. Back in Downtown, Raff warns Kasey against getting too excited as she and the rest of her gang plan ways to support Spidey in his efforts. Frustrated, Gabe leaves, telling her that she should just go ahead and marry Spider-Man. In Stone's office at Alchemax, Dana is asking Lyla over the phone whether Miguel gave any indication of when he was going to return and Lyla tells her that he didn't. Stone approaches Dana, telling her that he's grown fond of her and that she's a nice girl who he'd hate to see hurt. He warns her that "Mike" may not be returning after the Thanatos business and Dana asks if he means that Miguel was "scared off" and quit the company. Stone responds that Miguel "was...," and Dana panics hearing him discussed in the past tense. However, Miguel walks into Stone's office at that moment. Miguel embraces Dana, who tells him that she kept calling his apartment. Miguel asks Lyla, who's still on the vidphone, why she didn't tell him that Dana had called when he asked her (last issue). Lyla suggests that Dana is lying and, when Miguel tells her that's unlikely, she decides to run a "full diagnostic." Stone, who was staring at Miguel after he walked into his office, recovers and informs him that a craft is ready to bring Dana and Miguel to the Floating City, just in time for its opening ceremony.
At the Wellvale Home, Conchata gets information from a waiter, who tells her that the Prophet of Thor has come and that the Harbinger, Spider-Man, is all over Downtown fighting for the little people. Conchata observes that she hadn't thought of Downtown since she sold her soul to leave it. The waiter asks what she meant and Conchata tells him that she did wicked things. She's tried to repent, but never succeeded. But, with Spider-Man leading the way, she, too, might now be able to go to Downtown. Meanwhile, Dana and Miguel arrive at the Floating City, and their driver, Miss Gibbons, informs them that it's accessible only by skycars and standard maglev cars. Miguel asks how it's possible to get there via a maglev, given that it's mid-air without tracks, and Gibbons points out a bridge composed of maglev and antigravitation particles. The bridge creates a rainbow effect when it's in use and, as such, it's called Bifrost, after the bridge to Midgard from Asgard. Miguel gives Dana a mythology lesson, prompting Gibbons to note how knowledgeable he is. She informs them that they have a few Thorites on staff who've taken to calling the Floating City Valhalla. (Aha!) They enter the city to find everyone staring upwards. Gibbons informs them that they're turning on the main systems all at the same time, a first, since they previously had just been running individual tests. Miguel asks if it's because of the possibility of them overpowering the power grid and she confirms that it was. But, she declares that this moment represents Valhalla becoming self-sufficient and offers to take them to the hydroponics lab to see what the co-venture with Synthia has been doing. But, the countdown begins and Miguel, looking skyward, notices a man standing on a ledge in the shadows. Once the systems go online, Valhalla shakes and begins to move. Dana suggests that they hurry to a skycar, but Miguel notes that "about a million people" in the city have the same idea as people around them begin to flee. However, everyone is distracted by the sudden appearance of Thor, who hovers mid-air with Heimdall. He announces that he has returned and instructs Heimdall to guard the gate. He tells the crowd that the Aesir will follow him and they will bring a golden age to the world. But, he declares "woe" on the false bringers of the word of Thor, stating that they will be the first to die.
The Review
OK, so, off we go! David makes it clear that the "Fall of the Hammer" cross-over event is going to bring the long simmering Thor issue to a head and I can't wait to see where they go with it.
The Good
1) Yay, Downtown! As I mentioned last issue, I really prefer when Spidey is Downtown, because we get more stories involving him as a crime-fighter, which I think do more to really show us who Miguel is than the more high-concept arcs (like Thanatos). I mean, don't get me wrong: I love a good high-concept arc. (I am, after all, excited about "Fall of the Hammer.") But, this early in the series, I feel like we're still getting to know Miguel. We're still sorting out his motivations and his limits. We've seen hints that his role as a superhero has sparked his religious faith and left him questioning his corporate role. We've also learned that his moral code is different from the original Spidey's, given his decision to let the Vulture fall to his death. But, it's still not clear where those hints are going to go, in terms of Miguel as a man and Spidey as a hero. As such, the Thanatos business seemed like a distraction to me, since I'm more interested in fleshing out Miguel as a character right now than I am focusing on conspiracies. The best mainstream Spidey stories are when we get to see Peter juggling his crime-fighting career with his regular everyday life and I look forward to more stories in this vein after "Fall of the Hammer." Regarding Downtown, it's interesting that Miguel himself views himself as an avenging angel for Downtown, noting that he feels dirty every time he returns to Uptown.
2) I always mention when David takes a previously seen plot and brings it to the forefront, because I feel like he and Dan Slott are the only two authors who really plan so far in advance that they can do so (and blow your mind in the process). Here, we see Dana and Miguel go on the trip to the "Floating City" that Stone promised them in issue #11.
3) I've gotten so used to Miguel being called the Harbinger of Thor that I actually started to believe that he was. It never dawned on me that he wasn't and that Thor might consider him a usurper! (Of course, see below in the "Unknown" section for my thoughts about Thor.)
The Unknown
1) Stone pretty clearly knows that Miguel is Spidey at this point, right? I mean, given his conversation with Dana in this issue, I'm pretty sure that it'll be more difficult for David to explain that Stone doesn't know than that he does.
2) Did Stone know that Thor was going to appear at Valhalla? Maybe Thor is an Alchemax stooge? It could be an attempt by the company to get into the superhero business, if you will, to undermine it. I could see them using Thor to eliminate the Prophet and Spider-Man, but still having the goodwill of the people, since it would be seen as the "will of Thor." It seems like an Alchemax thing to do. Along those lines, did Stone want Miguel there for Thor's arrival? He planned for Miguel to be there that week (as mentioned in issue #11). Has Spider-Man now lived his usefulness (whatever it may have been to Stone) and Stone is now ready to replace him with Thor?
The Bad
David doesn't tell us how Valhalla became self-sufficient. What changed that allowed them to throw on all the systems at once?
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