Thor (Who is Now Female) is Here to Heroically Battle Stereotypes

by Emily Robinson

Through all of the coverage surrounding the Wonder Woman reboot, Marvel has been lying in wait with some seriously great news. Their new take on Thor isn’t going to be a rehash of the brawny, blonde-headed man with a hammer story. 

Instead, Thor will be a girl.  

Marvel editor Wil Moss said of the update that “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…this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy.” 

Newly released artwork from the series seems to show them moving away from the hyper-sexualized female superhero. While many of these women are drawn with cartoonishly-emphasized hourglass figures, this Thor is a muscular column, standing tall and unflinching rather than adopting a come-hither-y pose. Though her breasts are pronounced, it does not appear that they are there for the male gaze of the comic book world to drool at. Instead, they are just a part of her strong and heroic body. 

Writer Jason Aaron also made the distinction that she will not be “She-Thor” or “Lady Thor,” but instead “the Thor of the Marvel Universe…unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.” 

This seems to imply that if they referred to her being a woman in her title, our new Thor would not be taken as seriously – a total unfortunate truth of the comic book universe (which will hopefully be changed by the advent of characters like these). 

However, it’s super refreshing to see such an influential comic book company refuse to put up roadblocks and major alterations to make the character seem less powerful due to their gender.  

Thor is going to be Thor no matter what gender identity the character takes on. It just so happens that right now, she is a woman. 

 

All images via Marvel, Variety

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