Marvel Giving Thor's Hammer New Female Friendly Inscription

[StewShearerOld]

Marvel Giving Thor's Hammer New Female Friendly Inscription

With a female Thor coming in October, Marvel has decided to change the inscription on Mjolnir to read "she" instead of "he."

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

With those lofty words <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/marvel%20comics>Marvel formed the foundation of one of its most endearing heroes: the mighty Thor. That being the case, change is on the horizon. Marvel will be releasing a new comic series <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136159-Thor-Is-Getting-Gender-Flipped-Officially>this October wherein the titular God of Thunder will be supplanted by a new <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/gallery/view/26/136159/2858.2>Asgardian goddess who will take on his mantle and powers.

Thiss in mind, the publisher has revealed that it will be altering the inscription on the hammer Mjolnir to be more appropriate to the new Thor's gender. In the new comic, the inscription (viewable in art published at ComicBook.com) on the famous weapon will now read, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if she be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

Now granted, as far as alterations go, this isn't the most Earth-shaking thing we've seen to come out Marvel. That being the case, it's still the sort of fodder that we could see some purists using to fuel the fires of their discontent. What do you think about the new inscription? Is this one altered word a big deal? A necessary change? A step over the line? We're eager to hear your impressions on this and your thoughts on the new Thor in general.

Source: Comic Book


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[Fappy]

Mjolnir is magical. I don't think it's all that unbelievable that it can change the pronoun etched on it when it comes into contact with another sex. If this kicks up any kind of controversy at all I will be extremely disappointed in whoever stokes the flames.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Mjolnir is magical. I don't think it's all that unbelievable that it can change the pronoun etched on it when it comes into contact with another sex. If this kicks up any kind of controversy at all I will be extremely disappointed in whoever stokes the flames.

Fappy, we're on the internet.

Of course people are going to get angry. People are stupid.

 

[JarinArenos]

The hammer magically changing its inscription to suit its current wielder sounds perfectly logical to me. It's by far the least fantastic feature of that artifact.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I can't tell from the picture, but I think it'd be awesome if we get to see it change. Like she grabs it, and as the lightning swirls around her hand, a bolt etches the new word into the hammer itself.

Is that what's happening in the picture?

 

[Fappy]

Mjolnir is magical. I don't think it's all that unbelievable that it can change the pronoun etched on it when it comes into contact with another sex. If this kicks up any kind of controversy at all I will be extremely disappointed in whoever stokes the flames.

Fappy, we're on the internet.

Of course people are going to get angry. People are stupid.

How could I forget that! D'oh!

The hammer magically changing its inscription to suit its current wielder sounds perfectly logical to me. It's by far the least fantastic feature of that artifact.

Wait... ripping holes in time/space by spinning it really fast ISN'T outlandish?!

I can't tell from the picture, but I think it'd be awesome if we get to see it change. Like she grabs it, and as the lightning swirls around her hand, a bolt etches the new word into the hammer itself.

Is that what's happening in the picture?

I don't think so. Looks like a pretty standard "Mjolinr activation" scene. I have seen a lot of them XD

 

[EdwardBerner]

I can't tell from the picture, but I think it'd be awesome if we get to see it change. Like she grabs it, and as the lightning swirls around her hand, a bolt etches the new word into the hammer itself.

Is that what's happening in the picture?

The text does indeed change as she picks the hammer up.
If you take a look at the source picture, which is in way higher quality, you can see that the inscription only says 'she' in the last frame.

 

[anthony87]

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

There. Nice and non-specific ^_^

 

[Zontar]

Well, makes sense. I'm just wondering how long it will take to reverse this and for Thor to get Mjolnir back (speaking of which, what is he even called now? It's not like it was some title, it was his name, how is getting depowered (again) make it logically flow to lose his name and oh dear I've gone cross-eyed)

 

[erbkaiser]

Star Trek did the "inclusive" thing better, when it changed from "Where no man has gone before" to "Where no one has gone before".

If this was not just a stunt, they could have changed "he" to gender neutral "they".

 

[Fappy]

I can't tell from the picture, but I think it'd be awesome if we get to see it change. Like she grabs it, and as the lightning swirls around her hand, a bolt etches the new word into the hammer itself.

Is that what's happening in the picture?

The text does indeed change as she picks the hammer up.
If you take a look at the source picture, which is in way higher quality, you can see that the inscription only says 'she' in the last frame.

I stand corrected. I didn't think to enlarge the image. Whoops >.>

 

[Frozengale]

Shouldn't the hammer just be gender neutral?

I guess it changing to fit its wielder's gender is fine. But why not just make it "Whosoever holds this hammer, if THEY be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

 

[bdcjacko]

Women don't need hammers to control lightning, they just need birth defects.

 

[Qitz]

Sure, it can magically change it's inscription, but can it see Why Kids Love the Taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Also wouldn't be the first time someone else picked up Mjolnir and hopefully they make her as awesome as Thor + Beta Ray Bill.

 

[Skeleon]

To me it'd seem more sensible to change it to:
"Whosoever holds this hammer, if worthy, shall possess the power of Thor"
I'm not a native speaker, but I think it wouldn't be wrong, would it? Alternatively, have it say "if they be worthy" or something else that's neutral?
Also, I removed the "..." because that looks really shitty on an inscription. You don't have your inscription "pause for effect".
But, meh, it's Thor. Marvel. A comic. A comic I never read nor give a toss about. I'll let others debate this more thoroughly.

EDIT: Oh yeah, you folks are right: It says "he" in the upper panels and adds the "s" in the last one. The "s" is also of a slightly brighter colour, like it was just now magically etched into it. That's a nice idea, I guess. It's adaptive to the touch. But I still think a simple neutral option would be the nicest.

 

[Nazrel]

Contrary to common misconception "He" is not a masculine pronoun, it's gender neutral. Where as "She" is a feminine pronoun.

This is why "he" is used for unknown or ambiguous individuals; when referring to a specific individuals the assumption of masculinity is made, though it would also be an appropriate term to be used for an entity without a Male/Female gender.

My point here is that ironically, Mjolnir has now gone from saying it's gender inclusive to that it's gender exclusive.

Given the intent behind the move I find this hilarious.

 

[That Guy Ya Know]

To those saying it should change to be gender neutral I can see why they might not want to. Changing it to "she" implies the hammer changes to suit its wielder and you can say it's always been that way. On the other hand changing it to they is more of a correction, an admittance it should have been gender neutral all along and that it saying "he" before was wrong.

Or maybe I'm just over thinking this.

 

[Fappy]

To those saying it should change to be gender neutral I can see why they might not want to. Changing it to "she" implies the hammer changes to suit its wielder and you can say it's always been that way. On the other hand changing it to they is more of a correction, an admittance it should have been gender neutral all along and that it saying "he" before was wrong.

Or maybe I'm just over thinking this.

Honestly, I think it's supposed to be more symbolic of the hammer changing hands rather than them trying to push some kind of political agenda. Sure, you could say there may be some kind of thematic undercurrent this scene will help explore, but I don't think we have enough information to work with to figure that out right now.

 

[Trishbot]

It didn't change when Wonder Woman wielded it...

Which now has me wanting a new Marvel vs. DC crossover.

 

[Sheen Lantern]

It should have been:

"Whosoever holds this hammer, if worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."