Marvel Comics events have been a profitable staple for the company since its Secret Wars event in 1984. These events always have a lot of hype and usually take surprisingly long to come out. The first issue of the current event War of the Realms released on April 3rd. The story is written by Marvel star and Thor veteran Jason Aaron. This story looks like it will impact much of the Marvel universe and put some unusual teams together.

The first issue begins with the realms at war and Asgard in ruins. Suddenly a desolate Odin is attacked in his throne room by dark elves and his fate is left unknown. Then a badly injured Loki falls from the sky onto Thor’s boat to warn him of the incoming threat. From there, the comic jumps across New York showing the invasion of Malekith and his amassed forces meeting New York’s heroes and the Avengers. Characters such as Wolverine and the Punisher look to soon be teaming up with Lady Sif and Jane Foster in a herowide attempt to quell the incoming evil from across the other realms.

The issue does a good job of bringing us up to speed with what’s going on with the characters that will be involved in this event. The comic brings everyone together and shows us the beginning of a much larger fight. It’s an introductory issue, but it moves quickly and gives us the bullet point updates to get the larger event initiated. Although it is a standard plot and start to a comic event, I still found myself interested. There is plenty of action and quite a few characters that haven’t really been used in major Marvel events in recent history.

The lighthearted dialogue stands in contrast to the darkness that’s occurring in some of the panels. There’s always someone, whether it’s Spider-man or Thor’s hell hound, Thori making a joke or awkward statement to lighten any tension. This leaves the comic feeling more like a swashbuckling battle than impending doom or the first heinous acts of war.

It does seem like Malekith has put together quite a powerful army made of various villains and their forces. I am interested to see how Thor and the rest of the Marvel heroes will come together and overcome the odds. I wonder if this will be Thor’s chance to really become worthy again and regain his former glory as well as Asgard’s? Unfortunately, The offshoot comics and unusual teams that are being put together due to The war of the Realms don’t look as compelling.

The success of the event will depend on whether Aaron can keep it light and fun while taking us through some unexpected twists. The War of the Realms will be a hit with Thor fans due to Aaron being at the helm as well as the likely major impacts it will have for Thor comics. One of these is already felt in this issue. Hopefully, the series won’t drag on too long and overstay its welcome as some previous events. I’m excited to see if Issue #2 can maintain the same energy as the first and continue to contribute to the story.