Screen Junkies creator Andy Signore is back and he’s got a new YouTube channel in Popcorned Planet. In one of his most recent videos, Signore attended Tampa Bay Comic Con where he challenged a number of Con goers to change his mind about Thor being only 1 gender.
While some of the Con goers would agree with Signore, there were quite a few who were adamant that Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster should take up the title of Thor and that Thor can be male, female, or even genderless.
Challenger #1
Signore’s first challenger declared that Thor can be male, female, or genderless. She stated, “Well it’s largely because, speaking as someone who does study a bit of Norse mythology, gods in general they tend to be. How do I say this without the internet mocking me? Okay, basically gods for the most part tend to be genderless. They are neither male, they are neither female. So, Thor can either be a male, Thor can be a female, or Thor can just have no gender at all.” When asked if Jane has the right to deserve Thor, she responded, “She is an alternate version of Thor.” She would elaborate, “comic fans just don’t like it when females are represented for the most part. The internet for the most part hates that.”
When Signore elaborated on his ideas that Marvel should add in strong women rather than replacing iconic characters with new female version, the challenger admitted he was right saying, “I guess.”
Challenger #2
The next set of challengers approached Signore and the first woman declared, “There should be a Lady Thor because she says gay rights by dating Valkyrie.” Her friend would elaborate, “Lady Thor is very hot.” (Related: Lady Sif Actress Jamie Alexander Volunteers to Be Valkyrie’s Queen in Thor: Love and Thunder)
When Signore challenged them about why the character was taking Thor’s name the first woman stated, “She does have her own name, it’s the Mighty Thor.” As Signore points out Jane Foster Thor calls herself Thor. And as I’ve pointed out previously, Thor was first introduced into Marvel Comics as The Mighty Thor a title that would grace the cover of Thor comics for decades.
The one woman then points out that Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson took on the mantle of Captain America. “Thor in a sense, yes it is his real name, but it is also his hero name. Thor doesn’t have a sort of hero name because it’s sort of his real name. So, if Steve Rogers only went by Steve Rogers, most likely Sam Wilson would take up Steve Rogers as a different name. Jane Foster is not changing herself for her real name to be Thor. She’s only changing herself for her hero name to be Thor.”
The one woman would then state, “The reason Mighty Thor is getting the hype is because Taika Waititi is directing it. That means he will actually be doing things for the plot. It’s not the fact that it’s going to be a new Thor. People are getting excited because there’s going to be an LGBT confirmed character in it. That’s why it’s getting the hype and getting the coverage, not necessarily because it’s the Mighty Thor.” (Related: Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder Director Taika Waititi Trolls Thor Fans: “I’ll Ruin Your Mythos in a Minute, Baby”)
Challenger #3
The next challenger that would debate Andy Signore would be brutally honest about why they want a female version of Thor. “We need put a woman in as one of the already most powerful gods or one of the most powerful superheroes. Well, replace him. Not say fully replace him, but change it up a little. There’s a way to still make the plot line work where there is a male Thor and female Thor.”
She would continue, “People aren’t going to want to look into a female candidate. People aren’t going to be like ‘Oh my god we can already accept her as Thor’s powers and stuff like that!’ So if we already put her on a name that is famous then people have to accept. They will be forced to. Instead of saying here’s a new female Rebecca. Nobody is going to be ‘Oh my god she’s my new favorite superhero.’ You can be like ‘Oh this is Thor genderbent version.'”
She would then state the reason for changing Thor’s gender would be to “make women in power.” When challenged by the idea of creating new female characters, the challenger stated, “No one is going to listen to it. Sure, a few will.” When asked if changing characters will irritate people she responded, “The times are changing and it’s learning to accept people now. If people are going to be close-minded assholes then I mean.” (Related: Valkyrie Featured as Marvel’s First LGBTQ Main Character in Thor: Love and Thunder)
Signore would then ask her if she would rather have a female Thor or a new female character. She responded, “Of course I love embracing a new female, but I’m going to have to say I’d rather go with Thor because it’s already a developed character that people love.” She continued, “I think it’s going to be better for us all to understand at least.” She added, “It is also helping proving a point that women can be just as strong as men. I fully back that up. I feel like women do deserve a little more spotlight because all of the Avengers but one was male. If they did add in a female Thor then she could end up being in the Avengers as well. Then it’s two females at least battling out four other males.”
She would go on to admit that she probably won’t even watch Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder. “That’s so cheesy. It’s cheesy as heck and I’m probably not going to watch any of it. Of course I support female leads, but really?” She did reiterate that Jane Foster’s character in the MCU should be called Thor.
What do you make of these responses? Do you think Jane Foster should use the name Thor?