Marvel fans everywhere rejoiced when finally treated to the fantastic teaser trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder, which is directed by Taika Waititi and will release later this year. While the teaser for Thor: Love and Thunder did not give much away with regard to the plot of the film, we did get one glimpse of a very important and much-anticipated character: Jane Foster as The Mighty Thor.
Jane Foster was first created in Journey into Mystery #84 and was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. She met Dr. Donald Blake who was the human persona of Thor, and the pair fell in love. Foster has had a unique and storied journey through comics, including getting cancer in the Thor: God of Thunder run of comics in 2013, which was written by Jason Aaron with art by Nic Klein. Later on in that same run, Jane Foster would make her debut as Tho, in a story that was applauded by both audiences and critics.
If you want to catch up on some great comic books featuring Jane Foster as The Mighty Thor before Thor: Love and Thunder releases this July, here are some recommendations.
Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #25
Let’s start with Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1 #25 which was released in 2014, written by Jason Aaron, with art by Esad Ribić, RM Guera, and Simon Bisley. This was the first appearance of Jane Foster as Thor, cameoing in the book following Thor becoming unworthy of his hammer, Mjolnir, and his role as Thor because of the events of Original Sin. It was time for a new Thor to take his place: Jane Foster!
Thor Vol. 4 #1-8
The main Thor book at the time, Thor Vol. 4 ran for eight issues from 2014 to 2015. The comic book was written by Jason Aaron and was penciled by Russell Dauterman. Thor Vol. 4 was the first run of Thor where Jane Foster had officially taken over. The main antagonists of this run were the Frost Giants and Malekith, as well as one book with Titania and Absorbing Man. The book also had Thor Odinson dealing with his own insecurity as someone else had taken up his mantle and his hammer. Throughout this run, Jane kept her identity a secret, a secret Thor wanted to uncover. It is assumed many elements of this run, and her Mighty Thor run. will be adapted in Thor: Love and Thunder.
Mighty Thor Vol. 3 #1-23
Jane Foster’s next run as Thor continued in Mighty Thor Vol. 3, which ran from 2015 to 2017 for a total of 23 issues. This run was also written by Jason Aaron with pencils by Russell Dauterman, with some issues penciled by Valerio Schiti. Mighty Thor Vol. 3 featured the introduction of villain collective the Dark Council which was led by Malekith, and we saw its members grow throughout the book, welcoming Loki and Enchantress as a part of the evil group. Mighty Thor Vol. 3 also saw the Marvel Universe slowly react to Jane Foster becoming Thor, and this run heavily dealt with Foster’s cancer, which was slowly killing her.
Secret Wars
Secret Wars was an event comic book series that ran for 10 issues, including a Free Comic Book Day prelude issue. Secret Wars was written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Esad Ribic. The idea behind the book was that two Marvel universes, the main universe and the Ultimate universe, collided. Pieces of these destroyed universes, along with others, formed to create Battleworld. Secret Wars was an end to the Ultimate universe, bringing popular characters like Miles Morales into the main continuity. Jane Foster’s Thor was one of the characters who took the fight to super-villain Doctor Doom and restore the multiverse after it was destroyed.
All-New, All-Different Avengers #1-15
Marvel’s shake-up of the original Avengers team featured Sam Wilson as Falcon, Kamala Khan as Ms. Marvel, Miles Morales as Spider-Man, and Jane Foster as Thor (among others). All-New, All-Different Avengers #1-15 was written by Mark Waid with art by Adam Kubert and ran mostly in 2016. This was the main Avengers book at the time and saw Jane further develop relationships with her teammates, as well as the start of her romantic relationship with Falcon. The last few issues of All-New, All-Different Avengers serve as tie-ins to Civil War II, which also featured Jane as Thor, but she was not a prominent character. Civil War II ran for eight issues and was written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by David Marquez.
The Avengers Vol. 7
Jane Foster’s run as an Avenger did not end with All-New, All-Different Avengers, as she continued to be on the team and the regular book after Civil War II. This run was a little out of sorts as there were different numbers starting with The Avengers Vol. 7 #1-11. After issue #11, The Avengers was relaunched with The Avengers #672-690 reverting back to the original mainline numbers. This run had multiple writers, including Mark Waid, Jeremy Whitley, Jim Zub, and Al Ewing, as well as multiple artists with Michael del Mundo, Phil Noto, Javier Pina, Paco Diaz, and Pepe Larraz all on the book at one point. This run featured the ‘No Surrender’ story arc, as well as a few tie-ins to Secret Empire which Jane Foster was also a part of. The Avengers ran from the end of 2016 until 2018.
The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 #700-706
This short run of seven issues continued the storyline of The Mighty Thor Vol. 3 and the numbering from Vol. 2 that ran from 2017 to 2018. The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 was written by Jason Aaron and it mostly had art by Russell Dauterman. The arc was named ‘The Death of The Mighty Thor’ as Jane’s cancer got progressively worse throughout the issues. The Odinson joined Foster to defeat Mangog, the main antagonist of the seven issues. The last issue of The Mighty Thor Vol. 5 featured Thor Odinson regain his title as Thor, as Jane Foster’s run as the God of Thunder ends.
The Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla #1
The Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla is a single issue that was released in May of 2018. The comic book was written by Jason Aaron with art by Ramón Pérez and Jen Bartel. The Mighty Thor: At the Gates of Valhalla served to set up the rest of Jason Aaron’s run on Thor, setting up the eventual War of the Realms while also celebrating Jane Foster and teasing her future.
The War of the Realms #1–6
This massive crossover event was what writer Jason Aaron was building up to for years throughout his run on Thor. The War of the Realms was released in 2019, was written by Jason Aaron, and the artist was Russell Dauterman. The War of the Realms had many tie-ins including Thor Vol. 5 #12–14, and Avengers Vol. 8 #18–20, as well as a main six-issue run that told the story of how Malekith the Accursed attempted to conquer the last of the realms that he was yet to rule over. This event introduced two new roles for Jane Foster: one as the All-Mother as was bestowed by Frigga; the other as Valkyrie after Brunnhilde the Valkyrie fell in battle.
Valkyrie: Jane Foster #1-10
Valkyrie: Jane Foster was the first book that featured Jane Foster as Valkyrie in her own title. The series had multiple different writers including Jason Aaron, Al Ewing, and Torunn Grønbekk, as well as multiple artists including Cafu, Ramon Rosanas, and Pere Perez. Valkyrie: Jane Foster saw Jane operate as Valkyrie while the Odinson held the mantle of Thor, and he did appear in issues of the book. The main antagonists in this run were Bullseye, Mephisto, and Røkkva. Valkyrie: Jane Foster was canceled prematurely after 10 issues after originally being slated for at least 12.
The Mighty Valkyries #1-5
The Mighty Valkyries was a comic book series that ran for five issues in 2021. The comic was written by Jason Aaron and Torunn Grønbekk, with art by Mattia De Iulis. This short run took place after the King in Black crossover event written by Donny Cates, with art by Ryan Stegman, which saw the return of the Valkyries, meaning Jane Foster no longer needed to carry the burden of being the last and only Valkyrie. The main antagonists of The Mighty Valkyries were Kraven the Hunter, More, Fafnir, and Hela the Goddess of Death.
Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor
Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor is a comic book series yet to release, with the first issue is set to come out on June 8th, one month before Thor: Love and Thunder releases. Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor will be written by Torunn Grønbekk, with art by Michael Dowling. Little is known about the series other than that it will feature Jane Foster trying to find Thor after he has seemingly disappeared. It seems that Jane and Mjolnir will be reunited once again in this book after the mystical hammer crashes through her window, transforming her into The Mighty Thor. The timing of Jane Foster & The Mighty Thor wouldn’t be coincidental, as Marvel is most likely hoping that fans who would want to know more about the character will pick this book up, which actually makes this a perfect entry point if you are interested in Jane Foster.
Even though Jane Foster was only established as Thor somewhat recently, she has had no shortage of books to appear in since first wielding Mjolnir. These are not even her only appearances, as the popular character appeared in one or two issues of many ongoing series since she was introduced. It wouldn’t be surprising if her popularity in the comic books transfers to mainstream popularity when Natalie Portman becomes The Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder which will hit theatres on 8 July 2022.