The Gods be praised, we have a new Thor: Love and Thunder trailer! And in it, we not only get a more in-depth look at the film’s main villain, Gorr the God Butcher (played by a very Voldemort-esque Christian Bale), and Russell Crowe’s Zeus, but also a whole lot more of Jane Foster kicking ass and taking names.
The very first teaser trailer revealed that she would be coming back wearing Thor’s mantle and wielding his hammer, but fans have been curious as to just how Jane gets Thor’s powers in the first place! In order to find answers, we have to take a peek into her long comic book legacy.
So how did Jane Foster become Thor in the comics?
Let’s go back—way back—to Jane’s storyline in the original Thor series. Starting with her first appearance in 1962, Jane Foster has been one of Thor’s longest on again/off again romantic interests. She began her story in a love triangle with Thor and his cover identity, Doctor Donald Blake. Eventually, she would learn the truth. This would lead to several breakups and make-ups throughout the years (sometimes due to Odin’s interference, sometimes due to her being sick of Asgardian shenanigans).
At one point, she even marries a man named Keith Kincaid and has a child with him. However, when Thor comes back into her life, she just can’t resist and separates from Kincaid. And because comics are comics, Kincaid and their son would die tragically in a car accident, while Jane was diagnosed with breast cancer.
This all comes back into play when she picks up Thor’s hammer.
See, in the story “Original Sin,” a villain known as The Orb steals all of the knowledge possessed by The Watcher and releases all of it—including all of the secrets closely guarded by Marvel’s heroes. As a result, Thor becomes “unworthy” to lift Mjolnir and so he abandons it on the moon.
However, a mysterious woman’s hand is seen grasping the hammer’s handle and tada! The Mighty Thor series is launched!
The new Thor, whose identity remained hidden at first, quickly begins to prove herself and even comes to the aid of Thor Odinson in his battle with the Dark Elf Malekith (who we meet in the MCU in Thor: The Dark World). Thor Odinson is so impressed with her use of Mjolnir that he bestows his name, title (“The God of Thunder”), and powers onto her.
This is when readers learned that Jane Foster was actually the mysterious new Thor. But her powers have come with a terrible price. As it turns out, every time she transforms into the Mighty Thor (and then reverts back to being human), the energy exchange undoes all of the progress made in treating her breast cancer. This leaves her in an unending and dangerous cycle of terminal illness, as she can’t let herself shirk her responsibilities as the new Thor. This will eventually, in the comics, lead to her death and her eventual resurrection as a new Valkyrie.
How will she become Thor in the MCU?
While their initial meeting was vastly different from their comic book origins, Jane and Thor have not been in a romantic relationship for several years (she claims three while in the trailer he says eight, but some of that might have to do with her getting blipped) which aligns with her comic trajectory. However, at the end of Thor: Ragnarok, Mjolnir was supposedly destroyed along with Thor’s entire home world, so how she gets her hands on his hammer will be a big reveal in the film. It’s possible the shards were discovered and reforged, but by who? And is her appearance connected to the film’s new “Big Bad,” Gorr the God Butcher? Only time and the mind of Taika Waititi will tell.
(featured image: Marvel)
