I'm glad to see this for two reasons - one, because I think the character would be quite interesting from a female perpective, and also because it makes DC look like a bunch of whiny, scared little cowards. Again.
Not that they needed the help lately, but whatevs.
TheMarySue.com wrote:“It’s a huge day in the Marvel universe,” said Whoopi Goldberg on ABC’s The View just moments ago. As we mentioned yesterday, Marvel was going to reveal an “all-new thundering title” on the Disney-owned show.
“Thor, the God of Thunder, he messed up. He is no longer worthy to hold that damn hammer of his. And for the first time in history that hammer is being held by a woman,” said Goldberg.
Unfortunately while there was some joking to be had about who the character really is, no hard information was given other than, “The story behind her is she created herself. She was saved by Thor and she came down to Earth, followed him, and made herself look like Thor and so now she’s taking over.”
The hosts also commented on the hero’s physical features. “She’s got super-powered boobies,” said Jenny McCarthy. “She is actually in better proportion than a lot of the female comic superheroes,” said Goldberg.
“It gives girls something to look up to,” said Sherri Shepherd.
[UPDATE] We now have the official art and press release from Marvel Entertainment:
Marvel is excited to announce an all-new era for the God of Thunder in brand new series, THOR, written by Jason Aaron (Thor: God of Thunder, Original Sin) complimented with art from Russell Dauterman (Cyclops).
This October, Marvel Comics evolves once again in one of the most shocking and exciting changes ever to shake one of Marvel’s “big three” – Captain American, Iron Man and Thor – Marvel Comics will be introducing an all-new THOR, GOD OF THUNDER. No longer is the classic male hero able to hold the mighty hammer, Mjölnir, a brand new female hero will emerge will who will be worthy of the name THOR. Who is she? Where did she come from and what is her connection to Asgard and the Marvel Universe?
“The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription,” says Marvel editor Wil Moss. “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”
Series writer Jason Aaron emphasizes, “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.”
THOR is the latest in the ever-growing and long list of female-centric titles that continues to invite new readers into the Marvel Universe. This female THOR is the 8th title to feature a lead female protagonist and aims to speak directly to an audience that long was not the target for Super Hero comic books in America: women and girls.
So, with that kind of lead-in, I suppose we want a preview, yeah?
Comic book news and discussion belongs in Fantasy and Comics
This sounds like they're bringing back Thor Girl and giving her a swing with the big hammer. Having Thor replaced for a bit isn't all that new a storyline though. We had Eric Masterson and Beta Ray Bill stand in for Goldie Locks in the past. Both became rather interesting heros in their own right as well.
"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken
frigidmagi wrote:Comic book news and discussion belongs in Fantasy and Comics
Ah, thank you for moving it.
frigidmagi wrote:This sounds like they're bringing back Thor Girl and giving her a swing with the big hammer. Having Thor replaced for a bit isn't all that new a storyline though. We had Eric Masterson and Beta Ray Bill stand in for Goldie Locks in the past. Both became rather interesting heros in their own right as well.
More interesting - I didn't know that. What I find most interesting of all is DC's utter recalcitrance about Wonder Woman, and then hear Marvel doing this. And by "interesting" I mean "hilarious."
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."
- William Gibson
Josh wrote:What? There's nothing weird about having a pet housefly. He smuggles cigarettes for me.
Well, this is interesting. Not sure how I feel about replacing a headliner character with someone else, but at least Thor provides a convenient way to do it in that the hammer can be wielded by anyone who is worthy. I definitely appreciate that she's just Thor and not something stupid like Thor Girl. Hey DC you taking notes? Because if this works out well you can totally copy-cat it by having Green Lantern pass his ring off to a woman!
Lys is lily, or lilium.
The pretty flowers remind me of a song of elves.
I must say I rather like the character design. She looks powerful, serious, imposing, the kind of look that makes the bad guys go, "Oh shit, it's Thor!" Granted, the breast plate is a bit silly, but she's a superhero and the armour is meant to be decorative rather than functional, so it's not a big deal. Overall a fairly good effort. Now let's see if the writing is up to par.
Lys is lily, or lilium.
The pretty flowers remind me of a song of elves.
Given that this comes on the tail of DC losing Gail Simone from Batgirl over "creative differences", handing over Wonder Woman to a writer who says that he doesn't want Diana to be a feminist, and of course the infamous bit where the guy responsible for bringing in Diana to Batman v Superman talks about the She-Hulk as a green porn star only the Hulk could fuck, yeah, Marvel's probably laughing all the way to the fucking bank.
I mean, Thor's been an alien, a frog, and, like, five different humans.
I am going to be a little upset if this ends up being that Spawn Character they crowbarred into the continuity, but other than that what fucks should I give? The Hammer is more the source of his powers than anything else in the comic books. Movie continuity is another thing, but fuckit.
Lys wrote:Well, this is interesting. Not sure how I feel about replacing a headliner character with someone else, but at least Thor provides a convenient way to do it in that the hammer can be wielded by anyone who is worthy. I definitely appreciate that she's just Thor and not something stupid like Thor Girl. Hey DC you taking notes? Because if this works out well you can totally copy-cat it by having Green Lantern pass his ring off to a woman!
As much as I love the GLC storylines, it seems female characters in that mythos primarily exist to be stuffed in the fridge. Occasionally we get a standout like Soranik Natu, and even she was eventually relegated to her importance being her connection to male characters (daughter of Sinestro, and Kyle Raynor's girlfriend). Although I don't know what Johns and co did with her in later storylines.
Probably explains why most of my original GL character ideas are female, like Zandra Jordan....
Chatniks on the (nonexistant) risks of the Large Hadron Collector:
"The chance of Shep talking his way into the control room for an ICBM is probably higher than that." - Seth
"Come on, who wouldn't trade a few dozen square miles of French countryside for Warp 3.5?" - Marina
You mean like the child who used a Green Lantern Ring to age herself so she could sleep with Hal Jordan?
You know, I don't hate Green Lanterns. I really don't. But good LORD some of the writing seems like it's trying to induce an aneurysm. Between being the source of the Women in Refrigerator trope's name, that WHOLE squicky situation with Arisia, the ABOMINABLE treatment of Guy Gardner (seriously, what the fuck?), the Guardian's CONSTANT string of fuckups stretching back basically to the beginning of time, you've got a mountain of fuckups that would make the Silver Age look good. That's without getting in Hal Jordan being a miserable shitheel for large percentages of the time (whenever Nathan Fillion isn't voicing him it seems).
Though the comics with Guy Gardner taking the Red Lanterns to victory and glory have been pretty badass from the few previews I've see, but the guy who does them also does a lot of really badass stuff all over the place.
IIRC with Arisia the claim was that she was an alien and so was totally an adult!
Chatniks on the (nonexistant) risks of the Large Hadron Collector:
"The chance of Shep talking his way into the control room for an ICBM is probably higher than that." - Seth
"Come on, who wouldn't trade a few dozen square miles of French countryside for Warp 3.5?" - Marina
That was frankly a recon they tried to pull by claiming the planet revolved around it's sun slower then ours did. Which frankly did jack and shit to address the problem of Hal Jordan shacking up with someone who is mentally and emotionally in her early teens.
I mean take Miss Martian. She is by Earth actual time, 48 years old. Developmentally she is mid teens. That means if a 48 year old human male started a romanatic relationship with her... I would have to protest. Although that fictional 48 year old would still be a better guy then Hal Jordan. Even without considering poor Carol.
"it takes two sides to end a war but only one to start one. And those who do not have swords may still die upon them." Tolken
Chatniks on the (nonexistant) risks of the Large Hadron Collector:
"The chance of Shep talking his way into the control room for an ICBM is probably higher than that." - Seth
"Come on, who wouldn't trade a few dozen square miles of French countryside for Warp 3.5?" - Marina
Just a quick update I saw today: the female Thor has had her identity revealed, and even being the complete layman that I am when it comes to comics, it makes sense to me.
Jane Foster.
According to the notes on the page, she's currently battling cancer - and according to the writer, Jason Aaron, "Jane Foster has been part of the Thor comics and the Thor mythology from almost the very beginning. The very act of picking up this hammer, of becoming Thor, is killing her. Where we go from here is the real story."
Ok, that's kind of awesome, actually. I'm now imagining Natalie Portman dressed up in armor, clocking people in the jaw with Mjolnir. This is an image I can live with.
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."
- William Gibson
Josh wrote:What? There's nothing weird about having a pet housefly. He smuggles cigarettes for me.
frigidmagi wrote:If the hammer is killing her faster why is she so adamant about keeping it? I hope they explain that and it's a good one.
It makes for a good basis for a character struggle, definitely - I have to admit, it makes me curious too. Why is Mjolnir killing her? Is it just the stresses it places on her non-Asgardian frame making her cancer worse, or is it something else?
Still though, from the outside, I think this is an interesting story idea, and I hope they run with it for a while.
"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes."
- William Gibson
Josh wrote:What? There's nothing weird about having a pet housefly. He smuggles cigarettes for me.
