Iron Man 13, Thor: God of Thunder 10

Iron Man 13
Gillen (w) and Land and Leisten (a) and Guru eFX (c)

Tony is still under 451's control and the pair of them have arrived at the Godkiller armor. 451 gives a little history, citing the makers, the Aspirants, and their war with the Celestials. They ended up losing the war but the Godkiller gave them an incredible edge before their defeat, annihilating the number of Celestials down to the handful we have today. 451 is eager to get Tony in the armor to stand watch over Earth and to protect humanity from the growing threats on the horizon but Tony doesn't have any desire and he learns that 451 and the Aspirants have far more control than 451 has even now once he becomes the pilot. 451's plans are complicated when Death's Head shows up again, knowing now about a humungous bounty on 451's head and wanting to cash in. Tony gets away from 451 for a brief moment but what will he do with his time?

There's a lot to really like about this issue. The best parts come from 451 and from the conceit of 451's alleged plans in general. Gillen's put in a lot of effort characterizing 451 from the start, including giving him some amount of personality in varying degrees. Here the best moment is a small one, as he tries to corrupt Death's Head. There's a single panel that shows him acknowledging how close he came to destruction and it's a really phenomenal touch and a perfect way to further make him as human as we can wish for. I'm also very interested in the idea that humans view themselves far lower on the universal scale than they should. 451 wants Earth protected (or so he says) because he believes that Earth is the best chance to create an empire in the universe and, thereby, to establish peace in the universe. It's a really fascinating idea and one that plays pretty well into the longstanding themes of the Marvel Universe as a whole. Another excellent issue as Gillen keeps churning them out.

Thor: God of Thunder 10
Aaron (w) and Ribic (a) and Svorcina (c)

We're nearing the conclusion of Godbomb as the Thors find themselves spread out, wounded, and without their hammers. King Thor is crucified on a comet, Avenger Thor is thrown into the depths of the planet, and young Thor is dragged by Gorr to add the last bits of needed blood to the Godbomb. On the way, Gorr is hailed by his wife as the new god, a compliment which is met in very much the way anyone who has met Gorr should probably have expected. However, it sets the Gorr's own son against him, who promptly goes to assist Avengers Thor, trying to climb out of the center of the planet. Gorr's son doesn't know what to believe any more as Gorr reaches his ultimate goal and helps Thor back onto his feet to stop his father. As Thor arms the other remaining gods, Gorr arms the Godbomb, leading us into our conclusion.

This story has been a very intriguing one though I think it has dragged on a bit longer than it needed to. Of course, I'm not someone who writes comics for a living and there has certainly been something to like and something new in every issue. Still, it feels like the initial shock and awe of this story has faded a bit as we've built to what we knew to be inevitably coming. This issue on its own, though, is certainly a good one, finally bringing us to the culmination of things we've probably been expecting and that have been hinted at already. Gorr has become what he hates most and is desperately trying to ignore it while Gorr's son has his own questions about this plan. Meanwhile, the three Thors aren't so easily defeated as what we saw last time and now we're heading for the final battle. The ideas and the writing continue to be good and on an issue-to-issue basis this has been a pretty phenomenal series. As a whole, it's moved a bit slow but let's assume I'm just talking about this issue. In that case, Esad Ribic's incredible art continues to make this issue more than worthwhile and bits and pieces still hold the book together nicely (including the rare dual-wielding of Mjolnirs, which is kind of worth this whole story anyway). Excited for the conclusion because overall the story has still been a pretty interesting one and it's been a great way to view the three Thors in various times of their lives.