Marvel Comics announced on The View today that the NEW Thor would be a woman!
The New #1 Comic won’t appear until October– so details are still sketchy. Some sites already seem to be expecting a geek backlash of some sort… And I just don’t get it. Thor’s half-brother LOKI took female form for years in various Marvel Comics… And fanboys ate it up.
Nah, if I had any “fanboy” gripe at all– it’s that the change, of course, is generating a new #1 comic. I get the move from a financial perspective (new series always pay off big– at least initially)… But I think if Marvel really wanted to make a statement, they would have had the woman simply become the star of the current Thor comic. Just have it happen. No fanfare… Like it’s the natural order of things.
Here’s a direct quote from the press release:
Series writer Jason Aaron emphasizes, “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”
Cool. Cool. Cool. But you know what else I’m waiting for? The day when a hero’s gender, race, skin color and sexual orientation have NOTHING to do with whether (or not) a person is a hero.
Will that happen in my lifetime? Probably not, as long as publishers and the media continue to go nuts over these changes– acting as if any major/minor difference is an aversion from the social norm, deserving of grand publicity.
I look forward to a day when a hero’s status/popularity and newsworthiness lies only in their actions and their words… Having zero to do with anything which might be considered “different” from the usual male hero fantasy.
– Ian MacMillan
This is exactly what I’ve been saying. I really don’t have a problem with Thor being a woman now. What I’m concerned about is the quality of the series when it comes out. I’ll definitely give the first few issues a go to check it out. And to annoy all the naysayers out there 🙂
Thor was a cosmic horse for a while…well sorta 😉 but then Walt Simonson is an excellent writer whereas Jason Aaron…..
This is just another stupid gimmick. I guess they couldn’t kill off Thor any more times, he’s had more lives than Doctor fuckin Who at this stage.
It wouldn’t surprise me if Marvel editorial draw lots every year to see which characters die, which change sex etc. None of it fucking matters, it’s just the same fucking stories over and over just with different characters.
I’m worried that Jason Aaron is attached to this. He is a very capable writer, but his Thor comics haven’t been great. His Thor always seemed like a massive jerk and I never liked it.
It’s funny that you mentioned the drawing lots bit, because I told my dad that something similar to that. I’ve always thought that they scribble down the most ridiculous character changes/plots, tossed them into a baseball cap, and picked from the hat at random. In the long run it doesn’t matter. They revert the changes eventually. Peter Parker is back, the Superhero Registration Act was dropped (even though everyone forgot it was still around), and I’m pretty sure Wolverine will pop back up after his “death”. Conveniently right before the next X-Men or Wolverine film probably…
Absolutely! Is the book going to be any good or not? Is this just a sales gimmick? The true test will come when Avengers Age of Ultron sees release at theaters. Will the new character still be Thor then?
I could have gone into all that too… But I’ve made a pact to try and not be so wordy. We’ll see if that holds as well. 😉
And the first person who makes a crack like, “Is that Mjölnir in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?” will taste the infamous IMJ Ban Hammer™! 🙂
This really isn’t a big deal. We’ve had female versions of Thor before. Also, we all know that the real Thor will eventually reclaim his hammer and that he’ll likely do it before Avengers 2 opens in theaters.
Obligatory.
Ah, Jason Aaron. The Jeff Foxworthy of comic writers. I think this would have been the perfect time for Thor to be a redneck since that really is the only kind of character Aaron knows how to write. Instead of fighting in the Avengers she could be like a NASCAR driver, hanging out with the Duck Dynasty douchecanoes and she may even be smarter than a fifth grader. Who knows? Maybe she still will be. Fingers crossed.
Whens the last time Aaron wrote a good comic….Ghost Rider about 5 years ago?
Yes. That would be when.
I liked the first half of his Wolverine and the X-Men series. Scalped was good too.
My dad just made a good point: Doesn’t Marvel already have a female Thor named Valkyrie? Or did Marvel kill her off and I just never noticed?
Don’t forget that Marvel also has a female Thor named Thor Girl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thor_Girl
I think after The Fearless Defenders series, they kinda ruined the character. But who knows, maybe this is how they are going to bring her back.
What i find interesting is the backlash of female Thor fans. They have stances that go from “Why are you taking away our man candy, Marvel?” to “What did Thor do for you to strip away everything that character is and replace him with someone else?” So while the spectrum is broad, it still amazes me these fans of Thor forget one of the things inherint in the Thor Lore: Anyone can be Thor. “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” That is why we have had non-Asguardian Thors through history and why it’s easy to see a new person take up the mantle. So any fan who argues against this, or any change who can be Thor is at a loosing argument.
I also noticed that many women that argued this on Tumblr were big proponents and supporters of the Loki/Thor fan fic scene.