(io9/Marvel)

But back in July, Marvel announced that Thor is now going to be a lady. Writer Jason Aaron gave us a basic synopsis of a new storyline where Thor becomes unworthy to wield Mjolnir and a woman, who was previously saved by Thor, will become the only one worthy to carry the hammer. This would not be a reboot of the series’, where Loki has a sister and Odin has a story arc where he learns to French braid. Instead, it would be a continuation of the current Thor universe, one where man-Thor and new lady-Thor exist simultaneously.

As Rob Briken points out: Thor is not a title, it is a name. The Thor change-up is the Norse equivalent of one of my roommates putting on my crewneck sweater and shouting, “I am Mia!!! All of her Captain Crunch is now mine!!” 

On October 1, Thor #1 was released and primarily focused on Thor losing his ability to wield the hammer, Odin freaking out about it and Frigga (or Freyga), Thor’s mother, telling everyone to calm down. At the very end of the comic the reader gets a heavy-handed but wonderfully illustrated moment where the famous inscription on the side of Mjolnir, which read “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”, was struck by lightening, changing the ‘he’ to ‘she.’ 

SEE ALSO: Review: Chris Hemsworth In 'Thor: The Dark World'

I don’t believe the new lady-Thor is a gimmick to gain some semblance of a female readership. After reading the first issue, it is really well written and beautifully realized. Thor is a Stan Lee creation and an original Avenger. As far as comic book characters go, Thor is a huge deal--like Chris-Hemsworth’s-bicep huge. The fact that the powers of an original Avenger, one of the strongest forces in the universe, can be harnessed and held by a woman is a great message to send to young, female comic book readers, or any comic book reader.

Even if Aaron is playing fast and loose with logic, who cares? We are talking about a superhero whose main form of transport is a mystical goat. Logic has never been a serious concern. 

All this being said, the reason lady-Thor garnered so much attention was because it was such a severe left turn away from cannon. The headlines, the articles, even Aaron, himself, made being a female, seem like it was her superpower. It was an oddity or a mutation. Rather than giving the new female Thor her own comic book, she will exist in a world where man-Thor—the original, the beloved Thor—still exists. No matter how you write or draw it, she will never stand be able on her own, as a superhero or as a woman. 

SEE ALSO: Diversity Has Increased In Comics

Marvel should be focusing on promoting their female superheroes. Or, looking at Milo Manara’s variant cover that is being used to launch Spider-Woman #1 this November, Marvel maybe should be focused on fixing how their artists, writers and editors portray female superheroes.

Milo Manara's variant cover (EW/Marvel)

Why not work to get the new Ms. Marvel a fourth of the press that lady-Thor received? Under the Marvel Now! relaunch, Ms. Marvel’s writer G. Willow Wilson is doing incredible things with the reboot, using story and character to actively question and critique how the public perceives female superheroes. Kamala Kahn, the new Ms. Marvel, is a teenage Pakistani American from New Jersey, who writes superhero fan-fiction, and she does not have to share her pages with Captain Marvel.

I know it seems like I am taking comic books way too seriously. But when comic adaptations were two of the top five highest grossing movies this summer and two out of the top ten highest grossing movies of all time, we have no choice but take comic books seriously. The characters, stories, worlds and messages that they propagate will inevitably become fodder for next summer’s tentpole, which will reach hundreds of millions of eyeballs and, more importantly, the brains attached to those eyeballs.

Reach Staff Reporter Mia Galuppo here. Follow her on Twitter here.