She-Thor: Why Thor was the Avenger who had to change sex
So they drew names out of a hat, and Thor was the unlucky Avenger that has to undergo a sex change just to appease the girls. Will changing the gender of a superhero really make girls more interested in him/her/it? Comic book fans are comic book fans, they like good characters because they are good characters, not because of their chromosome sets. Also, I’m pretty sure the only reason female non-comic book fans go to see a film like The Avengers is because of Chris Hemsworth.
Either way, it was bound to be the tall blonde with the big breasts that took the sex change hit for the team; the others simply would not have worked, and here’s why:
Iron Woman
While Tony Stark is popular for his cocky attitude, unfortunately were a female to go on like that she would be considered a bitch. Also, Tony’s greatest attribute is his intelligence, and he is frequently listed among the smartest comic book characters, a list that includes Batman, Lex Luthor, Mr Fantastic, Mr Terrific, Braniac, Hank Pym, Professor X, Beast, Ozymandias, Dr Doom, The Leader, Bruce Banner, Darkseid, Galactus… notice anything about this list? Yeah, all the leaders in thought in the world of comic books are men. Some crazy stuff goes on in comics, but writing a smart woman seems to be a step too far.
Besides, there would be too much confusion with Margaret Thatcher anyway.
Ms America
Similar to the above point, I could list all the leaders of all the famous superhero teams, and you would find very few ladies. It’s the same reason why of DC’s ‘big three’ of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, two of them have had about 100 films made each, while the third is still waiting on her first. And as her name would suggest, supervillians would constantly distract her by throwing tricky questions like ‘why the Iraq don’t have maps in schools?’
She-Hulk
A woman who turns into an unstoppable destructive monster whenever someone upsets her? Isn’t that…. every woman? *ducks* I am of course, just kidding. A female Hulk already exists, the only difference with her is the top half of her outfit also miraculously doesn’t rip off every time, as opposed to just Bruce Banner’s purple trousers.
Black Widow’s Wussy Mate
The same goes for the only female member of The Avengers – what if she became male? Would a guy whose only superpower is a ridiculously tight curve-clinging outfit be as successful? He could probably distract villains in much the same way Scarlett Johannson does, although it would be a very, very different kind of distraction. Also, he would have to change his name, because while female black widows are cool and intimidating, the males are tiny transparent things that are disposed of after sex by having their heads bitten off; probably not the sort of tough image a crimefighter wants to convey
Hawk-eye
Could bow-and-arrow guy be bow-and-arrow gal? Do you really care?
Ross v Ross 
August 7, 2014 at 5:33 am
I kind of figured Thor only had a sex change to appeal to the sexually frustrated comic book nerds eager for more cartoonish breasts.
Personally, I can’t wait to see her!
August 7, 2014 at 12:52 pm
I like your point about a female Tony Stark. While he comes across as cocky and endearing, a female would be called a lot worse than what you described. Still, there is room for strong female characters and I hope they do this right. Good post, as always.
November 29, 2014 at 4:24 pm
If they change any of the characters genders, I will never go see.another marvel movie..they’ve made many movies with the characters the way they are..it’s too late to change their gender. It’s like changing every character in the hunger games movies into the opposite gender, it would screw everything up.