Jane Foster has had quite the journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Introduced in 2011’s Thor, Jane (played by Natalie Portman) was a physicist who met the God of Thunder on his quest to become a better person. She returned in the sequel Thor: The Dark World with a more active part in the story and got to visit Asgard and met the rest of Thor’s family. However, due to behind the scene disagreements, Portman left the franchise and was absent in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarök with a reference being made to Thor and Jane breaking up.
Portman and Marvel Studios seemed to make amends, and she made her big MCU return with Thor: Love and Thunder which adapted one of the most popular recent comic storylines where Jane Foster becomes the Mighty Thor and all while battling cancer. The storyline was critically acclaimed and redefined Jane in the comics and became the bedrock for Thor: Love and Thunder. The MCU Jane Foster has had quite an interesting arc over her time, and one that is just as interesting as the hero that she was originally meant to be a love interest. Here is why Jane Foster has one of the best arcs in the MCU.
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Jane Foster Chooses to be a Hero
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When Jane first entered the MCU with Natalie Portman’s great performance, she was given an update from her comic book career as a nurse to an astrophysicist but was still essentially treated as a love interest for Thor. Even with an expanded role in Thor: The Dark World she was infected with the films McGuffin the Aether (the MCU Reality Stone) and made as a plot device for a good chunk of the movie. Disregarding her in the third film felt like a bad trend of writing off prominent love interests for male characters after having been an important part of their story arc in previous films (see also Mila Kunis being written out of Ted 2).
Yet Jane’s role in Thor: Love and Thunder sees the character accept not only a more active role in the story but one with a price. The use of Mljonir gives her the power of Thor but also has the side effect of stripping the chemotherapy from her body, making cancer worse with each use. Towards the climax of the film, Jane is given two options: either stop being a hero and try to get better or pick up the hammer one last time to help Thor and sacrifice her own life. In the end, Jane chooses to die as a hero protecting others rather than postponing what might be inevitable.
A Human Becomes a God
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is filled with many fantastical heroes with incredible powers. Characters like Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, and Scarlet Witch possess god-like power. In the case of Thor, he is a literal Norse god. Yet Jane Foster represents something unique in terms of the MCU. She was a mortal human who gained the power of a god, and with that power choose to help. She is the active caring god that the film’s main villain Gor believes is impossible for all gods.
Jane in many ways stands as the inverse of Thor’s arc from his first movie. Thor was a god who needed to learn to live amongst the people, Jane is a normal person who learns what it means to be a god. The movie explicitly says this when Korg recounts their romance and says, “He taught her the way of the warrior, and she taught him the way of the people.” Her actions inspire not only Thor but also Gorr, and by the end, Jane’s death does not mark her end but a new beginning. She lives on forever as a legend, a figure to be passed down for generations while her spirit lives in Valhalla.
Cancer is No Joke
One element of discussion regarding filmmaker Taika Waititi’s Thor films is how much humor is too much, and whether it undercuts serious moments. Thor: Love and Thunder is a particularly silly movie, so it makes the Jane Foster cancer storyline an interesting tonal clash. One thing to note though is how her cancer is treated in the film. It is never treated by the characters as a joke, except for Jane.
Jane uses humor as a coping mechanism, and throughout the film when the cancer is brought up she tries to deflect the conversation. Yet Thor, Darcy, and Valkyrie never discuss cancer as a joke. Darcy speaks with her friend but remains strong because she knows she must, while Valkyrie provides a sense of comfort and reassurance that Jane knows what she is doing. It is Thor however who reveals quite a bit. Thor is holding back tears because the idea of losing Jane to cancer is something he can’t bear. He begs her not to wield the hammer again, a plea for her to keep fighting cancer, so they might still have a chance.
The decision to give Jane cancer is an emotionally mature and cathartic one in terms of the MCU. This is not a bad guy that threatens her life that Thor and Jane can easily vanquish. The cancer isn’t even the result of some magical side effect from Aether in Thor: The Dark World but is just an unfair part of life that cannot be stopped or controlled. Even with all the magic and science in the MCU, there is nothing that can quite stop cancer and both Jane and Thor need to face this even though both would rather not. This is one looming threat that will come no matter what. In the end, Jane does die from cancer, but she does so on her terms.
Love is a Powerful Force
While some fans might be disappointed by the one-off film appearance of Jane Foster as the Mighty Thor, there is a thematically fitting ending to it all. Jane Foster entered the franchise when the universe was ever expanding and sat on the sidelines observing these major events to taking part in a grand adventure. Thor and Thor: The Dark World essentially act as her origin story for Thor: Love and Thunder. This is a mortal person who was not born to have power but was given power through love. Jane was a hero because somebody loved her.
It is established that Thor instructs Mljonir to protect Jane, and it is this act of love that gives Jane the power to be a hero. Thor’s status as a god is interesting as unlike Khonshu and Marc Spector in Moon Knight where there is a clear power dynamic at play, Jane is given Thor’s ability with no strings attached. Unconditional love gives Jane the ability to be a hero, and in return, Jane’s love for Thor inspires Gorr to change his heart from a quest for revenge to a quest for love. Jane Foster shows how being loved and loving someone can truly save the world in unexpected ways.
