What If? Thor was Raised by Frost Giants #1

For this issue of What If...?, the question is raised, what if Odin was killed and instead it was Thor who was raised by the frost giants?

It's an interesting concept that I was quite surprised hasn't been tackled yet! It was also a refreshing take. Instead of focusing on how having Thor and Loki growing up as brothers and not adversaries in arms would impact the Marvel Universe, this one-shot takes place during the times of Norse myth. However, a second issue in which we do see what the world would be like without the Avengers, would be a concept I'd love to see explored.

A couple of things don't really gel in this issue however. First is Thor's temperament. When his father, Odin is killed by Laufey, the lad swears to kill the king of the frost giants. But over time, he becomes Laufey's heir apparent and actually swears love and fealty to the king of Jotunheim. It just seems unlikely that Thor would turn like that. He's got too much honor. Unless being with the frost giants is enough to make you loose your self-respect...

The second issue is also about Thor. At one point in this story, Thor goes from being white-skinned to that of the blue skin of the frost giants. This isn't so much a nitpick. Loki changes his appearance throughout his time on Asgard. So for Thor to change in appearance makes sense. 

 Like if Thor was to smite some ice creature in order to become a frost giant- that would make sense. But the change just happens. There's no explanation as to why or how. That omission just seems like a very important piece of the puzzle.

It's not a bad story. The art is quite good. I'm willing to bet that the the missteps of these book are due not because of poor storytelling but lack editing. Or maybe too aggressive of an edit or two. I had heard that writer Ethan Sacks had contributed a script just a couple of pages too large for what Marvel was willing to publish. So, I'm betting that the editing staff at Marvel took an exacto knife to the script and in doing so trimmed away some important parts. Not just important parts but vital to a cohesive and well-rounded story. Unfortunately, it got away from the House of Ideas this time...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.