Marvel Plans to Make Thor a Woman

No, Thor won't reveal he is transgender, though that may not be the zany and out-there idea that once was in mainstream media.

Instead, Marvel has decided to reach out to its female fans and in doing so, is re-imagining one of of its stock characters.

Female fans make up 47% of comic book readers and 62% of Facebook fans of female comic characters, reports Comics Beat.

These women aren't just content to read about male characters, either; they want someone they can identify with on a more basic level, and someone who might even look like them. In short, they want female characters.

As Marvel's female readership takes up only 36% of its fans, the company decided to be bold and send Thor where no man has gone before.

In an interview with Time Magazine Marvel comics editor Wil Moss, Editor-in-cheif Axel Alonso, Marvel PR person Chris D'Londo and Thor writer Jason Aaron spoke to the fact that while, yes, Marvel is looking to appeal to its female fans, this sort of change isn't anything new for the Thor line.

TIME: How many times has the hammer changed hands?

Moss: For the majority of the character's history with the company, it has been this Thor. There have been periods when other people have had the hammer. Most famously Beta Ray Bill picked up the hammer and was Thor for a while. But for the majority of the character's whole history with us, it's been the same character.

Alonso: There's been plenty of moments also in Marvel history where characters have attempted to pick up the hammer. The Hulk, who is arguably the strongest character in the Marvel universe, has tried on numerous occasions and not been able to lift it. So it's not a matter of how heavy it is but whether that character is worthy.

While neither Moss nor Alonso would say just who the woman in Thor's life would be to pick up Mjolnir, they did say they planned to make it very clear that she (who would be called Thor once taking up the hammer) would be shown, without a doubt, to be worthy of Mjolnir and the title Thor.

To minimize confusion, the current character known as Thor will call himself by a different name while the newest Thor holds the hammer.

The four Marvel representatives could not say definitively if this would affect Chris Hemsworth's contract and/or portrayal of Thor over the next three Marvel movies he has on his contract, though in my opinion it is unlikely that Marvel will attempt to back out of a done deal with a popular actor.

Perhaps in four movies we'll see Thor played by a woman. I, personally, wouldn't mind seeing Kristen Stewart in the part.

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