A few months back, Marvel took to a show that undoubtedly many comic readers watch, The View, to make a special "thundering" announcement. While focus was being drawn to a third movie featuring the god of thunder in Marvel's cinematic universe, the actual announcement was focused on the comic iteration. The news that the mantle of Thor would be taken up by a woman split people down the middle, but Marvel is sticking to its guns. They've also put up a few pages from the first issue (which streets tomorrow) to give readers a taste of the transition.
Writer Jason Aaron had this to say:
This was all my idea. This is where it's been headed for the past couple of years. People always ask was it different writing a female lead character? I always think that's a strange question. I'm writing a god, so it's not like I have to suddenly stop and change everything I do because it's a female lead. It's the same Thor story I've been doing. The hero will be different but it’s still, at the heart, a Thor story."
Marvel knew ahead of time that handing Mjolnir over to a woman would be an uphill battle, but I doubt they would have attempted it if they didn't have some great ideas in mind for her character. I know there's a good argument for those who say Marvel should just create a new, great female character instead of changing an old one, but I can't help but look back at Ronald D Moore's Battlestar Galactica and think at what a great decision it was to make Starbuck a woman. I suppose it all depends on where they decide to take the character. Here's hoping it's worth the trip.
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