Mighty Thor #2 (HERE BE SPOILERS!)

I can't say that this issue is particularly exciting.  It's beautiful, of course, as it always is under Dauterman and Wilson.  But, Aaron seems to be mostly stalling for time.

First, Laufey decides to "test" Loki to see if he can be a member of Malekith's Dark Council, but he's really just set a trap for him, hiding his best warriors along a trail that he tells him to walk.  (He views Loki as an abomination for preferring "mischief and trickery" even though, as Loki notes, he's only alive because of Malekith's "mischief and trickery.")  Loki easily walks through the test by somehow convincing the warriors to kill themselves, so Laufey consents to him joining the Council.  But, as it gathers in Alfheim to watch Malekith's war on the Light Elves, Laufey tells Malekith that neither Loki nor Thor will leave Alfheim alive.  (Honestly, I don't get why he just doesn't kill Loki if he hates him so much.  It just seems to be needless vamping.)

Speaking of the "War of the Elves," Thor arrives in Alfheim after Heimdall prevented Cul from killing her by sending her across the Rainbow Bridge.  This act provokes the ire of the Minister of "Justice" and wins Heimdall some time in prison.  (The best line of the issue is when he tells Cul that he figured that he'd better get a cell now before all the good ones are taken.)  Thor is full of inspiration for the Light Elves, even though Alfheim certainly seems lost.  (That said, I'm still not 100 percent sure why it was so easily defeated.  As far as I can tell, the only resource that the Dark Elves have that they didn't normally have are the Roxxon tanks.  It's not like we see legions of Frost Giants joining the fray.  It just seems that the Light Elves went down too quickly.  Didn't they prepare for this sort of eventuality?)  At any rate, before Thor can put her plan in motion, Loki arrives, wanting to talk.

Aaron plays off Loki's mischievous nature well here.  As a reader of "Loki:  Agent of Asgard," I'll admit that my assumption is still that we're dealing with new Loki, so he's got a bent toward the light over the dark.  Aaron knows that, so we're left with the impression that he may just be playing the Dark Council to help Thor save Alfheim.  But, then again, maybe not.  Again, I'll admit that I didn't find this issue all that engaging, though the plot doesn't detract from the art so much that I'd give it less than three stars.  That said, I'm hoping Aaron has something up his sleeve soon.

*** (three of five stars)