jane foster

This year, I've been more than a little bit obsessed with TinyCo's mobile superhero management game Avengers Academy. Its cute designs and fun scripts have been a bright light of superheroic fun, and its willingness to feature new and niche characters alongside A-list heavyweights has been a highlight of the gameplay experience. However, since the game's launch, there have been a number of characters fans have been clamoring to get their hands on, and now it seems a number of them are coming all at once, as Marvel and TinyCo have announced the December event will be themed around A-Force, bringing the likes of Captain Marvel, She-Hulk and Ms. America to the campus.

Since the dawn of the Silver Age, legacy characters have been a staple of superhero fiction, and having a new character step into a well loved role can open up new opportunities for writers and artists to tell different kinds of stories. In The Replacements, we’ll look back at the notable and not-so-notable heroes and villains to assume some of the most iconic mantles in the superhero genre. The Mighty Thor is a hero as old as time and a founding Avenger, but The Prince of Asgard is not the only person to bear that moniker. Over time there have been other heroes and villains who have attempted to claim the name of Thor, and not all of them were considered worthy.

For the past seven years, Kotobukiya's Bishoujo line has been providing statues from the Marvel universe cast in Shunya Yamashita's vision. Yamashita's takes on the likes of Black Widow, Rogue, the Invisible Woman, She-Hulk and many more have been the driving force behind the line's success. Since the Bishoujo series focuses entirely on "beautiful girls," we've been absent some of the more notable names in the Marvel roster. We've been more than content with a company exclusively devoting a line to female characters, but not-so recent developments in Marvel comics had us clamoring for some of those new lady legacy heroes. Finally, prayers to the All-Father have been answered. This winter, Thor joins the lineage of the Bishoujo line, and she strikes a commanding pose with her arrival.

The mantle of Thor has been taken up in many forms in the cosplay world, and we’ve gathered some of the best of them here. The classic version of Thor is certainly a go-to, as is Beta Ray Bill, an alien warrior who once gained the power of Mjolnir, and even before Jane Foster picked up the hammer, Thor was a popular character for female cosplayers. No matter the take, the epic magnificence of these cosplayers can’t be denied. These are the best Thor cosplays.

This week's announcement of a second Captain America title, Captain America: Steve Rogers, to run alongside the current Captain America: Sam Wilson series, is the latest example of a Marvel legacy hero getting to share a name with its originator. It's a trend that reflects two facets of Marvel's approach to major heroes. On the one hand, the publisher almost always gives big name legacy identities to characters that provide greater diversity than their predecessors, whether it's Cap, Spider-Man Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Wolverine, Nick Fury, Giant Man, or Ms Marvel. On the other hand, Marvel's big name heroes almost always come back. The new Cap comic has plenty of promise; Steve Rogers is a popular and beloved character, and the team of artist Jesus Saiz and writer Nick Spencer should deliver great stories. Spencer is also the writer on the Sam Wilson title, so it's reassuring to know that he hasn't passed up Sam for Steve, and that Sam will still hold on to the iconic round shield. But Marvel's decision to make Sam Wilson the Captain America felt like a big deal. Is it still a big deal if he's just a Captain America?

Kamala Khan is an Avenger now, and that's pretty great. Miles Morales is also an Avenger now, and that's great too. And, of course, Jane Foster is Thor, and Sam Wilson is Captain America, and Vision is Vision, and Sam Alexander is Nova, and... well, Tony Stark is still Iron Man, I think. But I'd be happy if they replaced that guy too, because replacing those other heroes has honestly made this one of the most exciting and vibrant Avengers line-ups in years! Let's replace Tony Stark with America Chavez! But even with boring ol' Tony sticking around, I am on board for this team, and hopefully you are too. But in case you need convincing, here's an unlettered preview of All-New All-Different Avengers #1 by Mark Waid and Mahmud Asrar!

I was skeptical about the mystery contents of this month's box when Secret Wars was announced as the inspiration. Basing a collectible delivery around an untested crossover event with little knowledge as to how the storyline would be received seemed risky. Additionally, where the films reach a massive audience globally, we all know comic books themselves top out in the hundreds of thousands in sales. Depending which sales source you believe, Secret Wars has been the most popular book for the past few months, but even still, that concept hasn't reached as wide a consumer base as Age of Ultron or Ant-Man. As the first box in Funko's Marvel Collector Corps to not be based on a film property, no one really had any idea what to expect from the Secret Wars box. To be fair, there have only been two boxes in the subscription service so far, with both having arrived at the same time as one of Marvel's cinematic escapades. There won't always be a movie to base one of these themed boxes around, but if the Secret Wars box is any indication, that won't be a problem for Funko.

We already knew Lego Marvel's Avengers would have the biggest roster of any Lego game developed by TT Games to date, but we still don't know the exact character list. During Gamescom this week, TT revealed a few of these new cast members with in-game models for the first time, giving us a better idea of who and what to expect. While your standard Avengers have all but been confirmed (at least as far as the movie roster is concerned), there's a whole lot of Marvel heroes and villains that have yet to have their shot at Lego fame and glory. During San Diego Comic-Con, TT actually teased a few of these characters, including Kamala "Ms. Marvel" Khan and the Jane Foster Thor, but this is the first time we've seen Squirrel Girl and the Young Avengers' Speed. Most importantly, Ms. Marvel's Lego-fied version actually looks like Kamala Khan. After the America Chavez incident, it's good to see TT Games is actually on point with its representation of the character, and fans won't have to cry out in hopes of having Ms. Khan recolored.

If you boiled down Marvel's movies to a basic formula, the first Thor film would be a perfect example of it. It's got some decent superhero action, a lot of shoehorned-in S.H.I.E.L.D. stuff, and one huge feather in its cap: A sense of humor about itself and its characters. Luckily, the new sequel, Thor: The Dark World, is like its predecessor in that it's not afraid to include some levity. As long

Debuting as part of YouTube's "Geek Week,"  Marvel Studios has unveiled a brand new trailer for Thor: The Dark World. Focusing largely on Loki and Jane Foster, and featuring Heimdall and Malekith, it's a collection of much of the footage shown at the Marvel Studios' Comic-Con panel last month. But if you weren't at the panel (and most of us, obviously, were not) this is all new to you, a