Captain Marvel vol. 6 #8Captain Marvel vol. 6 #8
Title: "Monsters and Gods part two”
Writer: Peter David
Penciller: Kyle Hotz
Colors: Chris Sotomayor
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Sturm holds Marv in one hand and says that he and Drang saw his attack on Thor. He says that he seems to have no love for the Thunder God. Sturm says that Marv can be their ally or their lunch. He asks Marv his preference. Marv says that it depends on the answer to one question. Strum asks what that is. Marv asks if Sturm can fly. Sturm says that he can’t and asks why. Marv says, “No reason” and then flies up into the air dragging Sturm behind him. Thor tells Drang to get out or he will have to fight Asgard assembled. Drang says that is why he and Sturm came in the first place. Drang slams his sword against the ground.
Out in space, Marv tells Sturm that he has
seen stubbornness before, but that Strum is redefining it to an
insane level. Marv says that he likes him already. Sturm shouts
for Marv to put him down. 
Marv, floating
in space, asks Sturm just where he would like him to put him
down. Rick compliments Marv and says that it is nice to know that
even though he is acting psychotic that he can tell the good guys
from the bad guys. Marv says that is the problem. He says that
good guys and bad guys are all just guys and that trying to
figure out which are which would drive anyone insane.
Sturm’s body starts to glow. He asks what is going on. Marv
says that he is just interested in Sturm’s background and
that he is sure Sturm is anxious to share it with him.
Below Asgard in New York, the people take cover from the rain and thunder. A little girl asks why there is thunder. Her mother tells her it is because God is bowling.
Drang throws a giant boulder and knocks over several Asgardians. He tells them, “Enjoy that, betrayers of pledges! That, and more besides!” Thor swings his hammer and asks what he means by “betrayers”. Thor decides that the claims of monsters aren’t important. Thor flies at Drang and says that his noble father drove them off once and that he will do it again. Thor strikes Drang in the back. Marv asks if it is “God’s will” Marv reminds Thor that he hasn’t told him yet why he is entitled to be a god, but that Marv isn’t. Marv asks if it is because Thor’s will is done, like any tyrants. Thor says that he isn’t a tyrant. Thor says that Marv’s welcome is wearing thin and that this is not his business. Marv says that he is cosmically aware and that everything in the cosmos is his business. Marv says that Thor claims to be a god and that Marv isn’t, but that Thor doesn’t even know about things in his own background. Thor asks what Marv means, but Marv warns him not to ask questions unless he really wants the answers. Drang says that they act like he isn’t there. Drang says that his brother is missing and that they will produce him instantly. Sturm says that he is right there as he stands behind Drang. Drang starts to go on, but Sturm tells him to wait. Drang starts ranting about they don’t wait when Sturm punches him in the face and knocks him down. Sturm tells Marv that it is up to him now. Thor asks if Marv is insane to take the sides of the creatures. Marv says that he doesn’t believe in sides, only the truth. Thor starts to reply, but Marv says that he was only kidding and that Thor was right about him being insane. Marv says that he will take insanity and knowing the truth over sanity and self-delusion. Thor points his hammer in Marv’s face and says, “The Son of Odin is not deluded!” Marv points his blaster at Thor and replies, “And the son of Mar-Vell is getting tired of having things pointed in his face.” Marv asks if Thor wants the truth or not. Thor asks how Marv would impart the truth. Marv says that he will share what he has learned from his cosmic awareness. Balder says that it is a trick. Hogun says that now is the time for fighting and not for leaving themselves vulnerable to self-proclaimed madmen and their lies. Marv says, “First, it’s madman, not men. Second, it’s hardly self-proclaimed. I can bring in tons of experts to agree with me, if you wish. Third… All right. I forgot third. But fourth… fourth is that, by your own “Odin-Power” that you inherited from your late father, you’ll know whether what you learn from me is the truth or not.” Sturm says that he warned Marv. He says that Asgardians only care about the heat of battle and not of promises and others’ rights. He says that he is wasting his time. Drang starts to get up, but Strum wonks him in the head with his giant club. Thor tells Strum that he is just trying to shame him into taking Marv’s offer. Thor says that he doesn’t care about Sturm’s opinion, but that the truth will come out. Thor says that if Marv can provide the truth in an expeditious manner that he can do so quickly. Thor warns Marv about trickery. Marv says that the trickery began long before he got involved. Thor takes Marv’s hand and his face goes starry.
Marv says it began before Thor was born, before Odin ruled Asgard, and before there was an Asgard. Marv says that there was only land. The only two people that inhabited the land were Drang and Sturm. They were simple creatures of the wild until some new beings arrived. Sturm and Drang weren’t too concerned because the Aesir were little people. Their leader, eager to prove himself, was then known as Woden. Woden said that the two of them had more land than they could possibly use. He says that they want to build a city there and that if the two beings approved that they would live in harmony, guarantee them a homeland, and pay them tribute. Woden said that if they didn’t approve that the Aesir didn’t shy away from war. Sturm and Drang thought this was funny. They figured that since the Aesir were so little that their city wouldn’t take up much space and that tributes sounded better than war. A bargain was struck.
Drang and Sturm watched the Aesir. They were impressed with the way their city built up so quickly. More and more gods showed up. Odin became very busy with other things like mortals. There seemed to be more and more Aesir everyday. The new generation didn’t care about deals that Odin had made. They wanted to expand their land, as was their divine right being gods. The Aesir were far more fierce and untamed than they are now. The Aesir attacked Drang and Sturm. Odin was a still a young ruler trying to solidify his power. Odin could have stopped the Aesir’s attack on the Storm Giants, but he found it more politically expedient to remain silent and let the Giants defend themselves. Odin always thought that he could make it up to them. He figured that they were all immortal and that he would have time. Marv says that the problem was that eternity doesn’t last forever. He says, “Trust me. I know about that.”
The Strom Giants were forced to flee a land that they agreed to share. They resided in the cold mountains. Neither Surtur, nor Fenris, did anything to help them. They felt that the harsh conditions would turn their offspring into the fierce monsters they could be proud of. They were right, but since they still feared Odin’s power they stayed in hiding until learning of his death.
Thor breaks from Marv. He says that they have come to “put forward calumnies against my father’s memory!” Marv says that Thor knows that it is true, and that the battle can only end if Thor presses it. Marv says that Drang and Sturm have had eons to expand their power. Marv starts to say that if Thor fights, but Thor cuts him off and says that it isn’t a matter of “if”, but of “when”. The Asgardians advance shouting for Odin and Asgard. Strum and Drang shout for Surtur and Fenris. Rick shouts for Marv to move, but Marv says that there is no point. The forces collide and cause a big explosion in Asgard. Debris rains down from Asgard upon the city block below. There is massive casualties and property damage.
Thor awakens from Marv’s handshake. Balder asks him what he saw. Thor says that he saw things from long ago and that the Odinpower told him they were true. He says that there was an injustice done, but that so much time passed that it became of less importance to Odin and that eventually it became his secret shame. Thor says that Odin was not perfect. Rick says that all fathers generally aren’t. Marv tells Rick that is very true and says that Rick should be a god. Rick sarcastically thanks Marv. Hogun says that he thinks it is a trick and that they should fight. Thor says that was his first reaction as well, but that Marv showed him what a mistake that would have been. Thor turns to Sturm and says that all the land that is theirs to give will be theirs again. Thor says that they will honor his father’s original intent and that they can do no less. Thor says that the two of them will never want for anything. Drang rises up again and starts shouting how he will kill them. A blast goes through Drang’s eye killing him. Marv stands on Drang’s corpse and says, “On the upside, Sturm… that’s now twice as much space for you.”
Legacy rating: 7.5 out of 10
Just when you think Marv is there to be the voice of reason he changes the entire equation on you. Peter David’s tell of secret shame for the Asgardians is an interesting on to say the least. It sort of mirrors America’s not so secret shame of their betrayal of the Native American Indians. Marv helps Thor rise above his petty feelings to become a better ruler than even his father was. My only real question at this point is: How powerful is Marv at this point? One shot from his blaster wipes out one of the original Storm Giants? Who is really left to oppose Marv in that case? Hotz does a decent job. He still isn’t right for the book, but he does a decent job with storytelling in this issue. My favorite picture is of Drang and Sturm smirking at each other when Odin, then Woden, threatens war if they don’t let him build a city. 3.5 out of 5 for the art.