A Guide to Reading Jane Foster’s Story as Mighty Thor, and Beyond
OKAY, EVERYONE!!
I’ve noticed that there’s quite a bit of excitement out there for the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder film that’s coming out 2021 (so far awaaaaay...!), and I’m super pumped for it. Which is quite unusual for me, because I got bored of all the superhero films years ago and stopped watching them. But for this one, I am heading right back in.
Anyway, this film appears to be at least somewhat based off of the Mighty Thor comic series in which Jane Foster takes up the mantle of Thor after the first Thor becomes unworthy. If you’d like to read the comics before the movie comes out but don’t know where to start, this is the post for you!
First things first, if you read this series you could be getting quite a few spoilers before you go see the movie, so do keep that in mind beforehand. With each issue I put up, I’ll also put the price, and the link to that comic on Marvel’s website for easy access.
You can read comics that came before this if you’d like to, and there are comics in-between the ones I’m going to list that will allow you to enjoy even more adventures with Mighty Thor. However, those are just for extra fun. The issues on this list deal specifically with Mighty Thor, and in my opinion, you don’t need to read anything else to fall in love with this arc.
A Little Background to the Story...
... Before this comic begins so you have a good idea of what’s happened prior to this. So in the early comics, Thor had been banished to Midgard (Earth) by Odin for his arrogance and selfishness, and his form became that of Dr. Donald Blake, a crippled doctor. His nurse was Jane Foster. The two of them were in love, and when regained his form as Thor, the relationship continued.
Eventually, the two wanted to make things permanent, and Thor asked for Jane to be granted immortality and goddess-hood so they could be together forever. Odin objected, and made Jane go through a test to prove her worthiness. If she succeeded, she’d become a goddess and she and Thor would marry. Jane failed, and was sent back to earth with her memories of Thor erased. Jane eventually fell in love with a human doctor and married him. Thor eventually started dating Sif.
Fast forward many issues later, Jane eventually gets her memories back, she divorces her husband and looses custody of her child. Thor and Sif break up (they’d been very off-and-on and he’d seen quite a few other women). Jane’s ex-husband and child both die in a tragic car accident, and she discovers she has breast cancer. Thor invites her to Asgard to join the “Congress of Worlds”, which is like the United Nations of the 10 Realms of Yggdrasil. Jane accepts the position, but chooses not to accept magical treatments for her cancer because she believes (with good reason) that all magic comes with a price.
During this time, Thor and Jane have remained very close, good friends, but have not rekindled their old romance. It’s implied at many different points that they both have deeper feelings for each other, but neither of them bring it up.
That’s really all you need to know at this point to really understand the meat of the story. So now let’s dive into the good stuff!
The comics that you’ll want to read are in the list below, and in following order:
Thor: Volume I, Goddess of Thunder
Price for digital copy - $8.99
This is where the story truly begins. It starts off with Thor suffering a massive identity crisis as he discovers that he is unworthy to lift Mjölnir, sending him into a deep depression. It gets worse when someone ELSE claims the hammer, and becomes Mighty Thor. Naturally, he is not happy at this turn of events.
Thor: Volume II, Who Holds the Hammer?
Price for digital copy - $6.99
A great war is brewing on the horizon thanks to the dangerous pacts between the king of the Dark Elves, Malekith, and other dangerous peoples. Meanwhile, Thor, now calling himself Odinson, tries to learn the identity of Mighty Thor (I’m sure it comes as a great shock to you all that it’s not who he thinks it is).
At the end of this issue, the readers learn who this new Goddess of Thunder is.
The Mighty Thor: Volume 1, Thunder in Her Veins
Price for digital copy - $8.99
Mighty Thor faces enemies on three fronts; the bloodthirsty, warmongering King Malekith, who seeks domination over all the realms. All-Father Odin, who sees her as a thief of his son’s birthright. And finally, the cancer, which kills her a little more each time she returns to her mortal form of Jane Foster.
The Mighty Thor: Volume 2, Lords of Midgard
Price for digital copy - $12.99
As if Mighty Thor doesn’t have enough on her plate, now S.H.I.E.L.D. is after Dr. Jane Foster as well. They don’t care for secret identities, and they plan to make her life miserable until she confesses. It couldn’t come at a worse time though, as Mighty Thor must also stop a floating fortress from crashing down onto New York City by saving the incredibly corrupt Roxxon CEO Dario Agger.
The Mighty Thor: Volume 3, Asgard/Shi’ar War
Price for digital copy - $12.99
In the midst of the terrible War of the Realms, Mighty Thor is abducted by mysterious deities who wish to pit their powers against the Goddess of Thunder to see who is the most powerful. In order to get back to the war, she must humor these gods and bring the full might of both Thor and Mjölnir to the table.
The Mighty Thor: Volume 4, The War Thor
Price for digital copy - $8.99
When the War of the Realms claims lives that should never have been touched by battle, the gentle Volstagg is left heartbroken and shattered. In his grief, he takes hold of a hammer made from the rage and fury of a dead universe, and becomes the War Thor. Mighty Thor must stop his righteous rampage before he destroys friends and enemies alike in his battle-rage.
The Mighty Thor: Volume 5, The Death of the Mighty Thor
Price for digital copy - $15.99
The cancer that has been growing within Jane Foster has weakened her to the point of death. Her dearest friends convince her to relinquish Mjölnir for the sake of her own life, but it seems the universe is against her. When the terrible Mangog awakes to judge and destroy the gods, Jane must weigh the worth of the deities- including Odinson- against her own life.
With volume 5, Jane’s time as Thor is (pretty much) ended. I would imagine that if Taika Waititi wants to pull mainly from the comics, he’ll pull mainly from the 7 volumes listed above. But those are not the end of Jane Foster’s adventures by any stretch of the imagination.
If you like the comics above and want to continue Jane’s story, I would suggest continuing on to the comics below. They detail the conclusion to the War of the Realms, Jane’s road to recovery and the role she continues to play, as well as what happens to her afterwards.
