Fans of Marvel comics were shocked to hear that a woman would be taking the place of well-known and loved, muscly, handsome God that is Thor. But now the company has released the first images of the female holder of the Asgardian's hammer, and they're awesome.
Many were stunned to hear the news from writer, Jason Aaron, when he dropped the bombshell last July, but according to him, this transformation has been in the works for years. "It was pleasantly surprising that it's become such a big story," he told Time.
"I would be worried if I didn't feel strongly about the story that we had, if it was all just about a press release and creating a lot of buzz beforehand. But I don't feel nervous because everything that we're doing started with the story, the story that I've been telling with Thor and this new story that I want to tell."
Meet the female Thor (Jason Aaron/Twitter)
The Thor we've all come to know was replaced after he was no longer fit to wield Mjolnir, and Marvel explained the shift by saying, "Something dark has befallen the God of Thunder, leaving him weakened and for the first time in forever ... unworthy to wield the might hammer that gives him power."
In the comics, it's explained that the hammer only be used by someone who is worthy, and with Thor distracted by constantly battling brother, Loki, as well as other dark entities, it was only a matter of time before the hero would meet his downfall.
The decision to change Thor's gender has been a long time coming (Jason Aaron/Twitter)
And Thor #1, out on Wednesday, will show off the new female lead, as well as keeping loyal readers happy with the return of some familiar faces.
"I've introduced some new characters, brought back some old villains," Aaron told The Washington Post. "All of that really plays into the new series. This was always the plan: to get Thor to a point where he was unworthy and have someone else pick up that hammer."
"All those characters will have roles to play in the new book, and not just as red herrings. A lot of them have been a big part of the book for the past couple of years, so those roles will continue on, and then one of them ultimately … has a very different story to tell."
The female Thor will be just as epic as the male original (Jason Aaron/Twitter)
And for fans that are worried that the female Thor may not be as 'tough' or differ too much from their beloved hero, Aaron insists that this will not be the case.
"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," he said in a statement.
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.
