Issue 1

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past few weeks it was announced a few weeks ago that everyone’s favourite long haired Thunder God was going to be replaced by a female. This was not to be Thor turning into a woman or anything crazy like that but a whole new character taking on his role and his powers. The original Thor became unworthy of his hammer Mjolnir as a result of something that Nick Fury whispered to him, as yet the precise words haven’t been revealed but I can’t imagine what this might have been. It must be something huge considering all the adversity Thor has faced in the past.

Surprisingly this debut issue features very little of the new Thor, instead choosing to focus on the implications of the departure of the previous one. There’s a really effective part on The Moon where Thor kneels before Mjolnir and tries to lift it; it’s a rare moment of desperation for him as he even begs the enchanted weapon to move for him. Given the history he has with Mjolnir there’s a lot of weight to this moment and it’s clear how much this must be destroying Thor. Even more curious is that Odin can’t lift it suggesting that something larger than anyone knows is at play given that Odin was the one to enchant the thing in the first place. I have to admit I’m really curious as to what could have caused this but I’m almost certain that the answer will be underwhelming as is common for these sorts of revelations but time will give the answer.

Eventually Thor decides hanging around is hopeless and decides to go get himself a new weapon before heading back to Earth so that he can carry on his duties as an Avenger. Naturally this proves to be a hasty decision as he goes into battle with his new fighting axe and suffers a very humiliating defeat by Malekith that seems to have resulted in his death. I say seems because it almost certainly won’t have, we have lots of drama to see when he meets his successor.

It’s not until the very end of the comic we see a mysterious female figure lift the hammer and assume the mantle of Thor. We don’t find out who she is but some theories suggest Jane Foster, Valkyrie or his recently introduced sister Angela. All of these theories are too obvious for me so I don’t think it’ll be any of these. As for who I think it might be I actually have no idea due to a lack of familiarity with Thor’s surroundings these days. One thing I am certain of is that this change isn’t permanent but that doesn’t mean there won’t be good stories while it’s happening. Superior Spider-Man proved that a change can be exploited to tell great stories for quite a while that the audiences will actually miss when they’re gone. Of course there’s no reason that Odin can’t conjure up another Hammer like he did for Beta Ray Bill back when he proved worthy once the original Thor gets over himself.

It should be noted that I find it strange that the new Thor is going by that name since it has never been a title bestowed upon whoever wields the hammer. Thor is his name given to him at birth and if he’s still around isn’t this just going to get confusing? Is he going by a different name now? Admittedly I’m making an assumption that she will go by this but the promotional material seems to support this assumption. Again, time will tell how well this works.