So, Thor Is A Woman Now

Marvel had been teasing all week that a big announcement was about to go down, and in an unusual venue - not the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con, through their website or at the end of one of their movies. Nope, this exclusive was going straight to The View, the daytime talk show hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Speculation was therefore that the House Of Ideas would be announcing a solo title for a black character like The Falcon, but nope. Marvel totally caught us all unawares by making a totally surprising proclamation: Thor is a woman now. Or, the new Thor will be a woman, as the square-jawed Norse god we've all come to know from Chris Hemsworth's on screen portrayal is found "unworthy" of the title (and presumably of his notoriously finicky magic hammer, Mjolnir) in light of the big Original Sin crossover event that's happening right now. What Thor does exactly to be stripped of his title, we're not sure. What we do know is that this new Thor will definitely be the only true Thor on the scene - she's not She-Thor, Thorita, Lady Thor, or any other subsidiaries we've been part to over the years - but the one, the only, Mighty Thor. And she will be a she.

Debuting in October in a series by long-time Asgardian writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman, who's been excellent on the Cyclops title recently, the new Thor series will see the female Thor in the role just long enough to (hopefully) make a mark and increase Marvel's female readership...right up until the third film comes out and readers wanna read a comic about someone who looks like Chris Hemsworth. Understandably. Still, it's a nice surprise and could be a breath of fresh air (or bolt of fresh thunder, we suppose) to the infamously male-dominated world of Marvel superheroes - remember, all the Avengers get is Black Widow to four or five dudes - and could continue the publisher's campaign to reach a wider, more diverse audience. Or it could be a gimmick that falls flat on its face. Time will tell but to prepare for this brave new world, you could relive 12 Other Famous Superheroes Who Completely Swapped Sex.