What If… was a venerable part of Marvel Comics for years. When I first started reading comics it was a monthly ongoing series and it was amazing. It helped me learn Marvel history waaaaay back in the early ’90s when that was way harder (my local library was stacked with What If…, ’80s Avengers, and New Universe comics; one of those things is not like the others). They were fun stories that got really dark and I loved them. In recent years, What If… has gotten even more popular thanks to the MCU, but the comic offerings haven’t been great (if you want an example, go and read the recent X-Men What If…; Gerry Duggan should be kept far away from the team and I will go to grave screaming that) in a long time. Sometimes, it was because they were lackluster, other times they were too dark. So, I was reticent when I decided to pick up this new one. Luckily, that reticence was proven to be very stupid.
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Thor has been having a great time of things, but seeing Marvel mix symbiotes and the God of Thunder was something that I didn’t think could interesting, but Torunn Gronbek and Sergio Davila proved me wrong. This one-shot is sensational, using the tropes of a What If… comic to tell a story that is honestly insanely good. It uses the symbiotic bonding as more than just an excuse to upgrade a classic Marvel hero, giving readers something better than it has any right to be.
Rating: 5 out of 5
| Pros | Cons |
| Gronbekk is able to tell an amazing Thor story using the symbiote, making a better version of King in Black in one issue | |
| Davila’s art is perfect for this story; his consistently detailed panels and character acting are outstanding | |
| It makes fun of Knull and I will always be there for Knull slander |
Grobekk Nails the Thor of It All While Giving Readers the Best Kind of Symbiote Story
So, one of the biggest complaints about the X-Men What If… of two weeks ago is that it was all captions. Now, What If… books have always depended on the Watcher’s narration, but that book took it too far. However, Gronbekk understands who to use the tropes of the book to tell an outstanding story. She wrote Thor for a bit (and is Norwegian, so her ancestors worshiped him) so she gets the character and that’s on display in this issue. Her run on the book isn’t overly praised, but she’s got the goods.
The issue starts in Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars, with Thor using the symbiote machine instead of Spider-Man and it waiting for Thor instead of going to Spidey (and we get some good jokes about how cool Thor’s new black costume) and Gronbekk slowly builds the plot, leading to a battle on Earth against Knull, who sent the symbiote to take Thor and bring the god to him. Marvel is all on in Knull for reasons that will always escape me, but Gronbekk makes fun of the lame villain (his name in Norwegian is a word that means “two people crushing on each other and getting drunk together” basically). Loki is here and entertaining as well, poking fun at their brother and showing interest in the symbiote, something that pays off at the end. Also, I love the development she gives the symbiote; it’s subtle but it works so well and builds up to the ending beautifully. This is a well-paced, action-packed, constantly entertaining comic from start to finish and I had a smile the whole time I read it.
Davila’s Art Brings the Goods
Marvel has an art problem lately; great artists cost money and the House of Ideas has been notoriously frugal for decades now, especially with its artists. Historically, What If… books don’t usually get the A or even B-list artists, so I walked into this not expecting all that much – it’s a What If… and a non-A-list Marvel title in 2026; art hasn’t been a strong point for either those. Luckily Davila, along with inker Aure Jimenez and colorist Bryan Valenza, didn’t know about my feelings and decided to knock it out of the park.
The linework is great, the detail never flags, the action is fluid and looks fantastic, the character acting helps the jokes land, and the page layouts help establish the pacing beautifullly. Superhero art is super simple to get right in theory, but in practice is way, way harder than all of that. Davila, Jimenez, and Valenza take a great script and elevate it. I love the book’s fight scenes, with symbiote Thor slaughtering trolls, just as much as I love the quieter scenes, all because the art team understood the assignment.
I don’t usually give books like this 5 stars (or whatever you want to say this book got five of); it’s not a character-redefining thing or a modern classic that we’ll be talking for years, it’s just a solid comic. However, when you read a book as well put together as this one, there’s really no other rating you can give it. Marvel drops the ball with these What If… comics all the time, but this one is nothing but net. I wish it was longer and we got to see what came next, which is a sign of a flawless What If… comic.
What If… Thor Got Spider-Man’s Symbiote Suit? #1 is on sale now.
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