Warning: Minor spoilers contained here; major possible spoiler and ultimate prediction at end of article.

There have been a lot of debates, questions, and fan theories concerning the identity of the Goddess of Thunder. Following the first issue, there were a good eight or more distinct possibilities. After the second issue, it’s safe to assume that the Thunderer herself was originally of Earth.

thor2Why the Goddess of Thunder is from Earth / Midgard and not a mutant:

  • These types of powers are clearly new to her, including wielding lightning (sorry, Ororo – also it would be super weird and not cool to change a woman of color into a white woman and Storm has her own awesomeness going on now).
  • Her thoughts are clearly non-Asgardian; when she views the frozen Asgardians in Thor #2 and does not seem to have an emotional reaction to them; she describes them as ‘Asgardians,’ not as ‘my people,’ etc. She still speaks as Thor and it is clear that Mjolnir displays sentience and guides her.
  • She’s seen Thor wield Mjolnir and fly, recalling how he spins the hammer before flying when she tries it herself, but when she interacts with the hammer she thinks ‘uh’ and ‘um’ often enough.

As for the humans, there are two likely subjects.

Roz Solomon, S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and recipient of Thor’s affection. Roz is already pretty badass.

Roz:

  • It’s presumably Roz we see in issue #1 (underwater).
  • Her speech patterns as Roz are similar to her thoughts as Goddess.
  • There is a reference to change of hair – Roz is brunette.
  • She is grateful for the mask – but who would recognize her in this situation? The Roxxon crew.
  • She thinks ‘yes’ when asked if she’d met Dario Agger, Roxxon CEO.

The second likely candidate is Jane Foster, Thor’s former partner who now suffers from cancer.

Jane:

Jane could be considered worthy for several reasons:

  • She did not accept Thor’s offer to go to Asgard and receive treatment for cancer. She seems to feel that humans must save themselves – which is exactly what happens if a human picks up Mjolnir while ice giants attack Earth.
  • In the a later scene, she tries to describe the mortal female experience, but Thor fails to catch on. He says “You are a brave woman, Jane Foster,” to which she replies “Nope. Just a regular woman. This is something women do.” She also tells Thor “Sometimes you have to let humans save themselves.”
  • She doesn’t feel like she deserves special treatment. She’s a medical doctor. If others on Earth cannot have access to it, why should she?
  • There is a reference to change of hair – Jane is bald due to chemotherapy.

Additional things to consider:

  • Who knows what magic Malekith was working? It could have messed with Mjolnir.
  • Odin himself could not lift the hammer…
  • Freyja may have had a hand in it as well. In Thor #1, Odin tells her brashly that there is no need for the All-Mother. Perhaps Odin’s lack of respect earned him the inability to lift the weapon – and perhaps the solution for Odinson (Snortblatt) is to correct his father’s mistake by treating the Goddess of Thunder as the equal that she is, especially in combat. It’s likely that Freyja’s words. Odin’s “A+ parenting” (berating Thor even though they all think the enemy did something to mess with Mjolnir) wasn’t helping –

Ultimately, the debate and fan theories over Thor’s identity prove one really important thing: there are many female Marvel characters who could be worthy enough to wield Mjolnir. While a few are canon (or AU), the possibilities are many. Just because Jane and Roz don’t BOTH wield Mjolnir in this particular arc doesn’t mean they aren’t both worthy – them and many other characters including Sif, Valkyrie, and Thor’s descendants.

Scroll below the cut to see my final pick and the ultimate clue to Thor’s identity:

 

 

SPOILERS BELOW!

 

 

I believe the Goddess of Thunder is really Roz. The biggest clue is in the published fan letters at the end of Thor #2. A fan (John Panno) writes in and lists a bunch of possibilities, including Jane, but he leaves out Roz. Jason Aaron replied: “Nice list of suspects, John. But you forgot one. Hmmm.” Plus, Freyja seems to respect Roz.

 

Do you think my prediction is right? Let me know why or why not in the comments!

This article is the result of a three hour read, re-read, and discussion. Thank you to Khaleesi, Rick, and Jeff for your additional insights on this subject.