Marvel is taking the character of Thor in an interesting new direction with the introduction of the first female to take up the mantle of the God of Thunder.

Inscribed on the side of Mjolnir – Thor’s hammer – is an inscription that reads:

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

In short… Thor has done something to annoy his father, Odin… again. Asgard is well-known for its family disagreements, and it’s not unusual for Thor to end up angering the All Father in some way. If you remember in the first film, he actually wasn’t Thor for a large chunk of the film as Mjolnir had been sent to Earth to await when he would once again be deemed worthy. Apparently something similar is happening in the comics and the new person to pick up the hammer will be a female.

Marvel editor Wil Moss said of the new character, “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute – she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

Before you freak out and think you’ve seen the last of the old Thor, this isn’t the first time Marvel has switched the person wielding Mjolnir. In 1983 it was taken up by an alien named Beta Ray Bill.

beta ray bill

The resolution to that story was Thor regained his worthiness and reclaimed Mjolnir, and Beta Ray Bill, having proven himself, was given a different hammer named Stormbreaker.

With Avengers: Age of Ultron hitting theaters next May, more than likely this won’t be an overly prolonged storyline as Marvel will want the more traditional Thor back in the book for the crossover promotion. My guess is the female Thor will continue on, but she will be off in her own book.

This is another step in Marvel’s attempts to attract more female readers into the fold and marks the eighth title to feature a female lead.