It is known: the new Thor is a female Thor! As of today, Marvel has released Thor #8, introducing a new - sort of - player in the Marvel Universe.
The fact they bring out a female Thor is not a surprise: Marvel has confirmed they were about to come up with a female Thor in July, 2014.
But the identity of the newfangled goddess of thunder is a kick in the head: she is none other than Jane Foster.
The shock wave this turn of events created was offset by Jason Aaron with a simple observation: "Jane Foster has been part of the Thor comics and the Thor mythology from almost the very beginning", as quoted by NYTimes.
And he further adds: "The very act of picking up this hammer, of becoming Thor, is killing her. Where we go from here is the real story".
But how will the new female Thor affect the MCU?
The female Thor in the MCU: 3 theories
New female Thor
Indeed, this is the obvious question. Fans have never been too fond of Natalie Portman playing Jane Foster. And Portman herself was never too keen on this role either, as we pointed out here.
We can safely assume there are some bumps here: the fact Marvel has not cast Natalie Portman in any other movies - other than Thor and Thor: The Dark World - like they did with Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper Potts in The Avengers is kind of iffy.
1. First theory: Portman back or Foster recast
Now, if the future movies pulling from the Thor lore are inspired by today's issue, they will have to bring Natalie Portman back, right, in order to play the female Thor?
Otherwise they'll have to recast Jane Foster, but I don't think how that does justice to the character. Constancy is a quality I guess all fans can appreciate.
However"¦
2. Second theory: deviate from the book
Perhaps they'll deviate from the letter of the comic book and develop the MCU independently, with no female Thor in it. Or"¦
3. Third theory: another contender to Thor’s hammer
"¦ if they do keep the goddess of thunder, they might juggle and, who knows, perhaps choose a more "worthy" character for that.
Lady Sif and the Black Widow are but two names I can think of. And that will dismiss the question of bringing back Natalie Portman.
But what in the world motivated creator Jason Aaron to turn Jane Foster into a character of such standing? Was it a creative urge? Did he do it on the spur of the moment? Did he think this move through?
How Aaron came up with the idea of a she Thor
Female Thor
Perhaps such considerations justify, in part, Aaron's decision. But there's more to it than pure creative game.
As quoted by the mentioned source, "Most of the new readers seem to be women and young girls, which is great ["¦] You're seeing more and more comics that appeal to that audience".
So, this move was also motivated by the appeal of increasing the audience. I don't know how that's going to work in the long run, but what else can we do than embrace the concept of the new female Thor?
What do you think, guys? Are you glad to see Jane Foster taking the stage? And if they decide to bring her back in the MCU, will you applaud Natalie Portman's possible return?
Or would you rather see the likes of Black Widow or Lady Sif lifting Mjolnir? Have your say below and stay tuned! We'll bring you the hottest scoop on all things Marvel!
