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Marvel's New Thor Will Be a Woman

An anonymous reader writes: Marvel Comics has announced that Thor, the thunder god whose story has been told in comic books, movies, and TV shows since the 1960s, will fall from grace, and no longer be able to wield his hammer Mjolnir. A brand new female character will take up the name Thor and continue the series. Jason Aaron, the series writer, 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. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before." Marvel's Wil Moss added, "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!"

590 comments

  1. I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I am Woman, hear me Thor!

    That is all.

    1. Re:I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      I am Woman, hear me Thor!

      That is all.

      You dirty Thor!

    2. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thor ith gonna be mighty thor about thith. He might even thmite her with hith hammer. (Thorry, couldn't rethitht).

    3. Re:I am Woman! by rwa2 · · Score: 4, Funny

      The God of Thunder is at a particularly successful orgy and sees a good-looking woman wandering around in her toga. He puffs up his chest and proclaims to her, "Hi, I am Thor!"

      The woman looks back and says, "Ugh, yeth, I'm thor too, I'm thor all over."

    4. Re:I am Woman! by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      In my day, the response was "I'm tho thor I can hardly pith."

      --
      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
    5. Re:I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Guess I won't be spending any money on ANY marvel product

    6. Re:I am Woman! by rwa2 · · Score: 1

      Heh, thanks! My old man will appreciate the correction ;)

    7. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My prediction is that half the previous readership will drop the title, and the people they are pandering to will only buy a few issues for the novelty and then lose interest as well. That, or they will find something else to get outraged about on Twitter and Tumblr. Meanwhile, geekoid will continue praising the progressiveness while Marvel continues to transform itself into a movie studio.

    8. Re:I am Woman! by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 1

      That's the problem when you're playing with a hammer that big, accidentally drop it on your crotch and first you're thore, then you're not thure you're Thor any more.

    9. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Da fuck? It's not April.. Why not just build a story line around Sif?

      Tuesdays suck..

    10. Re: I am Woman! by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      I don't get it how they say that is not Thor as the character but at the same time say that it is Thor as if Thor was some title.

      like, I could understand if the plot took Peter Parker down on some road and someone else started saying that he/she was Spiderman. but that marvel would take Peter Parker, say that the plot makes him do something and some woman just starts calling her Peter Parker and that she is now the Peter Parker of the marvel universe..

      like, wtf. why not label it as it is apparently in the plot: some woman starts wielding the mjolnir and calling herself Thor.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    11. Re: I am Woman! by Rei · · Score: 2

      True, they could at least go with Thorunn or Thora, femine forms of the name Thor. Thor is a masculine name. Though I understand that they're trying to stress that she is the superhero now, not him.

      Not a big fan of the new Thor costume. Too stereotypical female superhero "let's-remove-metal-from-all-sorts-of-critical-body-parts" "form-fitting steel boobs" style. You'd think if they're wanting to be progressive with the plot they'd be willing to face that old cliche. It doesn't mean you have to make them ugly or non-feminine, it just means that they're not dressed like they're going to some S&M hookup afterhours at Comic-Con. Wonder if they'll fall victim to this as well...

      --
      Fox: "I think we should call it... your grave!" Cast: "Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!"
    12. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Norse God: I'm thor I'm thor
      Horse: Thould have uthed a thaddle thilly

    13. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Maybe there will be a crossover and she will save pro-gay Archie.

      I bought comics, back when they were cool.
      One pariah, producers of art should make note of is; watch what happens when you mix political statements with art; it fades to obscurity faster than if you'd produced art based on other themes. Examples: WWII Warner Bros. Cartoons, Folk Music, Viet Nam Documentaries, Jane Fondas Career, Pearl Jam, old punk albums, election buttons and the list goes on and on and on. Politics and art are an infamously bad combination.

                Equality between the sexes has been a hot political topic for decades. THORina isn't going anywhere but away.
      You might make note that religion comics aren't generally found double bagged with astronomical collectors prices, either.
      There are just some subjects better left out of escapist art.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    14. Re:I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So instead of a hammer, will she be using a frying pan?

    15. Re:I am Woman! by rochrist · · Score: 2

      Pretty sure Pearl Jam is doing just fine.

    16. Re: I am Woman! by RabidReindeer · · Score: 1

      It's not like the Norse pantheon lacked some serious goddesses. What's the point in simply gender-changing the god of thunder?

      And I too think we should bring back the thorn! (bring back e orn!).

    17. Re:I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      After thwinging that hammer, the's gonna be thor....

    18. Re: I am Woman! by niado · · Score: 1

      I don't get it how they say that is not Thor as the character but at the same time say that it is Thor as if Thor was some title.

      like, I could understand if the plot took Peter Parker down on some road and someone else started saying that he/she was Spiderman. but that marvel would take Peter Parker, say that the plot makes him do something and some woman just starts calling her Peter Parker and that she is now the Peter Parker of the marvel universe..

      like, wtf. why not label it as it is apparently in the plot: some woman starts wielding the mjolnir and calling herself Thor.

      This is not uncommon among comic book super heroes. There are numerous different persons who assume the identity of particular heroes (and villains). Significant examples include DC's Green Lantern, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, and Marvel's Captain America, Bucky, and Iron Patriot. Continuity is famously not a concern among comics outside of individual story arcs, so some of these divergent identities operate in the same fictional universes and some do not.

    19. Re:I am Woman! by operagost · · Score: 1

      Frankly, this is an incredibly misogynist move.

      It says, "we can't create any strong female superheroes, so we'll just change the sex of one." It's really just like Supergirl or Batgirl, which were pretty much wannabes of the "real" superheroes, as opposed to female Green Lanterns or even a female Robin where it's more about the values and principles of the uniform. For example, a female Iron (wo)Man would make far more sense (alternate universes aside).

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    20. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, this.

    21. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's just no pleasing some people.

    22. Re: I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Expect a lot of rule 34

    23. Re:I am Woman! by Wandering+Idiot · · Score: 1

      Jesus, why did I have you marked as a friend? It must have been some purely tech-related issue we agreed on. You probably whined when the Archie comics started introducing black characters back in the 70's, too.

    24. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      We'll see.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    25. Re: I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      I'm certainly not pleased.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    26. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      No, I just oppose the trendy over-utilization of politics in art as a quick boost to revenue. It compromises the art and degrades it as the political environment changes.
      Art is eternal, politics is throw-away.
      Perhaps you are just shallow and trendy like that."Friend".

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    27. Re:I am Woman! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      One pariah,
      [...]
      Politics and art are an infamously bad combination.

      Odd use of "pariah", but I see what you mean. I don't agree with you, but not having spent years learning to spout bullshit and call it art appreciation, I don't really have the tools to refute your proposition.

      A lot of art which has lasted well is deeply political in the context in which it was written. One example that sprang to mind (probably triggered by your mention of Vietnam) is Roy Liechtenstein's "Whamm!" ; to me, it's cartoonish depiction of an act of murder is a comment on the politics of the Cold War. Alternatively, the themes of upsetting of the old order that run through Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' (the book, not the Hollywood distortions) are a comment on the revolutions then sweeping through Europe. To me, that makes both of them political comments, now recognised (and recognised at the time of origin) as art, but also fundamentally political.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    28. Re:I am Woman! by rochrist · · Score: 1

      We;ll see? What does that mean? They're 25 years into their career, they're still making CDs, they sell-out their tour dates all the time, and they tour frequently. What's to see?

    29. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      They're a dated joke on tour hoping a next generation is absent enough to care. Buy a ticket, look around, it's their fans from the 90s being sentimental on this "come back" tour. Sentiment lasts for 1 tour, then it's off to play the state fairs and car shows. Perhaps they'll get lucky and get to open for Cheap Trick or Boston later on.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    30. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      To me the Liechtenstein is about the "thingness of things" that probably inspired Warhol at the time to do his color separation screen prints.
      It's a complete non-statement. No politics are necessary for this scenario.

      When I use the word Pariah, I refer to that little voice that should be nagging them from the back of their head to warn of upcoming blunders.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    31. Re:I am Woman! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Google define:pariah
      1.
      an outcast.
      "they were treated as social pariahs"

      I'm not sure what word you were looking for, but I don't think it was that one. How about this one?

      Regarding the art appreciation stuff, one of the things that makes it so hard for me to change mental gears from being a scientist to giving a shit about art is that everyone's opinion on art seems to be subjectively correct, from the bat-shit insane to the just incomprehensible.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    32. Re:I am Woman! by ax_42 · · Score: 1

      Or "Tho am I, but it wath fun, wathn't it?|

    33. Re:I am Woman! by rochrist · · Score: 1

      I'm sure you we're saying the same 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and 20 years ago. They play pretty undated music actually.

    34. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Not actually.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
    35. Re:I am Woman! by flyneye · · Score: 1

      Yup, wrong def.

      I tend toward the surrealists and hipper impressionists on the wall.

      --
      *Repent!Quit Your Job!Slack Off!The World Ends Tomorrow and You May Die!
  2. I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by i+kan+reed · · Score: 2

    But this summary and article both kinda sorta imply 616(i.e. main) universe.

    1. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by iMySti · · Score: 1

      Chris Hemsworth in drag for Avengers 2.

    2. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by jimmifett · · Score: 1

      Thor has been in a dress before, a wedding dress, at the behest of Loki:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    3. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, that's one of the really hilarious Loki numbers, with Thor being a rather uncooperative accomplice. He's pretty much a total failure in drag, but Loki smoothtalks his bridegroom over it.

      That's a story totally unsuitable for the Marvel Universe, and it's worse off for it.

    4. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Also shown here in the only true comic about Thor (and friends and foes), the Danish "Valhalla" comic by Peter Madsen. None of this Marvel junk, please.

      http://i.imgur.com/87zorZg.jpg
      Notice that Thor is shown in accordance with Norse mythology, as a stout man with red hair and a bushy beard. No fair-haired prettyboys here!

      http://i.imgur.com/46TT17b.jpg
      "How many times must I tell you? Don't touch my stuff!"

      Best comic ever.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    5. Re: I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Right, Thor is an old peasant god (way older than Odin), not a padded opera suit.

    6. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by Intrepid+imaginaut · · Score: 1

      Why is Thor about to lay a smackdown on some wombles in that first picture.

    7. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by Migraineman · · Score: 1

      The guy yelling in the second image appears to be BallChinnian.

    8. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But this summary and article both kinda sorta imply 616(i.e. main) universe.

      that is correct this will be the new 616 THOR.

    9. Re:I've heard elsewhere this Ultimate Universe by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      Because that's what Thor does.

      --
      Eat the rich.
  3. Ridiculous! by xfizik · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is beyond ridiculous.

    1. Re:Ridiculous! by KamikazeSquid · · Score: 2

      Care to explain why you think so?

    2. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I personally think it is ridiculous to do this until they have decided that the current Avengers Movies / Thor movies have run their course and are over. Changing the canon before they are over is a bit strange. (Then again, maybe they are done - but I thought there were a couple more movies in the pipeline). After those are done, I don't think it matters - they can change the characters however they think will make them the most bank.

    3. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      This is just lazy pandering. Do they have such little creativity that they best they can do is make a female Thor? This is as pathetic as the Hollywood remake movie spree of the last few decades.

    4. Re:Ridiculous! by sexconker · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Thor is a male god.
      Thor is an established character, based on the mythical Thor.
      Making Thor female is just a publicity stunt.
      Marvel can't create compelling original female characters, but that doesn't mean they should slap tits and a vagina onto existing male characters and hope they stick. What Marvel needs to do is realize that they can't create ANY compelling characters anymore, male or female, and fix that problem first.
      Everyone knows that the real Thor will be back once this "arc" finishes - saying something is permanent in comics is an insult to anyone who reads them.

      Alternatively, Han shot second.

    5. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Thor is a character in Norse mythology. Those stories are part of our cultural heritage. And in those stories, Thor is male.

      This change isn't done because it makes more sense. The Norse Thor didn't have any gender identity issues. This doesn't make the story more interesting or engaging. This is done exclusively as a gimmick to attract audiences of feminists and the obsessively politically correct.

      I think these are bad reasons for making this change to the story. I think there are plenty of opportunities to borrow female heroes from history (Joan of Arc? The goddess Athena?) to create brand new stories of feminine heroism. There is no compelling reason to give Thor a gender change. Its just a (destructive and stupid) attention grab.

    6. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      The comics canon is very different from MCU canon already. Loki's a teen, Bucky Barnes was Captain America until like, last year. Thor's mom runs Asgard, Asgard is floating over the midwest US, Steve Rogers is aging to his actual age, and oh, Nick Fury's a white dude with a half-black son named Nick Fury Jr. who actually looks like the MCU version.

    7. Re:Ridiculous! by ceoyoyo · · Score: 3, Informative

      Not the original poster, but I agree. I think it's great to have strong female main characters, on an equal footing with strong male main characters. But this ain't it. They're taking a character who is male, both in mythology and in their own storyline, and changing him into a woman. Why? Because they can't write female leads so they'll just take a male one and give him boobs? Because a female main character can't be successful without all the momentum gathered by that character being male for a thousand years?

      Ridiculous seems like a reasonable summary.

    8. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hollywood is so lazy they will remake the movie "Junior" with a female character.

    9. Re:Ridiculous! by kruach+aum · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Making Thor a woman is like making Jesus a woman, Mjolnir a screwdriver, or Huginn and Muninn storks. It's like saying "I carpooled to work today" when you came by yourself on your bike, because you want to reclaim the word "carpooling" to refer to biking to work. You can do it, but that doesn't make what you say true. Thor's gender is such a significant feature of his established identity that to change his gender is to change his identity from Thor into Something-that-is-not-Thor. You can say that this new character is both Thor and a woman, but that doesn't make it true.

    10. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Personally, I'm quite done with the superhero thing, have been for a while. Co-opting Thor and making a typically American out of him smacks of the kind of writer's desperation that turned me off hollywood produce years ago. This is just more of the same to me, taken to a particularly repulsive politically correct eleven. But hey, this is the comic book version so anything goes, amirite or amirite?

    11. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, a "strong" woman character should also not need an outrageous bust if that were the true aim of this lazy creation.

    12. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Feel better now?

    13. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're either incredibly dense and blind to irony or a brilliant troll.

    14. Re:Ridiculous! by Noah+Haders · · Score: 4, Interesting

      keeping with tradition I assume she'll be a sexy thor with big b00bs that are popping through her skimpy outfit. positive role models ftw!

    15. Re:Ridiculous! by kruach+aum · · Score: 5, Funny

      What part of "And this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute — she's now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!"" is ambiguous to you? If she is the one and only Thor, and she is a woman, then Thor is now a woman. That's how the transitive relation works.

    16. Re:Ridiculous! by Noah+Haders · · Score: 1

      re: not relevant anymore. I think all of the new comics/fantasy/sci fi IP is going to start coming from video games. that's the only place that's consistently making new ideas. looking forward to the assassin's creed movie, GTA movie, etc etc. Some of them will el floppo like the ones we've seen to date, but others will stick. movies, as usual, will defer to other media to create new ideas.

    17. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They say that now. Lets see what they say when it's actually released and sales figures come out.

    18. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, perhaps the next Erin Brockovich movie could contain the character Eric "Erin" Brockovich who used to be woman, but now is really, really manly man. It would be even more logical than this. Or how about "Jesusita", who is really, really the actual Jesus, but a woman and still have the 12 man disciples, plus the questions raising relationship with Maria Magdalena?

    19. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In other news, Obama is now a woman. To state that he is, in fact, not a woman will now be considered misogynist.

      Did you know Thor was the god of fertility, healing? Did you also now they aren't changing the Myth, just a comic character?

      Why can't a man be a symbol of fertility and healing? Why can only women be allowed to have such virtues?

    20. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Thor is a Norse God, NOT a USA Hollywood invention.

      Perhaps its about time the world started rewriting USA history with Lincoln being cast as a Homosexual Satan worshiper who was trying to become the first transgender African American.

    21. Re:Ridiculous! by machineghost · · Score: 0

      Thor is a male god.

      False. In the Marvel universe Thor (as in "the character staring in the comic book called "Thor") started out as male god, but then switched to being a mortal who got ahold of Thor's hammer. I know this because the first comic book I ever read featured this incarnation of Thor.

      Now another mortal has taken over the role of hammer-holder/comic-book-star. It's completely consistent with the past mythology, doesn't in any way change the past mythology (Thor doesn't "become" a girl) and nothing at all like changing Han to shoot second.

    22. Re:Ridiculous! by myrdos2 · · Score: 2

      I'm still waiting for the female Hulk. Also, the fat Jesus kind of offsets the two skinny ones.

    23. Re:Ridiculous! by Desler · · Score: 5, Interesting

      You are using archaic myths to justify misogyny.

      Right, because slapping big tits on a female character to appeal to creepy nerds is the height of enlightenment and anti-misogyny.

      Taking a historic Superhero character and making it a woman is a good thing. The industry needs fewer people like you, and more young girls.

      Sure, it would be if she wasn't made to have the same ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions that no woman can live up to. Same with not having your female characters just be simply riding the coattails of a popular male character. If they really believed the nonsense they are spewing they would have created an original character without ridiculous things like the huge tits. As it is, this is just comics sexism disguised as "empowerment".

    24. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Just because he prefered the existing gender of a character does not mean that he's misogynist. Not liking change to a beloved character is not a sin. You wouldn't have called him blondist, if he complained after they changed the color of his hair. Comic nerds hate change. They just do. And they love to complain. That's all he's doing complaining about a change.

    25. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

      Appealing to straight white men like you is even lazier pandering.

    26. Re:Ridiculous! by Bardez · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I think that you are mistaking misogyny for something else.

      Misogyny: "dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women"
      Misogyny: "hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women."
      Misogynist: "a person who hates women"

      There are female superheroes, so you couldn't be saying that there the statement indicated that there should not be any of those. And Thor was a male god in the mythos, so are you saying that not changing the mythos is hating women? Perhaps you meant that they were speaking in defense of continuity? Or do you instead mean that they are transexualophobes? (what exactly would be the word?)

      Either way, my takeaway from your post is that if anyone were to say that George Washington did not have female reproductive organs, they must be a misogynist.

      --
      Perception is the thin dividing line between reality and fiction.
    27. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It would literally make more sense to say that Thor is transgendered and changed sex through his/her own will than to say Thor falls from grace and replaced by a different female god that also wants to be called Thor.

    28. Re:Ridiculous! by mvdwege · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Right. So an alien being posing as an Asgardian God? No problem.

      The power of said alien being manifesting in ordinary mortals? No problem.

      Said being a member of a team with among others a Forties soldier who survived decades of being frozen and a man turning into a monster? No problem.

      Incarnating as a woman? HERESY!

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    29. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, rarely have a seen such a marvel of grace and stupidity. Taking an established character and changing the gender is simply a stunt to appeal to cunts like yourself. Did he anywhere say they couldn't have another character with the same powers? That they couldn't be just as much of a hero? Did he imply that women were unable to do so? Last I saw there were lots of women super heroes. Guess what, they've never sold as well. Blame whatever you want for that, but changing an established character, franchise, that YES is based on a historical myth to suit your particular P.C. needs this week reeks of pandering to women rather than empowering them. Guess you're the misogynist.

    30. Re:Ridiculous! by medv4380 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      No, he's using the comic industries status quo to explain that everything always goes back to how it was. Peter dies with Doc Oc taking over his body, and then the Superior Spiderman arc is done and Peter is Peter once again. Another example being Wonder Woman loosing her title, and powers so they could put a blonde in the title for a bit so they could Kill Wonder Woman Artemis without Killing Wonder Woman Diana. Anyone who thought that was permanent doesn't read comics. So what we have now is Thor has lost his title and some woman is worthy to wield the hammer. She'll be Thor up until the end when the Arc Kills Her, which would be why they wanted Thor out of it. If she's lucky she'll have increased the audience and they'll save her and give her a unique title, maybe. Don't mistake Comic Book Cynicism for Misogyny. They're not the same.

    31. Re:Ridiculous! by machineghost · · Score: 3, Interesting

      RTFM. Thor does not become a female (and neither does Obama). The only thing that changed is who the comic book "Thor" focuses on (its now a different mortal who has Thor's hammer than it was in the past). It's like if a woman put on a cape, took the batmobile out for a spin and called herself Batman. If the comic book called "Batman" focuses on her then for all intents and purposes she "is" Batman ... but it doesn't mean Bruce Wayne got a sex change.

    32. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And where is this argument when Katniss is cast as white, when Sokka is cast as white, when John Constantine is put onto TV as completely heterosexual? Why is race and gender only sacrosanct when it's going from white and male to not?

    33. Re:Ridiculous! by viperidaenz · · Score: 4, Informative

      Freyja would be the goddess of fertility and Eir the goddess of healing
      Thor is the god of thunder and battle

      They should have created a new character instead of taking one based on a Nordic god and made it a woman.
      Like Thruer, Thor's daughter.
      When you take someone's place you take their responsibility not their name.

    34. Re:Ridiculous! by Chas · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm sorry, but I think sexconker is right.

      This is a gimmick.
      They're going to turn Thor into a guy with a vagina and do some crude stab at "gaining understanding of the female condition".
      In short, it's pandering of the worst and creepiest sort.

      While I'm not a woman, I'd find this sort of treatment both idiotic and insulting in the extreme.
      Since I'm a guy I just think it's idiotic and creepy.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    35. Re:Ridiculous! by interkin3tic · · Score: 0

      I find a few things odd with your post.

      First, you state that Thor is a male god as if that's the most important thing. You're okay with norse mythology being co-opted such that he's running around with spandex-clad cheerleaders, but only so long as he has a cock and balls? That's just weird to me.

      Second, your logic seems to be that Marvel sucks at making new characters, and this is a new character so it's going to suck. Instead of making this new character, they should... focus on getting better at making new characters? Tell me, how are they supposed to do that? Why would they start off with trying to make new MALE characters that don't suck? I'm not a writer, is that actually a technique of "If you suck at some aspect of writing, just focus on one gender?"

      Third, you're suggesting this is "just a publicity" stunt... as opposed to what? This being an organic, natural, "true" progression of the marvel universe? Seems to me that marvel has been milking the franchise for all it's worth for decades. They bring back characters from the dead not because that makes any sense at all, they do it because the fans like it. Everything in comics, or entertainment for that matter, is a publicity stunt.

    36. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That peom doesn't change that you have the words æsir og ásynjur one for men one for women and ór is an ás. There is no ambiguity the writing. He had sex with women and had children, without getting pregnant. Not something a women can do.

      Also ásatrú is still a practiced religion. I would like to see marvil introduce Muhammad as a character and make him a women. That would go over well.

    37. Re:Ridiculous! by Xenx · · Score: 1

      I'm sure they could find an acceptable female replacement for DeVito...

    38. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You are using archaic myths to justify misogyny.

      Taking a historic Superhero character and making it a woman is a good thing. The industry needs fewer people like you, and more young girls.

      Your excuse is the same one every misogynist through time have used. "Historically a man does that, you can't have a women do that!" Applies to driving, voting, working, drinking, independent thoughts, divorce, and, yes, comics.

      So you can dress it up however you like, but the rest of us know you are simply a misogynist. You may not even realize it, but you are Angry bro? then clean up you act and behave like a civilized person.

      Did you know Thor was the god of fertility, healing? Did you also now they aren't changing the Myth, just a comic character?

      Yes, and the lack of a pretty woman remake with a male lead is just another example of institutionalized misandry.

    39. Re:Ridiculous! by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      Marvel takes a gazillion liberties with the source material anyway, so why is this one specific liberty one step too far?

      (Aside from the fact that this change is in fact closer to the original sources anyway. Then again, this kind of reflexive misogyny is not a sign of clear thinking anyway)

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    40. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It sucks. Now I have to go back through all of my electron shell diagrams and erase thorium's wang.

    41. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I wish some of these facts would have made it into the summary. Without knowing this, I'd been leaning towards agreeing with the "stupid publicity sex change stunt" sentiment. I still have some skepticism that this isn't in part a publicity stunt, but with your information, I now have no objection to the actual thing that's happening ("Thor" being a woman).

    42. Re:Ridiculous! by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      Wait you mean hes not? My history book in san fran says exactly that!

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    43. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      The article has the art work. Decent sized boobage, but more importantly she actually has muscle and dons respectable and much more practical armor.

    44. Re:Ridiculous! by tyme · · Score: 1

      Thor is now a woman. That's how the transvestitive relation works.

      FTFY

      --
      just a ghost in the machine.
    45. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So in 50 years when they do a story about Hillary Clinton and make her a dude it won't bother you right? How about Betsy Ross as Barney Ross? I know, let's make Athena, Goddess of the Moon, into a guy, that way we can show what progressive minded people we are. Gosh, if only everyone thought like Geekoid then we'd have such a wonderful culture it would become known as the Golden Age.... of Fucking Idiots (oops, I meant progressives - oh well, same thing). People like you make me sick, but I would still stand up and fight for your right to be an idiot and spew drivel. I wonder if you have enough respect for others to do the same?

    46. Re:Ridiculous! by Culture20 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Marvel can't create compelling original female characters

      I disagree. Aunt May has a mysterious side that is only hinted at in the comics. On a more serious note: Rogue, Moonstone, Songbird (screaming mimi), Emma Frost, Mystique, AoA Blink, She-Hulk, and plenty of other women have compelling stories (and no, She-Hulk isn't just tits on a Hulk). Granted, Ororo, Jean Grey, Sue (Storm) Richards, and Alyson Blaire are all pretty boring, but there are equally boring male super heroes (actually, their respective significant others: T'Challa, Scott Summers, Reed Richards, Longshot).
      Actually, now that I think about it, the current time-displaced Jean and Scott from the past are interesting.

      that doesn't mean they should slap tits and a vagina onto existing male characters and hope they stick.

      I agree with this 100%. They can get away with it when it's not an established character (Spider-Woman [all three of them] isn't Spider-Man. She-Hulk isn't Hulk, Lady Bullseye isn't Bullseye, Namorina isn't the Sub-Mariner), but altering an established character arbitrarily (and badly; Thor just recently went through a long disgraced period and regained his honor. Leave the poor godling alone for a while). Maybe give Lady Octopus a chance to be Peter Parker for a while? That should sit well with the fans.

    47. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      Thor doesn't become a woman. Thor's hammer is now in the possession of THOR, who happens to be a woman.

    48. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Taking a historic Superhero character and making it a woman is a good thing.

      That has to be the most misogynist thing I have read all day, the believe that you have to replace male heroes with women because obviously there are no heroic women in history and myths to draw from. Read up some history, read up some myths, you will find that there are better options for female comic book heroes than a cross dressing Thor.

      Did you also now they aren't changing the Myth, just a comic character?

      Why change a well developed male character instead of introducing a new/existing character fitting the role? Even in many amateur writer communities it is considered bad form to write a female character as if she was a man with tits.

    49. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'd love to see the outrage if, say, Wonder Woman were changed to a male character all of a sudden. My female friends who are into Thor are going to be just as irritated by this. New and better characters is a better solution than pandering an existing storyline to fit the demographic. Of course, pandering the storylines to match the audience are what comics do best, resulting in the most ridiculous long term plotlines this side of the common soap opera.

    50. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      It may be a bit sexist to give her big boobs, but the badass outfit and top billing is much better than the underwear clad background characters that have been the norm for women. Yeah, it may be a weird choice to swap out Thor characters, but I think it's working as planned. Everyone's outrage is just more publicity.

    51. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or do you instead mean that they are transexualophobes? (what exactly would be the word?)

      The correct word is: trannyphobe.

    52. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It may be a bit sexist to give her big boobs, but the badass outfit and top billing is much better than the underwear clad background characters that have been the norm for women.

      Maybe if you easily fall for shallow pandering.

    53. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      Personally, I think one of the biggest reasons that they haven't sold as well is that female characters don't get as much publicity. It's actually not the easy to find female leads that aren't somewhat sexually objectified. They're often spin offs of the original male characters. Or, they are just not as many printed because they're doing a test run. That's not saying that swapping Thor characters is a better idea than creating a new female hero with her own unique story arc, making her strong and non-sexualized, and promoting the series. But, I doubt they'll do that until they've tiptoed into a successful female character.

    54. Re:Ridiculous! by nut · · Score: 1

      ... The industry needs fewer people like you, and more young girls.

      Are you sure it's not just you that needs more young girls bud?

      --
      Never trust a man in a blue trench coat, Never drive a car when you're dead
    55. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Freyja would be the goddess of fertility and Eir the goddess of healing
      Thor is the god of thunder and battle

      Maybe if you limit yourself to D&D mythology.

      Try this instead:

      http://books.google.com/books?id=U6GPJrZLUbkC

      When you take someone's place you take their responsibility not their name.

      Hence this not being Lady Thor, but rather some woman with Thor's hammer.

    56. Re:Ridiculous! by Darinbob · · Score: 1

      Well, I'm not familiar with the whole Marvel version of Thor. I read the earliest comics and it seems they rewrote Thor to be merely a title offered to whoever held Mjollnir. Sort of like whoever can wield excalibur is king. But then later on the Marvel Thor was the same as the real Thor, ie, Odin's son. I don't know what happened in the meantime to change the thing (maybe it's part of the Expanded Silly Universe mythology). So it's baffling that just anyone can be Thor like it was merely a job title instead of someone's name. If a woman became Captain America, that would make more sense.

      Although a female Loki makes sense too, that guy is such a prankster.

    57. Re:Ridiculous! by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Taking a historic Superhero character and making it a woman is a good thing.

      Next up, Punisher. I bet a lot of guys might read a female Punisher.

      Your excuse is the same one every misogynist through time have used. "Historically a man does that, you can't have a women do that!"

      I'm betting the GP would have a problem with Sif growing a penis too (as would I). Or if you consider Sif too much of a background character, what about Jean Grey? Let's say the Phoenix Force returns and Jean Grey is reborn as an adult male. Ridiculous, yes?

      The thing is, this new "Thor" isn't going to be the character Thor any more than Eric Masterson was. Sure, he pretended to be Thor for a while. Had all the powers and everything. Everyone called him Thor, even Odin. But he wasn't Thor, and we knew it and he knew it.

    58. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ...You can do it, but that doesn't make what you say true. ... ...but that doesn't make it true.

      Soo, what exactly is your account of truth in fiction? Seriously, this is not a simple topic. One simple answer is that whatever is on the screen/in the book is what is true in the fiction. And in the Marvel fiction, Thor will be represented as a woman. So what makes it not true in that fiction? Are you sure that other fictions have enough bearing on the situation to make false in the fiction what the fiction itself manifestly declares as true?

    59. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      Shallow pandering would be making her a little waif wearing tiny outfits. Giving her a decent build and outfit equivalent to the males...that's respect. Go home, coward.

    60. Re:Ridiculous! by machineghost · · Score: 1

      er RTFA

    61. Re:Ridiculous! by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      1) battle royale was better

      2) there was plenty outrage when the only brown members of the cast were villains

      3) how relevant was this character trait to... you know, the story?

    62. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      Strange as it may be, I'm hoping that it does well. If it doesn't, the comic industry will add this to the heap of female characters they tried out that failed. The fact is, they're just not going to make the leap into creating a top billing female hero until secondary characters and attempts like this do well.

    63. Re:Ridiculous! by Kjella · · Score: 5, Informative

      Thor is never female in that story, he's cross-dressing pretending to by Freyja in full bridal dress and veil using her clothes and jewelry with rocks for boobies to fool clueless giants. The entire setup is extremely humiliating for Thor and he's not at all identifying with or acting feminine and only Loki saves him through clever excuses. The only one to get a peek under the veil is Trym the giant king looking to get a kiss and quickly reconsiders. When Thor is handed the hammer during the wedding ceremony he goes on a slaughter killing Trym and all his kin for what he's had to endure. Nothing in the ancient tales suggests he's anything but a male and masculine god.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    64. Re:Ridiculous! by Darinbob · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Why not have a comic based on Sif? Or another female Asgardian?

    65. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Everyone knows that the real Thor will be back once this "arc" finishes - saying something is permanent in comics is an insult to anyone who reads them.

      Don't these two statements directly contradict one another?

    66. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup total boob socks armor, with a belly button showing because, you know, that makes total sense. If you're going to mess with a character to pander to a gender, you should at least try to not denigrate the gender you're attempting to pander to. Hopefully she'll be just as dumb as the original.

    67. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm sure they'll give themselves an award for such creative pandering and freeing ancient legends from the tyranny of not being queer enough.

    68. Re:Ridiculous! by Livius · · Score: 1

      We can't think of a female role model, so we'll take a male role model and switch the gender, because the only way we can conceive of a woman being the equal of a man is if she was actually a man all along. And no-one will notice!

      Forget the gender equality stuff, that level of laziness in story-telling is beyond contempt. Why not discover Thor had a long-lost twin sister, equal in every way? That at least involves a bare minimum of creativity, and keeps all the options open for sequels and cross-overs.

    69. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      If they created a female character based on Freya or another goddess, it wouldn't get as much publicity. They probably wouldn't print as many, and it would fade into obscurity. By doing this, they're drawing attention to the rare lead female hero. It's weird, but it's just a stepping stone to get people to notice the female heroes that I believe/hope they're planning on introducing in the future. Also, he's not turning into a she. A new character is wielding the hammer. But, by saying that there are better options than a cross dresser, you run the risk of sounding a bit transphobic. So what if Thor did decide he was a female? That's ridiculous in some way?

    70. Re:Ridiculous! by Daemonik · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Actually, I think that traditionally the comic book shop has been a very hostile environment for women. The average comic book nerd never believes women read comics in the first place and treat them like idiots. Then it just devolves into yet another place where guys with no sense of boundaries just treat them like shit.

      Statistically, women buy the digital comics more than men do, because it separates the comics from the comic store experience.

      Also, a character doesn't have to be non-sexualized to be popular with women. Women like sex. What the characters have to be are honest portrayals of women, emotionally, sexually and physically, and not some teen boy wank fantasy though.

    71. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      >Sure, it would be if she wasn't made to have the same ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions that no woman can live up to.

      How is that different than male superheroes? I've seen some differences in how women and men were portrayed in comics, but this is not one of them.

    72. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ummm... As I remember it, Thor is a crossdresser in that story, not an actual woman.

    73. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Making Thor a woman is like making Jesus a woman

      What's the problem with changing fictional characters in newer fiction?

    74. Re:Ridiculous! by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      My account of truth in general is a combination of the correspondence and coherence theories of truth. Some statements derive their truth value from comparison with reality, and some statements derive their truth values from other statements. Thor as a fictional character is an interesting case, and I think that because he is a fictional character truths about Thor are established in much the same way as truths about the meaning of words, i.e. through use.

      Just as I can develop an idiolect in which "slug" means "verb" (despite both words having different meanings in mainstream English), I can write a comic about a fictional character already referenced in a large body of existing work, change critical aspects of his fictional identity, and insist that identity is preserved. However, in such a case, it is not up to an individual's decision whether identity is in fact preserved. To go back to the word analogy, me using the word "slug" for verb doesn't make everyone else who doesn't wrong in their use of either word, even if I insist that it does. Right and wrong uses of words are established through consensus, or otherwise considered jargon (in cases where specific meanings of general words are stipulated, such as how "object" means something different to a linguist than it does to a philosophy professor).

      With Thor it's the same. Marvel can claim that Thor is now a woman, but that doesn't make this new character named Thor identical to the Thor that the Thor comics used to refer to, or the Thor that the poetic Eddas referred to. There is now a new character, created at a specific time by a specific author, who attributes specific properties to this new character, but no matter what the author says about this character, the author's authority doesn't extend beyond the character he's created into the wider world. And so there are some things that will not become true even though the author says they are, in this specific case the combination of that 1) this new Thor is identical to the old Thor ("is the real Thor"), and 2) this new Thor is a woman.

    75. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This is a modern comic inspired by Norse mythology, not a retelling. The old Thor was a stout red head, the next was a blonde pretty boy, the new will be a buff woman. Big deal. Time changes things. It's not like this is the strangest story arc to take place in comics.

    76. Re:Ridiculous! by UppercaseM · · Score: 1

      Because Abraham Lincoln was a zombie killer...

    77. Re:Ridiculous! by Fyzzler · · Score: 1

      Lincoln is actually a Vampire Hunter who can chop down a 12 inch Oak tree just by getting really, really, angry.

      --
      I have one question. If the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture is not in charge of Gundam, then who is?
    78. Re:Ridiculous! by brit74 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It has more to do with the blatant pandering. Hell, if this is your argument, then we might as well turn all superheros female in service to women's empowerment because all of them have unrealistic superpowers.

    79. Re:Ridiculous! by jythie · · Score: 1

      Would not making the next Thor be lazy pandering too then?

    80. Re:Ridiculous! by Tanuki64 · · Score: 1

      This is done exclusively as a gimmick to attract audiences of feminists and the obsessively politically correct.

      Yep. And I like it. If they really can attract so many feminists and obsessively political correct one, that the loss of normal readers, who hate this change, is at least compensated...Then those normal readers don't deserve better. Marvel can make a political statement or Marvel can make money... If they really can make both is totally up to the majority of the buyers of this title. And this majority is most likely male. Easy solution: Don't buy and in a few month this joke is over.

    81. Re:Ridiculous! by Tom · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You are using archaic myths to justify misogyny.

      Are you for real?

      The norse mythology is radically gender-equal compared to most other ancient mythologies, especially among the western ones. It has plenty of strong female characters to offer.

      Taking a historic Superhero character and making it a woman is a good thing.

      No, it's ridiculous, stupid and if I were a feminist, I'd probably hate it. What would be a good thing is to create an original female character, one that's not a sidekick or off-shot, but a fully-fledged character in her own rights, with none of the stupid revealing-armour-that-is-worthless-in-a-fight-but-makes-your-boobs-look-bigger nonsense.

      Turning a male character into a woman is probably the most idiotic non-solution you could come up with.

      Did you know Thor was the god of fertility, healing? Did you also now they aren't changing the Myth, just a comic character?

      That is what makes it doubly stupid. If this were a pure comic book character, the dissonance would be much less.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    82. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      except for giving birth, thrice.

    83. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its a fking comic book. THERE IS NO LOGIC TO BE FOUND. There can not be a "CORRECT" answer as to weather or not Thor can be a woman. His argument against is equally as logical as yours against. Its like arguing about the bestest color ever amoungst five year olds.

    84. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Re: Punisher, they kind of already did this with Lady Punisher (and perhaps there are more, I'm thinking of the Lynn Michaels character which isn't as bad as the 'Lady Punisher' tag would indicate) and while she a side kick and not a replacement the Punisher is so two-dimensional that he'd be easy to replace without anyone noticing.

    85. Re:Ridiculous! by Oligonicella · · Score: 1

      A top billing female character will never rise from the purposeful ashes of a mediocre billing male character. It's an obvious bit of pandering and will - and should - die off. Why not use a female warrior to begin with and avoid all the crap that this will deal? In fact, a female Norse warrior (and there were a number) could hook out from Thor to get whatever boost they think that would yield. As it is, this will burn and spiral to the ground.

    86. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      never mind that, brainfart - was thinking of Loki

    87. Re:Ridiculous! by mtpaley · · Score: 1

      Looking at the original link http://www.themarysue.com/marv... they are redefining Thor as the being that holds Mjölnir. Which is tough on the demigod Thor who happened to be the wielder of Mjölnir. They do seem to have confused Mjölnir and Thor but I am sure this is entirely deliberate and I am equally sure that nobody really cares. Comic books take religion/mythology and rework it as seems commercially appropriate but this one does seem to be gratuitous - they could have used a generic costumed superhero where retirement and replacement is normal (Watchmen) but replacing immortal(ish) gods is a bit much.

    88. Re:Ridiculous! by buybuydandavis · · Score: 1

      Thor is a male god.
      Thor is an established character, based on the mythical Thor.
      Making Thor female is just a publicity stunt.

      Female Jesus and Muhammad, coming soon to a comic near you.

      But I kid. They wouldn't even dare to draw Muhammad, let alone slap tits on him.

    89. Re:Ridiculous! by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      Thor is a male god. Thor is an established character, based on the mythical Thor. Making Thor female is just a publicity stunt. Marvel can't create compelling original female characters, but that doesn't mean they should slap tits and a vagina onto existing male characters and hope they stick. What Marvel needs to do is realize that they can't create ANY compelling characters anymore, male or female, and fix that problem first. Everyone knows that the real Thor will be back once this "arc" finishes - saying something is permanent in comics is an insult to anyone who reads them.

      Thor's been many people in the Marvel universe. Thor's been female as well as alien. Once even a frog. Whoever picks up the hammer and is worthy is Thor is a pretty much standard bit of Marvel character and lore. There is certainly precedent for a female Thor in the Marvel universe. Personally, I think Marvel can do a lot better at making a decent female character than DC. Hell, DC isn't even trying and whenever they start to get a strong female fanbase, they try and ruin it as shown with several titles and stupid remarks lately. Will, the old Thor come back? Who knows. I'd probably side with you and say yes, but if they do pull off a comic with a strong female backing (and sales to go with it), I can see her staying.

    90. Re:Ridiculous! by DMUTPeregrine · · Score: 1

      Freyja is also a goddess of War and Death. She takes half the slain warriors, Odin takes the other half.

      --
      Not a sentence!
    91. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Its a fking comic book. THERE IS NO LOGIC TO BE FOUND. There can not be a "CORRECT" answer as to weather or not Thor can be a woman. His argument against is equally as logical as yours against. Its like arguing about the bestest color ever amoungst five year olds.

      ssshhh. Adults are talking.

    92. Re:Ridiculous! by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      "but that doesn't mean they should slap tits and a vagina onto existing male characters and hope they stick" Someone needs to make a parody of this, by turning a super hero into a tranny, and have their plastic lady parts constantly fall off when they use their superpowers.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    93. Re:Ridiculous! by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      Not the original poster, but I agree. I think it's great to have strong female main characters, on an equal footing with strong male main characters. But this ain't it. They're taking a character who is male, both in mythology and in their own storyline, and changing him into a woman. Why? Because they can't write female leads so they'll just take a male one and give him boobs? Because a female main character can't be successful without all the momentum gathered by that character being male for a thousand years?

      Ridiculous seems like a reasonable summary.

      In the comics, whoever holds the hammer and is worthy is Thor, or at least has the power of Thor. Storm has had it. Beta Ray Bill had it. Well within Marvell pre-defined canon to have a woman get it.

    94. Re:Ridiculous! by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      Making Thor a woman is like making Jesus a woman

      Well, if the bible said that anybody wearing the crown of thorns got the powers of Jesus, then yes.

    95. Re: Ridiculous! by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 1

      If Joss Wheadon isn't writing it, it's going to be a disaster. And I doubt he'd agree to it.

      --
      My God, it's Full of Source!
      OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    96. Re:Ridiculous! by kruach+aum · · Score: 1

      There is a difference between Jesus and the powers of Jesus. If there was no difference between Jesus and his powers, Jesus wouldn't be a person but a function, like judge or professor or notary.

    97. Re:Ridiculous! by Kjella · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is a modern comic inspired by Norse mythology, not a retelling. The old Thor was a stout red head, the next was a blonde pretty boy, the new will be a buff woman. Big deal. Time changes things. It's not like this is the strangest story arc to take place in comics.

      Oh, it wouldn't be nearly the most fucked up story from the old sagas either - Loki is a shape changer and the mother of an eight-legged horse for starters - but trying to use the old lore to justify this particular story line doesn't work.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    98. Re:Ridiculous! by BorisAmmerlaan · · Score: 1

      Also, the fat Jesus kind of offsets the two skinny ones.

      It works, mate!

    99. Re:Ridiculous! by Ionized · · Score: 0

      if you had read the FUCKING SUMMARY you would see that this is a new character taking up the title of Thor. Thor is not getting sex change, mjolnir is being passed to a new person to wield it - and this new person will assume the name THOR.

      this is not a new idea in comics - batman, spider-man, ant-man, nightwing, robin, and countless other superheroes have been portrayed by multiple characters, the torch being passed along.

      Thor just so happens to be passing the torch along to a woman, and all of a sudden everyone is frothing at the mouth.

      stinks of misogyny to me.

    100. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There's nothing mysoginistic about this. Thor is a male god, and although the Marvel comics can do whatever they want, they draw somewhat from the established historical mythology. It would be as ridiculous to do what they're planning as it would be to make Venus/Aphrodite a male god. Yes, you could do it, because love is hardly exclusive to females, is it? But *why* would you, and why would you still call them "Venus" or "Aphrodite"? Invent an entirely new character that isn't based on established mythology and show the world that males can be as much a "God of Love" as Venus is, if that was your goal.

      Or how about building a superhero character around a female mythological character such as Athena, Hera, or Diana, assuming that hasn't already been done? There's plenty of material here to draw on from ancient mythology for strong, wise, smart, masterful female characters, or make something entirely new. Nobody is saying "you can't have a woman do that!" Where did anyone say anything like that? This is a comment on a character, not on their activities or a suggestion that females be restricted in terms of what they could do. The sky is the limit! Make a female Goddess of War if you want to break some stereotypes. That would be fine. They're saying buffing off the gender-specific parts of one historical character and slapping on the opposite gender-specific parts doesn't accomplish much. We'll have an unoriginal superhero who happens to be female in body, following in the footsteps of an established male character with the same name. What a great step forward? No. It's weak.

      And people saying this idea is a rather unhelpful contribution to promoting women as superheros in comics doesn't automatically make them misogynists either. They're saying they want better than this kind of lame swap. Be inventive. Why carry around the baggage of a pre-existing male character at all?

    101. Re:Ridiculous! by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 2

      I don't really get what you want to tell us with your wasted or not abused mod points.

      I also don't get what you want to tell us with the link ... did you read it? I mean if you figured it existed, you 'something' before hand.

      Obviously you fail to the the difference between an 'almighty' god who can transform himself into a woman and a mere mail god "of many things" who disguises himself as a woman. The former is very impossible for you and me, the later is not.

      Presenting a nordic, european, white, caucasian MALE god as a female for purpose of making money: is blasphemy.

      I for my part, I'm an atheist. I think there is no god. no christian, no islamic, no semi buddhistic god (how ever you want to look at the "godhood" of buddhist deities) nor any other god.

      But spitting on our culture, our common "american" and european culture, that is what the word "blasphemy" was created for to address.

      How much knowledge already got lost the previous 100 or 1000 years because of the christians first and the money, mammon, tand seeking bigots?

      I would bet if you ask an american on the streets, what/who is Thor, 90% would say: "Oh that blond guy from those movies" another overlapping 90% would say: "the guy with the hammer in the comics". I doubt there are more than a ver few percent who know that their own ancestors worshiped him 500 years ago. Heck in my country farmers still leave 5% or more of the harvest on the fields as homage to Odin ...

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    102. Re:Ridiculous! by optimus2861 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Do they have such little creativity that they best they can do is make a female Thor?

      Yes.

      Marvel Comics lost its creativity many years ago, probably no later than the time that the first Spider-Man movie debuted in the theaters (though I'd say a good 5-7 years prior). Ever since then, they 'shuffle the deck chairs' around, but nothing ever sticks. The characters always eventually revert to status quo. They make much, much more money from their licensing than they ever will on the comics, and they really don't want to kill that golden goose. Thor will be back as his usual self by the time Avengers 2 hits theaters. Bank on it.

    103. Re:Ridiculous! by angel'o'sphere · · Score: 1

      Thor is god of many things, fertility, healing e.g. he blesses fields, pregnant women, new born children and most important justice when injustice needs to be addressed. I guess thunder is only his hobby :D and war and fighting and brawls his pleasure.

      --
      Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.
    104. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      So, in essence the same as the old one, just with less facial hair.

      It seems almost impossible, but next to the old Thor, Captain America almost seemed hetero

    105. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I will agree with "troll," but not so much with "brilliant."

    106. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's been long enough, I want my Ross Parks bus story!

    107. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      yeah, because no woman would ever want to be powerful and sexy at the same time...

    108. Re:Ridiculous! by c6gunner · · Score: 1

      Thor does not become a female (and neither does Obama). The only thing that changed is who the comic book "Thor" focuses on (its now a different mortal who has Thor's hammer than it was in the past).

      You mean it's as if Michelle put on a suit, cut her hair, and started calling herself "Barak Obama"?

      I dunno, I'm thinking people might have an issue with that, too ...

    109. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She Hulk isnt good enough?

    110. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is beyond ridiculous.

      This. Totally this.

    111. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      marvel is doing a lot better with scott summers now, i think someone finally realized he was boring and decided to do something about it. and reed richards can be good in the hands of the correct writer. read hickman's fantastic four and FF run to see how compelling reed richards can be.

    112. Re:Ridiculous! by electrosoccertux · · Score: 3, Insightful

      right, because keeping with mythology traditions is pandering....

    113. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Says the people arguing about a comic book...

    114. Re:Ridiculous! by Tuidjy · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The few comics I read are mostly Humanoid/Vertigo, so I'm not familiar with the original armor... But if it is any less practical than the armor displayed on that screen, it must consist of a funnel channeling all blows to the heart of the wearer.

      Lets see.

      Openings between the helmet and the shoulder pads, to divert blows to the neck. That gorgeous hair must flow!

      Pauldrons coming short of protecting the shoulders. Can't hide too much skin!

      Armpits completely exposed. Those curves must be seen!

      Boob mounds channeling blows towards the center of the chest. What's the point of having a female character if you're not going to draw boobs?!

      The stomach is completely exposed. Even the cloth has a belly window, to make sure that no attacker has any doubts about the entrails being vulnerable.

      Frankly, it is sickening that anyone would call this travesty practical... Female armor should looks like male armor, with slightly different proportions, to account for different shoulder/hip/chest ratios. Once the padding is on, most of the differences are smoothed over.

      Expensive and late period armor that can afford the added weigh would have a single bulge on the chest - to divert the blows, not two to channel them where they would do the most harm.

      --
      No good deed goes unpunished...
    115. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

      This is simply lazy copying by Marvel. Japan is 5 years into a sad trend where they re-write every one of their existing stories that had male leads with female leads (eg see "K-On", which is "Beck" with girls, or even "Hakuoki" which re-casts the murderous Bakumatsu-era group the Shinsengumi as female-friendly pretty boys). It's another sign of an industry in decline which we can see even in Japan's comic industry which is many times larger than Marvel/DC. Of course in Japan they know where their bread is buttered so even though they do all this, they also play to their male audiences which is why franchises like Gundam are going as strong as they ever have after many decades. As well, they actually HAVE a female comic audience in Japan so while they may appeal to guys with girls with big tits in their stories, they also have an entire side of the industry that deals exclusively with the female point of view which basically means love stories with neutered male characters. Marvel would give it's soul to have (a) the market size that the Japanese comic industry has (go check out what comic is the biggest selling comic of all time....it ain't Superman or Batman or Spiderman, it's Japan's pirate comic "One Piece") and (b) a female audience. In Japan, comics sell to every demographic. I love reading my weekly copy of "Shuukan Manga Goraku" which is geared to adult men and so is filled with stories of sex, crime, gambling and hard work.

    116. Re:Ridiculous! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The whole point is that it is not a new character. It's a cheap attempt to pander to the entire "diversity" and feminist angle by taking something very stereotypically masculine, and slapping a vagina on it, while trying to retain the old associations. That's why it's so offensive and demeaning to precisely the category it's trying to address - their female Thor is showcasing "equality" by taking masculinity and saying "look, females can have a part in all that goodness, too!". So in effect they end up reinforcing the stereotypes - a "strong, independent female character" is, apparently, a female pretending to be male. As opposed to a female being herself.

      And don't even get me started on the whole chainmail bikini angle here, which is also quite prominent.

    117. Re: Ridiculous! by Dixie_Flatline · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Nice to see the fake nerds are out in force today.

      Apparently none of you whiny children has ever heard of Beta Ray Bill, an orange skinned alien that was considered worthy of wielding Mjolnir (though he eventually ended up with his own hammer, Stormbreaker). He was Thor. He's a goddamn dude from another planet, and you're complaining that Thor can't be a woman?

      Thor in Norse mythology never fought the fucking Hulk or ate shawarma at a local restaurant either. Or lived in the USA. The story is MADE UP. The Marvel version is twice as made up. Try to get a grip. The story goes wherever it needs to.

      http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki...

      Beta. Ray. Bill. Get with the cannon, fakers. Or shut the hell up. Both are good.

    118. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, it would be if she wasn't made to have the same ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions that no woman can live up to.

      The male Thor already has ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions that no man can live up to (with very rare exceptions, such as Chris Hemsworth).

    119. Re:Ridiculous! by dbIII · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why not Thor as a lazy Panda!
      I don't really get this since I thought Thor was supposed to be a paticular person and not the job of whoever picks up the hammer, green lantern style.

      However, a young female Thor type has already been done in the animes Nanoha A's and Nanoha StrikerS. Her hammer has a rocket assist.

    120. Re:Ridiculous! by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      As far as I know Thor is a particular person. It sounds like for what ever reason, Thor has lost the use of his hammer to this new woman. If anything that would make her the new God of Thunder, but not Thor.

      I blame this on the chosen release of this comic book news being on the View and them having no idea what they are talking about. Thanks for that crap Disney.

    121. Re:Ridiculous! by Algae_94 · · Score: 2

      I'm still waiting for the female Hulk.

      You've been unnecessarily waiting. She's been around for the last 34 years. She-Hulk

    122. Re: Ridiculous! by Algae_94 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Was Beta Ray Bill actually referred to as Thor when he had Mjolnir? I do not recall if he was or not.

    123. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not to be mistaken for a trannyprobe...
      You get what you ordered.

    124. Re:Ridiculous! by tmosley · · Score: 1

      It's like saying CmdrTaco will now be a woman. Thor is the name of a person, not a super-hero alter ego like Dread Pirate Roberts or something.

      If it's a woman who takes up the Mjolnir, then fine, but it's not Thor. I don't care it its another blond haired blue eyed ponce from Sweden, it's not fucking Thor. Its Sven. Or Svetlana. Whatever. Let them be their own person with their own personality, not a canon fucking rule 64 gag.

    125. Re:Ridiculous! by tmosley · · Score: 1

      None of those other things was Thor either, if they even existed.

      Mvdwege is now a transexual african-eurasian from Pluto, which is a moon of Neptune for some reason! If you don't agree you are a bigot!

    126. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No it's like a comic called 'President'. Something happens, like an election, coo, aliens take over or something and now there is a new President.
      Obama is still around/or not. But this new man/woman/thing is the President.

    127. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The largest comic book store in my region by an order of magnitude (it's huge, even has a wall of mechwarrior battle pods) is run by a lesbian that is hostile to everyone except long-haired blonde women with curves. Everyone that is into comics or pen and paper knows this and prefers to avoid the shop if she is working.

      So, oddly in the only case I know of involving a woman running the shop, it has become far worse for everyone. In a 'normal' shop all the nerds are socially awkward with a couple creeps and women may be treated like idiots (unless they are there for a 40k tourney or larp night- two things that have a significant female fanbase). In this one everyone is creeped out, men and most women feel completely unwelcome, and the people that are the owner's type will be sexually harassed with a strong chance of being inappropriately touched.

    128. Re:Ridiculous! by ultranova · · Score: 2

      mail god

      Aaand we have a new character idea right here.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    129. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      She should switch to a lance, because she has little room left to wield a hammer.

    130. Re:Ridiculous! by Cito · · Score: 0

      You can slap fits on Mohammed, just make sure its 9 year old tits for continuity sake!

    131. Re:Ridiculous! by Cito · · Score: 1

      Er tits even

    132. Re:Ridiculous! by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      Your SRS is showing

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    133. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      > The few comics I read are mostly Humanoid/Vertigo, so I'm not familiar with the original armor...

      Here's the original Thor as drawn by the same artist.
      I think you will be hard pressed to say that his costume is less revealing or exploitive than her's.
      His mooseknuckle isn't even armored at all.

    134. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you're an idiot. Unless she was born the son of odin, grew up in asgard etc etc, she isn't thor. She wields his power, granted to her via mjolnir from Odin, but that's it. What you suggest is merely identity theft, nothing more.

    135. Re:Ridiculous! by Chas · · Score: 1

      Because they tried it already, in Thor no less, with Valkyrie.

      She was basically a sex object in the Ultimate-verse. And she was a muscle-man with boobs and a vagina in 616 (mainstream) continuity and that was about the limit of her development.

      --


      Chas - The one, the only.
      THANK GOD!!!
    136. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And what exactly would your reaction be if they were to take an established female superhero like Storm, kill her off and introduce a male Storm? You would be ok with that?

    137. Re:Ridiculous! by gninnor · · Score: 1

      Thank goodness, Thor has always been a somewhat out of touch less bright blond, hopefully they do not pidgin hole this character as a dumb blond girl.

    138. Re:Ridiculous! by funwithBSD · · Score: 1

      I dunno.

      Think a "Wonderman" would have any attraction?

      I don't.

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    139. Re:Ridiculous! by funwithBSD · · Score: 2

      I can see it now...

      "You Have MAAAAIL!"

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
    140. Re:Ridiculous! by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      Or we could just ignore the butthurt complaints of little basement dwellers like you and tmosley below.

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    141. Re:Ridiculous! by unitron · · Score: 2

      Except wasn't the original mortal wielding Thor's hammer actually Thor himself after Odin got done pranking him?

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

    142. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Women like sex."

      I think you're doing it wrong.

    143. Re:Ridiculous! by bumba2014 · · Score: 1

      Hollywood is so lazy they will remake the movie "Junior" with a female character.

      to make it political correct, they probably take choice black female lesbian character...

    144. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You mean get with the hammers cause Thor NEVER used a goddamned cannon.

    145. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But since it pisses off Republicans, it is awesome. All of this new gender bender stuff is great. Just the other day Rmoney was so angry about something, and we didn't even know what, he forgot to demand money from his audience. When he forgets a basic thing that is the foundation of their kind, you know they are seriously angry. We are loving it.

    146. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Marvel Comics' Thor has always resembled Norse mythology only to the extent that things around him have similar names and he owns an impressive hammer.

      In the 2010 "Siege" storyline, Asgard is destroyed and Loki is killed, despite it not being anywhere near RagnarÃk. Loki isn't even killed by Heimdall! What a sad break from mythological tradition.

      Can I assume you objected with equal fervor to that?

    147. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ANY bulge on the chest in plate armor is a problem. It prevents you from bringing your arms together in front of your chest, making it difficult to use many weapons two-handed.

    148. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      But Thor is a name, not a title. Just like Loki is a name.

    149. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I'm still waiting for the female Hulk.

      She-Hulk. Not as powerful as the Hulk, but she got to keep her brains full-time, even back in the "green Hulk" days when Hulk's intellect extended little further than "Hulk smash!"

    150. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Are you saying that the old Thor had realistic body proportions for a male?

    151. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think that you are mistaking misogyny for something else.

      Misogyny: "dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women"

      Misogyny: "hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women."

      Misogynist: "a person who hates women"

      There are female superheroes, so you couldn't be saying that there the statement indicated that there should not be any of those. And Thor was a male god in the mythos, so are you saying that not changing the mythos is hating women? Perhaps you meant that they were speaking in defense of continuity? Or do you instead mean that they are transexualophobes? (what exactly would be the word?)

      Either way, my takeaway from your post is that if anyone were to say that George Washington did not have female reproductive organs, they must be a misogynist.

      Misogyny: A self-proclaimed feminist disagrees with you.

    152. Re:Ridiculous! by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      Thor is a Norse God, NOT a USA Hollywood invention.

      Perhaps its about time the world started rewriting USA history with Lincoln being cast as a Homosexual Satan worshiper who was trying to become the first transgender African American.

      I see, you're from the deep south aren't you ?

    153. Re:Ridiculous! by MindStalker · · Score: 1

      The male Thor had no armor. So the armor is more for show/dress than it is for usage.

    154. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Parent seems to be the comment that this entire uninformed discussion has been waiting for. Where are my mod points?

    155. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      I disagree. Aunt May has a mysterious side that is only hinted at in the comics. On a more serious note: Rogue, Moonstone, Songbird (screaming mimi), Emma Frost, Mystique, AoA Blink, She-Hulk, and plenty of other women have compelling stories (and no, She-Hulk isn't just tits on a Hulk). Granted, Ororo, Jean Grey, Sue (Storm) Richards, and Alyson Blaire are all pretty boring,

      Storm is an introvert, but not boring. She's the best leader the X-Men ever had, and continued to lead them when she lost her powers. Jean Grey was the central character of the most dramatic Marvel story ever. Though it's possible that post-Claremont writers don't know what to do with them.

    156. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Thor is a character in Norse mythology. Those stories are part of our cultural heritage. And in those stories, Thor is male.

      Yes, but Thor is also a Marvel character. The Marvel character is not the same as the one from Norse mythology, even if a lot of the trappings are the same. The Marvel Thor is whoever happens to be worthy to wield Mjolnir. The old Marvel Thor wasn't born a god, he's a mortal who is worthy to become Thor.

      If you object to that, then you object just as much to the old male Thor as to the new female Thor. If you don't object tot he old Thor and you still object to the new Thor, then you're sexist. There's no reason in Marvel canon why a woman can't become Thor, so the problem is entirely in your own preconceptions.

    157. Re:Ridiculous! by Hodr · · Score: 1

      I think it more likely has to do with the difficulty of creating a female hero that people actually care about. Since they can't seem to do that, they will just convert an already popular hero, giving them an instant audience.

    158. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Marvels Thor raped everything that has to do with mythology from issue #1, making Thor female is a minor issue compared to everything else.
      If they get her character more in line with the original I would say that it is a step up but to be honest I would have preferred to see a female Odin since he to a larger extent have female traits.

    159. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Thor is a Norse God, NOT a USA Hollywood invention.

      This is about the Marvel character, not Norse mythology or Hollywood.

      If your problem is with Marvel appropriating mythological characters, then that's a different complaint. A totally valid one, but also one that has nothing to do with the new female Thor.

    160. Re:Ridiculous! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      I always assumed that super-strong character's armour was purely decorative. When your skin can repel bullets and your fists can easily punch through walls it must be a challenge just to make armour that doesn't disintegrate and leave you exposed... Actually, male amour seems to be far better designed in that regard, as female armour often seems to fail at the most revealing points.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    161. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Thor's gender is such a significant feature of his established identity that to change his gender is to change his identity from Thor into Something-that-is-not-Thor.

      Thor's gender is such a significant feature of his established identity that not just a woman, but also an alien have been Thor in the past. Being Thor isn't about what's between your legs, it's about being worthy to wield Mjolnir.

    162. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Not up to date with Marvels version but in the traditional mythology the hammer was a gift from Loki to compensate for cutting of Sifs hair while she was sleeping. In that story the hammer is described as having a way too short handle since Loki messed with the dwarfs while they were forging it to not have to pay fully for it.

    163. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thor was a *frog*. Pills of chill to the angry nerds, please.

      Irony: the captcha is "redhead", one thing the mythical Thor always was that the Marvel Thor never has been. Pesky 4-colour process.

    164. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fun can be had playing with stereotypes - Donald Blake was a cripple and they made him Thor and had lots of fun there.

      "Pandering to the diversity crowd" sounds a lot like "expanding our market", with a side of "delivered by a whiney nerd-boy".

    165. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      According to lore, Bill is NOT the son of Odin. AFAIK, Bill has never been called "Odinson". ;)

      A lot of mistaking Bill for Thor was made (even by Odin), but Bill is NOT Thor.

      Several characters have picked up the Mjolnir so that alone should not make one Thor. I'm pretty sure the inscriptions (when shown) say the "power of Thor" versus being Thor. The hammer has a will in itself apparently.

      I can't wait to see Odin's reaction when female Thor comes through the door... "Dad, we have to talk..." Will be great!

    166. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, if what you're seeking is female empowerment from norse mythology, there's much better alternatives than slapping boobs on Thor.

      Thor lost his hammer once, with a duel upcoming. Kind of a problem. So what's a war god to do?
      Enter Jarnsaxa, a female jotun equivalent to Thor in strength - she has a belt of strength (which she lends Thor for his duel) and an iron staff for a weapon.

      Powerful female. Norse mythology unchanged. No cognitive conflict for readers accostumed to the male Thor.
      And yeah, they would still draw her with big boobs and skimpy armor. Because skin.

      But really, it's not that much digging to do.

      Ah well.
      At least now it's pretty clear to everyone that 'Marvel Thor' and mythological Thor has just about zilch in common.
      At least I hope so.

    167. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thor is a guy (god), not a title. Creating a heroine who can wield Mjolnir is all well and good, but to call her "Thor" is absurd.

    168. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sif (Jaime Alexander) will become Thor.

    169. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      the one from waaay back in 1980 didn't do it for ya?

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She-Hulk

      Granted, it's not the Hulk reimagined as a female, but it's pretty darn close.

    170. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, "and she is worthy" is really stupid as well. Worthy of what? The Norse God Thor was strong and powerful, with supernatural powers. Like many of the old deities, he was also sort of a dick. He did not have or wield his powers because of worthiness but because he could.

      As one example, the whole story of his hammer being stolen and retrieved does not reek of worthiness. It's a cheap fraud and he almost bungles it.

      When he's invited to one giant and loses a number of counterfeit dares by getting only a fraction accomplished (the fraction being actually proof of immense power because the dares were designed not to budge at all), that's proving his power, his stupidity, but not his "worthiness".

      Thor is the one wielding Mjøllnir not because he is "worthy" but because he is the one who can really wreak havoc with this thing because of his brutal strength.

      And that image does not match a woman well. It's not like Asgard does not have a lot of female deities who are not really second to Thor. So what with this nonsense? It is unworthy.

    171. Re:Ridiculous! by Surak_Prime · · Score: 1

      NOT new. We've had Postus, the frog headed god of messengers and package deliverers, as a deity in one of our homebrew D&D campaigns for about 25 years now.

      --
      :::The Spear in the heart of the Other is the Spear in the heart of You; You are He - Surak of Vulcan:::
    172. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I don't know if you live under a rock or maybe in some kind of nerd cave under the ground, but you can't tell me you haven't noticed that just about EVERY aspect of society has been engineered over the last decade or more SPECIFICALLY towards "young girls" as you call it. Rock music is dead, replaced by generic machine-made "music" targeted towards young girls. Movies are a dead genre because just about EVERYTHING in the last decade has been geared towards "young girls." Turn on the TV and what do you see? The usual TV shows where the girls are the ones "in charge" and all the boys are made to look like dopes. Thoretta here is just another attempt at further social engineering to pander to, as you call it, "young girls."

      How about NOT? Maybe we can stop the social engineering putting "young girls" first and let society evolve naturally for a change?

    173. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No kidding Sif is a bad-ass, if she decided to go rogue or just enforce honor and justice on earth... Watch OUT!

      Or perhaps Skadi... She had a very healthy religious following, was a giant (who can change size), goddess of hunting, skiiing, and archery if I remember right.

    174. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And another self proclaimed femenist disagrees with you. Damn chekmate eh?

    175. Re:Ridiculous! by Remus+Shepherd · · Score: 1

      You're saying that Thor is a transitive property. I'm guessing that like XOR, it's an abbreviation of 'Therefore-Or', and is some kind of operator akin to the fuzzy logic Union operator.

      If that's true, then we can use De Morgans' law to state that:

      NOT(a THOR b) = NOT(a) THOR NOT(b)

      This is true of a class of operators M, if any M(j) in the set obeys the commutative relationship:

      a M(j) b = b M(j) a

      and the distributive relationship:

      a (M(j))^x b = (a M(j) b)^x

      But if that's true, then we can write:

      (M(j))^x = THOR^x

      Or in other words, any operator that holds M(j) will possess the power of THOR.

      Thanks! You just cleared up forty years of Marvel comic plots for me!

      --
      Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
    176. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's FYMYNYST you MALE neanderthal!

    177. Re:Ridiculous! by Bardez · · Score: 1
      To be gender- and race-neutral, this would be the equivalent of:
      • Replacing Bruce Wayne with a female Batman and calling her Batman
      • Introducing a male character and taking the mutant Storm's powers and giving them to him, calling him Storm
      • Eradicating the established Norse pantheon in an event called Ragnarok and then bringing them all back later, only with Loki back as a female
      • Turning the established white male character Iron Man with his side kick and one of his best friends, a black man

      The misogyny is actually in the new character of the female Thor, wherein Thor's breastplate now has protrusions for breasts (commonly referred to amongst roleplaying-, comic- and self-proclaimed nerds as "boobplate"). It has been argued (link; I know, it's just a blog post and the authority of it is beyond suspect) that a strong enough blow would be plenty to break a sternum. Thor is a warrior that is often engaging in battles of super-human strength, which would qualify as a strong enough blow. They are putting a weakness on the new Thor in order to make her pretty parts more clearly on display. That, I feel, is the true misogyny.

      --
      Perception is the thin dividing line between reality and fiction.
    178. Re: Ridiculous! by stdarg · · Score: 1

      Why would some random person, alien, frog (based on other comments), etc who wields Mjolnir suddenly be called Thor? That's just... dumb. It's insulting to the reader not only because of the rewriting of the character's mythological basis, but because it's just incredibly stupid and doesn't match the common situation where when you pick up an object that belongs to someone else and you don't become that person.

      Basing a character on Thor and having him eat a shawarma and live in the US in modern times is a different ballgame and I think you know that, so that part of your argument doesn't make sense. You can make up a story while still respecting the cultural basis of your character.

      Oh well, this is probably part of the reason that comic book movies are so much better than comics themselves. I doubt they'd pull this kind of stunt in a movie with major characters.

      Big ugly chick: Hi I'm Thor! Because I have that hammer thing.
      Fat guy: Hi I'm Superman! Because I found his tights.
      Another guy: Hi I'm Wonder Woman! Because I'm wearing Wonder Woman's bracelets and Wonder "Woman" is just a title really.
      And together we are... the box office bomb!

      Could make a good parody I guess.

    179. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was waiting for someone to throw out the misogyny card. Oh poor women, no role models in comic books :( There are no female comic heroes except the thousands that already exist. Why oh why can these manarchists understand that spontaneously replacing a character with decades of written history isn't just a gimmick! It's real and true feminism! Just ignore the fact that she'll certainly be drawn as an impossibly buxom creature with inhuman anatomical dimensions. Grumble grumble girls need special attention, because that's somehow what equality means!

    180. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >Thor is a male god.

      >Thor is an established character, based on the mythical Thor.

      >Making Thor female is just a publicity stunt.

      And marriage is between a man and a woman. Seriously, Slashdotters criticize audiophiles for being self-absorbed and obsessed with meaningless trivia? Who are we, anyway?

    181. Re:Ridiculous! by MooseTick · · Score: 1

      Well, they are doing a sequel to Twins saying there were Tripleps. And of course, the 3rd guy is black.

    182. Re:Ridiculous! by Culture20 · · Score: 1

      Wonderman, prince of Paradise Island, an island populated exclusively by men, with the first rule being "No Girls Allowed. And, How!" Sexist pigs.

    183. Re:Ridiculous! by Aerokii · · Score: 1

      What I wouldn't give for mod points on this article. Here's a +1 for you in feeling, if not in fact.

    184. Re:Ridiculous! by blackanvil · · Score: 1

      According to rymskviða , Thor dressed as a woman in order to reclaim Mjölnir from the Frost Giants. Perhaps this change is just for a retelling of that tale.

    185. Re:Ridiculous! by Tuidjy · · Score: 1

      Not quite true.

      First of all, your arms mobility is already quite restricted, even by a simple breastplate. Vertical ridges and bulges in the middle of your chest or belly do not additionally hinder your mobility all that much.

      Second, all armor is a compromise between protection and mobility, so some loss of mobility is acceptable. Bulges in the right places can deflect blows away from vital areas. Ridges make the armor stronger, and better able to distribute impact. This is the theory, and practice seems to confirm it.

      And third, try google. You will see tons of pictures of historical armor, and you will notice that vertical ridges from neck to groin are common in all periods, and that a bulge over the plackart is often seen in late period armor. And before you claim that it's for the wearer's beer gut, remember, the plackart goes over another armor layer, one that does not have the bulge. It is for deflection.

      --
      No good deed goes unpunished...
    186. Re:Ridiculous! by ultranova · · Score: 1

      NOT new. We've had Postus, the frog headed god of messengers and package deliverers, as a deity in one of our homebrew D&D campaigns for about 25 years now.

      Most people who have lived somewhere with a postal system have probably prayed to someone that their mail gets where it's intended to. But in the context of Marvel Universe, a mail god is a novel idea, or at least a lot more so than yet another iteration of "muscles, weapons and severe psychological problems" -formula.

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    187. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 1

      The topic is not a comic book. If you want to join the discussion, try a few reading comprehension classes first.

    188. Re:Ridiculous! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      She-Hulk is fantastic! I enjoy her fourth-wall breaking more than Deadpool, who feels like he mugs a bit too much.

    189. Re:Ridiculous! by stdarg · · Score: 1

      Appropriating mythological characters is fine and dandy, but making fundamental changes to them that don't serve a greater purpose to the audience is not.

      To take a non-mythological example, I've enjoyed the change from "John Watson" to "Joan Watson" in Elementary (the John Watson associated with Sherlock Holmes, in case you aren't familiar with it). Why? Because in the original Sherlock stories there has always been a kind of weird relationship between Sherlock and John. Changing John to a female character presents those relationships in a different light, just as it would if the characters were gay. So that's interesting.

      But if they took John Watson and said, okay, not only is he now a woman, but he's a scuba instructor instead of a doctor, she's never been to war, and she's actually smarter than Sherlock, and oh she's not interested in solving crimes or documenting or anything, it's now become a cooking show... well you can see how fundamental identity changes *can at least hypothetically* change the character so much that it's worthless crap (unless the cooking show is actually good, and then it should be thought of as a new thing with new characters).

      To take another example, in the Thor movie, making Heimdall black was stupid. That added nothing.. though since he was a minor character it wasn't a big deal. Hypothetically, if they had made Loki black to make his "otherness" more obvious, that could have been interesting on many levels so it would be a worthwhile change to explore.

      So what does changing Thor into a woman bring to the table?

      For now, I can't think of anything interesting that comes up as a result of Thor being a woman. So to me this was a stupid change.

    190. Re:Ridiculous! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      In other words, Thor is a position/rank as much as it is a proper name.

      And it happened before: Beta Ray Bill -> Beta Ray Thor.

    191. Re:Ridiculous! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Thor is a Norse God, NOT a USA Hollywood invention

      To be fair, the Thor retcon had little to do with Hollywood and happened decades ago in the comics.

      It was the only way to have the Norse gods, and the Greek gods, the South American gods, the Japanese gods, etcetc all exist in the same universe without much narrative conflict.. to say they weren't REALLY gods in our modern conception, but that they were super-powerful beings originally worshiped as gods by earlier cultures.

    192. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      see the scale/leather armor worn by Brienne in Game of Thrones for a perfect example of what you're talking about. And of course the derision she gains by wearing practical armor from both the author, characters in her world, and many fans of the show.

    193. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Well, perhaps the next Erin Brockovich movie could contain the character Eric "Erin" Brockovich who used to be woman, but now is really, really manly man." With Eric Roberts in the lead. Let's make this happen!

    194. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      this would be a good thing. And already established in the current mythos. But that doesn't gin up fake outrage and pretend concern and gain free advertisement to sell more books.

      it's never about a good story. it's never about empowerment or doing anything of importance. It's about selling stuff and doing whatever it takes to do so

    195. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 1

      Turning the established white male character Iron Man with his side kick and one of his best friends, a black man

      Like Green Lantern? (p.s., Loki often went about as a woman)

      The misogyny is actually in the new character of the female Thor, wherein Thor's breastplate now has protrusions for breasts (commonly referred to amongst roleplaying-, comic- and self-proclaimed nerds as "boobplate").

      That is misogynist? Are female super heroes supposed to be flat chested? Is there historical context for plate armor built for women? Depicting ideal forms in comics, or any other entertainment, is how it is done. People read comics, or watch movies, or attend plays, to be taken away from reality. Not to be reminded of it.

      Btw, how do you feel about codpieces?

      It has been argued (link; I know, it's just a blog post and the authority of it is beyond suspect) that a strong enough blow would be plenty to break a sternum. Thor is a warrior that is often engaging in battles of super-human strength, which would qualify as a strong enough blow. They are putting a weakness on the new Thor in order to make her pretty parts more clearly on display. That, I feel, is the true misogyny.

      A weakness?! The male Thor wore a (latex?) body suit and a helmet. Since when is cloth or latex better than armor, even poorly designed armor, at stopping a weapon?

      The misogyny, as pointed out, lies in the double standards being applied to rate the characters. Changing Green Lantern from one guy to an entire corps, with the "original" (the rewritten story included a Chinese Green Lantern predating the original comic character) being made gay, one of the replacements black... all that is ok. Nobody is complaining about Thor being turned into a title. "Thor" now being whoever holds the hammer is apparently fine with everybody. The complaint is not "Thor's character was changed", it is just "Thor is a woman". So far every reason I've seen presented here for not liking the change has been a double standard.

      Also noticed on my side of the computer is that every woman I've told about this has said: "Omg that's awesome!"
      The complaints have all come from men, here.

      I'd browse around for more... but honestly, I'm not inclined to do so considering the single word "Ridiculous!" is considered +5 Insightful with this crowd, while obviously thought-out, intelligent calls for discussion by opposing views are considered trolling. Too many signs its time to leave slashdot.

    196. Re:Ridiculous! by Algae_94 · · Score: 1

      I think it more likely has to do with the difficulty of creating a female hero that people actually care about. Since they can't seem to do that, they will just convert an already popular hero, giving them an instant audience.

      I question how long that instant audience will hold up if the comments on this story are any indication of the current audience.

      So Marvel risks alienating a large amount of the existing readers in an attempt to bring on new ones. Whereas if they came up with something new, the existing Thor readers would continue on as normal and they might grow an audience for a new title. If a new title fails, it's no big deal in the long run. If they screw up an existing title there are bigger repercussions. I suppose they don't care now that they have Disney backing their failures (and successes)

    197. Re:Ridiculous! by LienRag · · Score: 1

      You mean Brienne of Tarth's?

    198. Re:Ridiculous! by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      +1: Exactly. Jesus is not a role! Roles do not have values. Roles do not make choices. A role is not an instance of anything.

    199. Re:Ridiculous! by Bardez · · Score: 1
      I would point out that at no time have I said that Thor cannot or should not be a woman. I pointed out that I do not believe that there was any misogyny as was implied.

      The misogyny is actually in the new character of the female Thor, wherein Thor's breastplate now has protrusions for breasts (commonly referred to amongst roleplaying-, comic- and self-proclaimed nerds as "boobplate").

      That is misogynist? Are female super heroes supposed to be flat chested? Is there historical context for plate armor built for women? Depicting ideal forms in comics, or any other entertainment, is how it is done. People read comics, or watch movies, or attend plays, to be taken away from reality. Not to be reminded of it.

      Btw, how do you feel about codpieces?

      I did not say that feminine attributes make the new Thor weaker; I was pointing out a weakness in the armor.

      They are putting a weakness on the new Thor in order to make her pretty parts more clearly on display. That, I feel, is the true misogyny.

      I believe that addressing codpieces or physical attributes of other female superheroes either in favor of or against is an attempted trap, and will simply acknowledge other superheroes, which are well known to put their endowedness on display, both male and female alike.

      [...] Nobody is complaining about Thor being turned into a title. [...]

      Personally, I think that turning Thor into a title is the absurdity here. I felt the same about Captain America. I think Thor would have worked as a female in, for example, the Marvel Ultimate universe. One of my favorite Thor moments was in the Marvel vs. DC crossover when Wonder Woman was able to wield Mjolnir; I was disappointed that the Amalgam comics went in a different direction with her.

      I'd browse around for more... but honestly, I'm not inclined to do so considering the single word "Ridiculous!" is considered +5 Insightful with this crowd, while obviously thought-out, intelligent calls for discussion by opposing views are considered trolling. Too many signs its time to leave slashdot.

      Actually, I am trying to engage in thought-out, intelligent dicussion, but ultimately, I seems you are trying to build a straw man out of my arguments to then refute, which disingenuously undermines what I have said while simultaneously undermines my ability to respect the speaker.

      --
      Perception is the thin dividing line between reality and fiction.
    200. Re:Ridiculous! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Easy solution: Don't buy and in a few month this joke is over.

      That's true. It feels like the "Death of Superman" situation again. Every once in awhile Marvel and DC have to make a controversial announcement to try to attract attention, but give it a little while and the most important rule of all will be invoked: Status Quo is God. Almost no big hero (and few big villains) can have anything that changes their fundamental nature in the long run. Like the others, this change will be short term. See: Death of Jean Grey, Civil War, House of M, etcetc.

    201. Re:Ridiculous! by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      Or hell, promote Lady Sif to full Thor.

    202. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 1

      I would point out that at no time have I said that Thor cannot or should not be a woman. I pointed out that I do not believe that there was any misogyny as was implied.

      I too have not shared my opinion. I merely pointed out that when something looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck... it appears to be a duck. So when a few quacks in this thread were modded up, I decided to try looking under the feathers.

      I did not say that feminine attributes make the new Thor weaker; I was pointing out a weakness in the armor.

      You pointed out the change in the armor as a sign of misogyny by "putting a weakness in the new Thor". When in fact, he went from cloth/latex/whatever his body suit was made of, to armor, however shitty nerds consider that armor to be (their logic is sound, I did not dispute it). But then, wearing latex, instead of actual armor, is "putting a weakness in the old Thor"; also to enhance his masculine features. As I've pointed out, all super heroes get that treatment. So to then complain only when it happens at a change from enhancing masculine features, to enhancing feminine features, it looks like the complainer has a problem with women.

      I believe that addressing codpieces or physical attributes of other female superheroes either in favor of or against is an attempted trap, and will simply acknowledge other superheroes, which are well known to put their endowedness on display, both male and female alike.

      You cited her attire, which by your description serves the same purpose as a feminized cod piece (enhancing and displaying a specific body part), as a negative trait of the new Thor. To both understand why you dislike the feminine display and discount that dislike as simple misogyny, one would also need to understand your viewpoint on similar pieces when used for male characters. That makes it relevant to the discussion, not a trap.

      [...] Nobody is complaining about Thor being turned into a title. [...]

      Personally, I think that turning Thor into a title is the absurdity here. I felt the same about Captain America. I think Thor would have worked as a female in, for example, the Marvel Ultimate universe. One of my favorite Thor moments was in the Marvel vs. DC crossover when Wonder Woman was able to wield Mjolnir; I was disappointed that the Amalgam comics went in a different direction with her.

      Then you should have mentioned it, instead of focusing on irrelevant attributes. Instead, all that was mentioned was things that further the appearance of misogyny: Thor was a man in myth; her armor doesn't help.

      Actually, I am trying to engage in thought-out, intelligent dicussion,

      Yea, that is why I responded. I assumed because you weren't AC, you were not one of the modders.

      but ultimately, I seems you are trying to build a straw man out of my arguments to then refute, which disingenuously undermines what I have said while simultaneously undermines my ability to respect the speaker.

      I'm trying to find out why people think Thor being changed to a woman is "Ridiculous". You provided a reason, I offered my counter. Sorry you don't like it. I'll try somewhere else.

    203. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 1

      This is just lazy pandering. Do they have such little creativity that they best they can do is make a female Thor? This is as pathetic as the Hollywood remake movie spree of the last few decades.

      How many stories & myths from our history have male warrior leads?
      How many stories & myths from our history have female warrior leads?

      Inspiration obviously comes from many places. But if you consider the amount of historical & current inspiration available for male characters of this type, and the clear lack of inspiration for female characters, I'd say the male Thor is a better example of lazy pandering.

      This change at least bucks the system a bit.

    204. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The whole point is that it is not a new character. It's a cheap attempt to pander to the entire "diversity" and feminist angle by taking something very stereotypically masculine, and slapping a vagina on it, while trying to retain the old associations. That's why it's so offensive and demeaning to precisely the category it's trying to address - their female Thor is showcasing "equality" by taking masculinity and saying "look, females can have a part in all that goodness, too!". So in effect they end up reinforcing the stereotypes - a "strong, independent female character" is, apparently, a female pretending to be male. As opposed to a female being herself.

      And don't even get me started on the whole chainmail bikini angle here, which is also quite prominent.

      The whole point is that it is not a new character. It's a cheap attempt to pander to the entire "equality" and minority rights angle by taking something very stereotypically white, slapping some black skin on it, while trying to retain the old associations. That's why it's so offensive and demeaning to precisely the category it's trying to address - their black Green Lantern is showcasing "equality" by taking whiteness and saying "look, blacks can have a part in all that goodness, too!" So in effect they end up reinforcing the stereotypes - a "law-abiding, social black character" is, apparently, a black pretending to be white. As opposed to a black being himself.

      And don't even get me started on the whole super-hero body suit angle here, which is also quite prominent.

      I'm just musing at how similar conservative speeches are at the core.

    205. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, it would be if she wasn't made to have the same ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions that no woman can live up to

      Have you seen Thor?

      Not to defend this move by Marvel. It's beyond idiotic, not to mention insulting to Norse tradition.

      But ridiculous and unrealistic body proportions are a problem for both sexes in the comic industry.

    206. Re:Ridiculous! by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 1

      So being offended at someone doing a cheap token shot at gender equality and screwing it up completely to the point where it actually does harm is being conservative now?

      FWIW, I am a rather hardcore liberal. That's precisely why I'm offended at it. It's as if these guys have read about that whole equality thing, heard only the buzzwords, and put them in as a cheap attempt at "you asked for it, well now you have it, so STFU and GTFO".

    207. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFM. Thor does not become a female (and neither does Obama). The only thing that changed is who the comic book "Thor" focuses on (its now a different mortal who has Thor's hammer than it was in the past). It's like if a woman put on a cape, took the batmobile out for a spin and called herself Batman. If the comic book called "Batman" focuses on her then for all intents and purposes she "is" Batman ... but it doesn't mean Bruce Wayne got a sex change.

      "It's like if a woman put on a cape, took the batmobile out for a spin and called herself Batman"

      Which would be equally vilified, because Batwoman exists already, a female bat-man is just word salad. In any case, the Bat-family exists with assorted bat-genders already.

      Thor ain't a title, or a personification of something. He's a laddish dude, he gets drunks, plays practical jokes, eats mightily, has fun with his friends, and does the hero bit on the side. If evil ceased to exist, Thor Odinson would go on being Thor.

      Batman and Superman exist as a response to evil. Without it, Batman would vanish, and Bruce Wayne and Kal-El, as they have repeatedly demonstrated, would go do something else. They are not the costume.

      Calling someone else Thor just because they get his power is exactly the same as deciding every President of the US is named Barrack Obama. It's an insult.

      What's worse is, it's also a slap in the face to every member of the Norse religion on the planet.

    208. Re:Ridiculous! by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Appropriating mythological characters is fine and dandy, but making fundamental changes to them that don't serve a greater purpose to the audience is not.

      Simply moving them from mythology to a superhero universe is already a fundamental change. Marvel has made many, many, many other changes to Thor. In fact, when he was first introduced, it was as a normal human finding Thor's hammer in a cave and turning into Thor. There already have been "what if?" stories exploring the scenario where his wife/girlfriend found the hammer instead. Storm has wielded Mjolnier on several occasions and turned into Thor. An alien has turned into Thor.

      Fundamental differences compared to the mythological Thor are central to Marvel's Thor.

      To take a non-mythological example, I've enjoyed the change from "John Watson" to "Joan Watson" in Elementary (the John Watson associated with Sherlock Holmes, in case you aren't familiar with it). Why? Because in the original Sherlock stories there has always been a kind of weird relationship between Sherlock and John. Changing John to a female character presents those relationships in a different light, just as it would if the characters were gay. So that's interesting.

      And so is this. This is also an interesting new twist to the character. It's not as if they're turning Thor into Spiderman or something. It's just that now, a woman is Thor.

      To take another example, in the Thor movie, making Heimdall black was stupid. That added nothing.. though since he was a minor character it wasn't a big deal.

      Did it take anything away? To a lot of people, it most certainly did add something. There was nothing stupid about making him black.

      Hypothetically, if they had made Loki black to make his "otherness" more obvious, that could have been interesting on many levels so it would be a worthwhile change to explore.

      I feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter here. You associate black with "otherness". Let me guess: you are white? And male? Do you associate female also with "otherness"?

      Do you realize that there are people like you who are black and/or female? That to them, there's nothing "other" about black or female? And if culture continues insisting that black and female are "other", then they will be forced to see themselves as "other", or all of culture will become "other". Wouldn't it be better to accept blacks and women as people just like yourself?

      So what does changing Thor into a woman bring to the table?

      Well, apparently it exposes these kind of preconceptions. That's something.

      For now, I can't think of anything interesting that comes up as a result of Thor being a woman. So to me this was a stupid change.

      To you maybe, but to many others, it's a wonderful change. And even you may eventually see something interesting coming from this. I hope you will.

    209. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The reason why it is ridiculous, is because Thor is Odin's son, not Odin's daughter. Its a name, not a title.

      That said, the God of Thunder could be of any gender. I would be far happier with Sif, Freya, Lofn or any of the other Norse Goddesses picking up Mjolnir, and becoming the God of Thunder under their own name, instead of whacking tits and vag* on a pre-established male character in the name of pandering.
      I don't mind if it was some random chick who found the hammer, and was deemed worthy of becoming the God of Thunder, just dont call her Thor. Hell, just by putting "The Power of" above the word Thor on the covers would be enough to satisfy my pedantry.

      Hopefully, I have clarified the point well enough that the nerd-ragers have been unable to in their fits of apoplectic rage.

      *Although it would be totally acceptable if they do a Dungeons and Dragons crossover with Thor, and Loki tricks him into donning a Belt of Gender Changing by telling him its a Belt of Giant Strength.

    210. Re:Ridiculous! by dywolf · · Score: 1

      of all the plot devices and changes that have occured in the history of comic books, those paragons of serious literature, THIS is the one that people finally get upset over?

      it's comic books. we've seen our heroes go through hell (literally in some cases) only to die when convenient. in fact we've seen HUNDREDS of heroes and villains die only to be resurected, replaced, cloned, imperonsated, have someone else adopt the mantle, etc. we've seen magic be manifested in science fiction based stories, or vice versa. we've seen absolutely ridiculous origin stories. weve seen gender swapping before, we've seen various orientations before. we've seen she-hulk created because "hey, wouldnt a female hulk who sleeps around be cool?". there's both a superwoman and supergirl. How many "Robins" are we up to now?

      Come on. there are so many things we could talk about in terms of comic book story plotting, and character deveolopement, or anything else related to comic books that could be described as lazy, or pandering, or gratuious, or any other negative viewpoint that we frequently heare from non-comic book fans... ...BUT THIS IS THE ONE that you finally say is too far?

      It's comic books.
      Get over it and just enjoy the show.

      --
      The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
    211. Re:Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Incarnating as a woman? HERESY!

      Correct! Thor incarnating as a woman is heresy! It directly contradicts religious beliefs! That is pretty much the very definition of heresy!

    212. Re: Ridiculous! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apparently none of you whiny children has ever heard of Beta Ray Bill, an orange skinned alien that was considered worthy of wielding Mjolnir

      Um, no, why would you think that?

      He was Thor.

      Oh, because you incorrectly assumed that Beta Ray Bill becomes Thor when he wields the hammer. That is incorrect. Being able to wield the hammer does not make one Thor. When Beta Ray Bill wields the hammer, it does not make Thor not be Thor.

      The story is MADE UP. The Marvel version is twice as made up.

      Since you reference the Marvel version as being twice as made up, and since you'd referenced Norse mythology earlier, one must assume that "the story is MADE UP" is regarding Norse mythology. In which case, you are wrong. Norse mythology is totally legit. It is your religion that was made up.

      (No, I'm not being serious. I'm just pointing out the dangers of a religious person proclaiming that another's religion was made up. Of course, if you are an atheist, this does not apply.)

    213. Re:Ridiculous! by Yakasha · · Score: 1

      The reason why it is ridiculous, is because Thor is Odin's son, not Odin's daughter. Its a name, not a title.

      Says who? The same people that made Gaea his mother? The same ones that had him meet himself (Hercules)? I can list 100 things that are not Norse/Roman/Greek myth. I can list even more things that were re-written later in comics to no longer follow Norse/Roman/Greek myth. So picking one particular trait, that just happens to be the sex of the character, and clinging to it like the world will end if anybody doesn't use that particular aspect of the Norse myth in their own fantasy writings, doesn't make sense unless it is misogyny... or you can explain your reasoning behind why that particular trait is immutable and all others can be thrown to the wind.

      P.S., it sounds from your post that you think the original Thor actually had a sex change. That didn't happen. Some other human girl picked up his hammer and gained the powers.

    214. Re:Ridiculous! by LienRag · · Score: 1

      Well, the only comics' Thor who's not beyond ridiculous is David Brin's The Life-Eaters one...
      As for the Marvel Thor, I've been told that there is an arc where it is hinted that Thor may not be Odin's son but a schizophrenic man who acquired superstrength - that would give some depth to the character.

    215. Re:Ridiculous! by stdarg · · Score: 1

      In fact, when he was first introduced, it was as a normal human finding Thor's hammer in a cave and turning into Thor. There already have been "what if?" stories exploring the scenario where his wife/girlfriend found the hammer instead. Storm has wielded Mjolnier on several occasions and turned into Thor. An alien has turned into Thor.

      The big difference between now and then is that the movies including Thor have brought a lot more attention to the issue. I didn't even know Thor was a comic book character before the movies. If a comic that appeals to a small percentage of the public plays with ideas like that, good for them. But when it's exposed to more people who don't know the background, and frankly don't care much about the comic book version compared to the "real" (mythological) thing, it's a different situation entirely.

      Did it take anything away? To a lot of people, it most certainly did add something. There was nothing stupid about making him black.

      No, because like I said, that's a minor character. And Idris Elba is awesome anyway...

      I feel like we're getting to the heart of the matter here. You associate black with "otherness". Let me guess: you are white? And male? Do you associate female also with "otherness"?

      Black would be a strong visual indication of otherness in the entirely white pantheon of gods (umm, except Heimdall) that are in the movie. They already made Loki unnaturally pale and gave him black hair. He is SUPPOSED to be different. I mean you saw the movie right?

      I'm not sure why you suddenly started talking about me personally. I mean I know why.. you're trying to say I'm an uncultured, provincial, naive racist. And that's stupid.

      And no, women and blacks don't represent "otherness" to me personally.

      But having Loki be black would bring a lot of interesting issues to the forefront of his character. He was taken out of his society and raised by the white gods in Asgard. He's distrusted by his peers and his "father" (authority figure). There's a whole lot of "but look at what we've given to you, why are you betraying us!" in the movie that ignores his true history as a hostage. They should have had Idris Elba play Loki and leave Heimdall as another generic Nordic white guy.

      I guess you don't see that stuff and you think you're awesome for being more color blind than me or something... whatever makes you feel better.

      Do you realize that there are people like you who are black and/or female?

      Wow, really, there are black people??? Like, in real life??? And women?? Now I know you're joking!

      Jeeze, get over yourself bud.

      That to them, there's nothing "other" about black or female?

      The role of a good movie is not to make people feel included. When I watched "The Wire" (took this example because of Idris Elba) I wasn't thinking "Gee, I would like this so much more if they made the criminals a multicultural rainbow so that it's not so stereotypical... there should be a Chinese sidekick who knows kung-fu, a couple thuggish and irredeemable white guys (ooo make one of them Italian), a tough but funny Hispanic chick, a few black thugs who secretly have hearts of gold, and a hidden mastermind who is white because we all know minorities are only criminals when they're duped into it by a nefarious smart white guy... oh that would be awesome!" No, that would make it completely retarded like so many bad 80s "urban" crime movies.

      The people chosen to portray characters in a movie are more than their acting skills. They are also, like it or not, all the baggage and preconceived notions the audience brings with it. Sometimes that gets in the way of the character, other times it actually adds to it and lets them represent the character in a way that would be impossible for others.

  4. Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Congratulations to a comic book company for changing a male character from very old mythology into a woman.

    Perhaps they can next make a comic book with Jesus as a woman?

    1. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      They also made Thor come from space, speak English, made Asgard not an afterlife, and changed all sorts of other details.

      What makes this change particularly galling to you?

    2. Re:Congratulations? by jimmifett · · Score: 4, Funny

      Don't be a fool, Jesus is obviously a velociraptor!

      Look forward to the Velocirapture!

    3. Re:Congratulations? by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      They cut off his balls and dick and gave him breasts.And it's a near certainty that we will all want to bed this transsexual. Yeah, I think it's that last one that's the kicker.

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    4. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You answered your own question, the other changes we details, this is massively changing the core character. We would feel the same if he became a Chinese man or a great ape in disguise.

    5. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's lazy pandering and completely unimaginative.

    6. Re:Congratulations? by sgtsquid · · Score: 2

      Asgard wasn't an afterlife, it was a different "realm", like Midgard (Earth), Miflheim, Jotunheim and the others. If they wanted some badass female warriors, they could have just used the Valkyries! If they really needed some genderbending, there's plenty of that from Loki. This is just silly.

    7. Re:Congratulations? by Falos · · Score: 2

      Troof.

      But I guess it's okay; "this Thor isn't that Thor" or maybe even "No relation, never heard of him." if that's the case.

      More than historical accuracy, what gets me is the parading. It's not even self-righteous parading, it's more like astroturf. If I was one of those social justice zealots, I'd have to ask myself whether I was being pandered to and exploited.

      I don't agree with refuting OR supporting a product or media or art because of the creator or other unrelated details. I don't check if my oil change mechanic donates blood, I don't check if my waiter was a (convicted?) sex offender, I don't ask about my barber's stance on gun control - I ask what a haircut costs.

      This is all tangential though; Thor's a chick superhero and I take the "Okay - so?" stance. A healthy one IMO.

    8. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1, Troll

      Since you didn't clue in, there's a particular reason why I'm asserting the GP didn't read the comics. And neither do you.

    9. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Strong female characters are not created by slapping big tits on a previously male character.

    10. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In the story, the Norse legends of Thor were based on the outer-space alien named Thor with whom the Norse tribes shared a brief relationship. His talents were drinking, roughhousing, strength, hammering things, and blind (e.g.foolish) courage -- none of which are associated with a believable female avatar. The only way this could be any more of a mismatch is if Thor was also known for solving math problems, owning land in his own name, jumping high (he uses his hammer for that), and working longer hours. It's simply bad storytelling for the misguided sake of "progression".

      Apparently comic book writers at Marvel don't think that feminine qualities deserve to be respected, so they ham-handedly attach ultra-masculine traits to a woman to have a "strong female character" so they can make themselves relevant.

    11. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      Fine, pedant, Asgard doesn't contain an afterlife in marvel comics.

    12. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      No. But that's not what's happening. The most likely interpretation is that a female Asgardian is inheriting Thor's title in the "Ultimate" universe where they promised dead characters stay dead.

    13. Re:Congratulations? by Zumbs · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Asgard wasn't an afterlife, it was a different "realm", like Midgard (Earth), Miflheim, Jotunheim and the others.

      Both Valhalla and Folkvang were located in Asgard. Both were most certainly afterlives!

      --
      The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head
    14. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They aren't? So all those drawings of her with huge tits and ridiculous body proportions are just Internet fakes?

    15. Re:Congratulations? by KiloByte · · Score: 5, Funny

      He went extinct for your sins.

      --
      The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
    16. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      sexist beliefs

      They're not beliefs, you idiot. They are grounded in human biology. You may have drunken enough mercury-laced Kool-Aid to believe that humans lack sexual dimorphism, but I assure you, if you ever see a human woman naked, you'll notice that she doesn't have a dick and balls. I'm telling you this so that you might prepare yourself for the day that your fantasy of a completely homogenous human race is shattered, you'll be slightly prepared for it -- though I know it's a lost cause, because I've seen your posts and I know what a fucking idiot you are. You're simply too stupid to accept reality. Sometimes I wonder if you're a bot programmed to say the stupidest shit imaginable just to remind everyone that inbreeding can be a serious problem.

    17. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      No, that's just comics, man. Objectification is quite normal there.

    18. Re:Congratulations? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      As long as they don't slap on small tits.
      Chris Hemsworth's are already pretty big, don't want to downsize or anything.

    19. Re:Congratulations? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      This post: "human biology"
      One post ago "outer space alien"

      Huh.

    20. Re:Congratulations? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      If I stop cutting one of my toenails, will they accept me?

    21. Re:Congratulations? by Zmobie · · Score: 1

      or a great ape in disguise.

      I don't know about you, but I would probably read the shit out of Thor becoming a great ape in disguise...

    22. Re:Congratulations? by Tapewolf · · Score: 1

      Don't be a fool, Jesus is obviously a velociraptor!

      You'd better believe it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    23. Re:Congratulations? by Culture20 · · Score: 1
    24. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > What makes this change particularly galling to you?

      It's blatant pandering in a nonsensical way. Why not just add Token while they're at it?

    25. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One post ago: "It's sexist to associate testosterone's effects on psychology and biology with males"
      This post: "OMG IT'S AN ALIEN! WHATEVER! SHUT UP!"

      Two can play at your shitty shell game. The problem is that you use it so you can refuse to adhere to reality.

    26. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They also made Thor come from space, speak English, made Asgard not an afterlife, and changed all sorts of other details.

      What makes this change particularly galling to you?

      Asgarde's NOT an afterlife. Valhalla is the afterlife. Asgarde was still one of the realms in Norse mythology.

    27. Re:Congratulations? by quantaman · · Score: 1

      They also made Thor come from space, speak English, made Asgard not an afterlife, and changed all sorts of other details.

      What makes this change particularly galling to you?

      The previous changes were necessary to integrate Thor into the Marvel universe.

      This change unnecessarily alters a core characteristic of who Thor is.

      It would be the same thing if they turned Thor into a telepath or a pacifist, if you're going to change a core characteristic of Thor then don't call it Thor. Or if you do do it then you should have a proper motive such as an artistic twist as opposed to pandering.

      And why is it Norse Mythology they're screwing with anyways? It's one thing to base a character off of a Norse god, but screwing with that bit of heritage for blatant pandering? That strikes me as disrespectful.

      If Marvel really wanted to be bold and challenge readers they should have made a female Professor X. A woman in a position of intellectual authority? Now that's a change I could respect.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    28. Re:Congratulations? by meerling · · Score: 1

      Because despite having screwed things up from a mythological perspective, they are now trashing their own canon and existing continuity, or at least that farce they consider continuity.

      This will probably piss off a lot of fans, not because they dislike women, but more because they are making massive changes to a favorite character, or in some perspectives, a blatant ripoff of the 'real' character.

    29. Re:Congratulations? by meerling · · Score: 1

      Since when has Marvel, or DC, ever stuck to that promise that the dead are dead except when dealing with characters that were at best only tertiary.
      .

    30. Re:Congratulations? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      As long as they don't slap on small tits

      Far better to squeeze gently.

    31. Re:Congratulations? by dbIII · · Score: 1

      That strikes me as disrespectful

      That's what we do with other people's mythology to fit in into stories, especially if there's nobody left that sees it as anything other than distant mythology. Take a look at some things that Japanese anime do with Christian motifs for another example (eg. Hellsing, Evangelion, A Certain Magical Index, Chrono Crusade). To push stories along they do things to Christian ideas that could be seen as disrepectful if it wasn't clear that those worlds have some large differences with ours.

    32. Re:Congratulations? by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      Apparently not according to 50 shades of grey

    33. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but how about if thor was an alien, or just some random disabled guy?
      because they already did that. the normal thor came back every time and the world didnt end at any time in between

    34. Re:Congratulations? by quantaman · · Score: 1

      That strikes me as disrespectful

      That's what we do with other people's mythology to fit in into stories, especially if there's nobody left that sees it as anything other than distant mythology. Take a look at some things that Japanese anime do with Christian motifs for another example (eg. Hellsing, Evangelion, A Certain Magical Index, Chrono Crusade). To push stories along they do things to Christian ideas that could be seen as disrepectful if it wasn't clear that those worlds have some large differences with ours.

      If I were Christian I don't think I'd care about anyone's portrayal because Christianity is so strong that people would know my beliefs regardless. But if I felt Norse mythology was a part of my heritage I'd be pretty concerned about what Marvel did because that would be the major exposure a lot of people got to my heritage.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    35. Re:Congratulations? by unitron · · Score: 1

      or a great ape in disguise.

      I don't know about you, but I would probably read the shit out of Thor becoming a great ape in disguise...

      Son of the Bride of the Revenge of the Return to the Battle Underneath the Planet of the Super-Apes?

      --

      I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.

    36. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Including an afterlife plane/hall or two does not make Asgard an afterlife - you know, the difference between all B are A and all A are B. Moreover, those weren't afterlife per se, just places to recycle warriors for the final battle - if you're a fighter you don't get to die like regular people, instead go to Odin's army (well, or Freyja's) and help fight Ragnarok.

    37. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What? Angelina Jolie never got to make Salt II?

    38. Re:Congratulations? by Jesus_666 · · Score: 1

      I'm really not invested in this as I'm not really a dedicated comic book reader but to me it doesn't look like a big deal. Somewhat bewildering but not a big deal.

      In-universe the case is clear: It's not the same character, just like whoever came after Bruce Wayne wasn't the same Batman. They slapped the name onto someone else and that's it. Of course it's kinda weird how they retained the name as I thought that "Thor" was the original Thor's given name but then again my knowledge of Marvel's Thor comes from that one movie and a Hostess Cupcakes ad. Might've been a title all along.

      On the meta level it's a transparent attempt to rejuventate a series Marvel apparently felt was no longer generating enough interest. It's not really different from breaking Batman's spine or disbanding/reforming the X-Men. In essence it's a soft reboot without having to toss away the continuity, which is something best reserved for a crossover. Blatant pandering in this case, yes, but nothing particularly unusual.

      As for screwing with Norse mythology: Didn't they do that all along? I mean, old Thor was already a space alien if I remember correctly.


      Seriously, to me this seems like business as usual. Thor was replaced by a woman. In other news, Wolverine has teamed up with someone.

      --
      USE HOT GRITS WITH STATUE OF NATALIE PORTMAN (NAKED AND PETRIFIED)
    39. Re:Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It would make more sense.

      His behavior is so atypical for a male...

    40. Re:Congratulations? by mcvos · · Score: 1

      They also made Thor come from space, speak English, made Asgard not an afterlife, and changed all sorts of other details.

      What makes this change particularly galling to you?

      The previous changes were necessary to integrate Thor into the Marvel universe.

      This change unnecessarily alters a core characteristic of who Thor is.

      No it doesn't. You just think it does, because you don't know what the core characteristic of Marvel Thor is. Thor has been different people before, including another woman and an alien.

    41. Re:Congratulations? by mcvos · · Score: 1

      If I were Christian I don't think I'd care about anyone's portrayal because Christianity is so strong that people would know my beliefs regardless. But if I felt Norse mythology was a part of my heritage I'd be pretty concerned about what Marvel did because that would be the major exposure a lot of people got to my heritage.

      True, but the time to complain about that is when Marvel first appropriated Thor and other mythological characters. What happens here is already well-established in Marvel canon.

    42. Re:Congratulations? by malkavian · · Score: 1

      Well, space was considered "the realm of god" in those days. It's where the gods lived.. Highest mountains etc. It's not far stretch to say, actually, they were from the skies, and had technology that looked like magic. So that still fits.
      Speaking English is no great shakes.. Asgard is still full of Nordic runes that they seem quite happy with. That basically says they're multi lingual (or have translator devices).. What's so great about that? Still 100% fit with the nordic pantheon.
      Other deep details may have changed.. But it still follows the basic story. Thor is "the son of Odin". Since when did "son of" mean a female?
      I'd have no problem with Thor buggering off for a while, and a female taking up the hammer. Some new name, or one of the females of the pantheon. What completely doesn't make sense is having a female character _become_ Thor, just because she takes up a weapon used by Thor.
      That's like you using your computer at work all day, and moving on to the next job (or being fired), and just because people are way too lazy, they simply force the next person in of an opposing gender to take your name and identity because they can't be assed to do anything new. It's lazy pandering.
      A complete gender change while keeping the name is just stupid. Adds nothing. If you feel differently, just name your daughters to Brian and Kevin. That's about the same kind of thing.

    43. Re:Congratulations? by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      I was upset when they made his powers stem from technology.

    44. Re:Congratulations? by Rakarra · · Score: 1

      His talents were drinking, roughhousing, strength, hammering things, and blind (e.g.foolish) courage -- none of which are associated with a believable female avatar

      Wow, just... wow.

      Nearly all of them are nicely associated with Karen Allen's character from Raiders of the Lost Ark (when she wasn't shouting "IIINDYYYYYYY!!")

  5. Pussy whipped bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    sad

    1. Re:Pussy whipped bullshit by SensitiveMale · · Score: 2

      Better than someone with so little mental fortitude that they going into a bawling rage over a slight casting change on a comic-book they don't even read.

      I don't think a comment of "sad" qualifies as a "bawling rage" and I don't think "a staple of the Marvel Universe and Norse mythology" being changed into a woman is "slight."

    2. Re:Pussy whipped bullshit by i+kan+reed · · Score: 1

      I think, you'll find, that the Thor who's dead, and thus being replaced isn't in "the" marvel universe.

    3. Re:Pussy whipped bullshit by geekoid · · Score: 1

      This has nothing to do with Norse Mythology. Which.btw, also changes with time. Do you complain about those changes to?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  6. Beware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Assaults involving women as the aggressor incoming.

  7. I could see this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Finally, not only my wife will enjoy seeing Thor without a shirt on.

  8. After that shitfest"The Dark World" they need buzz by SensitiveMale · · Score: 2

    Still, this is stupid. Incredibly stupid.

  9. Liberal word bingo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But is she also going to be half-black/half-latino, transgendered and disabled? Don't they need to pander to more groups?

    1. Re:Liberal word bingo by sexconker · · Score: 2

      But is she also going to be half-black/half-latino, transgendered and disabled? Don't they need to pander to more groups?

      I'd pay several moneys to see Thor with Parkinson's disease wield Mjolnir.

    2. Re:Liberal word bingo by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      i would also chip in several moneys for this to be real.

    3. Re:Liberal word bingo by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      But is she also going to be half-black/half-latino, transgendered and disabled?

      You're thinking of Spider-Man.

  10. So much for being a Norse god by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now you're just a comic book superhero getting dumped on for being a man.

  11. Tales of Asgard... by seven+of+five · · Score: 4, Funny

    In related news, Odin will become a transgender drag queen with a flair for theatrics. Loki, however, will remain low-key.

    1. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Is a transgender drag queen someone who was born a woman, surgically corrected to be male who then dresses up in drag to be a woman again?

      That sounds AWESOME!

    2. Re:Tales of Asgard... by savi · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Actually, in Norse myth, it was Loki who was fairly transgender, often taking on female form in order to have sex with male creatures (such as an enormous stallion). He gave birth to monstrous demons from these encounters, including Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged horse.

    3. Re:Tales of Asgard... by SuricouRaven · · Score: 4, Informative

      Loki, proto-furry.

    4. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, in Norse myth, it was Loki who was fairly transgender, often taking on female form in order to have sex with male creatures (such as an enormous stallion). He gave birth to monstrous demons from these encounters, including Sleipnir, Odin's eight-legged horse.

      The god of mischief really commits to his jokes.

    5. Re:Tales of Asgard... by angularbanjo · · Score: 1

      Not only that, but they moved to New Zealand according to Syfy (http://m.syfy.com/?p=Show&show=Almighty Johnsons)

    6. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And in the next movie, Odin will be played by Nathan Lane.

      I think I need to dig out my copies of Power Girl that were drawn by Amanda Conner.

    7. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      yeah, the ancients really seemed to push the divinity of bestiality.

      i don't even know what to think of perseus's birth.

      something about golden showers and impregnation.... through a slit.

    8. Re:Tales of Asgard... by KingOfBLASH · · Score: 1

      In related news, Odin will become a transgender drag queen with a flair for theatrics. Loki, however, will remain low-key.

      Hats off to you sir, for the reference to American Gods, the best work of Neil Gaiman.

    9. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      and cosplayer..

    10. Re:Tales of Asgard... by sootman · · Score: 1

      > Loki, however, will remain low-key.

      Nice one. :-)

      --
      Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
    11. Re:Tales of Asgard... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good point. Marvel should have just made Loki a more obvious fag and been done with it. Pander to whomever they think is necessary and leave Thor alone.

    12. Re:Tales of Asgard... by meerling · · Score: 1

      I guess with all that shapechanging gender & species alteration for sex makes Loki a Trisexual. If it's sexual, he'll try it. Only Barbie and Ken are safe from his attentions.

    13. Re:Tales of Asgard... by dbIII · · Score: 1

      I was kicking myself that I got a long way into "American Gods" before I twigged that Low-Key Lyesmith was Loki.
      HBO dropped the TV series they were going to make out of it but Starz have shown some interest.

  12. Another comic book gimmick by C0R1D4N · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Just another comic book gimmick like female Robin, and gay minority Spiderman. Comic books can't go more than a few months without having to completely change everything around and "spice things up". Just try following a single title for more than two years.

    1. Re:Another comic book gimmick by Gramie2 · · Score: 1

      I think it's due to a lack of visionary storytelling. Just like all the alternate universes. I blame it on management running the show instead of the creatives. Oh, for the days of Miller on Daredevil, Byrne on X-men/FF, Layton/Michelinie on Iron Man....

    2. Re:Another comic book gimmick by Derec01 · · Score: 1

      Neither of those examples are gimmicks. A gimmick would be an extraordinary occurrence just for the sake of having a female character. If it's an ordinary replacement and it happens to be female I don't see how it's a gimmick.

      In the former, it's been established that the "Robin" position gets passed around frequently. There's half a dozen of them. What's gimmicky about one of them being female?

      In the latter, Peter Parker was replaced in the Ultimate universe because he *died*. This might be gimmicky in the normal Marvel Universe, where the status quo remains forever, but in the Ultimates universe, iconic heroes die all the time and stay dead. Beast drowned, the Wasp was eaten by the Blob, and so on. Spider-Man wears a mask and is easy to impersonate, what's gimmicky about any random kid with spiderish powers taking up the name?

    3. Re:Another comic book gimmick by Culture20 · · Score: 2

      what's gimmicky about any random kid with spiderish powers taking up the name?

      Maybe that a random kid got spiderish powers at just the right time to replace the first one?

    4. Re:Another comic book gimmick by C0R1D4N · · Score: 2

      The first one wouldn't have been a gimmick if she stuck around as Robin a few years. They are gimmicks because they are just to shake things up and sell more comics, they aren't being done as natural progressions of story.

    5. Re:Another comic book gimmick by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Trying to be inclusive is now a gimmick.

      You're a moron.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    6. Re: Another comic book gimmick by C0R1D4N · · Score: 2

      First off, I am a gay guy. I love seeing lgbt characters in comics and the hero genre (Heroes Rise is fantastic). I am unhappy with the way they are doing it though. These are gimmicks. There are non-gimmick inclusive characters. There are also a lot of gimmick ones.

  13. Thora? by jonr · · Score: 1

    So, her name will be Thora (óra is legit Icelandic name, just like ór)

    1. Re:Thora? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So, her name will be Thora (óra is legit Icelandic name, just like ór)

      One would expect that a site called "Slashdot" has no problems with basic diacritical characters like the Thorn missing in front of those names... no such luck.

    2. Re:Thora? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Maybe THORN?

      As in short for "THOR-NOT"

      If they wanted an androgynous character, they shouldda named it Pat.

    3. Re:Thora? by jsepeta · · Score: 1

      or Kris. or Jo/e

      --
      Remember kids, if you're not paying for the service, YOU ARE THE PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SOLD.
    4. Re:Thora? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unsurprising that the illiterates on slashdot wouldn't know the meaning of "androgynous."

  14. Another comic rehash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Even when they're trying their damndest to be original, everything they do is still a rehash... Talk about being stuck in a multi-generational rut.

  15. Not temporary? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    She is the one and only non-temporary thor, until she in turn "falls from grace" and is replaced with a NEW non-temporary THOR!

  16. Could it be.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is this why Green Lantern turned Gay?

    Talk about confusing.

    1. Re:Could it be.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wasn't the green lantern always gay?!

  17. It makes sense by plopez · · Score: 4, Insightful

    One more opportunity for a character with big bazoombas and skimpy clothes to pander to their core reader base.

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    1. Re:It makes sense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "a character with big bazoombas and skimpy clothes "

      count me in!

    2. Re:It makes sense by techno-vampire · · Score: 1

      If that's all that they want, they should bring back Cutey Bunny and Little Annie Fanny.

      --
      Good, inexpensive web hosting
    3. Re:It makes sense by plopez · · Score: 1

      You forgot "Cherry Pop Tart".

      --
      putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
  18. Pre-Op or Post-Op? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yes, it matters. We gotta know which hammer she'll wield.

  19. Wonder what this will do for the movies by robstout · · Score: 1

    The Thor films seem to have a lot of appeal for my wife and female friends, partly due to beefcake. I wonder how much confusion this will cause between the comics and movies.

    1. Re:Wonder what this will do for the movies by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

      Maybe their market research found that T&A would sell better than Chris Hemsworth's abs, leading to this decision.

      Kinda breaks with Norse mythology too...

      --
      "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
    2. Re:Wonder what this will do for the movies by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Good thing it has nothing to do myth Norse myths then, isn't it? Or cna you show me where in the Norse legend Thor hung out with Capt. America?

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    3. Re:Wonder what this will do for the movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      expect it to be a very VERY short time period.

      Everybody remembers Darkseid blasting batman to death, the war of the cowl, the darkest night, and then PILGRIM BATMAN and bruce is back!

      death in the comics doesn't mean jack.

    4. Re:Wonder what this will do for the movies by captjc · · Score: 3, Funny

      You mean you never heard the old Viking tales of how Thor and Kaptein Amerika fought to control the rampaging monster known as the GrÃnn Raseri Mann all for the affections of the goddess Freyja? I remember there being a Shieldmaiden, Sort Enke. I believe it has something to do with how Vikings got their shields. It was all apart of the ancient Agenter Skjold saga.

      --
      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
    5. Re:Wonder what this will do for the movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good thing it has nothing to do myth Norse myths then, isn't it

      Thor has nothing to do with Norse myths? Do you think he was derived from Shinto mythology?

  20. Bullshit by Stumbles · · Score: 1

    Thor has always been a male demigod. They are just pandering at this point.

    --
    My karma is not a Chameleon.
  21. Thordis! by just_another_sean · · Score: 3, Informative

    One of the early What If? comics Marvel put out was about Jane Foster finding Thor's Hammer instead of Don Blake. There is a hilarious summary of it here. Not sure if it's the earliest example of Thor as a woman but's its gotta be close!

    --
    Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
  22. Reality says: Not going to happen by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No matter how they want to market it, the odds are great that it actually ends up exactly like they said it won't: Which ever version of She-Thor, Thorita, Thora, Thornina, Chick-Thor, Shor, Shorely, Shirley, etc. the 'Net finds most amusing will end up being the "real" name. Then they'll capitulate and go back---unless they luck-out and it sells well after the initial marketing push.

    Great, now this is reminding me of MST3k's "Space Mutiny". Rip Steak-face, Crud Bonemeal, Big McLarge-Huge, etc.

  23. Nope. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You want to change a character? Change one you created. It could be the most compelling story in the world, but if I am buying the book for Thor, then I want Thor.

  24. The hammer is my penis? by Overzeetop · · Score: 5, Funny

    Wait, no...that's a different show.

    --
    Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
  25. Good idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But will she make as much as her white, straight, male predecessor?

  26. In other news, DC Comics announced by david.emery · · Score: 4, Funny

    The renaming of its famous comic book and TV character, "Wonder Person."

    Chris Hemsworth and Lynda Carter are reportedly in talks to assume the other's iconic role. No word yet if they're planning to share costumes.

    1. Re:In other news, DC Comics announced by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      WonderMan prior art:

      http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net...

    2. Re:In other news, DC Comics announced by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      '80s What If? covers it.

    3. Re:In other news, DC Comics announced by shri · · Score: 1

      To be technically correct, the character would be called, "Wonder Peroffspring" :)

  27. Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Stop using your platforms to push marxist propaganda. It's so blatant when history is so blatantly contradicted for no good reason. The mythos always depicted thor as male. Why is it so terrible to have a dominant male in a protagonist role? It's not misogyny.

    1. Re:Please, enough. by Pinky's+Brain · · Score: 2

      Marxist?

    2. Re:Please, enough. by footNipple · · Score: 2

      I think you missed the main problem. Thor has been depicted throughout the ages as white and straight.

    3. Re:Please, enough. by geekoid · · Score: 0

      Either you are being misogynistic, or stupid. Pick at least one.

      Cluebat -- The Thor comic is not a recreation of a myth, no one is changing the myth, just a comic book character.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Yes.

    5. Re:Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Either you are being misogynistic, or stupid. Pick at least one.

      Nope. False dilemma used as ad hominem.

      Cluebat -- The thor comic is based on the norse mythology, making it reasonable for the character to be male. The narrative in the article makes it clear this change is being done for 'grrl power' political reasons.

    6. Re:Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 1, Insightful

      You might see it as a problem. I consider the fact you see it as a problem, as the problem (if this was meant as sarcasm, I apologize). What's wrong with white, straight males? Norse mythology comes from scandinavian culture. They are/were largely white. Seems reasonable to me for them to depict their deities as such.

      The name 'Thor' is masculine too. If marvel wanted a new female character, why not create a new one? Either borrow from existing norse mythos like they did with thor, or come up with all new material. I know, what a concept, right? It's pretty clear from the language of the article that this was done for 'grrl power' political correctness and not for any legitimate creative reason.

    7. Re:Please, enough. by Darinbob · · Score: 3, Funny

      Groucho-Marxist.

    8. Re:Please, enough. by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      Stop using your platforms to push marxist propaganda. It's so blatant when history is so blatantly contradicted for no good reason. The mythos always depicted thor as male. Why is it so terrible to have a dominant male in a protagonist role? It's not misogyny.

      The Marvel Thor is whoever holds the hammer. In the past a woman, an alien, and even a frog have all become Thor. This has been established for several decades and back to the creation of Marvel Thor character in the 60's. It's not terrible to have a dominant male role, they've got plenty of them. Now they want a dominant female role to add in to sell things in a capitalistic desire to make money because half the population is lacking any dominant characters they can relate to. Somehow you make that Marxist? You are a little messed up by this it seems and have some biases when you start claiming a capitalist grab for money by supplying a product to demanding customers is Marxist. In addition to that, you don't know shit about comics. Some nerd you are.

    9. Re:Please, enough. by painandgreed · · Score: 1

      The name 'Thor' is masculine too. If marvel wanted a new female character, why not create a new one?

      Why bother? Their readers probably don't speak scandanavian languages and don't know that Thor is a masculine name. To Americans, it's just a name. It could be the Asgardian equivalent to Pat. They need a front ranked character to make female because there is an increasing number of readers who want a primary character that is female. Taking one who has stood the test of time not only shows their commitment to these readers, but decreases the chance of coming up with a character that will fail. (Look at all Marvel's attempts at creating a Superman counterpart, including a black one. Even after sticking them in the Avengers they don't amount to anything.) Plus, I bet if we look at sales, the Thor title isn't doing all that hot anyway.

    10. Re:Please, enough. by Yosho · · Score: 1

      I'm interested. Please explain what this has to do with Marxism.

      --
      Karma: Terrifying (mostly affected by atrocities you've committed)
    11. Re:Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      I suggest you read the article as it makes the motivation for the change quite clear.

      Feminism is cultural marxism across sex (males are the oppressor class, females, the oppressed). I'm sure marvel loves to make as much money as they can, but they're also using their platform to push disingenuous politics. I'm criticizing them for it. Of course, they're welcome to do what they want with their business.

      Notice how I responded without personal attacks? Try it on for size.

    12. Re:Please, enough. by epyT-R · · Score: 0

      Superman is a DC property. Superwoman was a counterpart for him, not a replacement. Good thing too because the demand for her just isn't as great. Same goes for all the other versions of the character. Bait-and-switch never goes over well with the customer. Character development and evolution is fine, but swapping out core traits arbitrarily for the sake of disingenuous politics does not count.

      A lot of that increased 'demand' is coming from 'social justice warriors' claiming to speak for unrepresented majorities. The reality is that a lot of women prefer a male in such roles as well, but I guess the market will decide whether the female thor story arc sells..

    13. Re:Please, enough. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Clearly he lacks the understanding of these words: Marxist, propaganda, and history.

      Like most, I expect he merely knows of these words, but has never studied the subjects himself.

  28. Imagination? by infogulch · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Are we so unimaginative now that it's not possible to come up with and build new characters? Existing characters have to be completely substituted, just to piggyback on the established lore and history?

    And for what? To satisfy some new gender-equality metric? Seriously, I know it would take time and effort, but surely you can come up with a compelling unique story for a woman without them having to be propped up by a different character's previous popularity.

    1. Re:Imagination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is a new character. Who gets the power of Thor. From picking up his hammer. If you want to complain about that story being repeated, go ahead, you want to complain about Marvel's terribly misleading advertising, go ahead, but at least get the complaint accurate to the facts.

    2. Re:Imagination? by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Marvel has substituted characters since time immemorial. Captain America has been at least two different people. Thor has been several different people, including another woman and a space alien. Maybe you don't consider this interesting, but Marvel apparently does. You don't have to buy their comics if you don't want to.

    3. Re:Imagination? by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      i'm not a thor fan, but i could imagine if i were i'd be pretty angry. And it has nothing to do with the switch from male. I'm even upset when they swap out bruce wayne for another guy. There is no other batman.

      the character's back story, his motivations and his personality make the super hero. the powers are just window dressing. This pre-planned, announced and engineered swap of the personalities of our characters, is disheartening, as if thor is the hammer and not the person holding it.

      barry allen to wally west. People aren't even happy when a protege takes over for the mentor.

  29. They should make wonder woman a man. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Thor is a very male name in Scandinavia. It isn't like people in the US name their daughters Jeffery....

    But If gender swapping their most popular characters while keeping their gender specific names is going to be a thing, they should just go all out.

    They should Make peter parker & clark kent women,.. & make Lois lane a man, etc...

    Come on comic book industry, I dare you.... triple dog dare you

    1. Re:They should make wonder woman a man. by infogulch · · Score: 1

      It isn't like people in the US name their daughters Jeffery [sic]....

      Apparently they do in the Game of Thrones universe.

    2. Re:They should make wonder woman a man. by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Thorisa, Thorinda, Thoranda, Thorita, Thorbalina, Thorese, Thorazine...

    3. Re:They should make wonder woman a man. by geekoid · · Score: 1

      So? They aren't changing the myth, just the comic character.

      Female Jeffery:
      http://allfinancialmatters.com...

      The comic book Thor is almost nothing like the myth. Hey, women use to wear swastika's as his symbol for protection. Do they still do that in scandunavia?

      It's almost like fiction characters can change over time.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    4. Re:They should make wonder woman a man. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But they _do_ name their daughters Sasha and Leslie and all sorts of other, historically-male names. You guys should try growing up and being real men at some point instead of a bunch of babies.

  30. Appeal to Liberal by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    she-thor tranny...

  31. Since when was Thor a title? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    A brand new female character will take up the name Thor and continue the series. Jason Aaron, the series writer, said, "This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR.

    Uh, yeah. Like when that other guy was Batman? But then he wasn't Bruce Wayne, was he?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    1. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by Ionized · · Score: 1

      bruce wayne is a person. batman is a mask.

      dick grayson is a person. nightwing is a mask.

      i think you get the idea. thor is the person wielding mjolnir and busting asses.

    2. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      thor is the person wielding mjolnir and busting asses.

      Okay. So what's the name of the guy who will shortly have used to wield mjolnir and bust asses?

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    3. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by Crashmarik · · Score: 1

      thor is the person wielding mjolnir and busting asses.

      Okay. So what's the name of the guy who will shortly have used to wield mjolnir and bust asses?

      slartibartfast

    4. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by mcvos · · Score: 1

      thor is the person wielding mjolnir and busting asses.

      Okay. So what's the name of the guy who will shortly have used to wield mjolnir and bust asses?

      Donald Blake.

    5. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by mitzoe · · Score: 1

      thor is the person wielding mjolnir and busty assets

      FTFY.

    6. Re:Since when was Thor a title? by witherstaff · · Score: 1

      I feel sorry for poor Blake. When thor brought back all the souls of the Asgardians awhile ago from death Blake was left in some limbo. Does the human host show back up when Thor isn't on Earth? The guy just barely exists because he made the mistake of finding a damn stick. How about a storyline of Thor ending the subjugation of a mere mortal?

  32. In other news... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Researchers have discovered a lost Shakespeare play, entitled "Orphelia, Prince of Denmark"....

  33. Meanwhile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Meanwhile, DC is afraid of making a Wonder Woman movie because, hey, who wants to watch a movie with a woman lead character?...

  34. This Isn't The Way by GenaTrius · · Score: 1

    Depowering a beloved character so a woman can take his place is not the way to show respect for women. This isn't feminism, it's just ridicullous. If Marvel wants to show respect to women, they should make sure their existing female characters are well-written and well-drawn. As it stands, I don't believe for a second that this new Thor isn't going to be subject to the same sexist tropes as so many other superheroines.

    1. Re:This Isn't The Way by geekoid · · Score: 1

      There existing character are as well writen as anythng else, and as well drawn. It's the comic industry, these things change as people change.
      Thor has a strong presence, is well known in the culture, not there most dominant seller. It's the perfect choice.
      Thor is the god of fertility.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:This Isn't The Way by epyT-R · · Score: 1

      Also the god of protection, strength, thunder/lightning/storms, etc. Those are masculine traits. If marvel wants a female character based on norse mythos, pick a female deity to base it on or make one up. Hell, they already have Storm, right? She's not based on norse mythos, but so what? There are plenty of strong women characters already, and it's pretty obvious they've been softening the male characters for quite some time. They shouldn't do this. Who wants a whiny passive aggressive male superhero character emoting all the time?

      You're right, though, it is the perfect choice, if the goal is to stamp out positive male roles in entertainment.

    3. Re:This Isn't The Way by mcvos · · Score: 1

      Also the god of protection, strength, thunder/lightning/storms, etc. Those are masculine traits. If marvel wants a female character based on norse mythos, pick a female deity to base it on or make one up. Hell, they already have Storm, right?

      Yeah, so thunder, lightning and storms are not the sole domain of men. Also, Storm has been Thor at some point in the past.

  35. Thora still wants Jane by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Gotta go for the lesbo action. Howard Stern takes over Marvel.

  36. Ugh by puffenstuff67 · · Score: 1

    Political Correctness alive and well....

  37. Clearly the new woman is a man or vice versa... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Epic way to annoy people this move. This move is as annoying as the song, "A Boy Named Sue."

    Ah well, green is the new black. Up is the new down. Idiocy abounds.

  38. Name Change by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So she isn't strong and independent enough to keep her own name. *facepalm* Failed before the first issue.

    1. Re:Name Change by Desler · · Score: 1

      And apparently not strong enough to not need a huge rack to sell issues.

  39. Outfit by tekrat · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Let me guess... This new female Thor will wear a skimpy outfit, and much less armor than the previous, male Thor. But this is objectification is somehow empowering to women...

    --
    If telephones are outlawed, then only outlaws will have telephones.
    1. Re:Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Or maybe you could click on the link and see what the character looks like?

    2. Re:Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What, as opposed to the current Thor movies with the muscle-bound mass showing off his pectoral armor? I'm fairly sure I heard an intake of breath from various ladies (my wife included) in the theatre during the "shirtless" scene during the first movie, but I didn't hear any complaints there.

    3. Re:Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Let me guess... This new female Thor will wear a skimpy outfit, and much less armor than the previous, male Thor.

      It does not look that way - images of both thors at the link, male is showing way more skin.

      http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=54067

    4. Re:Outfit by HiThere · · Score: 1

      If you think being attractive is disempowering to women, I invite you to consider Angua from DiskWorld.

      OTOH, using a femal Thor is just stupid. Storm is a viable female storm Goddess, but she's not trying to be Thor. They'd have done much better to just pick a Norse feminine name that sounded good and used that, though I'm not sure that Gundred would have worked well.

      --

      I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
    5. Re:Outfit by KingOfBLASH · · Score: 1

      You're right. If we're really out to help women identify like all the people making excuses say, we should clad the new Thor in a burka, to make sure we're not objectifying her.

      Personally, I don't understand why if they are looking for female charachters, why not dip into greek mythology? Artemis the huntress, for instance.

    6. Re:Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wont happen as it will throw a spanner in the movie franchise marketing, The execs believe women only go watch to see the actor play Thor take his clothes off.

    7. Re:Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The difference is that Angua isn't there just for walking around half naked and providing fan service

  40. Maybe fake... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I notice that the artist's name in these renderings looks suspiciously like an anagram or such. I'm sensing a jest.

  41. Not to be outdone by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    DC Comics announces the first gender neutral character. Super They.

  42. Excellent! by Bigbutt · · Score: 1

    More T&A for the male readers and unreal body expectations for the females. Win-win. :)

    [John]

    --
    Shit better not happen!
    1. Re:Excellent! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Instead of the other way around, for a change.
      That's not the problem, the problem is that Thor is based on a mythological character and was very clearly one person, not a title that someone else can take up.

  43. yup, Ridiculous! by frovingslosh · · Score: 1

    Consider the advice of the great philosophers Nelson and Mr. T.

    --
    I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
  44. Umm... by Thundercleets · · Score: 1

    Must be Loki's doing?

    1. Re:Umm... by InfiniteLoopCounter · · Score: 2

      Yeah. It happened last time Thor misplaced the hammer too.

      **Thor has lost the hammer to a giant, Thrym**

      "What is the way?" said Thor. "But no matter what it is, tell me of it and I shall do as thou dost say."

      "Then," said laughing Loki, "I am to take you to Jötunheim as a bride for Thrym. Thou art to go in bridal dress and veil, in Freya's veil and bridal dress."

      "What! I dress in woman's garb?" shouted Thor.

      "Yea, Thor, and wear a veil over your head and a garland of flowers upon it."

      "I--I wear a garland of flowers?"

      "And rings upon thy fingers. And a bunch of housekeeper's keys in thy girdle."

      "Cease thy mockery, Loki," said Thor roughly, "or I shall shake thee."

      "It is no mockery. Thou wilt have to do this to win Miölnir back for the defence of Asgard. Thrym will take no other recompense than Freya. I would mock him by bringing thee to him in Freya's veil and dress. When thou art in his hall and he asks thee to join hands with him, say thou wilt not until he puts Miölnir into thy hands. Then when thy mighty hammer is in thy holding thou canst deal with him and with all in his hall. And I shall be with thee as thy bridesmaid! O sweet, sweet maiden Thor!"

      "Loki," said Thor, "thou didst devise all this to mock me. I in a bridal dress! I with a bride's veil upon me! The Dwellers in Asgard will never cease to laugh at me."

      "Yea," said Loki, "but there will never be laughter again in Asgard unless thou art able to bring back the hammer that thine unwatchfulness lost."

      "True," said Thor unhappily, "and is this, thinkst

      thou, Loki, the only way to win back Miölnir from Thrym?"

      "It is the only way, O Thor," said the cunning Loki.

      Loki is to blame for all this.

    2. Re:Umm... by thoughtfulbloke · · Score: 1

      That was played out in the TV series The Almighty Johnsons

  45. 2 years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I give it two years at most before they bring him back to normal.

  46. Hold On by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As long as we "Thor" gets the eye-candy treatment in the movies that we did with the male Thor? Fine. If they butch it up, I cry foul.

  47. Weird by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm all for strong women. Hell, I have an 11 year old daughter. So I like the idea of her having strong role models. But this is a little weird considering the comic book character is based off of the male god of Norse legend by the same name. And why is this a "fall from grace" as TFS states? And why can't (s)he wield Mjolnir?

    While I'm asking, why is it that most of these comic book "strong women" have a pair of double D boobs (at minimum) falling out of their outfits? I don't care how skilled a women is, she ain't gonna be fighting worth a damn in 5 inch 'fuck-me-heels' with her ass and boobs falling out of her costume.

    1. Re:Weird by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      Anytime I hear someone say "A but B" I know they mean B but are just too cowardly to say so outright.

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    2. Re:Weird by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Anytime I hear someone say "A but B" I know they mean B but are just too cowardly to say so outright.

      It can mean that. But to me, it looks like "I like A, but this is actually B"

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    3. Re:Weird by mvdwege · · Score: 1

      Since this particular form has been taken over and is now a shibboleth for weaseling, a smart person would avoid it at all costs.

      --
      "I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
    4. Re:Weird by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Since this particular form has been taken over and is now a shibboleth for weaseling, a smart person would avoid it at all costs.

      A smart person would avoid slashdot at all costs. We only have to quibble over how smart we all aren't.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:Weird by Livius · · Score: 1

      "A but B" includes "B". They didn't hide the "this is a little weird" part in any way.

    6. Re:Weird by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      Anytime I hear someone say "A but B" I know they mean B but are just too cowardly to say so outright.

      It can mean that. But to me, it looks like "I like A, but this is actually B"

      Yeah, I thought it was pretty clear too. But apparently the GP is so much smarter than I am that they know what I meant better than I do.

      Since this particular form has been taken over and is now a shibboleth for weaseling, a smart person would avoid it at all costs.

      Oh wait...

    7. Re:Weird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "I'm all for strong women. Hell, I have an 11 year old daughter. So I like the idea of her having strong role models."

      And by strong you mean great physical force, if I'm not mistaken.
      Muscles, basically. So, the female is a role model because she's muscled; she's like a man, basically.
      In my opinion - I'm a man, by the way - that's a terrible role model for an eleven year old girl.
      Especially because it's usually not just physical force, but glorification of violence.
      Beating (killing, usually) other living beings with violence.
      This aggressive woman can do that just like men can, so you see young daughter, you can be just like her.
      Congratulations.

    8. Re:Weird by evilviper · · Score: 0

      I don't care how skilled a women is, she ain't gonna be fighting worth a damn in 5 inch 'fuck-me-heels' with her ass and boobs falling out of her costume.

      Face it, no woman can fight a man worth a damn, in any case. Biology just simply precludes it as an option. If you think I'm wrong, you've never really fought an adult man. In a fight between a female Olympic athlete, and an over-weight, middle-aged male office worker, I'll bet good money on the man, every time.

      Not to get too dark, but that's a key point in nearly every military rape story... Woman was trained to fight, thought she could handle herself... Is horrified to find men are incredibly strong and she can't do a thing to help herself when she, for the first time, really needs to.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    9. Re:Weird by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Females don't buy comics, they buy crap on how to lose 100lb in a week, top 20 sex tips, and here's a picture of a celebrity. Those with a penis make up the vast majority of the comic customer base. Just as women like looking at semi-dressed athletic models, men like looking at idealised females, and that means big tits.

    10. Re:Weird by gl4ss · · Score: 1

      the fall from grace is for Thor, this Thor then takes the Mjolnir and goes on as Thor while Thor does something else(drinks in a pub or something).

      but it is this Thor that is then the "Thor of the marvel universe".

      makes perfect sense? of course not. it's just Thor jumping the Thor.

      --
      world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
    11. Re:Weird by The+Grim+Reefer · · Score: 1

      And by strong you mean great physical force, if I'm not mistaken. Muscles, basically. So, the female is a role model because she's muscled; she's like a man, basically. In my opinion - I'm a man, by the way - that's a terrible role model for an eleven year old girl.

      You are mistaken. While I do value being physically fit, I was referring more to the content of their character, self reliance, intelligence, and things like that. Until the last couple of decades, women were expected to be reliant on "their man". That's not what I looked for in my wife, and is certainly not what either of us want for our daughter. Most of the female heroes in comics are pretty intelligent and don't rely only on than their physical strength and looks.

      If you read the rest of my comment I also mentioned the ridiculous costumes and physique portrayed in comics. It's not much better for the male characters I suppose. Most of them are so 'roided up they'd probably be lucky if they could tie their own shoes.

  48. That's nothing... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thor has previously been replaced by a frog and an alien with a horse's skull for a head.

  49. Wow Disney Marvel failure number one by portwojc · · Score: 1

    They usually do so good using established works and expanding upon them. At least call her a Goddess if you're going to do it right.

    1. Re:Wow Disney Marvel failure number one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Disney Princessification no doubt.

  50. Comments imply readers aren't actually reading. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just scrolling through the testosterone fueled rage shows that /. readers know nothing about the article as well as the character in question.

    Dr. Donald Blake runs from aliens and finds Mjolnir in a cave disguised as a walking stick. He smacks it into a rock and he becomes Thor.

    So that's fair, but a woman finding Mjolnir would be too far fetched?

    There is a bit about Odin putting Thor into the body of Donald Blake to teach him humility. This is fine with the readers, but putting Thor in a female body (lol) is too far fetched?

  51. Stargate SG-1's new Hathor will be a man by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Or not....

    1. Re:Stargate SG-1's new Hathor will be a man by captjc · · Score: 1

      She wasn't? I just thought it was a rather manish drag queen, which made it even creepier. That's not to say any of the system lords appeared to be 100% heterosexual (especially Ra and Ba'al).

      --
      Slow Down Cowboy! It's been 1 hour, 47 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment
  52. Feminism is trendy now - good! by gman003 · · Score: 1

    The comic book industry has started to realize that sexism is bad for business. There's still plenty of remnants left (especially at DC - see the New 52 Starfire kerfluffle), but it's changing. The comics press has been talking about it for years, indie comics have been doing it for longer, and now Marvel is riding the trend. If you can even call it a trend - I really doubt "treating both genders as equals" is something that will go out of style, barring another dark age or something.

    Yes, it's a bit gimmicky, taking an established character and replacing him with a her. But comic plots in general are pretty gimmicky. And they took care to keep the "old" character around, he's just depowered (something that happens to superheroes pretty much constantly). So it's not as big a change as it might outwardly seem (especially since Marvel has two continuities, and they haven't said if this is Ultimate universe or the original universe Thor being replaced - so either way, a male Thor will still be around in at least one universe).

    Marvel's business side is probably doing it only because it's trendy and makes them look good, but I don't feel like the writers are doing it purely for that reason. Hard to tell at this point, though. The armor is potentially problematic - boob plate is better than most female characters used to get, but it's still not good design (both from a realist perspective (good way to break your own ribs and guide blows straight to your heart), and a feminist perspective (you're only doing it because boobs)). But other than that, they're at least talking like they're making her a proper female character. Marvel's been doing well with that of late (see Ms Marvel for a widely-praised example).

    Modern feminism gets a bad rap because of the extremists, because they're the loudest and easiest to argue with. But they aren't the majority - the bulk are just people who think gender equality is a good thing, which is much harder to argue with.

    1. Re:Feminism is trendy now - good! by Nephandus · · Score: 1

      "Gender equality" as defined by "feminist theory" AKA an proudly unscientific, contradictory system of redefinitions and buzzwords meant for equivocation for when the special pleading just isn't enough, like how "male privilege" openly doesn't require males having any until that's exactly what's desired. "Patriarchy" is a system that favors males regardless of the genders of the leaders until policy explicitly favors females; then, it's still "patriarchy", now because of the genders of the leaders. If you wonder why any of us paying attention won't take your word for "equality", don't, but that's why "we need more feminism", right? Too much oldspeak, needs more crimestop.

      --
      "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
  53. Is this a reboot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm confused - the TV series will have a different character than the movies? But both are from Marvel? Is this a reboot, did male Thor die?

    I'm so tired of reboots every five to ten years. How about they make a continuous series that builds and stick to it?

  54. They have gone further before by Gramie2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Does no one else remember Beta Ray Bill from Walt Simonson's run in the '80s (the golden age for Thor and large swathes of Marvel, in my opinion). Beta Ray Bill was able to wield Mjolnir and Thor's power even though he was a vaguely-humanoid alien.

    1. Re:They have gone further before by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but given Beta Ray Bill's equine appearance, the phrase "I say thee neigh" actually made sense.

      --
      Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    2. Re:They have gone further before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Beta Ray Bill was able to wield the power because he was "worthy", but they didn't refer to him as "Thor".

    3. Re:They have gone further before by Gramie2 · · Score: 1

      Well, this new character isn't actually Thor either, no matter what they may say. I expect that they will do a short run with a woman and return to the original Thor, because it's all about business and they don't want to confuse potential customers who like the movies (or the actual Norse mythology). This is just one of the regular "everything has changed" publicity stunts that they pull every few years because they don't have any real character development. Remember the death of Superman? Of Captain America? It's about the same level as when Dallas (the original series) said, "the whole last season was just a dream".

    4. Re:They have gone further before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      beta ray bill also got his own hammer so he was not Thor this lady is now Thor the old one is gone I hope it fails

    5. Re:They have gone further before by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does no one else remember Beta Ray Bill from Walt Simonson's run in the '80s (the golden age for Thor and large swathes of Marvel, in my opinion). Beta Ray Bill was able to wield Mjolnir and Thor's power even though he was a vaguely-humanoid alien.

      Beta Ray Bill? The guy who acquired the powers... and kept his own name. Because deciding to call him Thor would just be ridiculous!

  55. Ugh can we stop the PC mentality please? by Virtucon · · Score: 1

    Political Correctness has hit comic books! Whoda thunk it. Create a female character if you want but don't superimpose a female gender on a male character. That is unless Thor is now going to have a sex change? Wait Norse God, Denmark. It makes sense now! Thor will undergo a sex change operation, talk about predictable.

    --
    Harrison's Postulate - "For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism"
  56. A FEMALE Starbuck?!?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This has got to be the stupidest idea ever!

    Or on the other hand ....

  57. Thor as a woman ... not that far off by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  58. Still better than Archie's latest antics by nwaack · · Score: 1

    At least they didn't have Thor get shot to death with an evil black gun whilst defending his homosexual best friend. Comic books need to stay away from politics...far, far away.

    1. Re:Still better than Archie's latest antics by Desler · · Score: 1

      You don't read much of Stan Lee's works then I presume? His works have always been about political and social issues.

  59. Well we as consumers don't have to like by Stan92057 · · Score: 1

    Well we as consumers don't have to like the change or more importantly support or buy into the stupid idea of a Female Thor. I wasn't a Thor fan anyways. Stop thinking we like female super heros, well we do, when there scantly clad. I never bought into the "Cough" Strong female hero unless they are scantly clad lol. Call me a pig i don't Give a F :) I like my women with nice curves and a soft ass.Women shaped like guys make me want to gag. But if thats your cup of tea well we all like different things so be it. This is all IMO of course.

    --
    Jack of all trades,master of none
  60. Idjits by RudyHartmann · · Score: 1

    Ugh, how about Thorella, Thorette, or Thorina. What a buncha idjits that are going to do this.

    --
    Oh, yeah! Wise guy, huh? Woob woob woob woob! Nyuk! Nyuk!
    1. Re:Idjits by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      people that say idjits are idiots.

  61. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  62. Oblig Penny-Arcade - Black Heimdall by netsavior · · Score: 5, Informative

    We already did this... Even a racist clock is right twice a day

    In Marvel Lore, anyone who is worthy may wield the hammer and gain the power of thor... this has included

    A horsefaced dude (beta ray bill who now wields a dupe of the hammer, sorta)
    A frog named Throg
    it has also been wielded by Storm (who is a woman) and Captain America.

    This is a non-story, and not the first time a woman has wielded Mjolnir.

    1. Re:Oblig Penny-Arcade - Black Heimdall by quantaman · · Score: 1

      We already did this... Even a racist clock is right twice a day

      In Marvel Lore, anyone who is worthy may wield the hammer and gain the power of thor... this has included

      A horsefaced dude (beta ray bill who now wields a dupe of the hammer, sorta)

      A frog named Throg

      it has also been wielded by Storm (who is a woman) and Captain America.

      This is a non-story, and not the first time a woman has wielded Mjolnir.

      I think black Thor is tacky, objecting has nothing to do with being racist but the fact they're screwing with other people's mythology. Now if they made Spiderman a gay black man? Or Professor X a female? Now those are changes I could endorse and the resulting changes would make the character's fundamental characteristics more compelling.

      As for this case I'd say Marvel is the one being misogynist. The basic implication of this stunt is that the only way they can see to make a flagship female character is by taking a male flagship character and turning them female.

      A woman shouldn't have to piggyback on a man to gain fame.

      --
      I stole this Sig
    2. Re:Oblig Penny-Arcade - Black Heimdall by Uberbah · · Score: 1

      This is a non-story, and not the first time a woman has wielded Mjolnir.

      Talk about falling out of the boat but managing to miss the water...other people picking up the hammer is a non sequitur. It's like saying the new and improved Patty Parker is no big thang because other people have used web shooters and other women have had spider costumes.

      tl;dr WHOOSH

    3. Re:Oblig Penny-Arcade - Black Heimdall by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      In Marvel Lore, anyone who is worthy may wield the hammer and gain the power of thor... this has included

      A horsefaced dude (beta ray bill who now wields a dupe of the hammer, sorta)

      A frog named Throg

      it has also been wielded by Storm (who is a woman) and Captain America.

      This is a non-story, and not the first time a woman has wielded Mjolnir.

      All of which misses the point. NONE OF THOSE EXAMPLES INCLUDED THE NAME CHANGE TO THOR.

      Seriously, did you not notice that?

  63. That will ruin the Thor joke by maroberts · · Score: 2

    One night the Norse god Thor was feeling a bit horny so he decided to come down to earth to satisfy his needs.

    He picked up a good looking woman with a great body and they went to her apartment she only had one small problem, she had a speech impediment, but this didn't affect the sex. They went at it hot and heavy all night long.

    In the morning Thor had to leave so he decided he should at least tell her his name so he said to her, "I'm Mighty Thor and I have to leave now."

    She looked at him and said, "You're thore?! I'm tho thor I can hardly pith."

    --

    Donte Alistair Anderson Roberts - hi son!
    Karma: Chameleon

  64. God of war by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wonder how God of war would look if worked over by these idiots. Zeus, Hera, you get my meaning.

    Anyway, if they wanted to make people look and feel stupid for liking comics, they've succeeded.

  65. pfft by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    lmao

  66. Yeah! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And now Thor has big boobs! Awesome!

  67. Re:After that shitfest"The Dark World" they need b by Dr.+Spork · · Score: 1

    To be fair, minting Thor as a superhero that, though a series of cosmic macguffins, teams up with Captain America and Ironman, is a deeply stupid idea to begin with.

  68. Next up.. by Keith111 · · Score: 1

    Next up is Superman. He went to LA and got a sex change. She will remain called Superman, however, Clark Kent is now known as Clara Kent.

  69. Son of Odin by mtpaley · · Score: 1

    Thor the son of Odin. http://www.rosala-viking-centr... Hmm. Costumed superheroes can move on from generation to generation as done well in Watchmen but genuine gods are surely a bit more stable.

  70. You are male? You don't like the change? by Tanuki64 · · Score: 2

    Easy solution: Don't buy the books. I would guess, the overwhelming majority of comic book buyers are men. Let's see if the male readers can make a sufficiently large bump in the profit Marvel makes with the Thor books, so it cannot be compensated by the three additional female readers Marvel might get through this move. If not... you deserve not better.

  71. Mjolnir, screwdriver? by HannethCom · · Score: 1

    Mjolnir isn't just any screwdriver! It's a sonic screwdriver of kick-ass! The hammer part it just sonically created. ;o)

    --
    Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon what's the difference? All steal money from devs and control with walled gardens.
  72. Boobs Don't Work That Way by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://boobsdontworkthatway.com

    Looking forward to more Fighting Fuck Toys from Marvel!

    And whatever you do, don't look at Spiderwoman at http://boobsdontworkthatway.tumblr.com/page/5 !!!!

  73. I for one think it's neat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Marvel, in recent times, have been pretty progressive with their hero in the comics. Do I need to point out that a black Hispanic kid has inherited the role of Spider-man? What about the Pakistani teen who is the new Miss Marvel? I think a woman as the Thor is great. Not some She-Thor or Thor-Woman knock off but a female with the title of Thor itself. Ever have a little girl that wanted to be Batman or Spiderman for Halloween? Would you tell her no, she can only be Batgirl or Spider-girl? Yes, the new Thor is a bit sexy but perhaps once we can get over locking gender-roles for superheros we can then deal with that issue.

    1. Re:I for one think it's neat. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      That's all nice and dandy, but remember, when time comes to make a movie, what will matter is how big the hooters on the actress are and rest assured that her "armor" will highlight that "feature" of hers.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:I for one think it's neat. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Yes, the new Thor is a bit sexy but perhaps"

      This has been stated over and over in this thread, and I just don't understand what the problem is. You want your heroes and gods characters to be pear-shaped, frumpy, and humorless? Maybe that makes it easier for you to relate to them, but heroes generally embody ideals we want to live up to (including the ideal of beauty).

  74. Didn't see that coming by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Marvel...the Microsoft of mythology. Don't worry, gender bending's a feature, not a bug!

  75. Ms. Male by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah so I'm gonna have to say this REEKS of Ms. Male....

    http://www.feministfrequency.com/2013/11/ms-male-character-tropes-vs-women/

  76. not Thor by Tom · · Score: 1

    You can wish the moon was made of cheese, and you can announce it is, but it won't make it so.

    Thor is a male norse god, no matter how you try to retcon it. The new character will not be Thor, period. It'll be a female character called Thor.

    I don't know why they did this, because it's completely stupid. The norse mythology is rich with strong women, equal in power to their male counterparts. They could have easily built up any of them into a major character.

    --
    Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    1. Re:not Thor by Ionized · · Score: 1

      did you bitch and moan with equal fervor when batman/spiderman/antman/nightwing/robin/etc/etc/etc were portrayed by new characters?

      smells like misogyny to me!

    2. Re:not Thor by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      Which of the examples you presented switched gender at the transition?

      You might also notice that Thor is not, at least not "in total" a creation of Marvel. They redressed a figure from ancient mythology and turned it into a modern day superhero. That's an a bit different base to work from here. I think the outcry would probably be a lot less vocal if it had been any other superhero. Thor is more than a superhero. It's more like ... imagine someone made a superhero out of Jesus and then turn him into a woman.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:not Thor by Tom · · Score: 1

      smells like misogyny to me!

      Because everything that doesn't bow down to radical feminism nazi shit and kisses its feet is automatically misogyny?

      There are male characters in mythology, and there are female characters in mythology. If you want a female character, a strong warrior type with power, who commands respect and is listened to by the other gods - the norse mythology has several you can take.

      Making an inherently male character female is at best stupid, and at worst both misgoynic and misandric. If you have to look that last word up in a dictionary, you've just revealed your true nature.

      If I were a feminist, I'd probably hate this. What would be a good thing is to create an original female character, one that's not a sidekick or off-shot, but a fully-fledged character in her own rights, with none of the stupid revealing-armour-that-is-worthless-in-a-fight-but-makes-your-boobs-look-bigger nonsense.

      The only people who I can see to support an idiot move like this are feminazis, the people who're not really interested in equality of any kind, but believe in women being the master race. They are the only people who can possibly have a problem with a beloved male comic book character not being a woman.

      Everyone who simply would like to see more female characters on screen, in books or elsewhere would understand that this new "Thor" is not actually a woman. He's a male character in a female body, that's all.

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    4. Re:not Thor by Triklyn · · Score: 1

      i didn't like it when batman was portrayed by another person. I don't care about the story of "batman" i care about the story of bruce wayne/batman and what drives him. I'm sure if i were a fan of the other ones even a little, i'd be pretty damn upset if they just decided to swap out the main character.

    5. Re:not Thor by Ionized · · Score: 1

      so its totally fine for a new person to take on the title of thor... as long as they are male? but passing mjolnir on to a female, that's somehow wrong?

      would you also express outrage if mjolnir was passed on to a black person?

      can you explain why on either count, without sounding like a bigot?

    6. Re:not Thor by Ionized · · Score: 1

      dude, you lost the game as soon as you said feminazi.

      seriously, if you think that casting a female as the new thor is somehow equivalent to "bowing down to radical feminism nazi shit" then you are a lost cause and should probably just eat a bullet.

      it's also amusing that you are TOTALLY FINE with the fact that marvel has already changed the norse mythology WILDLY... turning thor into a friggin alien instead of a god. one who was a depowered crippled doctor for a long time. but when mjolnir gets passed on to a female character, you are all of a sudden outraged because it's not following the sacred mythology.

      you DID read the fucking summary and see that this is a new character, right? they aren't just giving existing thor a sex change. thor is falling from grace and losing his powers, a new female character is being introduced and mjolnir is being given to her. but of course you already knew all that.

    7. Re:not Thor by Tom · · Score: 1

      seriously, if you think that casting a female as the new thor is somehow equivalent to "bowing down to radical feminism nazi shit" then you are a lost cause and should probably just eat a bullet.

      Yes, I do in fact think that it is a misguided attempt at catering to a very specific, ideologically driven "audience". It's the attempt to cash in bonus points with the crowd that wants more female characters, but without the hassle of actualy creating one.

      it's also amusing that you are TOTALLY FINE with the fact that marvel has already changed the norse mythology WILDLY.

      Yepp, totally fine. Because I understand the concept of "based on ..."

      you DID read the fucking summary and see that this is a new character, right?

      Which is why they call the new character "Thor", yes? Because "Thor" is an old norse word that means "whoever holds the hammer", yes? Are you really so easily tricked by comic-book-retcon-handwaving?

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    8. Re:not Thor by Ionized · · Score: 1

      where is the retconning, exactly? thor falls from grace. new person gets hammer. it's a story arc. possibly permanent, possibly temporary, but there is no retconning happening here.

      marvel is saying that thor is whoever's wielding the hammer. much like DC has said that batman/nightwing/robin is whoever's wearing the mask. how many robins have there been again, exactly?

      nothing new to see here, move along.

    9. Re:not Thor by Tom · · Score: 1

      where is the retconning, exactly? [...] marvel is saying that thor is whoever's wielding the hammer.

      Answering your own questions much? Up until now, Thor had a lot of powers not derived from Mjolnir. On the contrary, Thors soul is imbued in the hammer, not the other way around. Mjolnir is a part of Thor, not Thor an extension of Mjolnir.

      To change that is very much a retcon. To call a new, different character "Thor" means changing "Thor" from a name to a title.

      It's a publicity stunt, and a pretty stupid one. In so far, you are right:

      nothing new to see here

      --
      Assorted stuff I do sometimes: Lemuria.org
    10. Re:not Thor by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      A black Thor would actually be interesting. And I don't doubt that a female Thor will be. But in general I don't like the idea of Thor being "mortal" and exchangeable.

      Thor is a figure Marvel "borrowed" from folk mythology. Like I said before, if Green Lantern was passed on to a gay Jewish black girl, nobody would complain. That "works". But Thor?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  77. Under-pandering by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why not make Thor a Lesbian-Pre-op-transexual-Blasian-Mutant-Cyborg-Dog/Horse-hybrid-Jesus/Buddha. Don't discriminate Marvel.

    1. Re:Under-pandering by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      What? No Zombies, Robots, Pirates or Ninjas?

      Are you prejudiced?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  78. It's been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_X

    Loki tricked Odin into making Thor a woman to teach him humility. It was really just Loki being a dick.

  79. Tranny Thor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You've gone too far Marvel.

  80. Starbuck turned out ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Subject really said all I wanted to say...

    1. Re:Starbuck turned out ok by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The Dirk Benedict Starbucks was a young, reckless hoodlum who couldn't keep his hand out of women's panties. Turning that into a woman makes it a slut, and we (ok, at least if we're not overcome with PC-ness) think that's hot.

      Thor is a strong, rather grim, very masculine superhero who beats up the bad guys. Turning that into a woman makes it a butch dyke.

      You might see the difference.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  81. Grandma was a RN at VA hospitals by leftie · · Score: 1

    My 5' 0" Irish Grandmother was VA hospital RN . She was my first female superhero.

    Flipping 6' 3" Marines around their beds one handed while giving anyone who tried to give her the jeast bit of lip Instant Kill Gaze O' Death.

  82. DC Follows suit by SuiteSisterMary · · Score: 2

    After Wonder Woman is killed, a brave young man takes up the bracers, lasso and breastplate, becoming.....

    --
    Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
    1. Re:DC Follows suit by Tanuki64 · · Score: 1

      No problem. As long as he is at least gay.

    2. Re:DC Follows suit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Wonder, Woah Man

    3. Re:DC Follows suit by BitwiseX · · Score: 1

      Then Marvel would sue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...

    4. Re:DC Follows suit by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      The gayest superhero since Aquaman?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  83. Julia Roberts will star as ML King in new movie by SensitiveMale · · Score: 1

    Look, sometimes this works like when Duncan played Kingpin, but usually it's a transparent money grab.

    1. Re:Julia Roberts will star as ML King in new movie by micahraleigh · · Score: 1

      That is the perfect comparison.

  84. hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    As long as it's done in the spirit of Blonde Shepard (ME2), I think it'll be awesome.

  85. I bet this is part of the whole "Sif & Warrior by SensitiveMale · · Score: 1

    I think Marvel & Paramount really wanted to push Sif & the warriors 3 into a spin off. The problem was they were a bunch of pussies in the first Thor and they were even weaker in the second. This is a a blatant money grab and a not very original one.

  86. Insulting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hmm, Thor is not property of Marvel Comics..They have hijacked a Nordic cultural icon. Taking something away from someone else's culture and making money with it caused issue for Marvel. I would think taking a cultural icon from a foreign country and giving it a sex change will cause more issue. Thor is not their story. and not theirs to change. I'm betting eventual litigation, if not from Americans..then from the Nordics. What next, are they going to steal Poseidon from the Greeks and create a transsexual against the will of others?

  87. Re:I bet this is part of the whole "Sif & Warr by Tanuki64 · · Score: 1

    If they can grab money with that, then it is right what they are doing. Making money is the first and foremost task of a company.

  88. Huh? by voltorb · · Score: 1

    Is it already April Fools'?

  89. Chicks have gone too far..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First they re-approriate "Shark Week" to mean "The week I Get my period" and RUIN what was a great holiday, and now they take away THOR too? This feminism bullshit has gone far too far!

  90. Re:I bet this is part of the whole "Sif & Warr by SensitiveMale · · Score: 1

    Well yes and no. They could sell all of their trademarks and IP for $10 and that would be making money. Shoving something out just for a short term gain isn't always the best plan.

  91. A word from future me by sootman · · Score: 1

    Never thought I'd find myself searching google images for "thor nude", but here we are.

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  92. Mjolnir sounds like Hal Jordan's ring by Bobartig · · Score: 1

    This is very "green lantern-ish" sounding to me. The way it's explained here: http://time.com/2987551/thor-m... makes it sound like whoever wields Mjolnir is Thor. Current Thor becomes unable to wield the hammer, so the hammer choses someone else, who happens to be a woman. She becomes Thor, and previous Thor becomes "big muscular guy but not superhero" or something.

    --
    This is where I get my recommended daily allowance of "Foot in Mouth."
  93. Political Correctness Run Amok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's all this is... shameless pandering.

  94. Not surprised by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not surprised that there can be a lady Thor - my wife can easily shoot thunderbolts, especially when she is pissed with me. After 40 years of marriage, I have the scars to prove it! :-)

  95. gimmick with no creativity by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    well, i can't say i'm surprised. i've been bored with marvel movies for a couple of years now. they just saturated the market. in my opinion this is only further proof they're scraping the bottom of the barrel creativity-wise. sure, their movies usually have great production values but the actual story and dialogue is usually barely mediocre.
    making the previously very masculine thor female just seems like a silly gimmick and not even an interesting one.

  96. allright by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    now we will have a new character for sextoons hehehehe.

  97. Speculative fiction by dbIII · · Score: 1
    The entire medium is about "what if".
    This time it's "what if Thor was a woman - what would change?"
    It's no less valid in the setting than "what if Jimmy Olsen was turned into a Gorilla - again?"
    Whether it's readable or not and breaks other things in the setting is a different story. Some artists and writers could make it interesting.

    Everyone knows that the real Thor will be back once this "arc" finishes

    Just like what was done with turning Wonder Woman into a female Batman with no superpowers a while back. That was mentioned here a while back and I'll bet that's over and now a side story with zero effect on continuity.

  98. Disney-fication Is Complete! by mlw4428 · · Score: 1

    Now we can have loads of girls thinking that they're special goddesses instead of mere mortal princesses. How trite.

  99. It's just confusion over definition by dbIII · · Score: 1

    From the posts here it looks like a lot of us are just grabbing the wrong end of the hammer - Marvel see "Thor" as the job title of whoever has the hammer and the moviegoing public like me see "Thor" as the name of a specific character born in Asgard.
    So I think most of the complaints are just people grabbing the wrong end of the hammer and rubbing vigorously in public - not a good look.

  100. Nerd Fail! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Nerd Fail!

    It's not just armor, it's a costume. A costume is meant to not only protect the wearer, but to distract the attacker(s).

    Just like you probably can't talk normally to really good-looking girls, in the comic universe, attackers cannot fully focus on attacking when the costume-wearer is a hot chick.

    Nothing personal, it's just part of Canon.

  101. Jason Aaron Will Die by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sooner, we plot, or later, Jason Aaron WILL DIE.

  102. They could always by Lost+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Drop the "T".....

    --
    I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
  103. I don't know how I feel about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nothing wrong with female superheroes but this just doesn't sit with me. Okay? I think Thor will be a great new bunch of comics and stuff but I fell in love with the older Thor. In the comics I own and in the movies. I love the idea of this but I'd have preferred her as a seperate character (yeah, I know she is but I mean a different hero with different powers and stuff like each of the x men are original) I'd probably miss Thor as he is now but love Thor as she will be and I'm curious as how he will become less worthy. I personally like the au when Thor dies and Natasha decides she's worthy and can wield Mjolnir and becomes her own goddess. It sits with me better for some reason. However this ends up I will be watching and reading and will await this new twist while missing the male/older/original Thor. For me, it'll be bittersweet.

  104. Talk about your misogyny by RoccamOccam · · Score: 1

    I'm looking forward to seeing the new character use her powers to create a miniature hurricane to clean the bathtub. [I kid, I kid]

  105. Targets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The "Executives" of Marvel are:

    1) Findable (as well as each member of their families, including immediate and "relatives"

    2) Targetable (a clear path to the head)

    3) Killable (who cares ... not me ... it's just fun ... more dead for per cartridge). :-)

  106. Whoopi Goldberg has dibs by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Looking at the pic, Whoopi Goldberg called dibs if they make a movie for it...

  107. Other potential female conversions. by BitwiseX · · Score: 1

    Personally I'm holding out for a female version of Juggernaut or the Blob.

    1. Re:Other potential female conversions. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

      You ARE aware that this is like begging for a "your mom" joke, yes?

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  108. I'm torn. by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    On one hand I want to shout "Hypocrites! Who here complained when Starbuck was turned into a female?"

    On the other hand I just can't see how the single Marvel character that screams "masculinity" can be turned into a woman without becoming a comic figu... erh... you know what I mean!

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    1. Re:I'm torn. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The logo for the coffee company is only a representation of the character in the same way that McDonalds golden arches are a representation of someone called McDonald.

  109. Lame and unnecessary by petrus4 · · Score: 1

    The Aesir already have women among them. What about Freya, or the Valkyries? Marvel don't need to do this.

    I'd actually be interested to know the opinions of any genuine Asatruar who read these comics, about this development. Do you consider it sacrilege?

  110. Ask Thor if he is a woman? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Last time I checked.

  111. Your God Thor. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Your dude is a chick.

  112. Congratulations? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Because this is just so outrageous compared to Thor being an alien space horse or a frog, right?

  113. Also in the news by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    Jack Chick will be recasting Jesus as a woman to appeal to the female audience.

  114. Proud tradition by jandersen · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The new Thor continues Marvel's proud tradition of ...

    ... completely ignoring things like historical background, common knowledge and elementary logic.

    Being Danish, it has always irked me, that this cartoon 'Thor' is portrayed as a tall, sledge-hammer wielding body builder with lanky, blond hair, full body wax and a placid temperament; the traditional thunder-god, son of Odin and married to Sif, was red-haired and -bearded (and generally hairy as a man would be), foul-tempered and wielded a hammer, mjolnir, that was famously short-shafted. I suppose a busty, female 'Thoretta' isn't really all that much further from the original. It just another American, plasticky product, like 'He-Man' and 'Power Rangers'.

    1. Re:Proud tradition by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, now. Female Power Rangers don't have their boobs hanging out of their outfits. They may be corny, but they have surprisingly sensible costumes for the comic 'verse.

    2. Re:Proud tradition by jandersen · · Score: 1

      Female Power Rangers don't have their boobs hanging out of their outfits

      Yeah, that's what i mean ... Poor stuff. ;-)

      But basically, Power Rangers is nothing more than an excuse for showing off basic moped stunts; and covering the actors (and I use the word in the most liberal sense) in full leathers is not only sensible, it's also handy when you want to replace them.

  115. I think this is the moment ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now Marvel has officially jumped the shark and somebody will have to invent a new category of movies.

  116. So, a list of nick names? by Lost+Penguin · · Score: 1

    Thoreen.
    Thora. (the explorer)
    Thorida. (if she's from Florida)
    Thorala.

    --
    I am the unwilling control for my Origin.
  117. Female Thor...meh by Charcharodon · · Score: 1
    I for one am ready for the female personnel/marketing revolution to be over. They can have boss jobs, wear pants, do math, fly planes, serve in combat, and I guess now be Thor.

    This kind of stuff used to be novel, but now is just dumb. Me thinks the girls have enough Girl power roll models.

  118. You insensitive clod by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My daughter Jeffrey is now in here room crying here eyes out

  119. PC BS FKiT by pubwvj · · Score: 1

    Politically Correct Bull.

  120. The same speech all over again... by Kinwolf · · Score: 1

    And this new Thor isn't a temporary female substitute — she's now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy! They said the same thing back then for the new Spiderman, the new Green Lantern(DC), the new ... you get it. When sales plummet for a few months(like they always do, because comic books oldies only like their sacred Statu Quo), they'll bring back the old Thor fast enough.

  121. Outfit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Better be shirtless scenes!

  122. Woo hoo! by Irate+Engineer · · Score: 1

    Break out the chain mail bikini! You go Thor!

    --

    Left MS Windows for Linux Mint and never looked back!

    Vote for Bernie in 2016!

  123. Can Marvel resist putting her tits on display? by uncleroot · · Score: 1

    I have no doubt she will be worthy. But I also have no doubt Marvel will spec her with large bosoms and a bustier.

  124. two things by haapi · · Score: 1

    1) The new Thor apparently shaves her armpits.
    2) Again with the "female does what a male does, but without the powerful hammer"

    --
    Well, apparently, you only have to fool the majority of people for a little while.
  125. Next... Wonder Woman is a man by MooseTick · · Score: 1

    If they want to sell some comics, they should make Wonder Woman a man. And Batgirl a guy as well. Maybe, then it would sell better.

  126. Thor's older than the comics... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Thor, the thunder god whose story has been told in comic books, movies, and TV shows since the 1960s, will fall from grace, and no longer be able to wield his hammer Mjolnir"

    Actually, no. Not correct. His story is of Nordic Mythology that precedes the relatively recent and infantile age of comics.

  127. Oh Dear Not Again..... by lucien86 · · Score: 1

    I know, lets give the new Thor round black ears.. No Lets make Thor into Micky Mouse - Mickey Thor!! Marvel has this nasty habit of messing with and messing up their best characters. A politically correct female Thor is ridiculous - changing Thor's identity is ridiculous. (nothing against women BTW but this is just ugly) Didn't they once try to do this with Superman? changing his identity almost killed off the character completely. I like a lot of Marvels characters but that always comes with the knowledge that sooner or later they will shit on them - and you..

    --
    Below the speed of light Special Relativity is one of the most accurate theories in physics - above the speed of light..
  128. Polemic? by MZM · · Score: 1

    A comic is a very strange world, its a place where women and men are hyper-sexualized, they die and wake up after a short period of time, there are people with fictional superpowers which can defeat laws of physics , it's a place where the mythological history is rewritten over and over again. I just don't understand people, this is just another turn of the events in order to create a false sense of polemic, If you are expecting a very successful and commercial comic book with real characters and realistic proportions, well, you can do it, but i don't know how many of those are you going to sell. Sad? yes, but that's how the comics work

  129. Why not have Jesus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    or even Allah as a comic book superhero? If you're going to treat one God like that shouldn't you do it to all?

  130. Thorita by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Thorita, wielder of the pink hammer.

  131. tordis by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm not completely against a female representation of Thor. Just don't call her Tor/Thor. Hey, I would use the thorn if Slashdot let me, but beta refuses to fix. Call her Tordis. Guess what - we Scandinavians are sick and tired of popular culture ruining good stories and supplanting them with stupid modern agendas, allegory, and stereotypes. Here's a lesson we can all learn - if you want to get the most out of a story read the book instead.

  132. TRANS-is-THOR!!! by Optali · · Score: 1

    Finally, Marvel is brave enough to allow one of their heroes to come out and get a gender-change operation!!! Transexual Thor... or better knwon by it's heor name Trans-is-Thor!!!!

    --
    -- 29A the number of the Beast
  133. Seriously, stupid move by Optali · · Score: 1

    They could just have taken any of the many hardcore war-godesses like Thud, the very daughter of Thor, as badass as the fther... or even more, she avanged him!!! Hail Odin, brothers and sisters !

    --
    -- 29A the number of the Beast
  134. In related news .... by aix+tom · · Score: 1

    ... Christianities next Virgin Mary will be a man.

    And be ready for the 2050 Blockbuster where Evil Adele Hitler conquers Europe.

  135. Obligatory Off-Color Joke by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The new Thor gives new meaning to the term 'thundercunt'! :)

  136. I am Woman! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I am Woman, hear me Thor!

    That is all.

    Loved it. clap, clap, clap

  137. Genderbender Thor by simon1tan · · Score: 1

    Seriously Marvel? You couldn't just create a new female character...maybe in an alternate universe or something. You have to genderbend Thor. Well shit. Marvel never had a logo for an image, but I would like to suggest a big Vagina as your logo. I guess it's not just in the movies where you can just swap out an actor. You can do it in comic books too, to an even greater extent. Remove the penis, we don't need it. This female empowerment thing is getting out of hand. But I don't mind staying at home while the husky women go out mining.

  138. rules of the internet people. live 'em, love 'em! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Seriously? I was sure that after 500 comments someone would have sited rule 63! no one?!?

    well, Siting rule 63 of the rules of the internet: "For every male character there is a female version. No Exceptions."

    Well done Marvel. Well done.

    --Wait... rule 62.2, "For every female character there is a male version. No Exceptions."... concept... too... meta... nested... results... are... nested...

  139. Norse mythology? by Captain_Chaos · · Score: 1

    This is just silly. Thor isn't someone Marvel made up, he's a loaner from a well established mythology, in which he is male. Why not come up with a new, female, superhero? It really comes across as pandering to me.

  140. Lame and stupid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That is all.

  141. Thor original by Nat+Turner · · Score: 1

    The Norse Germanic concept of the God of Thunder known as Thor, is based on the African Egyptian God named Menes aka Narmer, In Niger and also along the Nile he is known as Shango, however in about 2500 BC the God of Thunder was depicted as a woman, named Candace, Queen of Kush / Ethiopia. http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads... Read on http://sco.lt/7SWSIb

  142. izmir bayan vip http://www.smyrnaeskort.com eskort by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

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  143. Really? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Well a female Thor? Now that's interesting, hopefully the actress is hot. https://vid.me/BWN

  144. Other Badass Norse Ladies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I don't know why they wouldn't just make a series about the other already awesome Norse goddesses or legends. Lady Sif was a beast, and there are already the Valkyries and Freyja. Why change the old mythos when there is plenty of new material waiting to be used?

  145. I'm ginving up by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I will totally give up Marvel and it's movies if they ever sex change Wolverine.