Thor is a woman. Now let's make Batman black.

Marvel Entertainment set the Internet ablaze Tuesday with the news that the God of Thunder and marquee member of the Avengers will be a woman starting in comics this October. The Disney-owned publisher and film studio was clear: They are trying to reach a broader female audience that the industry had neglected for so long.

Beyond geeky-fun debates about continuity and how, exactly, the change would work as a story, the announcement triggered the usual accusations of pandering to minorities and political correctness, not to mention all sorts ugly, misogynistic comments. There were positive responses, too, but as is routine on the Internet, the passionate intensity of the worst among us drowned them out.

All of it leads me to ask: What's wrong with making Thor a woman? Or what would be wrong with making Batman -- specifically his billionaire alter ego Bruce Wayne -- a black man? Or Spider-Man/Peter Parker an Asian-American? Are comics not a world of magic and fantasy where writers and artists should be compelled to try new things? So what if it's a gimmick? The whole superhero comic industry is based on gimmicks. We call them superpowers. And even if such changes are perceived as "cynical" or "pandering," who cares? That stuff will work itself out, particularly since there will be kids who are young enough to grow up with these versions of heroes.

My son just turned seven months old. My wife and I have made sure his wardrobe has plenty Superman and Batman onesies and bibs. He's even got some superhero toys, although he's at the point where he just wants to chew on everything, from his fingers to teething rings. I look at his Superman and Batman stuff and feel gratified that these characters will likely be relevant to him as he grows up just as they were to me and my grandfather before me. It's beautiful that no matter how much these characters have evolved over time, they're still essentially the same at their core. But there is always room for positive change.