There is a new version of “Thor” that is soon to hit newsstands, written by Jason Aaron, and illustrated by Russel Dauterman. Of course, Marvel reboots their characters all the time, what makes this one different?
There are two differences, actually, one is that Thor’s gender has been swapped, and the other is that Marvel wants us to think that she is still the same character.
Jason Aaron said, “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.”
The previous statement is a lie, for one simple reason: Thor is a character, not a title.
Many people have brought up the fact Thor was once turned into a frog. Of course, this was completely different, because it was still Thor’s mind in the body of a frog. The only way Thor could actually become a woman is if his mind was put into the body of a woman, and Marvel has made it clear that this is not the case.
Plenty of other people have picked up the hammer, and wielded the power of Thor, most notably Beta Ray Bill. What’s the difference between Beta Ray Bill and the new Thor? No one was ever dumb enough to claim that Beta Ray Bill actually became Thor.
You could argue that Donald Blake picked up the hammer and became Thor, but that is only partially true. Donald Blake was always Thor, he just did not know it before he picked up Mjolnir. The only reason for Blake’s existence was so that Thor would learn humility as a human being. When he picked up the hammer, he merely assumed the identity of the person he was always supposed to be.
The only way this new character could actually be Thor is if she just happened to have the same name as Thor, but that would be a huge coincidence, and I do not think that is what Marvel wants us to believe.
Think about it this way- I could claim that I have legally changed my name to Spider-Man. I could tell you that I am not Spider-Guy, I am not Spider-Dude, I am Spider-Man. Does that mean I am actually Spider-Man? Of course not.
So what was the point of claiming that this new character is Thor, when this is obviously not the case? Why not just have a female character pick up the hammer, with a different name?
Because it would not be news. If Marvel introduces a new female character that wields Mjolnir, plenty of comic fans would hear about it, but other people probably would not. The media would not care, and it certainly would not be announced on a daytime talk show.
In the end, the only reason that Marvel is claiming this new character is “Thor” is just for the sake of a publicity stunt. Free publicity is even better than advertising, and ultimately, it will lead to more sales of the book come this October.
Will the new book be any good? Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain, there is only one Thor, and this new character is definitely not Thor.
Do you agree? Disagree? Do you miss female Loki? Let me know in the comments!