Thor: Love And Thunder Merch Confirms A Key Piece Of Jane Foster's Comic Book Backstory
When the "Thor: Love and Thunder" trailer was released, Marvel fans promptly lost their minds upon seeing Natalie Portman's Jane Foster transformed into Mighty Thor. The character has always been a pivotal part of the Norse god's story in the comic books, serving as ally and love interest, but her importance took on a whole new level when she began wielding the hammer herself when Thor was proven unworthy. And now, a key piece of the character's comic backstory has been confirmed for the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe film from director Taika Waititi.
Although this is a known element from the comic book inspiration for the film, note that this could be considered a spoiler by some viewers. Proceed with caution.
An official replica of Mighty Thor's "Love and Thunder" helmet is for sale at eaglemoss.com, with an accompanying official description that confirms Thor's ex-girlfriend becomes Mighty Thor after she is diagnosed with cancer. In the comics, her transformation into god and superhero presses pause on her illness, allowing her a temporary an escape from her increasingly frail mortal form. Here's the relevant part of the description:
Suffering from cancer, astrophysicist and Thor's ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster, visited New Asgard and her life was changed forever. Mysteriously, the broken pieces of Mjolnir, the hammer of the thunder god, transformed her into the Mighty Thor and gifted her the superpowers of Thor, to battle threats internal and external. Wielding Mjolnir herself, she had become a godly protector and a new hero was born!
Jane Foster or bust
The reference to New Asgard there is especially interesting. Does Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie, who Thor left in charge of the refugee community at the end of "Avengers: Endgame," have a role in transforming Jane into a hero? The description also goes on to add that Jane's struggle is two-fold, with both earthly and godly evils to vanquish:
With the help of Thor, Valkyrie, and the Guardians of the Galaxy, the Mighty Thor was faced by the powerful Gorr, the God Butcher. With divine powers himself, Gorr was driven to rid the universe of gods wherever he found them. Battling cancer in her human form and Gorr in her godly form, Jane Foster was embroiled in an epic struggle with plenty of love and thunder!
The helmet — which is the epitome of cool and powerful, let's be real — is available for just under 50 bucks, so if you're an MCU die-hard, it seems like an awesome piece to have in your collection.
The cool thing about Jane Foster is that she's one of the only people who has ever had a one-up on Odin's son. Her whole superhero alter-ego is predicated on the fact that she is able to handle Thor's mighty hammer, Mjöllnir, after he was proven unworthy and found himself unable to lift it — thus transferring its mastery over to Jane.
Jason Aaron, the comic book writer who delivered this storyline in his Mighty Thor comic run, revealed about the character to Vulture in 2015:
"It grew out of the idea of the previous Thor becoming unworthy, which was something I was always building toward. I liked the idea of dealing with his worthiness and the idea of what it means for a god to be worthy in the Marvel universe. You know, the god of thunder waking up every morning and looking at the hammer and not knowing if he's gonna be worthy to lift it. Then, of course, one day he should wake up and not be able to lift it. That opened the door for someone else to pick up the hammer and carry it around in his place. Really, the only character that was discussed was Jane."
Takia Waititi's upcoming film is set to release in theaters on July 8, 2022.