Published Jul 10, 2026, 11:56 PM EDT
CBR senior staff writer Brian Cronin has been writing professionally about comic books for twenty years now at CBR (primarily with his “Comics Should Be Good” series of columns, including Comic Book Legends Revealed). He has written two books about comics for Penguin-Random House – Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed and Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? And Other Amazing Comic Book Trivia! and one book, 100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, from Triumph Books. His writing has been featured at ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, About.com, the Huffington Post, Vulture and Gizmodo. He features legends about entertainment and sports at his website, Legends Revealed and other pop culture features at Pop Culture References. Follow him on Twitter at @Brian_Cronin and feel free to e-mail him suggestions for stories about comic books that you'd like to see featured at brianc@cbr.com!
One of the most shocking moments in the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was when Hela destroyed Asgard in Thor: Ragnarok. Thor's erstwhile older sister was a formidable foe in the MCU, and she has a crazy (and very different) past in the Marvel Universe, as well. She is now at the centerpiece of the new Marvel crossover event, Queen in Black, as Hela has taken over the King in Black role previously held by the villainous Knull and the not-so-villainous Eddie Brock as the head of all symbiotes in the Marvel Universe.
Next month, the writer behind the crossover event, Al Ewing, will be writing two one-shots that tie in with his current run on Thor. One, Queen in Black: Hela, is set during Ewing's Immortal Thor run, showing how Hela came to be in her current position, and the other, Queen in Black: Thor, ties Hela in with Ewing's current Mortal Thor series.
In a CBR exclusive first look, we see a few pages from the one-shot, Queen in Black: Thor, written by Ewing and drawn by Sergio Dávila.
QUEEN IN BLACK: THOR #1
AL EWING (W) SERGIO DÁVILA (A)
COVER BY PASQUAL FERRY
VARIANT COVER BY PEACH MOMOKO
VARIANT COVER BY GERMÁN PERALTA
VARIANT COVER BY TBA
• As Beta Ray Bill battles Hela at the edge of space, he considers his role as the heir of Thor’s story...
• ...little dreaming that the story continues with Sigurd Jarlson...or that the Death Goddess has plans for the Mortal Thor.
• Somewhere in the city, a man with a hammer is about to face the ultimate test.
32 PGS./ONE-SHOT/Rated T+ …$4.99
In recent years, one of the biggest players in Hela's comic book adventures has been Tyr, the Asgardian God of War, who has fallen in love with Hela, and is basically her most loyal servant. So it makes sense that he is along for the ride in this event. Here, he battles against Beta Ray Bill, who has had to step up in the absence of the Immortal Thor....
Image via MarvelMeanwhile, the current "Mortal" Thor (the reincarnation of Donald Blake), is visited by Hela, who is fascinated by him...
Image via MarvelThe Mortal Thor is Siguard Jarlson, the aforementioned reincarnation of Donald Blake (the artificial soul that Odin had created as a mask for Thor so many years ago), and so he truly IS "only" a mortal version of Thor, armed with Mjolnir and a bungee cord, so as we see in this sequence, when faced up against a cosmic threat, he is in trouble...
Image via MarvelThe final page of the first look shows that Beta Ray Bill does not only face off against Tyr, but also against Hela's symbiote warriors as the new Queen in Black...
Image via MarvelQueen in Black: Thor #1 is out on August 12th.
English (US) · 