Thor Is Getting Gender-Flipped. Officially.

[WldCard]

Thor Is Getting Gender-Flipped. Officially.

The God of Thunder is being replaced by the Goddess of Thunder, though it's the job, not the character, who's getting switched.

In hindsight, Marvel gave us a rather obvious hint yesterday, when it revealed a "thundering" announcement [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/136136-Marvel-Will-Make-Exclusive-Announcement-on-ABCs-The-View-Tuesday] planned for this morning on the ABC morning talk show, The View. While there was early speculation that it might have something to do with Captain Marvel, the reveal turned out instead to be the news that beginning this October, Thor will be getting a genderflip.

Granted, it won't be the original character, who will still exist in the Marvel universe in a depowered state. Instead, as a result of the events of an upcoming story, Thor will be found unworthy to wield Mjolnir and will lose his title as Asgard's God of Thunder. The mantel will be passed to an as-yet unnamed woman*, who will become the new embodiment of Thor in the comics. Marvel later expanded on the news in a press release, announcing a new monthly Thor comic, debuting this October and written by Jason Aaron (Original Sin, Thor: God of Thunder) with art by Russell Dauterman (Cyclops).

"This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita," Aaron said in the press statement. "This is Thor. This is the Thor of the Marvel Universe."

Related: The Switch: 3 Classic Characters That Should Be Gender Swapped [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comicsandcosplay/columns/socialjusticewarrior/11886-The-Switch-3-Classic-Characters-That-Should-Be-Gender-Swapped].

The new incarnation of Thor represents a serious effort to appeal to female comics readers, one reflected in the recent emphasis on superheroes like Carol Danvers and the new Ms. Marvel. "The new Thor continues Marvel's proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more," Marvel editor Wil Moss was quoted as saying in the press release. "And this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute - she's now the one and only Thor."

There's very little else known about just who the woman is taking on Thor's mantle. However, it was revealed during this morning's episode of The View that the new character will be someone who is saved by the original Thor, before following him to Earth and remaking herself to take over his role. One possible candidate is Angela, the former Spawn character acquired by Marvel whose most recent appearance in Aaron's Original Sin tie-in miniseries, Thor: The Tenth Realm, in which it was discovered that she is, in fact, the daughter of Odin and sister to both Thor and Loki.

And what of the original God of Thunder? If the upcoming "Time Runs Out" story, running through the Avengers and New Avengers books is any indication, Thor (assuming he's still called "Thor) has a tough road ahead. Recent art for the even shows Thor still fighting with his Avengers cohorts, though sporting an artificial arm and a large battleaxe. One can only speculate, but it seems likely that eventually, the old version of Thor will find a way to reclaim his title.

[gallery=2858]

Read the full press release below.

New York, NY - July 15th, 2014 - 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.

* Originally, we stated it would be a female Asgardian. This is absolutely true, as whoever wields the title and powers of Thor is an Asgardian in the same way that someone elected to the US Senate is a member of the US Government. However, it is not yet revealed from where the character hails. There is the possibility that the Asgardians will elevate a mortal or some other non-Asgardian being to divinity.

Permalink

 

[Lightknight]

This may not be "Thorita" but this is a male superhero that they have slapped breasts on. Again, they really need to promote their legitimate female heroes more rather than aping long-established characters.

 

[Casual Shinji]

This is a bit weird, because Thor is his name, right? I mean, it's not his superhero alias, like Spider-Man or Batman -- a title that could be passed on. Thor is Thor. He's a guy called Thor. It's kinda like making a female Judge Dredd besides the actual Dredd.

Not that I'm at all well versed in the world of comics, but this feels a bit off.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

This may not be "Thorita" but this is a male superhero that they have slapped breasts on. Again, they really need to promote their legitimate female heroes more rather than aping long-established characters.

Meh, it is a step in the right direction, at least she doesn't have double Hindenburgs coming out of her chest, and her armour actually looks like it would function as armour and covers her while still be fashionable.

It's pretty clear that this is just a reaction to the recent explosion of gender politics in comics and nerd culture, but at least they've actually listened and have got some stuff right, they just need this to sell well to actually prove whether or not there is a market for female superheros that aren't pin-up fan service.

I don't really understand how they can still have male Thor if "this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute - she's now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy" It seems a bit bizarre to retire him when he's one of the mainstream Avengers now with his own set of films.

 

[Elfgore]

I don't... I can't... what? What in the nine hells is this? Thor is a bloody name not a title. God/Goddess of Thunder should be the title. Can't she have her own fucking name, something that doesn't sound anything close to Thor, like Jessica or something. I hate to be the cynic here, but I agree with LightKnight, for now anyway. Their just strapping boobs onto a guy. I really hope they prove me wrong, I really hope so.

 

[vid87]

Kind of weird that she would still be named Thor, though there are positions in cultures where people do abandon their name for a title when entering a position. Perhaps Thor in this instance is not considered as the name of the individual person but the person filling the role, and the soon-to-be-former Thor will get a new name.

I'm wondering what it could be considering they're now suggesting for the first time that Thor isn't actually his name. In any case, I'm really hoping he doesn't go on heroing with his lame human alias:

"Introducing the mighty invincible Donald Blake!"

Yeesh. Luke Cage at least sounds kind've cool.

 

[go-10]

This is a bit weird, because Thor is his name, right? I mean, it's not his superhero alias, like Spider-Man or Batman -- a title that could be passed on. Thor is Thor. He's a guy called Thor. It's kinda like making a female Judge Dredd besides the actual Dredd.

Not that I'm at all well versed in the world of comics, but this feels a bit off.

chances are he either starts going by Odinson. Also there is a female Judge Dredd... there's actually a bunch of them since they're basically cops in a future where life or death sentences are passed on immediately.

Kind of weird that she would still be named Thor, though there are positions in cultures where people do abandon their name for a title when entering a position. Perhaps Thor in this instance is not considered as the name of the individual person but the person filling the role, and the soon-to-be-former Thor will get a new name.

I'm wondering what it could be considering they're now suggesting for the first time that Thor isn't actually his name. In any case, I'm really hoping he doesn't go on heroing with his lame human alias:

"Introducing the mighty invincible Donald Blake!"

Yeesh. Luke Cage at least sounds kind've cool.

well in Avengers solicits he appears with a giant axe so maybe he's becoming Ares or Baldr

 

[Slash2x]

Lol really? That is like someone at an office who was the head of I dunno HR give up his name not job title if he did a shitty job. "Hey dude you sucked at your job so instead of taking your job away we took your name and gave it to a lady. What was your name again? Reginald? Hey lady your name is now Reginald... No you can not go by Regina, that would defeat the purpose of making you take his name from him."

Or lets be honest this is just a WEAK PR stunt to get attention for the comics again and it will be retconned or alt reality or dream sequenced out. Some how I can just not seem to give a shit about this obvious attention grab.

 

[The Wooster]

This is a bit weird, because Thor is his name, right? I mean, it's not his superhero alias, like Spider-Man or Batman -- a title that could be passed on. Thor is Thor. He's a guy called Thor. It's kinda like making a female Judge Dredd besides the actual Dredd.

Not that I'm at all well versed in the world of comics, but this feels a bit off.

chances are he either starts going by Odinson. Also there is a female Judge Dredd... there's actually a bunch of them since they're basically cops in a future where life or death sentences are passed on immediately.

There are female Judges, sure. But there's only one four Judge Dredds.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I really don't know how I feel about this.

I like Thor and he's one of my favorite Marvel characters and I'm a little annoyed that they picked him. From the sounds of that description though the reason for the switch sounds clunky as hell. Not that Marvel has ever been consistent on that front, and I guess it's better than just straight up killing him off.

On the other hand, I guess it's kind of cool that a prominent character gets to be female, and I hope to God that they don't fuck it up.

The cynic in me is calling bullshit, but I'm just gonna have a 'wait and see' approach about this before I really say yay or nay.

 

[DEAD34345]

This may not be "Thorita" but this is a male superhero that they have slapped breasts on. Again, they really need to promote their legitimate female heroes more rather than aping long-established characters.

I've never understood this line of thinking at all. Women are just men with some breasts slapped on (OK, and some other parts changed/removed too), and vice versa for men. Yes, there are tendencies and attitudes that are more common to men or women, but that only matters when you're taking averages or doing statistics, individually the distinction is basically meaningless. A woman "acting like a man" is nothing unusual or bad, and neither is men "acting like women", I thought we'd moved on from that kind of crap?

Why does a female hero have to act in a "legitimate" female way? Do you examine each male hero to ensure they're living up to their legitimate manliness, too? Isn't all this incredibly sexist?

Like I said, I just don't get it at all.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Thoughts in order:

1) at least it isn't that Thor-girl character they poorly thought up a few years ago.

2) They just reveal Thor has a lost sister, then announce a female Thor character. Hard not to make the connection.

3) Honestly I'd prefer the Earth X version where Loki duped Odin into turning Thor into a woman as a further lesson in humility and worthiness.


Actually that would make a more interesting story as gender issues and the discrepancies within could be more at the forefront as thor has to adapt to a new cultural paradigm and serious issues of gender identity. I've wanted that from Ultimate Spider-Woman for years and they've done little more than jack and shit.

 

[Rellik San]

I'm just reposting this from another site, I apologise for the aggressive tone, but it has to be said:

"The people pissing and moaning about this: they forget this is a comic book with gods, alternate universe, parallel dimensions, magic, high fantasy, high technology, demons and devils, guys turning into monsters from gamma radiation, super soldiers, aliens, planet devouring omni-beings, cosmic surfers and a whole host of other goodies... this is a universe where because of marvels policy Transformers and Bill and Ted are canon.... if having a female who assumes the identity of Thor is an issue, if that's your tipping point as a reader... you're a dick.

And not a dick for having an opinion, everyone has an opinion but a dick for being a whiny man-child pissing and moaning about funny books doing something different not because it's unusual or you have issue with the story or writing... but because as most of the arguments against this go: "It's pushing the feminist agenda," the feminist agenda, which is about up there with the gay agenda, liberal agenda and atheist agenda in levels of non-existent threats to you and your way of life.

Here's an interesting fact for you folks I found on wiki: "When Mjolnir was damaged, Doctor Strange bound Thor's soul into Mjolnir, meaning that if the hammer were to be broken again, Thor may die" So actually with that in mind, it makes sense the new wielder of Mojlinir would take on Thors identity and traits. BOOM! Done, logical reasoning sound."

 

[RealRT]

Ahahahahahaha, wow, you almost had me there for a moment.

Wait a sec, you're serious with this shit? Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. How about giving better promotion to your existing female superheroes? Or better yet, create an original character? Thor is not a legacy character. "Thor" is his name. And it's a well-established character from mythology. Besides, there already is Valkyrie, Thor's female counterpart.

You could, you know, give Ms. Marvel her own movie. Poor Carol deserves that.

 

[Mister K]

How about you... well, you know... actually CREATE new well-made heroines?
Why in the name of the flying gypsy f**k webcomic with a single writer can create great many heroines (I am talking about Grrl Power), but comicbook industry giant with an army of writers of all sexes, ages and etnic groups can't?

EDIT:

Ahahahahahaha, wow, you almost had me there for a moment.

Wait a sec, you're serious with this shit? Marvel, Marvel, Marvel. How about giving better promotion to your existing female superheroes? Or better yet, create an original character? Thor is not a legacy character. "Thor" is his name. And it's a well-established character from mythology. Besides, there already is Valkyrie, Thor's female counterpart.

You could, you know, give Ms. Marvel her own movie. Poor Carol deserves that.

Or She-Hulk? Damn, do I want to see a movie about her.

 

[PunkRex]

I give it a few weeks but it may end up turning a new female character into a new regular, which is always good I suppose-WAIT A MINUTE, I DON'T READ SUPER HERO COMICS FOR THIS PRECISE REASON, GAAAH!

 

[The Great JT]

Ye gods! Well, let's see what they do with the character.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Also there is a female Judge Dredd... there's actually a bunch of them since they're basically cops in a future where life or death sentences are passed on immediately.

You mean female Judges that are themselves also called 'Dredd', with Dredd himself inhabiting the same world? Because again, maybe this may make perfect sense to hardcore fans, but that sounds kind of stupid.

I mean, what's left of a character's identity when you just have all these interchangeable versions walking around?