The hammer-wielding God of Thunder that is Thor in the Marvel Universe will now be a woman in future comics.
Marvel made the announcement a few days ago, citing a change in direction with hopes of catering comics towards an audience that hasn’t ever been the primary target: women and girls. While many speculated that this maybe a spinoff character, or an additional character to the Marvel Universe, Marvel Editor Wil Moss made it quite clear that “this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”.
The announcement did bring about many questions as to whether a “Goddess of Thunder” would actually work and there are a few reasons why it can.
Marvel has created strong female characters
Marvel has a history of creating really strong female characters. Black Widow, Mystique and Storm are good examples, especially from past and current efforts to bring them to the big screen. They have a history of crafting powerful female characters that are not only as significant and powerful as their male counterparts, but sometimes even more so. This change only introduces Marvel’s 8th comic series with a female lead, which does make one wonder how many female characters actually get the spotlight. By taking a prominent character as Thor – especially with the name being connected to all forms of media – Marvel is paving the way to really provide female characters with an opportunity to get the spotlight they deserve. Hopefully they follow up this announcement with a Black Widow film!
The change will translate well to TV and Film
As mentioned before, Thor is a prominent character in the latest Marvel films. Thor: The Dark World was a massive hit, opening up the possibilities for what future films could showcase. However, the one question every comic geek will want to ask: how long can they keep it up? At somepoint, in phase 3 or 4 or whenever really, the major Marvel characters we see in film and TV will have to either pass their mantle off to someone else or be written out of future films. As sad as it is, Robert Downey Jr. is not going to play Iron Man forever for example. By introducing a completely different take on a current character, the “passing of the torch” can be made seamlessly, paying respect to how the comic character has progressed thus far and opening the doors to what lies ahead. That would be a brilliant transition on screen, something that could be done as early as the next Thor film. Chris Hemsworth has done a fine job playing the God and this would be a great way to conclude his run without making a hash of it, while introducing a new approach to the development of comic characters.
If you think it won’t translate well to screen, a relatively well known director concludes that argument:
Joss Whedon Thinks Its A Good Idea
Nuff Said.
A female Thor? What the hell makes them think THAT would be cool? pic.twitter.com/Tg2Ti8PIOo
— Joss Whedon (@josswhedon) July 15, 2014
