Marvel's Announcement on 'The View': Thor's Gonna Be a Woman?!

Thor comics are about to explore their feminine side.

Marvel went to ABC's The View Tuesday morning to announce that everybody's favorite Asgardian, Thor, will soon be a woman. Kinda.

Said host Whoopi Goldberg, "Thor, the God of Thunder, he messed up. He is no longer worthy to hold that damn hammer of his. And for the first time in history that hammer is being held by a woman." Goldberg's wording was a little unclear and the hosts didn't go into too much detail. Fortunately, the show's Twitter account cleared up some of the confusion; Thor is still Thor, but his hammer, Mjolnir, will now be wielded by a woman.

"This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it's unlike any Thor we've ever seen before," series writer Jason Aaron clarified in a statement.

"The inscription on Thor's hammer reads 'Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.' Well it's time to update that inscription," Marvel editor Wil Moss explained. "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!"

The new, female wielder of Thor's Mjolnir (Marvel)
The new, female wielder of Thor's Mjolnir (Marvel)

This isn't the first time Marvel's used The View to make a big splash. Back in 2012, Goldberg told the panel that X-man Northstar would be getting married to his boyfriend. That decision to promote gay marriage ended up drawing the ire of One Million Moms, a group that routinely protests shows like Dracula and Glee. Will this generate the same type of controversy? Maybe that's the point?

Interestingly, the Northstar news came at the end of months of build-up from the comic book company; this time, there was barely a day's notice. It may be part of a larger corporate integration strategy since Marvel and ABC are both owned by Disney. Will we see more of this soon? Maybe Wolverine will come on AFV to get a baseball to the groin? Or maybe Sue and Reed Richards can go on Celebrity Wife Swap?

Moreover, what does this mean for Chris Hemsworth, who plays the character in the Thor films? Probably nothing. While much of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes from the comics, they are completely separate and a female Thor is almost certainly not part of Marvel Studio president Kevin Feige's 14-year plan.

We think.