This is but my lone opinion, which may or may not be shared by others. Feel free to comment. Fandom disappoints me. When yesterdays news of a change of character and gender in the Marvel comics THOR line, fans went over the edge, ranting and raving about how and why Thor cannot be changed into a woman, despite the fact that over the years, the hammer has been wielded by a frog, a horse faced alien (Beta Ray Bill) and others. including Storm of the X-Men. Now, how many other changes have we seen in the last 5 years? 10 years? Spiderman dying, Doc Ock taking over, Captain Marvel was once a man, now a woman (Carol Danvers) has taken up the mantle, and lo and behold, a new Captain America is coming down the pike as well. Too many to list here. Go look them up. What most do not remember however is that the character Donald Blake, was created by Odin (Marvel Asgard Universe, to those of the Asatru faith who also, somehow feel slighted at this change in direction) to be THE HOST for his son, Thor. Did you all get that? Host. I do not think I need to explain this, as the inscription on the hammer pretty much says it all. But lets go into this character further. As being the host to Thor, Donald Blake gained a life and sentience of his own, and did indeed surrender the mighty hammer to Odin, and was cast down to earth, stripped of memory. As Donald Blake, Thor learned the value of humble perseverance in dealing with his injured leg, and he came to care for the sick and dying, first as a medical student, and later as a successful physician. After leaving medical school, Blake opened a private practice in New York, and quickly gained renown as a great surgeon. Ten years later Odin planted within Blakes mind the suggestion to take a Norway vacation, to which Blake encountered a party of Kronans, AKA Stone Men from Saturn. Blake fled from the Kronans into a cavern, the very same one that had served as Thors birthplace millennia ago, where Odin had left Thors hammer in the enchanted form of a wooden cane. Trapped in the cavern by a great boulder, Blake struck the boulder with the cane in frustrated anger, and was transformed back into his true godly form of Thor. As Thor, he escaped the cavern and drove off the Stone Men. At first Thor still had no memory of his past life as an Asgardian god, although as months passed, more of his memories returned. Finally, a few years later, Odin revealed to him the false nature of the Blake identity and the reason for it. Since then lots has happened and changed in the Marvel Universe. Of late, with the writers switching the host of Thor to a woman, lots of people rallied to the internet to lay claim to the fact that Thor is a god, that he shouldnt be a woman, when in fact, according to Marvel themselves, that Thor embodies a host form, and is not an entity unto himself any longer. Now from what I understand, in searching for fact along this new storyline, that Donald Blake somehow no longer is worthy of the hammer, and thus, no longer can embody the entity that is Thor, and another is chosen to be worthy. Seems pretty simple so far, yet there are those who would have the opinion that this is just another way to appease the feminists of fandom, give more strong female presence in the world of super heroes and caped crusaders. Religious folk have had their say in this too, somehow feeling slighted that Thor is a woman come October (when really, the comic and Asatru have as little in common as an ant does to a boot). Fans, casual fans, dear readers, collectors. Embrace change. It isnt scary, it isnt there to ruin your childhood. It is there to grow and stimulate creativity. Instead of jumping the gun and spilling out the knee-jerk text venom that exudes from your keyboard, wait, and pick up a book to decide for yourself if you like, or dislike the change. Is that so much to ask, fans? Lets grow with the characters before they become so stale they fade into printed oblivion.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 15:26:59 +0000
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