--- title: Why Marvel's Female Thor Makes Total Sense description: The mighty Thor, that symbol of masculinity, aggression, violence and war, is going to be a woman. And it makes total sense. canonical: https://time.com/2987940/thor-female/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-15T18:28:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:42.313Z og:title: Why Marvel's Female Thor Makes Total Sense og:description: The mighty Thor, that symbol of masculinity, aggression, violence and war, is going to be a woman. And it makes total sense. og:url: https://time.com/2987940/thor-female/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0421048c513d8cf/69869bcd06f2c1514132fe78/thor-001_cover.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1375 og:image:height: 773 og:image:alt: THOR 001_cover og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Marvel's Female Thor Makes Total Sense twitter:description: The mighty Thor, that symbol of masculinity, aggression, violence and war, is going to be a woman. And it makes total sense. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte0421048c513d8cf/69869bcd06f2c1514132fe78/thor-001_cover.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why a Female Thor Makes Total Sense > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=01e7467c-2ae2-494e-9f6a-42e36dee38ff&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe [Watch (HLS stream): Understanding the Marvel Cinematic Universe](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nKWYGrii.m3u8) (2:55)  _Published 2013-11-05. How do we get from Iron Man to The Avengers? Where do the X-Men fit in? Learn how Marvel has crafted the progression of its superheroes in film._  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Jul 15, 2014 6:28 PM UTC  Thor concept art on July 15, 2014. Thor concept art on July 15, 2014. Marvel Comics  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Jul 15, 2014 6:28 PM UTC The mighty Thor, that symbol of masculinity, aggression, violence and war, is going to be a woman. And it makes total sense. Marvel [announced](http://time.com/2987574/thor-will-now-officially-be-a-woman-in-marvel-comics/) the upcoming female incarnation of the character on _The View_ Tuesday morning. The reaction was swift and, in many cases, far too negative. “I love women who kick add but Thor’s a dude,” \[sic\] wrote one Twitter user. “Marvel comics being stupid,” announced another. And then there’s this, from a Marvel editor: > [](https://twitter.com/AgentM/status/489108270670286848) Here’s the deal: Marvel Comics has long borrowed Norse mythology for many of its beloved characters and plots. That’s free intellectual property, after all. But the comics are only _inspired_ by Norse mythology, and they’ve almost never followed the stories line-for-line (and even if they did, mythology suffers from a massive case of The Telephone Game, with lots of different tellings evolving over the years). Thor, in the Marvel Universe, isn’t just a character: He’s also an intangible idea. And Thor’s power, which most notably includes the ability to summon up lightning to layeth the smacketh-downeth upon his foes, isn’t really embedded inside _him,_ per se. It’s in his hammer, Mjolnir — to mix comic book universe metaphors, he’s more like Green Lantern, who derives his power from a ring that’s charged by a lantern that’s charged by a planet. That wasn’t always the case. Thor’s power used to be embedded in Thor directly. But when Thor’s father, Odin (also the king of Thor’s realm, Asgard), wanted to punish Thor for violating his direct commands, Odin stripped Thor of his powers and enshrined them instead in Mjolnir. Here’s the spell Odin put on the hammer to do so: --- > “” --- Translation: To get Thor’s power, you have to be deemed worthy of it by successfully picking up the hammer. In most Marvel Thor origin stories, eventually Thor redeems himself, reclaims his hammer (without first knowing why he couldn’t pick it up any longer) and then becomes the “real” Thor again, ready to return to his lightning-summoning, hammer-slinging self. But Thor isn’t the only person who’s lifted the hammer: Captain America, the Hulk (eventually!) and Superman (crossover!) were deemed worthy and got Thor’s power. Who does the deeming is something of a mystery, but I’ve long thought that Mjolnir itself is sentient and the hammer itself decides who’s worthy of it. And there’s the rub: What will probably happen in the Marvel comic book that introduces the new female Thor is that the male Thor we’ve all known for decades will either bite the bullet or do something to piss off the hammer. Either option would mean Thor couldn’t be Thor any longer, and some female character will come along — whether Asgardian or otherwise — try to pick up the hammer, succeed, and effectively become a female Thor. That Odin’s spell specifically says “he” doesn’t really matter: Storm and Wonder Woman (another crossover!) have both been deemed worthy, signaling Mjolnir has perhaps developed a less strict constructionist ideology about itself than Odin ever had. Of course, a female Thor won’t really address another problem facing the comic book world: The lack of original, well-advertised female superheroes, particularly at the movies. None of the upcoming DC or Marvel films, for example, feature a woman — no Wonder Woman from DC, no Black Widow flick from Marvel. The best we’ve gotten so far are Elektra and Catwoman, both total flops. Both companies will need more than a female version of a top character to fix that issue. ## Transcript >> I think you missed a column. >> Shut up! >> Before you rush out to see Thor: The Dark World, it's important to know what you're getting into. Sure, you can zone out to 90 minutes of explosions and predictable dialogue, but if you want the full experience, you need to understand the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe. >> Not a word. >> Action. >> While marvel and cinema can't, of course, replicate the robustness of over half a century of the comic books, it does do its best to interweave the stories of some of its most recognizable characters. >> Back in 2008, Robert Downey Jr. first donned to the Iron Man's suit, setting in motion Phase One. In the post- credits scene-- You did stay for the post- credits scene, didn't you? Samuel L. Jackson hints at a future where heroes coalesce. >> Who the hell are you? >> Nick Fury, Director of S. H. I. E. L. D. >> Oh. >> I'm here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative. >> Next, Edward Norton transformed himself into The Incredible Hulk, a reboot of the 2004 film Hulk directed by Ang Lee. After some creative differences between Norton and the production team, the franchise found a more agreeable Hulk in Mark Ruffalo. Iron Man 2 released in 2010 gave a sneak peek to the coming of Thor which would open in theaters in 2011. >> Sir, we found it. >> Two months later, Marvel Studios released Captain America: The First Avenger, ending with a trailer for The Avengers, Phase One's [ unk ]. Are you sensing the theme here? All those post- credits scenes were meant to guide you to The Avengers which smashed the box office records in 2012, earning over $ 200 million its opening weekend. All those superheroes- fighting evil and each other really raked in the profits for Marvel. With the release of Iron Man 3 this past summer and Thor: The Dark World out this month, we have officially entered Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, set to culminate in, you guessed it, another Avengers movie tentatively scheduled for a May 2015 release. " Wait a minute ," you say, " what about the X- Men ?" Will Professor X or Mystique ever enter the fray? Sadly, those X- Men movies are administered not by Marvel Studios, but by 20th Century Fox. 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