Story highlights
The character of Thor is taken up by a woman in the just-released "Thor" #1
Writer Jason Aaron explains that this was planned far in advance
Aaron takes fan feedback with a "grain of salt"
Why is the new character also named Thor? Time will tell
It’s been less than two months since the world first learned about it, and now, it’s official. Call her Thor.
Wednesday sees the publication of “Thor” #1, which tells how the original Thor we all know (perhaps best of all, Chris Hemsworth’s character in the movie) is replaced by a new Thor with two X chromosomes.
CNN spoke with writer Jason Aaron, who talks about how having a woman carry the hammer of Thor was the plan all along.
CNN: Why did you decide to try this story arc?
Aaron: I’ve been working for a couple of years now – 25 issues at this point – I’ve always known I was working towards making him unworthy. Worthiness was a big theme in those first 25 issues. The idea that he’d wake up every morning and look at that hammer, and not know if he could pick it up, then that means one day, he wouldn’t pick it up. So perhaps someone else could pick it up – the only one I ever considered for that role is the one we have, the woman behind that mask. In issue 2, we get to see her in action for the first time, and how similar or different she is to the first guy to wield the hammer.
CNN: Is this change long term?
Aaron: Yes. It’s not four or five issues and we’re done. A lot of people have speculated that with “Avengers: Age of Ultron” next year, which has Thor in a prominent role, they guessed that we would change the character back in time for the movie, that’s not the plan. I wanted to make sure that we were committed to this being a long-term story. You won’t see everything put back the way it was anytime soon. She is the Thor of the Marvel Universe for the foreseeable future.
We have these Marvel creative summits a few times a year, and a bunch of writers get together and talk about what our stories will be months and years down the line. At this last one, we talked about stories to the end of 2015 and beyond. When we would talk about Thor, we would be talking about her. She’s gonna be on adventures all throughout the Marvel universe.
CNN: Did you expect this much attention?
Aaron: I never really think or worry about that kind of stuff. I’ve never had something announced on “The View” before. That helps it go more mainstream than a lot of the stuff I’ve done. I never worry about that when I’m sitting down to write the story. I just work the best I can to tell the story I want to tell.
CNN: How much do you pay attention to fan feedback?
Aaron: I take it all with a grain of salt, whether it’s high praise or people who are just venting rage. I never let any of that kind of stuff change the story I want to tell. It’s been exciting to see people anxious to pick up the book. That’s been great, but on the flip side it’s been disappointing to see people respond negatively to the fact that it’s a female picking up the hammer now. That part’s been disappointing, but that to me has been washed out by the people who are excited to see a new Thor story.
CNN: What did you decide to go for with the design of the new Thor?
Aaron: We wanted her to look like Thor, the Viking god of thunder, someone who carried a hammer around for a living. Russell Dauterman is the artist on the new book, and he’s the one who has been drawing that new costume for the most part. I think it looks amazing in his hands.
CNN: Finally, one of the biggest questions we’ve heard is: Why is she called Thor?
Aaron: It’s not a situation where she picks up the hammer and says “Hey, I’m Thor now, everybody call me Thor.” That’s very much a story point that we address a couple of issues down the line. The previous guy is still around, he’s Thor Odinson. You can imagine when the two of them meet, face to face, there will be a lot of questions. He wants to know who this lady is running around with his hammer now. That will all be answered in the pages of the book.