Marvel Announces Female Thor

The new Thor.

Ah, Loki, you sexy minx.

Marvel announced that Thor is undergoing a sex change. Well, not exactly. However, there will be a new Thor and she is...well, a she. Throughout Thor's long comic book history, there have been other wielders of Mjolnir, Thor's magic hammer. And, the Norse gods have had sex changes before. Remember hot female Loki (which has led to some great cosplay)? Changing who wields the hammer and who bears the title 'Thor' can work. The biggest danger is that this is just a stunt. The current Thor is still going to be around, using some other magic beat-down stick. Will this just be an excuse for Marvel to "shake things up" only to back off later and Dude Thor take back his hammer?

Current Thor writer Jason Aaron had this to say about the new character, “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.” Okay, that seems pretty clear. However, Marvel did something like this recently with Spider-Man, when they had the mind of Doctor Octopus take over Peter Parker's body, becoming the Superior Spider-Man. It was a bad idea to begin with, one that was recently reversed. And we all know what happens when superheroes "die" only to be resurrected later (Jena Grey, Superman, Captain America, etc.). However, as long as the change leads to interesting stories, then I'm all for it.

That's the real trick, isn't it; to write compelling stories. To create characters who you can get invested in. to not just make a change for the sake of change. When Steve Rogers (Captain America) was killed at the end of the 'Civil War' no one thought it would be permanent. And, amazingly enough...it wasn't. Characters can be reintroduced successfully; Ed Brubaker's "Resurrection" off Bucky Barnes is a great example of this. However, a storyline that lead to a major character death or some other significant change (like a new, female Thor...or just a new permanent Thor, period) have the odor of a gimmick about them.

My fave Lady Loki cosplay.

On a side note, could this have repercussions in Marvel's cinematic universe? Eventually, the current crop of actors will move on to other things. We may be seeing a new Iron Man soon, if Robert Downing decides to eventually reject the dump trucks of money that Marvel/Disney is backing up to his lawn. Could we eventually see a chick Thor on the big screen? And if so, who'd make a good Thorette? Maybe Jaimie Alexander could trade her sword for a hammer. Check back later for a few heavily Photoshopped ideas!