Marvel Comics have done much to bring a more balanced view
of the world in the last several years.
We have had Carol Danvers step up to the mantle of Captain Marvel,
becoming the preeminent female superhero of the Marvel Universe. We have had
newcomer fangirl Kamala Khan take up her idol’s mantle in kind by becoming the
new Ms. Marvel. Spider-Man spinoff
characters Silk and Spider-Gwen have sprang to life, with the latter actually
outselling Spider-Man himself multiple times.
Storm, She-Hulk, Spider-Woman, Black Widow, Squirrel Girl, and others
have gotten their own ongoing series. No
longer relegated to limited series or team member status, women are finally getting
a spotlight in the center of the Marvel Universe.
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| She may seem all fun and games, but don't tickle Thor. Seriously. Don't tickle Thor. |
Floating high in space (and sometimes grounded down in the
middle of Oklahoma), the shining citadel of Asgard has always represented the
pinnacle of power in Marvel. The Mighty
Thor was the hero who seemed to be simply entertained by joining with his
friends and their mortal adventures. After all, he is a god and they are just
men. The world of Thor is one of the few
in Marvel Comics that allows for a more “pure” fantasy experience. Where the others are often in New York and occasionally
travel to other parts of the world, with the rare few exploring new worlds
across the cosmos, Thor with a swing of his hammer and a call out for the
Bifrost can be in a lush green forest filled with elves, or an icy mountainous
landscape where he must face the Frost Giants, or a dark murky bog with all
sorts of mythical beasts. Thor’s writers
are never as constrained by any of the rules that hold back other heroes. In fact, to me, Thor’s best stories are when
he’s just doing his thing in any of the Nine Realms EXCEPT Midgard (Earth to us
Muggles… wait, I mean humans). With Mjolnir at his side, he was the only hero who was worthy of this power.
