In Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1 comic-giants Kieron Gillen and Marguerite Bennett take the helm on a series that follows on from the Thor and Loki: The Tenth Realm spin-off from Original Sin. With the not-so-secret that Angela is Thor’s sister, how does she go about carving out her own niche in the universe?

Publisher: Marvel
Writers: Kieron Gillen. Marguerite Bennet
Artist: Phil Jimenez (Penciler), Tom Palmer (Inker), Romulo Fajardo (Colour Artist), Stephanie Hans
Price: £2.49 from Comixology

Angela opens with the angel-who-isn’t-an-angel walking through the desert. The first couple of pages are a basic re-cap of how Angela was raised as told in Thor and Loki: The Tenth Realm, so, while a little slow in getting up to speed, does mean that you don’t have to worry about knowing everything that has happened before. Perhaps it is a little too slow, but a rhythm and a pace are set and good grief, be prepared for a hard-hitting lesson in who Angela is.

So, as a female-led solo title, how does Angela: Asgard’s Assassin stand up to the likes of Storm and She-Hulk? Well, it doesn’t – not in the one issue, anyway, and besides, this is a different sort of story, and praise be to the writers as they tackle Angela as a whole entity first and a woman second. Angela has been raised on the Angels’ creed and she isn’t about to throw that all away after what all that transpired in The Tenth Realm. This will not be a comic of doing the right thing – be that morally or by the law – but of striking a balance, of collecting debts that are owed. Nothing for nothing, after all.

Do not be put off by Angela’s outfit, or lack thereof. This is a testament to her skill in battle and just how fast she is. It is very rare for anybody to land a blow, but does this make it okay? Do we really need to see so much of her at a glance? At least there’s a sort of balance with the Odinson and his lack of armour or even anything remotely resembling a shirt but even this feels like an empowerment for men and sexualisation of women rather than making everybody sexy equally.

Here’s hoping that Angela gets up to speed in the next couple of issues, otherwise all the hype and excitement would have been for naught.

“Angela: Asgard’s Assassin #1 is great for those who have not read Thor and Loki: The Tenth Realm but perhaps a little slow for those who have. While people don’t seem to wear many clothes throughout, the artwork is a thing of beauty that deserves your whole-hearted attention.”