Just one day after their announcement on the view that Norse god and superhero Thor will be replaced by a woman after being deemed unworthy to wield his magic hammer "Mjolnir", Marvel has released an image of what the “unworthy” Thor will look like in his fall from godhood.

The image, made by artist Esad Ribic, was released to IGN and features a weary-looking Thor with a shaggy beard and "Jarnborn", the ax Thor wielded before he was worthy to wield Mjolnir for the first time. The ax, notes IGN, does not allow Thor to control storms and the weather as he could do with the sacred hammer, but still is quite powerful; possibly even strong enough to kill gods.

Thor also has a metal arms of sorts, a prosthetic replacement from another Marvel character called “the Destroyer.” Thor lost his own arm a few months ago in a battle with the son of the villain "Apocalypse" (a.k.a. the villain of the next X-Men movie).

IGN also notes that the image bears a striking resemblance to a portrayal of Thor known as “God King Thor” from Thor: God of Thunder, a comic series that takes place sometime in the future. It is possible that writer Jason Aaron, who writes both the main Thor series andThor: God of Thunder, is trying to branch Thor’s current position and his rise to ultimate glory from that later timeline.

Some comic readers, like the Outhousers, seem to think the monumental change to the character will only be temporary, most likely undone by the release of Avengers 2, where he will be again played by Chris Hemsworth (pictured above). Jason Aaron, however, seemed to insist in an interview with Time, that the change was not some gimmick, saying “It’s not like we threw a dart at a board and said we’re going to change this character and make it a female.” Furthermore, he insisted that the change would have “long-term effects” for the superhero and Marvel universe as a whole.

“She is Thor,” Aaron asserted. “She will carry that hammer in her own books and the other books as well. So for the foreseeable future this is Thor.”

Image via Twitter from Jason Aaron
Photo Credit: Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com