These three one-shots are great. They are less like one-shots and more like chapters in the story of the pre-Earth life of adult Thor, while making some adjustments to match the first Thor movie that came out around the same time.
The stories read like a modern version of the old Lee/Kirby “Tales of Asgard” backups from the days when Thor’s book was called “Journey into Mystery,” except that those stories were about young Thor. These focus on the period right before the beginning of the JiM series.
One big difference between the Lee/Kirby world of Asgard and the one presented by Matt Fraction is that the role of the Gods vis a vis the inhabitants of the other realms is much more of a problem than a solution. These Gods are not benevolent protectors, defending the worlds against encroachment. These Gods invite the daughter of the King of the Frost Giants to a meeting and…
…Cuts her in half.
In fact, Thor is the most truly benevolent of the lot, often finding himself working against Asgard. At one point, Odin even sends Valkyrie out to stop his son from thwarting Odin’s conquests.
The final one-shot, Man of War, ends where Journey into Mystery began.
Thor and Odin fight, with Odin wearing the Destroyer armor, until Thor is defeated and banished to Earth.
Portraying Thor as lacking humility but also possessing nobility is a different tweak to the standard Thor origin story. Well done.
Another one-shot, “Rage of Thor,” followed–but it was by a different creative team and doesn’t work as well as these three. I’ll cover it separately.