There has been a shift in the paradigm over the last couple of years, moreso than ever, to bring equality to all forms of media. Marvel Comics has tried to be at the forefront at that, making their comics more gender neutral rather than male-centric. Their latest move, which is garnering headlines for all the wrong reasons, seemed subtle and, quite frankly, the right move. Thor has crafter himself a new Mjolnir, and the inscription has some heads turning over just one word.
Bounding Into Comics first reported on Thor crafting a new Mjolnir at the end of the War of the Realms series. Thor is now the AllFather, and with that comes the abilities to inscribe the hammer with it’s original spell of worthiness. However, unlike the original hammer, the inscription nows says “Whosoever holds this hammer, if THEY be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” The original wording said HE rather than THEY. But, this isn’t the first time the inscription has changed. 5 years ago, when Jane Foster took up the mantle (after Thor deemed himself unworthy), the inscription changed itself from HE to SHE.
Now, there is a ton of misogynistic backlash coming with this. But, I don’t really see the problem here. Unlike in Norse Mythology, Thor in the comics can be anyone. That has been proven already. So why not have the new hammer say ‘they’? Why is this such a big deal? Is this the mountain you ‘dudes’ want to die on? Give it a rest. They didn’t change the original Mjolnir. This is a newly crafted Mjolnir. And, that doesn’t even really matter! Hell, from a grammatical standpoint, ‘they’ just works better!
So, sit back, relax, chug your Coors Light, and find some other ‘gender issue’ to bitch about. This one isn’t it, guys. Let it go.
What do you think of the new wording? Do you have an issue with equality? Let us know in the comments below!