Marvel Comics Announces Female Thor
If you tuned into The View Tuesday morning, you were presented with the biggest Marvel news of the day. Not from Marvel Studios, mind you, but from Marvel Comics. The original. The company announced a new Thor comic is coming out, written by Jason Aaron with art from Russell Dauterman. However, the person most people think of as Thor is no longer worthy to wield Mjölnir, and he's been replaced by a woman. Yes, the new Thor comic will star a female Thor. See another image and read more below.
Here's another image of the new female Thor, plus the cover image. They're followed by the press release and more discussion.
Press release:
Marvel is excited to announce an all-new era for the God of Thunder in brand new series, THOR, written by Jason Aaron (Thor: God of Thunder, Original Sin) complimented with art from Russell Dauterman (Cyclops).
This October, Marvel Comics evolves once again in one of the most shocking and exciting changes ever to shake one of Marvel's "big three" – Captain American, Iron Man and Thor – Marvel Comics will be introducing an all-new THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. No longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, a brand new female hero will emerge who will be 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 isTHOR. 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. This female THOR is 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.
Being as we're not a comic book site, I'm not going to pretend to get into the historic context of this announcement. But this is a very progressive, welcome step from Marvel. (Which we've come to expect from the company. Remember Miles Morales?) What I like best about the announcement is the character isn't designated as an alternate version of Thor. She's just Thor, period. (We've seen something similar happen when other entities manage to pick up Mjolnir, as in Beta Ray Bill's story.)
For movie fans this sets up one question: do you think this will ever come to play in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? We know for a fact Kevin Feige and crew have been looking to bring more ladies into the mix. They have Black Widow, and Captain Marvel is a possibility, but now one of the core Avengers has a female incarnation. The contracts for actors like Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth will eventually run out but those heroes will need to endure. Why not cast a woman as Thor? It's not something that would likely happen in the next Phase or two. If this Marvel Cinematic Universe keeps going into Phase 5 and 6, however, I think Marvel Comics making this jump definitely opens the door for the studio.
What do you think of the new female Thor? Can she make it into the movies? Will she?