Apparently Thor, at least in the the comic world, will now be a woman. I don’t read comics, so honestly I don’t care other than it just seems dumb.
Why don’t they just make a new female super hero instead of having to change the established ones? Is it all for the name of equality and getting more female readers? Certainly not the first or last time something like this has been done, but just seems like an odd choice.
Thor’s power being given to someone else isn’t new. I’m unclear on whether or not Thor is becoming a woman, or if Thor’s hammer and powers are being given to a woman who then takes up the mantle.
I mean, Thor is his proper name, correct? You don’t just become “Thor” because you have his powers. Or am I hopelessly out of touch on Marvel mythology?
It’s a gimmick. He’ll take a temporary leave of absence, give his hammer to a Hooter’s waitress he met in Des Moines and jet off to Jundheim for some skiing. Then he’ll come back in about 6 months, decide that the chicken fingers weren’t THAT good, take back his hammer and skip off to dinner with Galactus.
Yeah after all, Thor’s power got passed on to a friggin’ alien who had a super-intelligent space battleship (and wound up getting his own Mjolnir-copy), so handing it to a woman isn’t really a huge shock…
Imagine all the new Thor/Sif fanfic though…
— Alan
I don’t think Thor is like… Batman or Superman. Thor is a person, Thor, son of Odin etc, not “the one who owns Mjölnir”.
Please. The proper thing to imagine is all the Thor/Thor slashfics.
Rest assured the status quo will return well in advance of the Avengers 2 release next year.
If Thor was played by a woman instead of Hemsworth in Avengers 2 with no explanation, that would be the best thing ever.
Edit: Speak of the devil!
So, Thora?
The news release says it IS Thor, not some Thor-like lady. I’ll let the comic writers hand wave the details.
Actually, there are rumors that Anthony Mackie (who played Falcon) will take over as Captain America down the road. Chris Evans doesn’t want to play this Cap forever. In the comics, Steve Rogers is apparently handing over his shield to someone this summer, so it could be Sam Wilson…
Maybe they will do the same with Thor. The fact that many of these actors don’t want to make a career of these characters could lead to more lasting variety in the comics.
Marvel’s press release: http://marvel.com/news/comics/2014/7/15/22875/marvel_proudly_presents_thor
Marvel is excited to announce an all-new era for the God of Thunder in brand new series, THOR, written by Jason Aaron complimented with art from Russell Dauterman.
This October, Marvel Comics evolves once again in one of the most shocking and exciting changes ever to shake one of the “big three” of Captain American, Iron Man and Thor. No longer is the classic Thunder God able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, and a brand new female hero will emerge worthy of the name THOR. Who is she? Where did she come from and what is her connection to Asgard and the Marvel Universe?
“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” says Marvel editor Wil Moss. “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute - she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”
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.”
THOR is the latest in the ever-growing and long list of female-centric titles that continues to invite new readers into the Marvel Universe. THOR will be the 8th title to feature a lead female protagonist and aims to speak directly to an audience that long was not the target for super hero comic books in America: women and girls.
So, this doesn’t exactly answer all our questions, but we do know the previous Thor is still around, he just no longer holds the hammer or the “title” of Thor. Which is confusing, because yeah, as far as I knew, his name was Thor, not his title. I guess maybe they’re playing it like Thor was a title to emphasize that whoever she is, she is absolutely totally taking old-Thor’s place in the lineup, and not just another supporting Asgardian like Valkyrie or Lady Sif holding the hammer for him.
And we all know this won’t last, because yeah, comic books and movies. But this sounds like them trying to make us treat it like a permanent change until that point, which I guess they sorta have to do.
That would be fantastic, though I’d also still enjoy Bucky as Cap’ for a while.
Well, naming questions aside, this isn’t totally unfamiliar territory for Thor. Besides the Beta Ray Bill thing, there’s also Eric Masterson, who was “Thor” for a while - having been given the title of Thor by Thor, before attacking Thor, who then reclaimed the role of Thor, and Masterson became Thunderstrike. But he was the only Thor for a while.
So this has all been done bethor?
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, Let’s have a warm round of applause for…WHOLLY SCHMIDT!
The fact that this is being written by Jason Aaron gives me confidence that it will be cool. He’s done a great job with Thor so far, and is the writer of one of my favorite comics of all time, Scalped.
That’s not a supporting argument. Well, OK, it is, since she was good in early episodes, far better than that asshole Dirk Benedict ever was. Her gender had nothing to do with how much I hated Starbuck in the episodes post New Craprica. It was the terrible writing that turned the character into a whiney, mystical lunatic, not her gender. That endless, pointless side mission she led, where she finger painted her visions on the wall - agh.
I guess what I’m saying is that the awfulness of the character in later episodes makes it very difficult to wholeheartedly agree with Joss’s snark.
I’ve got no argument about her character in Battlestar Galactica. Hell, the final season pretty much made me retroactively hate everything that came before.
I think Wedon’s point was more that despite all the nerd bitching when it was first revealed that Starbuck would be a woman, she quickly became accepted by fans.
According to the article it sounded like Thor was just going to be a woman. Like they were starting over and Thor is just a girl instead of guy.