'Thor: Love and Thunder': The Big Clue That Tells Us Jane Foster's Mighty Thor Is Probably NOT From Another Universe
Get ready to meet the Mighty Thor!
After a longer than usual wait, fans have finally been treated to the first teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, a film which gives Chris Hemsworth's Thor the honour of being the first Avenger to go beyond a trilogy. Aside from a few fun moments and Easter eggs for fans, the biggest moment of the teaser is in it's final few seconds, where we get our first look at Jane Foster as the Mjolnir wielding Mighty Thor.
Ever since it was revealed that Natalie Portman, who played a non-Thor Jane Foster in the first two Thor films, would be reprising her role as the Mighty Thor version of the character in Love and Thunder, fans have speculated that this Jane may have come from another universe. It would make sense, given that Phase Four of the MCU has leaned quite heavily on a Multiversal theme so far, with projects such as Loki, What If..?, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and of course, the soon to be released Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
However, one major clue in the teaser hints that Mighty Thor is in fact the same Jane Foster we already know. Before we unwrap said clue, here's a quick rundown of what we know about Mighty Thor in the comics.
Is Mighty Thor from another Universe in the comics?
Short answer? No. While a late 70s 'What If..?' issue did explore a hammer-worthy Jane Foster known as Thordis, it is the Jane of the core 616 universe who became Mighty Thor. However, Mighty Thor's identity is not immediately clear to the universe's other major players.
Sometime after the original Thor becomes temporarily unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, an unknown woman appears wielding the enchanted hammer, and with it, the powers of Thor. While initially seeking to reclaim Mjolnir, Thor quickly gains a respect for his successor, yielding the hammer and title of Thor to her, and going by the name Odinson himself. Despite accepting the new Thor, Odinson is still eager to uncover her true identity.
Jane Foster, whom Odinson had recently reconnected with and invited to Asgard to serve as Midgard's representative in the Council of the realms, is one of his very first suspects, but he quickly eliminates her from his investigation due to her ongoing battle with Cancer.
Unbeknownst to Odinson, Mjolnir had sought out and chosen Jane. When she lifts the hammer and becomes mighty Thor, Jane Foster's body is, for a brief time, no longer ravaged by Cancer. Unfortunately, Mjolnir also purges Foster's Cancer treatments from her system. Whenever she sets Mjolnir down and reverts back to Jane, she is a step closer to death, reaching the point where Doctor Strange informs her that just one more reverse transformation will probably kill her. When Odinson eventually does discover the truth, he encourages her to give up Mjolnir, at least until she completes her treatment, not wanting to lose Jane or their renewed friendship. At first, Jane agrees. However, this coincides with Asgard coming under attack by Mangog, a dangerous God-slaying beast.
Jane takes up Mjolnir, becoming the Mighty Thor for what she believes will be the final time, and goes to fight for Asgard. During the ensuing battle, Mighty Thor pulls off a risky plan, destroying Mjolnir to release the God Tempest storm within it, defeating Mangog but robbing Thor/Jane of the hammer’s curative properties. Restored to her frail human form, Jane collapses, dead. However, Jane’s brave actions have earned her the respect of Odin, who works together with Odinson and the last gasp of energy of the Goddess Tempest to restart Jane’s heart.
Weak, but alive, Jane hands Odinson a small sliver of Mjolnir, proving that he has regained his worthiness. She convinces him to become Thor again, fighting for the realms while she fights her Cancer. Later, after she has recovered, Jane joins the War of the Realms using the Mjolnir of a fallen Thor from another universe. This hammer is also destroyed, but reforms into a magical bracelet that can transform into any weapon Jane desires. She uses this weapon under the mantle of Valkyrie, in honour of the Valkyrior, who all fell in battle during the War of the Realms.
MCU Jane
In the MCU, Jane Foster originally appeared in the first Thor film. She is quite drastically reimagined from the comics, being an Astrophysicist rather than a Nurse, and first meets Thor when she hits him with her car while investigating the atmospheric disturbance caused by his expulsion from Asgard. The pair become romantically involved by the end of the film, but Thor is forced to leave Jane behind when he returns to Asgard to battle his wayward brother, Loki.
They are reunited in Thor: The Dark World, after Jane accidentally becomes host to the Aether, aka the Reality Stone, but Jane is absent from Thor: Ragnarok, with the explanation that she and Thor have broken up. Now, the character is set to return as the Mighty Thor in Love and Thunder. And yes, it is most likely the Jane we already know.
Why do we know this? What's the big clue?
Jane Foster becoming worthy to wield Mjolnir is a big part of the Mighty Thor comic's storyline, but in the MCU, Mjolnir was destroyed by Hela back in Thor: Ragnarok. This greatly contributed to the theory that Thor: Love and Thunder's Jane would hail from another universe. After the teaser, we now have an indication that this is not in fact the case.
A close look at Mighty Thor's Mjolnir reveals cracks in the surface of the metal. This is not a coincidence, as the cracks are also visible in the Mighty Thor version of Love and Thunder's poster, and the recently revealed Mighty Thor Funko Pops.
This suggests that the Mjolnir wielded by Jane as Mighty Thor is the original hammer, somehow re-formed. A hint to how this may have come to pass can be found in a small leaked blurb that will be found on some Love And Thunder merchandise. A Cancer-stricken Jane will visit New Asgard, and during this visit, the broken pieces of Mjolnir transform her into the Mighty Thor. Whether Jane finds the shattered Mjolnir by chance, or the hammer seeks her out as it does in the comics is still unknown at this stage.. and that's assuming the leaks are even accurate.
We'll probably have to wait until Thor: Love and Thunder hits theatres in July for the full story.
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Kristy Anderson
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