The MCU’s fourth Thor film, Love And Thunder, will introduce fans of the franchise to a new version of the Norse deity, as Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is revealed worthy of lifting the enchanted hammer, Mjölnir.
In the comics, Jane Foster has a long and storied history with the original Thor Odinson, dating all the way back to her first appearance in 1962’s Journey Into Mystery #84. While there have already been a few notable deviations between the film and comic versions of Jane Foster, the character’s long Marvel Comics history leaves plenty of elements to pull from.
Comic Book Jane Was A Nurse
The MCU’s version of Jane Foster was introduced to fans as a brilliant astrophysicist, which worked for the film’s plot as her profession led directly to her investigation of the spatial anomalies caused by Thor traveling to Earth from Asgard.
The profession of her comic book counterpart likewise led to her first meeting with Thor in the classic Marvel Universe. In this version, rather than being banished to Earth without his powers as he was in the film, Thor was bonded to the mortal form of disabled Doctor Donald Blake, in an effort to teach him humility. Comic book Jane was a nurse who worked closely with Doctor Blake. She would go on to be rescued by his alter ego Thor on multiple occasions, leading to one of Marvel’s most complicated love triangles when she became torn between her love of each, not realizing they were one and the same.
A Multiversal Variant Of Jane Was Revealed To Be Worthy Years Before Her Mainstream Counterpart
The main Marvel Comics version of Jane Foster would eventually prove worthy of lifting the enchanted hammer, transforming herself into a legacy incarnation of the mighty Thor, and it’s this version that will presumably be the inspiration for her depiction in the MCU’s Thor: Love And Thunder. Decades before this storyline, however, a notable multiversal variant of Jane Foster beat her to the punch.
In What If…? #10 (1978), the Jane Foster of Earth-788 found Mjölnir before Donald Blake, the doctor to whom Thor had become bound. Gaining the powers of the God Of Thunder, this version of Jane went on to save the Earth and Asgard from an alien invasion, eventually proving worthy enough to be transformed fully into an Asgardian herself. She would later give the hammer to Blake, allowing him to become Thor once more, while she married Odin and became the Queen of Asgard.
She Was Once Transformed Into An Asgardian
After finally revealing his dual identity to Jane, Thor took her to Asgard for the first time in 1967’s Thor #136. As the God Of Thunder expressed his intent to marry the human nurse, Odin deemed it necessary to transform Foster into an Asgardian herself, granting her immortality as well as a host of other godly abilities.
Unfortunately for Jane, the wonders of Asgard and her newfound godhood proved overwhelming to her mortal sensibilities. After a terrifying encounter with an ancient Fear Lord called The Lurking Unknown, she would demand to be reverted to her previous form and returned to Earth. Odin obliged, but in the process erased Jane’s memories of both Asgard and Thor’s identity.
She Was Once Merged With Lady Sif
Similar to the way in which the Mighty Thor was bonded to the mortal form of Doctor Donald Blake, Jane Foster once found herself inextricably attached to the Asgardian warrior Sif. On an occasion in which she had fallen deathly ill, the ailing Foster was infused with Sif’s life force in a desperate effort to save her. While Jane was spared, the process merged the two beings, and Foster then gained the ability to transform into Sif in times of need.
It was later revealed that these “transformations” were actually the two women swapping spaces in the physical realm, with the other transported to an incorporeal pocket dimension, reminiscent of the bond between Rick Jones and the original Captain Marvel. A team-up adventure between Thor and Sif eventually freed Foster from this pocket dimension, separating the two once more.
She Was Married, But Not To Thor
Despite expressing attraction to both Thor and his human alter ego Donald Blake, Jane Foster would eventually fall in love with and marry another character altogether: Doctor Keith Kincaid. Unbeknownst to Foster, Kincaid had been the template upon whom Odin had based his creation of the Donald Blake personality during Thor’s initial exile from Asgard.
Jane and Keith would stay together for many years, later having a son and working together as medical staff at the Avengers Mansion. It was during her marriage to Keith that the longtime nurse would also finally become Doctor Jane Foster. Although the couple seemed like a perfect match, they would eventually divorce, before both Keith and their son, Jimmy, died tragically in an automobile accident just a few years after.
She Opposed The Super Hero Registration Act During Marvel’s Civil War
The comic book version of Civil War is one of Marvel Comics’ most important events; much larger in scale in comparison to its MCU counterpart while including almost every major Marvel franchise, with a few notable exceptions. One major character missing from the battlefield was Thor, who had recently perished (temporarily) along with the rest of the Asgardians during their world-ending Ragnarok event. Still, even in Thor’s absence, Jane Foster found herself forced to choose sides after her years of association with Earth’s Mightiest.
The major dividing element during Marvel Comics’ Civil War was similar to the Avengers oversight proposed in the film Captain America: Civil War, but on a grander scale, requiring any person operating with superpowers to be registered with the government. Foster aligned with Captain America’s side in protest of this legislation and joined up with his underground team of “Secret Avengers” as their resident physician. Following the end of the Civil War, with the surrender of Captain America resulting in the implementation of the Super Hero Registration Act, Jane continued to oppose the law, refusing to register her identity when she later took on the identity of the Mighty Thor.
She Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
After years of association with Marvel’s greatest heroes, and watching firsthand as they faced off against life-threatening obstacles, Jane faced one of her own when she discovered she had developed breast cancer. Her diagnosis came during a time when Thor was off-world battling Gorr, The God Butcher, the same villain who will be played by Christian Bale in the upcoming film.
Even after Thor’s return, Jane kept her cancer a secret for many months, while also being elected to represent Midgard in the newly established “Congress Of Worlds.” When she eventually did choose to share her prognosis, she refused any magical interventions from the Asgardians, instead electing to face her most personal battle on her own.
Her Tenure As Thor Was A Double-Edged Sword
When the original Thor found himself unworthy of lifting Mjolnir, Jane Foster was selected by the weapon as its new wielder, assuming the powers and identity of Thor and becoming one of Marvel’s most powerful enchanted hammer users. Starring in her own book, The Mighty Thor, Jane proved herself to be truly worthy, gradually growing into one of Marvel’s greatest legacy heroes, and eventually joining the ranks of The Avengers.
While Foster’s Asgardian empowered form was immortal and impervious to all human disease, effectively rendering her cancer inert, she continued the battle in her human form. Torn between her newfound status as a fully-fledged superhero and her continuing earthly responsibilities, she was forced to juggle these forms. This became a double-edged sword for Jane when she discovered that each transformation into Thor purged all foreign elements from her physiology, including her chemotherapy, rendering her cancer treatment ineffective.
She Sacrificed Herself In Battle
As Jane’s duties as Thor resulted in increasingly frequent transformations, her cancer metastasized, becoming stage four. Though she was warned by Doctor Strange that one more transformation into Thor and back would be fatal, she inevitably found herself drawn into combat once more, and after one final battle in which she rescued the entire Asgardian pantheon, succumbed to her disease.
Jane’s time as Thor had earned her a place in the Asgardian afterlife Valhalla, but she hesitated to enter its gates. Her hesitation allowed Odin and the original Thor an opportunity to harness the entire energies of the recently destroyed Mjolnir, and the two were able to resurrect her. Choosing to relinquish her Asgardian form, Jane encouraged Odinson to resume his duties as Thor, while she focused on her cancer treatment full-time, eventually achieving complete remission.
She Became A Valkyrie
The Valkyries were a group of nine Norse demi-gods; female warriors who would guide fallen Asgardian heroes to Valhalla, as well as frequently fighting alongside the armies of Asgard in battle. Like Thor and his brother Loki, the Valkyries have often become intertwined in the affairs of Earth’s heroes, notably when their leader, Brunnhilde became a long-standing member of The Defenders.
It was while defending the Earth that the Valkyries found themselves taking a final stand against an army of Dark Elves led by Malekith during Marvel’s “War Of The Realms” event. In the aftermath of the war, Jane Foster was visited by the spirit of Brunnhilde, who asked her to fill the role of the fallen Valkyries due to her previous displays of courage and valor. Jane accepted and was transformed into a Valkyrie, becoming a hero once more, and gaining a whole new set of Asgardian abilities.
