A chapter of Valkyrie's life that's been unexplored since the end of Avengers Disassembled is detailed in this one-shot -- how her civilian identity was ruined by the aggressions of the Wrecking Crew's Piledriver.
The Good
Given how Valkyrie is basically Thor's "Batwoman," I enjoyed the parallels that Glass drew between Thor's humbling time as Don Blake and the effect her successive civilian identities have had on her personality. Actually, I feel like I'm missing out as, though I haven't seen the famous opera myself, I still appreciated the modern spin he put on it by having her intervene in Ziggy's mortal affairs. And Winslade's art here was a total package, even despite my usual reservations about un-inked pages.
The Bad
The fact that the Wasp brings up how out-of-date Valkyrie's outfit really draws attention to how badly the character needs a redesign. Winslade does some fantastic work here, but even he can't find a way to draw her that doesn't reinforce how awkward her outfit is.
The Verdict - 3.5/5
I'll confess to never having paid much, if any, attention to Valkyrie prior to this one-shot. I don't really know what gap in continuity this is intended to fill -- unless it's supposed to be a years-in-waiting loose end that's been dangling since the storyline where the Asgardians were all forced to assume civilian identities during the end of Journey Into Mystery. That aside, this was good, off-beat told-in-one special.
I like Valkyrie, she was one of the reasons I wanted to read Secret Avengers. Since it turns out that... most of the teammates to get a lot of play in that series, I might check this out just so I can read her in something as a prominent character.
7 Comments