Who is the Female Thor?

Last summer, Marvel made the stunning announcement that Thor was getting a makeover… into a woman. The internet cried out with reactions ranging from sheer horror to total female empowerment. No one was really certain how the change was going to happen until the comics hit shelves in September. Since then, three issues have published–with issue number four due this Wednesday–and the newest origin story has been revealed.

The Thor readers know and love has not gone away. He has, however, become unworthy of wielding his hammer, Mjolnir. Upon Odin’s return to Asgard, where his wife and Thor’s mother Freyja has been ruling in his absence. Odin is ready to ascend back into power, forcing Freyja to step back down to his side, a step she is unwilling to take after having ruled on her own. Angry that his wife is no longer subservient, Odin exiles her to the moon, where Thor’s hammer has been with Thor unable to lift it. Thor leaves with his father, ashamed, and Freyja is stranded on the moon alone with Mjolnir; the hammer now deems her worthy to lift it. Upon her touch, the famous inscription adjusts itself for pronoun agreement and suddenly Freyja is dressed in armor, the hammer held aloft. She has become the new Thor.

The new Lady Thor travels to Earth, where Frost Giants have taken over an undersea facility and killed all who worked within. The original Thor had attempted to fight them without his hammer or powers, which ended as unsuccessfully as it should have. He loses an arm. Freyja, as Thor, deftly defeats the Frost Giants and destroys the item they were after: the skull of Laufey, a Frost Giant father lost in battle. This act of destruction on her part will incite a war with the Frost Giants. However, it is not the only war she must fight, as her son returns (with a mechanical arm replacement, the origin of which is yet to be explained) to claim what he feels is rightfully his: his hammer and his title as God of Thunder.  Readers are promised a Thor versus Thor battle in issue four.

So, what can readers glean from the new female Thor? Mothers are superheroes. It truly is a tale old as time, that a mother can step in and pick up the mess that her child has made for himself. She is always “worthy” to protect the things her son loves, in this case, Earth. However, the prospect of a Thor versus Thor altercation is problematic. It paints the original Odinson as ungrateful, if not outright childish. While comic fans will delight at the fight scenes that are sure to ensue, Thor fighting his mother seems to be little more than a toddler throwing a tantrum. However, that is the true mark of motherhood: dealing with obstinate children.

Moms everywhere should be rejoicing at this change in the Marvel universe. Except, of course, for the fact that in future film endeavors, should the film timeline and the one from the comics collide, the handsome Chris Hemsworth would no longer be cast to play the super hero on the big screen. Actually, that may well incite a riot.