Marvel fans have been anticipating Natalie Portman‘s return to the character of Jane Foster, but this time as Thor, since she came onto the stage at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 holding aloft the hammer of Thor. Marvel has released a story summary for Thor: Love and Thunder, following the release of the first trailer, which shows Foster wielding Mjolnir and dressed in her suit. They’ll get their opportunity now that the first teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder have been out. Anyone else, on the other hand, could be wondering: Since when does Jane Foster have Thor’s power?
The answer is: since 2014’s Thor 1, when a mysterious new superheroine debuted in the Marvel Universe, wielding Mjolnir. Join us on a brief journey through Jane Foster’s transformation into the god of thunder. As the air crackles with lightning, Jane Foster, dressed as the Mighty Thor, lifts Mjolnir above her head.
Jason Aaron, a comics writer, took over Marvel’s Thor books in 2012 and stayed there long enough to complete a seven-year epic of heavenly drama with the help of many excellent artists. The first thing he did was introduce Gorr the God Butcher, an antitheist alien set on slaying every god in the cosmos in order to free mankind from believing in them, who would be played by Christian Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder.
But, two years into his tenure, Aaron threw the entire Thor cosmos into disarray. Thor lost his mental battle with Gorr’s heritage and recognized in his heart that gods were unworthy of mortal worship, rendering him unable to raise Mjolnir. Thor lost his ability to lift his hammer after Nick Fury said something odd in his ear, according to comic book enthusiasts. Aaron and his associates kept Thor’s empowerment a secret for three years.
However, Aaron also added a new Mjolnir wielder, a mystery-helmed lady known simply as Thor. Aaron and Thor artist Russell Dauterman put a lot of effort into the concept. In 2014, Aaron told Comic Book Resources, “You pick up this book and it just says ‘Thor’ on the cover, which displays a new female version of Thor.” “It’s basically saying she’s neither She-Thor nor Lady Thor.” Thorika isn’t her name. Thor is her name. “This is the new Thor,” says the narrator.
Thor’s true identity, like the source of Odinson’s unworthiness, remained an enticing mystery, which also helped to cement the “Thor” moniker in her mind. Fans simply had to call her Thor if they couldn’t call her “Lady Thor” and she didn’t have a hidden identity. Thor’s book was more successful than Aaron’s first Thor series in 2012, therefore the guy started going by “Odinson.” Aaron and Russell Dauterman finally disclosed the truth seven months after her debut.
Dr. Jane Foster is Thor’s alters ego. Until she became Thor, Aaron’s Thor epic had been short on Jane’s involvement – early in the series, it was revealed that Jane had been diagnosed with aggressive cancer and, despite Thor’s urgings, had chosen medicine over the kind of magical methods that often come at an unforeseen cost. The revelation that she was Thor revealed that everything had been a half-bluff: half-set-up, half-exactly-what-Jane-hadn’t-wanted-from-magical-cancer-cure.
Jane Foster, dying of cancer and feeble, slumps to the floor. In Thor #8, she thinks in a narration box, “I will not cease being the Mighty Thor, even if it kills me” (2015).
Jane had discovered her worth, and she couldn’t stand by when she could save people’s lives as a superhero. When she returned from goddess to mortal, however, she reverted to her body’s “default” state, negating the progress she had made during her cancer treatments. Being Thor saved others, but it cost her her life. Still, she persisted, all the way up to Aaron’s final Thor episode, War of the Realms, which pitted four Thors — Thor Odinson, two other versions of him brought out of time, and Jane-as-Thor — against Malekith, the dark elf warlord wielding Gorr the God Butcher’s long-lost weapon, All-Black, the Necrosword.
From this initial teaser trailer, it’s unclear how much of any of this — Thor’s unworthiness, Jane’s disease, Gorr’s butchery — will make it into Thor: Love and Thunder. Gorr doesn’t even appear in it, despite the fact that he’s a strange, almost-naked grey extraterrestrial with tentacles on his head, so we’d have noticed.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the fourth film in the God of Thunder’s solo franchise, and it takes place after the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Thor (Christian Bale) is seeking inner peace until he is interrupted by Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a criminal out to slay the gods. Thor unites up with King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (Waititi), and Foster/Mighty Thor to destroy Gorr.
Thor: Love and Thunder is slated for release on July 8.
