The Vaginaning of Thor

As I was driving in my automobile and listening to the radio I was surprised to hear them announcing the gender reassignment of Marvel’s comic character Thor during the hourly news broadcast. It wasn’t news to me at the time…the internet was flooded with opinions on the announcement before I dragged myself out of bed. It was surprising that it was being discussed in the mainstream media. As news, no less.

Is this a terrible idea? Not really. Many comic characters have gone under dramatic changes in the past with good and bad results. If they have a good idea for re-imagining Thor then there’s no reason it shouldn’t be explored. Will it suck? Buggered if I know, we haven’t read it yet. We’ll wait and see.

No, those aren’t the questions I’m pondering. The question I have is: what’s the point?

Marvel have gone public with a few details. This is not the same character somehow changed into a woman, rather it’s a woman who proves worthy enough to wield Mjölnir and becomes the embodiment of Thor, taking the name and the powers. We don’t know if it’s a new character or an existing one, and we don’t know why the existing Thor is no longer worthy. It’s happened before, best known being the period when the alien Beta Ray Bill became Thor.

Because people are kinda weird, Thor becoming a woman is considered a bigger change than turning into a giant, horse-faced thing. When Time Magazine contacted Marvel they admitted that this change was partly an attempt to increase sales, which makes this feel like a gimmick instead of a natural progression for the character.

The other key reason given is because they want to appeal to female comic readers. Well, ok, creating a new story for a particular audience isn’t a big deal. When it’s an audience who has long been ignored by the comic industry it could be considered a positive step. But I find fault with this approach on two levels. Assuming that women are going to prefer a character simply for being of the same gender is…stupid. Also – why Thor?

This may come as a dangerously shocking piece of news for marketers everywhere, but women will not automatically run into a comic shop and start throwing money around because a character is also a woman. Even a ‘strong’ woman character, which is how they describe the new Thor. Female readers, like everyone else, will prefer the character who is best written, has the most interesting stories. Let’s take the example of The Avengers. Spend five minutes on tumblr geek blogs run by women and you’ll find that Black Widow and Agent Hill don’t get much of a mention. No, Loki turned out to be the most popular character from that film and it’s because he’s the most interesting and well explored character. Want another example? Compare the popularity of Sherlock to Elementary. Two versions of the same story, one with female characters in roles usually held by men – and it’s the all male version that people prefer – because it’s better written and performed.

Let us pretend that there is a direct and unflappable connection between female characters and female readers, that women can and will only enjoy reading comics about women. Why Thor? He doesn’t get as many readers as the other members of the big name Avengers, so he’s due for a reimagining, but why redesign an existing character for women instead of doing a better job with the ones you have? Black Widow has become a household name, and has the potential for better stories, yet she’s languishing on the side-lines. Then we have Shadowcat, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Mystique, Rogue, Gamora…popular characters who could be spotlighted as a new leading female hero. DC proved with Harley Quinn that good writing and character development can turn a sidekick into a popular leading character.

Then there’s the fact that there already is an extremely well known female comic character. Like the newly announced Thor, she is an established figure, is an immensely strong warrior and leader of her people and has her powers based in mythology. Maybe you’ve heard of her.

Apparently Marvel hasn’t, otherwise they’d know that her sales are also low.

If Marvel were determined to pursue this pitch, here’s a better suggestion:

Sif is a colleague of Thor, a fellow Asgardian. She’s a powerful warrior and respected by her people. After being portrayed by Jaimie Alexander in Thor and Thor: The Dark World she’s proven to be a favourite with fans, and her role in comics is open to revision. But Thor on the sidelines and give Sif an awesome couple of stories. Success for comics comes with marketing and reviews, no a gender swap gimmick. If the material is good the audience will find it.

If all Marvel cares about is generating media noise then mission accomplished. If they want to tell good stories then this may not be the right move. I’ll sign off by saying that I am open to being surprised by this new take on the classic character, and hope to enjoy it, but the way it’s being discussed by Marvel today I’m not expecting much more than a gimmick.