REVIEW: ‘Immortal Thor’ #22 Is A Conceptual Fever-Dream
- Sarah Angelo-Haight
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
This article contains spoilers for Immortal Thor #22.
Heads or tails? Left or right? Backwards or forwards?
These are the choices given to Thor Odinson in issue #22 of Al Ewing’s Immortal Thor. Trapped within the meta-illusory world of Utgard, Thor and Skurge the Executioner must battle their way through confusion and riddles in order to escape with their lives. Throughout it all, Utgard-Loki (not to be confused with Thor’s erstwhile sibling) hangs a question over Thor’s head: which direction will the Thunder God’s adventures take him?
The question hangs over the readers as well, symbolized at the end of each page by Utgard-Loki’s coin. Heads, or tails? Will Thor continue fighting the same battles over and over again, or does he forge a path ahead? The answer is not an easy one, as the strange land of Utgard twists Thor and Skurge’s perceptions, forcing them to question their experiences.
The questioning of himself and his experiences is an overarching theme within the Immortal Thor run. Ewing forces Thor to confront his own identity as a King, an Avenger, a celebrity, and a man. This issue is more of the same, as Thor laments that the tools at his disposal should allow him to bypass the twists of the mind caused by being within Utgard’s borders. Even the concept of death is turned on its head within Utgard, as Thor and Skurge are reunited with Thor’s previously-deceased brother Hermod.
Hermod’s appearance is not overly surprising. This is a Thor title, and Thor’s dead relatives rarely remain so for very long. Hermod is there to serve as something of an anchor, someone who has been within Utgard for long enough to know some of its tricks. While Hermod himself is not a surprise, the revelation that Heimdall has also been transported to this realm within the realms comes as a shock. Heimdall has been absent since his death and replacement as Gatekeeper by Lady Sif, and prior to this issue there had been no indication he would be returning. Yet the knowledge of his survival does not do much to assuage Thor, as the former Gatekeeper is still stuck within the confines of Utgard’s maze.
The theme of direction, of finding one’s path, continues as the trio now attempts to make their way to the center of the city. Thor begins to despair, as he often does when he cannot see a simple path forward. Ewing often capitalizes on Thor’s self-doubt, and it is on full display in this issue. While Thor has faith in his companions, he no longer has faith in himself.
Utgard-Loki, much like Loki Laufeyson, is not about to give Thor the time nor space to pity himself. The issue wraps up with the god of thunder and his companions facing a familiar foe.
The Minotaur looms over them as Utgard-Loki brandishes his coins, an interesting tie to the Minotaur in charge of Roxxon, who is at the heart of Thor’s most current bout of self-doubt. The conceptual nature of Immortal Thor in general, and issue #22 in particular, grinds down the idea of Thor’s true current enemy being capitalism. Utgard-Loki’s speech about the coins ties into the previous issues with a heavy hand. Ewing is beating the readers, and Thor, over the head with the symbolism.
Heads or tails?
With any luck, the next issue will give Thor and his companions a third option.
About Immortal Thor #22
Release Date: April 02, 2025
Written by: Al Ewing
Art by: Jan Bazaldua
Cover by: Alex Ross
Page Count: 23 Pages
Synopsis: LOST IN UTGARD! Thor had made his way to Utgard - and there waited the Utgard-Loki, who the Odinson had never yet defeated. And with the Elder Trickster stood his pantheon...beginning with NRGL, Lord of Murder-in-Darkness. He who was his own place of power. This is the story of the IMMORTAL THOR...and the Unforgiving City.
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