Comic Info
Comic Name: Journey Into Mystery (Volume 4)
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Kathryn Immonen
Artist: Valerio Schiti
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2013
Journey Into Mystery (4) #647
Reprints Journey Into Mystery (4) #646-650 (January 2013-May 2013). Sif is angry. She believes the people of Asgard have become soft living in the world of humans and that their warrior days might be behind them. When she goes to Aerndis to learn the secret of the Berserker Incantation, she discovers a rage inside of her that she’s never felt. Sif is out for blood and willing to die for Asgard…and she might have to when a series of monsters are unleashed on Earth.
Written by Kathryn Immonen, Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif Volume 1: Stronger Than Monsters is a Marvel Comics Thor spin-off title. Following The Mighty Thor/Journey Into Mystery: Everything Burns, the collection features art by Valerio Schiti and was also collected as part of Sif: Journey Into Mystery—The Complete Collection.
I’ve always liked Sif. She was less developed than Thor or even Balder, and often played as “the unrequited love” of Thor due to Thor’s constant body jumping…but she was also a wicked fighter and could stand-up to the best of Thor’s villains. It is always nice to see her get some solo time.
Journey Into Mystery (4) #649 Variant
The collection is essentially Sif deciding what the “new Asgard” is. I have never been a big fan of Asgard over Broxton, but it did give more opportunity for writers to develop some of Thor’s supporting cast by having them interact with something other than ogres, frost giants, and dragons. It would make sense that some Asgardians would fear this change (look at the United States and how people fear change in something that has always been called a melting pot). Her fear leads her to be reckless and take changes that she shouldn’t.
It is revealed however that it was kind of a Wizard of Oz fake. In the end of the story, Sif learns that her rage and urge to fight is a part of her, and the key was with her all along. Aerndis didn’t really do anything to her, but like a placebo, Sif thought it did…resulting in behavior that was out of the norm. It served to not only show Sif’s abilities but humble her by showing what she could become.
This collection is short and sweet. It could have used some more development, and it always throws me now when Superior Spider-Man shows up because it takes me a second to realize why Spider-Man is acting so different. I wish that the comic market could support a Journey Into Mystery for even longer (this run had a nice length). I feel that the Asgardians outside of Thor have a lot to offer, and Sif is just one of them (and this kind of makes me want Sif as an Avengers teammate sometime). Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif 1: Stronger Than Monsters was followed by Journey Into Mystery Featuring Sif 2: Seeds of Destruction.
Related Links:
Journey Into Mystery 1: Fear Itself
