The New Thor is Very New
Marvel announced, today-via The View-that one of their most iconic and classic characters is undergoing a major change: Thor will now be female, so we know what that means, right? She’ll just be the feminine, weaker version of the male Thor, right? Well, not so fast.
The new series will be titled THOR and will be penned by Jason Aaron (Thor: God of Thunder, Original Sin, and Southern Bastards), with art from Russell Dauterman (Cyclops).
What I love about this is what Jason Aaron has said about the character, “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.” That’s fantastic because, as everyone knows, the comics industry has a long history of putting women “in refrigerators“. One outlier I’ll mention is Greg Rucka, who writes female characters pretty much better than any other comic writer; if Jason Aaron can do with this new female Thor what Rucka was able to do with Wonder Woman, then we’re in for quite a treat when the title begins its run this October.
I am a DC fan first, honestly, but this is one area where everyone has to admit Marvel leads by quite a margin, especially following the issues DC has had in recent months. For the sake of everyone and the quality of the industry, let’s hope DC can take a page out of Marvel’s book (which it feels like is needed to be said too much these days).
Here is Marvel’s press release, in full:
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 will 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 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. 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.
What do you think of this development, ProFans? Do you agree with Jason Aaron’s apparent approach that this will be a genuine female version of Thor, as opposed to the kind of “girl-version” of superheroes the comics industry usually gives us? Let us know in the comments below.
