Thor and Captain America Get Makeovers Just In Time for Fall

Alyssa Taylor ’17 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

The Marvel Universe is getting a big shake up. Two of Marvel’s big Three are getting all new character makeovers. Thor and Captain America as we know them will be no more.
As first announced on the View and followed by an official statement from Marvel, the new Thor is a woman. Starting in October, with a new Thor: God of Thunder series, mighty hammer Mjolnir with the inscription ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor,’ will be handed over to a new character, the first female to hold the hammer. The old Thor is no longer worthy to wield the hammer, and a completely new character will take the mantle. This is major, because it’s not only a major dose of female empowerment, but also because it’s one of the biggest changes in the Marvel Universe (among a slew of other creative shifts this summer).

Sparking tons of online debate, and amid rumors of it being a gimmick, series writer Jason Aaron made a statement: “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 seen before.” To cement the idea that this was not temporary, editor Will Moss said “This new Thor isn’t a temporary female subsitute- she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”
Immediately on the heels of this shocker, Marvel announced that there would be a new Captain America that wasn’t going to be Bucky or Steve Rogers. On The Colbert Report Wednesday night, CCO Joe Quesada announced that Sam Wilson, The Falcon, would step into the role of Captain America. Sam Wilson, the first African American superhero, is the second African American man, after Isaiah Bradley, to take the mantle. The change will happen in October, as Steve Rogers loses the effects of the Super-Soldier serum, and becomes too old and frail to fight.

If you’re worrying how this will affect the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, don’t fret. Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth will continue to play the original incarnations of the characters on the big screen.
The changes come among a whole host of new creative decisions for Marvel. With these shakeups to the Big Three, one can’t help but wonder if that means a bigger change will happen to Iron Man besides a reimagined suit and a move to San Francisco. We’ll just have to wait and see, what changes will take place in the All New Marvel Universe.
All-New Captain America, written by Rick Remender with art by Stuart Immonen and Thor: God of Thunder by Jason Aaron, with art by Russell Dautermanwill debut this fall.