Meet the new Thor... she ain’t your daddy’s Thunder God.

(Panini Books)

Carved onto the head of the enchanted uru hammer Mjolnir are words inscribed by All-Father Odin himself: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

For untold centuries, only Odin and his son, the thunder god Thor, were able to wield this all-powerful weapon, but then the altruistic alien Beta Ray Bill proved others could be worthy of lifting the hammer, and nothing was the same again.

After a secret is whispered in Thor’s ear by the ruthless super spy Nick Fury, he suddenly found himself unworthy of raising Mjolnir, and it remained where he last left it, on the surface of the Moon…

But nothing is ever forgotten, and it is not long before someone else is given the responsibility of wielding the hammer, a female Thor whose worthiness for the power it bestows is unquestionable.

Her identity a mystery, the new Thor proves her mettle by taking on an army of Ice Giants coupled with the likes of Malekith the Accursed, the Absorbing Man and Dario Agger, but her deeds reach the ears of Mjolnir’s former owner, now calling himself simply Odinson.

Initially intent on regaining control over the hammer, Odinson relents after witnesses the courage and skills of its new wielder, and allows her to assume the name of “Thor” with his blessing…

Although this initial volume in the new series offers numerous suggestions for the identity of the female Thor, from SHIELD agent Roz Solomon to cancer patient Jane Foster, her secret remains in place for the time being, adding to the mystery which surrounds Mjolnir’s change in ownership, including exactly what it was that Nick Fury said to challenge the Odinson’s worthiness.

With comments in other Marvel comics alluding to the new Thor eventually becoming the greatest champion to ever carry Mjolnir, it seems as though we’re not likely to see her surrender the hammer any time soon.

Marvel are really firing on all cylinders at the moment, with risk-taking attitude that might shake up the previous status quo, but certainly doesn’t leave any room for titles to grow stale.

A new Thor, a new Captain America, and the drastic change in personality experienced by Tony Stark all came about at the same time as the new Avengers movie, when you’d expect books to stick closely to the film continuity. With that option apparently no longer a consideration, the focus is purely on telling the best stories possible, and that’s a mission statement nobody will argue with.