It looks as though Luke Cage is about to wield the power of Thor in Marvel’s upcoming “War of the Realms” event. Jason Aaron has been building up to “War of the Realms” since he began his popular and critically-acclaimed Thor run back in 2012. Now his long-term plans are coming to a head, as Malekith’s forces ravage the Nine Realms.
So far, only eight of the Nine Realms have been drawn into the conflict, with Midgard - Earth - left out of it. But that’s due to change in this year’s Summer Event, “War of the Realms.” Malekith has succeeded in building a Bifrost Bridge of his own, and he’s planning to use it to launch a devastating attack. Aaron has assembled a powerful new team of Avengers to take on the threat, but it looks as though their numbers will need to be substantially reinforced.
Marvel has revealed that the main event will be supported by a series of one-shots, with a team of Avengers heading on a mission to one of the other Realms. In War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Dark Elf Realm, the Punisher will lead a team to Svartalfheim in an attempt to shut down the Black Bifrost. War of the Realms Strikeforce: The War Avengers will see Captain Marvel assemble what may be the most powerful team of Avengers to date in an effort to take back the Earth. And in War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Land of Giants, Captain America leads a crack team to Jotunheim in order to rescue the God of Thunder from the Frost Giants.
All of these one-shots sound absolutely thrilling, but the most interesting is surely War of the Realms Strikeforce: The Land of Giants. Captain America’s team includes none other than Harlem’s favorite bulletproof black guy, Luke Cage; and according to the cover illustration, Cage is holding a Mjolnir hammer. In Aaron’s current Thor run, Mjolnir has been shattered and the Dwarves are using fragments of it to create short-lived hammers that grant their bearers the power of Thor. Each hammer carries a weak version of the Mjolnir enchantment; while the strongest can just about lift them, in truth they’re made to be wielded by those who are deemed worthy. If the cover illustration is anything to go by, it looks as though Luke Cage is numbered among the worthy.
Luke Cage isn’t the only one to be carrying one of Thor’s trademark weapons, either. Comic book fans will immediately recognize that the ax Thor is carrying is actually Jarnbjorn, one of the most powerful Asgardian weapons ever made. It was created to kill Celestials, and no doubt the star-spangled Avenger will be able to use it with devastating efficiency against the Frost Giants. Jarnbjorn is so powerful that it served as the inspiration for the MCU version of Stormbreaker, a weapon that potentially has the ability to destroy entire planets. This is one team the Frost Giants will regret messing with.
The War of the Realms: Strikeforce one-shots will be released in May by Marvel Comics.
More: Marvel Reveals The REAL Reason Thor is God of Thunder
Source: Marvel
