New Female Thor Identity Revealed

I guess I should say this, but if you don't want to know who she is, you need to stop reading now.

Okay!  So, seven issues ago we got a new Thor after the original Odinson lost his ability to wield his hammer, and seven issues ago we saw it was a woman who picked up his hammer, which had been on the moon since Odinson became unworthy to do so.  People have been speculating over who this new Thor really is.  Now, Marvel seems ready to let us know.

At the end of issue 8, the new Thor whoops up on the Destroyer (remember that massive robot from the first Thor movie?  Yeah, that robot).  Odinson begs the new Thor to reveal her identity to him, but she refuses.  Instead, she tells him, "This world needs a Thor.  A god who loves the Earth enough to die for it."  After leaving Odinson and flying away, she removes her helmet and reveals...

...she is none other than Dr. Jane Foster, Odinson's ex-girlfriend.  She's in a hospital gown, .  She's sick, frail, and bald from the cancer treatments that she's been going through.  She says, "I am Dr. Jane Foster.  And I will not stop being the mighty Thor.  Even though it is killing me."

Dr. Foster is suffering from breast cancer.  She has been for a while now.  Now that Marvel has a female Thor, and one who is suffering from a very real disease that hundreds of thousands of women have to deal with, I'd expect Marvel to tackle this theme head on, giving people an insight to the real dangers of breast cancer.  There are a lot of women out there that will be able to relate to what Dr. Foster is going through.

Have you been following the new Thor storyline?  If you have, were you surprised at who she really is?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.