Marvel comics has decided to change Thor, the Norse god, into a woman. But that doesn’t mean the new she-Thor will be a goddess, oh no:
This morning on ABC’s The View Marvel announced that Thor, Marvel’s God of Thunder, will be a woman in the comics. The news is a major shift in Marvel’s continuity, since Thor is one of the oldest superheroes in the Marvel universe. The new storyline will launch this October, penned by series writer Jason Aaron.
Whoopi Goldberg, The View’s moderator, didn’t mince words when she talked about the announcement. The character is a god — not a goddess — and will wield Mjolnir (and even the god’s name) just like her predecessor, who was deemed unworthy of its power.
I’m not sure whether this is an attempt to grab some publicity or a true appeal to feminists/transsexuals, but it’s a risky move in the long-term. While adults might tolerate the switch as an amusing diversion, comics are fundamentally children’s literature. I learned French reading Astérix as a boy, and my eldest son is now a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. As a child, if I’d seen a comic book with a female hero, I wouldn’t have bothered to pick it up, nor would about 96% of other boys. It had nothing to do with feminism, but rather the fact that women just aren’t all that interesting to pre-pubescent boys (however, just a few short years later lewd jokes about Wonder Woman were all the rage at school).
So I wonder whether this new storyline is intended for an adult audience, and if so, whether it’s a signal that Marvel either doesn’t care about the base market for comics, or has already been surpassed by other companies that appeal better to boys and has decided to give up. Maybe there’s another explanation: the company is simply being poorly managed.
Imagine what would happen if some underling came up to Steven Spielberg and said: “You know, I have this great idea! Let’s make Optimus Prime a female robot…” Whoever came up with such a stupid idea would likely be fired on the spot. Politics are one thing, but sales are quite another. Get the two mixed up, and you’ll get smeared by the competition (incidentally, this is why the manosphere can survive despite being politically marginalized: even with the huge funding advantage feminists have, lots of people prefer our material). There are, after all, only so many David Futrelles out there.
And if Marvel thinks it can make up for the loss of interest in boys by picking up girls, it’s time to think again. Normal girls (as opposed to future feminists) far prefer feminine characters doing ladylike things — not dominatrix types holding giant hammers. In fact, girls’ preference for femininity goes just as absurdly far as the over-the-top masculinity of pro wrestling and GI Joe. Wonder Woman, with her less-imposing weapon (the lasso), fashionable armor (bracelets), leggy, model physique and beautiful mane of black hair at least made some effort to appeal to feminine tastes. The new trans-Thor, on the other hand, wields a hammer, wears a helmet with a facemask and apparently has big, burly arms. I can’t see my daughter being all that interested in that kind of female character.
Finally, adult women who like Thor will not be all that happy about this. Thor’s main appeal to women is as a Nordic hunk. It’s hard to overstate the appeal of manly warriors with flowing blond hair — especially to white women. Changing Thor into a woman is going to seriously anger some of these female fans; perhaps even more than the men.
