The Warriors Three stand as the most loyal allies of Thor. And Volstagg stands as the strongest of the Warriors Three, though many see him only as a fat coward. However, a new one-shot special, Captain America & Volstagg #1, reveals the hidden depths of the Lion of Asgard and his secret life away from home.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski, with art by Bernard Chang, Captain America & Volstagg finds Steve Rogers summoned to Asgard. However, he is surprised to find the request for aid comes from Volstagg rather than Thor. The burly warrior apologizes but happily offers an explanation between meals.
It seems that Volstagg discovered a world of poets and artists while exploring the far reaches of the universe alone. Facing invasion from a tyrannical race, these people were in need of a hero. With time not permitting him to summon his allies, Volstagg stood alone. While he repelled the first wave, he knew the villains would return. This led him to make frequent return trips to this world, bringing with him weapons and the knowledge of how to wield them. In doing so, he became a legendary hero to these people. However, he knew he would need an ally for the next battle and that Captain America & Volstagg would make a worthy duo.
Captain America & Volstagg #1 explains differing characterizations of Thor character
While Captain America is happy to help anyone fight for freedom, he doesn’t understand why Volstagg didn’t ask Thor or his friends for help. This leads Volstagg to explain something of the nature of gods and friends. Specifically, how someone had to play the role of the comic relief in their party. He reluctantly accepted this role, after realizing during one battle that they were all tripping over each other trying to be the leader. Given that, he fears he might falter in playing an honest hero among the other gods to whom he plays the fool.
This is a clever conceit on the part of J. Michael Straczynski, which explains away years of mischaracterization in the Thor comics. Some writers wrote Volstagg as a purely Falstaffian figure. Most, however, portrayed him as a gentle giant who reveled in his role as a father and preferred fun to fighting, and yet, he could be quite fearsome when facing an enemy who threatened innocents. Captain America & Volstagg #1 justifies this by confirming that the largest of the Warriors Three plays the fool to make himself a target and protect his allies.
Captain America & Volstagg #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
