A couple months ago, Marvel shocked the comic book world by announcing that Thor will become a female character. The internet went completely insane with both misguided assumptions and over the top speculations. Some people actually were very upset by the notion of a long-standing comic icon becoming a woman. Well, the truth of the matter is that Thor wasn’t becoming a woman, as much as a woman was becoming Thor. Allow me to explain. Thor is still the same Thor he has always been, but after the events of Original Sin, he is no longer worthy of wielding Mjolnir (his hammer). In Thor’s absence, Mjolnir will be wielded by another character, which was announced to be a woman.
Marvel proceeded to tease us for over a month leading up to the launch of the new Thor series. Who is this woman? Is it an already established character? Will it be someone new?
Fast forward one month and finally, the new Thor title hits the shelf. The cover is incredible and depicts a fierce looking female donning a slightly revamped Thor helmet that covers her face. Now intrigue sets in for me. Jason Aaron’s story is incredible, in the first issue it immediately pulls you in. With each page, I became more intent on knowing what would happen. This was pretty impressive to me, as I have never really been a big fan of Thor. Russell Dauterman’s art is equally fantastic and draws you right into the world that Aaron’s words have created. I may not have been a fan before, but I certainly am now.
I finished the first issue, and was immediately a fan, but a few minutes later, something occurred to me. They never did reveal who the new Thor is. The whole reason I bought the book, and it was all a sham. Well played Marvel. Well played indeed.
With the next issue (and hopefully the big reveal issue) due out next week, I thought it would be a great time to put our two cents in about who we believe will be taking over as the God of Thunder.
After careful research and weighing all of the options (ok, so after reading the comic and being familiar with the Marvel Universe) I believe the new Thor to be Angela. While, to many, this seems like the obvious choice, some people don’t even know who Angela is. So here is a very brief dissertation on the history of the character:
Angela was created, in 1993, by legendary author Neil Gaiman and equally legendary comic creator Todd Mcfarlane. She first appeared in Spawn number 9 as a warrior angel who was sent to destroy Spawn. After a lengthy legal battle between Mcfarlane and Gaiman about ownership, the rights were awarded to Gaiman. Nobody really knew what that meant for the future of the character, until Angela reappeared in Marvel comics Age of Ultron crossover story arc (yes, as in Avengers 2: Age of Ultron). Gaiman officially sold the rights to the character to Marvel Comics and they put her right to work. After the end of Age of Ulron she had joined forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Her backstory quickly unfolded during the events of Original Sin, where she was revealed to be Aldrif, daughter of Odin. Yes, this means she is the sister of Thor and Loki. She was thought to have died, as an infant in a war with the angels. The angel that was sent to dispose of her realized she was alive and raised her as an angel, giving her the name “Angela”. At the end of Original Sin, Angela decides to leave to explore what the other realms have to offer.
To me, she is a no-brainer for the role. As any fan of Spawn can tell you, Angela is tough enough to fill the shoes (or wield the hammer). She is also already a member of the Asgardian hierarchy, which to me should make her a shoe-in for the role. Now, while this all may seem a little on-the-nose for some people, I truly do believe that this is Marvel’s best option.
Whoever ends up wielding the hammer, I’ll be there to read it. Like I said earlier, this story is loaded with great writing and fantastic artwork. The only thing that could make it better is if I’m actually right. Just to be on the safe side, you should all be stocking up on copies of Spawn #9.