Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster Became The Mighty Thor: The shift from comic books to the silver screen has allowed production companies to bring some of the most pivotal moments from their source material to life. Marvel Studios has been particularly adept at adapting Marvel Comics for film and television, taking creative liberties to expand upon the comics’ ideas and turn them into cinematic events.
As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) enters its latest phase, post-The Infinity Saga, Marvel Studios is taking risks by exploring more niche storylines, such as Jane Foster’s iconic Thor storyline in Thor: Love and Thunder.
How Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster Became The Mighty Thor
Thor: Love and Thunder promised to be more than just a collaboration between Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios. The film was set to feature a wealth of character crossovers and introduce new plotlines from the comics, with Jane Foster’s transformation into the Mighty Thor at the heart of the story. While some fans were surprised by this direction for the franchise, Natalie Portman’s return to the MCU as Jane Foster was eagerly anticipated. However, the scene depicting Jane’s transformation was noticeably absent from the film, leaving fans with questions about how exactly she became the Mighty Thor.
Jane Foster’s journey as Thor in the comics began in 2014, when she takes on the mantle of Thor while battling breast cancer. After refusing magical treatments, Jane only accepts chemotherapy, undergoing the draining treatment while representing Midgard as a member of the Congress of Worlds. Thor struggles to regain his ability to control Mjolnir during combat against Nick Fury, and the hammer finds itself inhabiting the moon, unsupervised by any being. Mjolnir calls out to Jane telepathically, seeking her out as its rightful master. Jane is reluctant to admit that she and Mjolnir are bonded, but ultimately claims the hammer as her own and is bestowed with the power of Thor.
In the MCU, Jane’s transition into the Mighty Thor is less straightforward. While there had been speculation that Waititi’s screenplay would closely follow the comics, the film did not explain her transformation in the same way. As far as the audience could tell, Mjolnir called Jane when she visited the broken relic in New Asgard. Because Thor had previously asked his beloved hammer to watch over Jane and protect her, Mjolnir came to life, giving her the powers of Thor to protect her. However, Jane can only be the super-powered version of herself so long as her human form is strong enough to survive.
Thor: Love and Thunder promised to shake up the current standings of the MCU, with characters passing on their legacies to others. This trend of torch-passing was first seen when Steve Rogers trusted Sam Wilson with the Captain America shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Similarly, Kate Bishop was granted permission to call herself “Hawkeye” in the Hawkeye series, signifying a shift toward her claiming Clint Barton’s spot as the MCU’s designated archer. Yelena Belova has become the new Black Widow, and the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is set to feature the return of several characters from previous MCU films.
In conclusion, the transition from comics to film has allowed production companies to bring some of the most pivotal moments from their source material to the silver screen. Marvel Studios has been particularly adept at adapting Marvel Comics for film and television, taking creative liberties to turn simple possibilities into cinematic events. As the MCU enters its latest phase, Marvel Studios is taking risks by exploring more niche storylines, such as Jane Foster’s iconic Thor storyline in Thor: Love and Thunder. While her transformation into the Mighty Thor is less straightforward in the MCU, the film promises to shake up the current standings of the MCU by passing on legacies to new characters.
The grand transition from comic books to silver screens has allowed tent pole production companies to bring some of their source material’s most instrumental moments to the cinema. In some cases, they’ve built upon the ideas that comics have lent them and elevated the simplest of possibilities into large-scale cinematic events. Indeed, Marvel Studios has been no stranger to subtlety when illustrating Marvel Comics through film and television. Some of the most memorable turning points from the comics have been explored through more extravagant creative liberty. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe finds its groove within its most current phase, post-The Infinity Saga, it means that Marvel Studios is following the risk-taking editorial decisions that the comics previously faced head-on, giving the more niche storylines a change in the spotlight and one notable example is the addition of Jane Foster’s iconic Thor storyline in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Updated June 13, 2023: Following recent developments and delays in the MCU, this article has been updated with more material to reflect the current state of the popular franchise.
Thor: Love and Thunder promised to be more than just a collaboration between Taika Waititi and Marvel Studios. Following his work on Thor: Ragnarok, the fourth Thor film planned to hold a wealth of character crossovers and introduce new plot lines from the comics, with Jane Foster’s transition into becoming the Mighty Thor nestled at the heart of Thor: Love and Thunder. When this was first announced, many fans thought it was a somewhat surprising direction for the Thor franchise to go in, especially since Natalie Portman wasn’t in Thor: Ragnarok. What’s more, the actress had previously confirmed no desire to return to the franchise. Of course, it’s exciting that MCU’s Jane Foster has returned and followed in her comic book counterpart’s footsteps. However, after the scene depicting Jane Foster’s transformation into the Norse god of thunder was noticeably absent from Thor: Love and Thunderfans were left with many questions about how exactly does Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster become the Mighty Thor?
Jane’s History as Thor in the Comics
Jane Foster was first introduced in Marvel Comics in Journey Into Mystery #84 in September 1962 and was a member of Thor’s supporting cast as his primary love interest. This was the status quo for the character for years and was the basis for her arrival in the MCU when Natalie Portman played the character in 2011’s Thor. In 1978 an issue of the comic series What If…? imagined what would happen if Jane Foster became Thor, which served as the inspiration for the character to become The Mighty Thor in October 2014. When The Mighty Thor first appeared, readers were not privy to who was wielding Thor’s hammer. Her identity was not revealed until May 2015.
In Marvel Comics, Thor Odinson is off battling Gorr the God Butcher while Jane Foster fights a battle of her own: breast cancer. She is offered forms of magical treatments to lessen her suffering, though she ultimately refuses. Jane only accepts chemotherapy, undergoing this draining treatment while she represents Midgard as a member of the Congress of Worlds. Thor struggles to regain his ability to control Mjolnir during combat against Nick Fury, and eventually, the hammer finds itself inhabiting the moon, unsupervised by any being. Mjolnir calls out to Jane telepathically in an attempt to seek her out as its rightful master. Jane is reluctant to admit that she and Mjolnir are bonded, though succumbs to its calls. Heimdall is called on for assistance when Jane decides to retrieve the hammer from the moon, and once she claims Mjolnir as her own, she is bestowed with the power of Thor. After studying Thor for years, Jane teaches herself how to harness her newfound power.
How Does Jane Become Thor In The MCU
There had been whispers about how Jane would take on the moniker of the Mighty Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with many thinking that Waititi’s screenplay would closely follow the foundation laid out by the comics. Christian Bale had been cast as Gorr the God Butcher, a necessary component to a faithful adaptation of Jane becoming the Mighty Thor. However, The God Butcher positioning themselves to pose some sort of threat over Thor: Love and Thunder do not exactly give away the panel-to-screen translation of the comics to Marvel Studios. Because Mjolnir does not directly transfer its powers to those who are deemed worthy of wielding it within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jane could not instantaneously undergo a thunderous transformation on-screen.
The concept of variants flooding the MCU had raised questions previously about whether The Mighty Thor may be a variant of Jane from an alternative timeline, and after the ending of Love and Thunderit does not seem unlikely that this could explain her return in the future if the character does make another appearance at all. However, Portman’s return kept the answer much simpler. Jane would still be Jane, and she would not suddenly look like an entirely different person. However, the film did not quite explain her transition like the comics had. As far as the audience could tell from what dialogue was left in the film, Mjolnir called Jane when she visited the broken relic in New Asgard. Because Thor (Chris Hemsworth) had previously asked his beloved hammer to watch over Jane and protect her, Mjolnir came to life to give her the powers of Thor. This serves to protect her by giving her the power of Thor.
Lady Thor vs. The Mighty Thor: Is There a Difference?
The exact terminology of Marvel’s characters has the potential to be buried beneath alias upon an alias, where one character falls under many names across the multitude of the multiverse. After Mjolnir deems Jane worthy of carrying it for herself and bearing Thor’s powers, she is primarily known as the Mighty Thor. While many have called her Lady Thor, this is a name that both the character within Marvel Comics and the MCU has fought back against. Notably, when Gorr the God Butcher calls her Lady Thor, she fights back and corrects him saying her name is Dr. Jane Foster or The Mighty Thor. The Mighty Thor is a good way to distinguish her from Thor Odinson.
Marvel Studios fans may not always find themselves rummaging through long boxes of comics to prep themselves for the next blockbuster preparing to dominate theaters worldwide. Regardless, the film touches on this matter a bit, offering something of an explanation to its audience. Jane does not transform into a god-like being like Thor himself. While she does get to wield his powers while in her Mighty Thor form, she is not permanently altered. Instead, she returns to her weakened human form once she lets go of the hammer. Jane can only be the super-powered version of herself so long as her human form is strong enough to survive. This is contrasted with Thor, who has godlike strength and durability by nature.
Jane Foster’s Future in the MCU
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Thor: Love and Thunder promised to shuffle a well-established hierarchy and shake up the current standings of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As The Infinity Saga came to a close, the Multiverse Saga has seen a number of torch-passing from character to character throughout projects. The trend of legacies being taken on by others was first triggered by Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) trusting Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) with the Captain America shield at the end of Avengers: Endgame. From there, he shed the title of the Falcon and assumed the role of Captain America in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and will lead Captain America: Brave New World. Similarly, Kate Bishop is granted permission to call herself “Hawkeye” as the first season of the Hawkeye series drew to a close, signifying a shift toward her claiming Clint Barton’s (Jeremy Renner) spot as the MCU’s designated archer. Yelena Belova has become the new Black Widow in the place of her sister’s passing, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, into the MCU before her Disney+ series, filling the role left by the passing of Tony Stark’s Iron Man.
This led many to believe that Thor: Love and Thunder would see Chris Hemsworth pass the franchise over to Natalie Portman’s Mighty Thor. Yet that didn’t happen. Instead, Thor: Love and Thunder played out similarly to the comics where Jane Foster does die of her cancer. Yet the film’s post-credit scene showed that Jane Foster entered Valhalla. This could be read as giving Jane a proper ending or leaving the door open for her character to return from the dead. A version of Jane Foster’s Mighty Thor could appear in the growing Multiverse Saga, including Avengers: Secret Warswhere she plays a prominent role in the comic storyline. While many fans would love to see the Thor they’ve come to know and love remain in the MCU, it is only fair to assume that Hemsworth will move on at some point, leaving the real question to be who, if anyone at all, will take up his position in the Avengers.
