Thor is a woman?
Captain America changing skin colour?
Rob looks back at the history of Marvel’s ‘shock’ changes…
Wait, what?!
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Such was a popular initial reaction to the female Thor story.
Shock, alarm and outright confusion were prevalent responses doing the online rounds when this story first broke.
The actual crux of the story was that a woman was becoming Thor, not the other way around.
If someone worthy manages to lift said hammer, they are granted the power of Thor.
And thats exactly whats happening with the new Avengers NOW!
This is not Lady Thor.
This is not Thorita.
This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe.
But its unlike any Thor weve ever seen before.
What about the other changes going on?
The same goes for the rest of the changes flying around the vast world of Marvel comics.
Again, these changes are not as confusing as they might seem without any background information.
Instead, hes passing the mantle to Sam Wilson, better known as Falcon.
For now, this writer isnt ruling out the idea that all the Avengers NOW!
changes might just be brilliant.
Whats the history of such changes?
To name a recent example, Marvels 2013 initiative Marvel NOW!
saw some pretty big shake-ups for several old favourites.
It isnt unprecedented that Marvel would want to rejig its universe slightly, then.
Perhaps most famous of all the 2013 Marvel NOW!
changes was Marvels decision to kill off Peter Parker.
But did the decision pay off?
When they bring back Peter Porker, the Amazing Spider-Ham, thats when you oughta worry.
(Although this hammy Spidey alternative does have a hilarious cameo in theSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensionsgame.)
In fact, Jane Foster also held a Thor-esque role once, becoming Thordis in a one-off What If?
So, is this a good idea?
This is the difficult part.
Is it a good idea to make big changes to established characters?
Its impossible to say definitively.
Including, but certainly not limited to Robin, I must wear a different coloured Batman costume each night!
When theyre done right, they can be a much-needed adrenalin shot to a fledgling creative process.
The new Thor and the Captain America switcheroos arent all there is to be excited about either.
As well as this intriguing visual, the narrative possibilities of Thor losing his powers are pretty interesting too.
Will he be on a quest for redemption?
Will he go bad?
Does he get possessed?
Does he fight the new Thor in a cross-gender bust-up of epic proportions?
Is there Thor on Thor romance?
Will we see the original Thor back in his amphibian form?
