Marvel’s Jane Foster will be wearing the mantle of Thor once again in the new limited series Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor, from writer Torunn Grønbekk and artist Michael Dowling, launching in June 2022, shortly ahead of the Marvel Studios movie Thor: Love and Thunder.
Jane began her career as the love interest of doctor Donald Blake, Thor’s first mortal identity. Since then, she became a prominent character in Thor books, especially during Jason Aaron’s time as the writer of the Thunderer. After Thor Odinson became unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, during the Original Sin storyline, Jane picked up the hammer and became the new Thor. She fought valiantly to defend both Asgard and Earth, but her deadliest enemy was cancer. Jane’s transformations made chemotherapy ineffective, and she finally gave up her life to save Asgard, when she hurled Mjolnir into the Sun to destroy the invincible Mangog. Without the magic hammer, Jane reverted to her mortal form and cancer took her. Odin and Thor resurrected Jane, who has since been gifted the powers and duties of the Valkyrie.
Judging by the cover for Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor, shared by The Mary Sue, Jane will be wielding the once-again-reforged Mjolnir, which now holds the spirit of Odin inside. According to the synopsis, Mjolnir will come crashing into Jane’s apartment and recruit her to find the missing Thor. The two heroes will have to join forces to stop an assembly of Asgard’s greatest villains, including Ulik the Troll, Amora the Enchantress, and Hela, Goddess of Death. Grønbekk is already familiar with the Jane Foster character, being the author of the Valkyrie: Jane Foster series. Regular covers will be penciled by Ryan Stegman, while alternate cover art will be provided by the increasingly popular Peach Momoko. The series will officially start in June.
All of this is certainly exciting and makes sense considering Thor: Love and Thunder releases on July 8th. While Jane Foster’s time as Thor is often viewed as controversial, she still has many fans. That fandom can only increase with Natalie Portman returning to the character for Thor: Love and Thunder. While movie success doesn’t always equate to comic success, it is a smart move on Marvel Comics’ part to give Jane her Thor powers back right as she gains them in the MCU, hopefully sating any fan demand for more stories with Jane as Thor.
Regardless of the new series’ ties to the MCU though, this is an exciting new book with an incredible creative team behind it. Jane Foster’s time as Thor was always one of Marvel Comics’ boldest creative decisions, and fans can only hope that spirit of risk-taking carries over into the new comic series.
