Hey Warriors, this edition of Geek Culture will take a look at the all-new female-centric Thor comic written by Jason Aaron, and illustrated by Russel Dauterman and Mathew Wilson. The new female Thor was announced by Marvel on July 15, 2014 along with Sam Wilson (Falcon) as the new Captain America, and made her first comic appearance in Thor #1 in October 2014. Thor is the latest addition in a long list of female-centric titles that continue to invite new readers into the Marvel Universe. Elektra, Captain Marvel, X-Men and Ms. Marvel are a few comics Marvel has with female lead characters.
In order to avoid any confusion in referring to Thor Odinson (as played by Chris Hemsworth in the film franchise) and the new female Thor (Thor), I will take a lead from the comic itself and call old Thor “Odinson,” and new Female Thor simply “Thor.”
Now, lets get to the Thor’s story. This new storyline picks up from the end of Marvel’s 2014 comic book event Original Sin where the Uatu (the Watcher) is killed and the secrets he kept about each Marvel hero is revealed to them. In the aftermath of the Original Sin storyline, Odinson (the original Thor) becomes unworthy to lift Mjölnir – his mystical hammer. Several Asgardians, including the All Father Odin cannot lift the hammer. It appears that no one is worthy of Mjölnir, except for a mysterious woman. With the Earth in danger, and a now vulnerable Odinson unable to protect Midgard, the new Thor decides to take up the mantle as the protector of the nine realms with her new-found power. As you can imagine, the new Thor with a mysterious background throws a Mjölnir in the works as both Asgardians and villains alike wonder if she is truly worth of the title Thor. But regardless of what the other characters feel about this new Thor, she is quickly proving she has the mettle to stop or win the hearts of whoever stands in her way. So far, she has won the respect of Odinson, Freyja (All-Mother of Asgardia), and even Melakith.
Apart from Thor’s quest to protect the nine realms and Odinson’s journey to prove his worthiness to lift Mjölnir and uncover the identity of Mjölnir’s new wielder, there is also an equally parallel power struggle between Freyja, the All-Mother/Ruler of Asgardia and Odin, the All-Father. Odin has returned to rule the Asgardians but this does not sit well with Freyja. As tension builds between these power couples, a titanic clash will soon happen to decide who is worthy to rule. With the return of Odin, Cul Bolson (Serpent, the God of Fear) has made a return to the Thor comic universe to serve as the minister of justice in Odin’s court. Cul Bolson is Odin’s brother and is famously known as the main baddie in the 2011 Fear Itself storyline as he amassed an army of mystical hammer holders to challenge Odin as the ruler of all nine realms. It is very interesting to see what mischief Cul has in store.
Jason Aaron has written a great story with the new Female Thor by balancing the recurring themes of gender equality and worthiness into an action packed comic. Overall, the new Thor comic seems to be going in the right direction with a refreshing new female lead and the mystery surrounding the identity of the lady with the thunder holding readers on edge. If you’re looking for more female-centric comics, Elektra by William Blackman and Low by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini are a good start. Thank you, and catch you soon.
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