I receive so many press releases in my e-mail its not even funny. So I was quite surprised to see that Marvel Comics would make a “Thundering” announcement on The View yesterday. Surely it would have to be something female-centric, otherwise it wouldn’t be announced on The View. But what would the announcement be? Surely the “Thundering” in the title was a clue, but could that mean major changes to Thor, or any other character that wields the power of electricity?

Sure enough, it does have to do something with Thor, as Marvel Comics announced early this morning that in the coming months, Thor will be a female. Who is she, and how will she change the Marvel Comics Universe? Well hit the jump to see the press release from today’s announcement, plus the first images of the new female Thor.

Here are snippets from today’s announcement.

“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!”

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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.”

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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.

I’ve read comics before, and know that often times male heroes have female counterparts with similar powers or abilities; but I’m not going to lie when I say that this is a gamechanger, and one that will have a positive impact on the company. By changing Thor into a female, this move shows just how progressive Marvel can be. This isn’t the first time Marvel has embraced changed. Northstar was one of the first characters to come out as gay, and Miles Morales was one of the first top-tier superheroes to be of a mixed race.

Now, how this move will change the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still a mystery. For one thing, Kevin Feige has been one to want to add stronger female characters in the MCU, and for the most part, he has succeeded. But does the introduction of a female Thor mean that Chris Hemsworth will lose his spot on The Avengers. Probably not, considering the deals are already set in place, but Feige has said that Marvel has mapped out the MCU for the next couple of years, meaning when Hemsworth’s contract does expire, major changes can be made, and that might include the new Thor.

So what do you guys think? Can we expect to see this new Thor after Thor 3 and Avengers 3?

Images

[Source: Marvel]