Thor Love and Thunder was one of the last few years’ most highly anticipated Marvel movies. While fans seem torn on whether the movie landed or not, one thing is indisputable: Thor Love and Thunder pulled all the stops when setting up the MCU’s future.
If you enjoyed Thor Love and Thunder, but the movie left you with more questions than answers regarding Jane Foster and Gorr the God Butcher, then be sure to read our post on the origins of both characters by clicking here and here. However, if your questions are more closely related to Thor Love and Thunder’s events, then we’ve got you covered in this post.
Thor Love and Thunder – All The Most Pressing Questions Explained
Hercules? A Marvel character?
This is a question I’ve heard many people ask since Friday, and it’s one I can’t help but find amusing. Growing up, I was constantly exposed to Hercules comics, so to find out how many people had no idea he existed within the Marvel Universe has been a shock. Still, I am glad that Thor Love and Thunder has introduced a potential new character to many who would otherwise never have known of his existence.
Within Marvel, the Greek gods have always played a big part, and none of them bigger than Hercules. Back in the day, Hercules was introduced as one of Thor’s main rivels. Judging by the post-credits scene in Thor Love and Thunder, that is the same route the character will take in the MCU.
If you’re looking to read a comic or two with Hercules to get a feel for Marvel’s take on the character, World War Hulk is a great place to start as it showed The Incredible Hulk being replaced by The Incredible Hercules for a long while.
What Happens to Jane Foster Now?
One of the biggest questions I’ve seen floating around the internet since Friday’s release of Thor Love and Thunder is surrounding Jane Forster and her death in the film. So let’s dive into it, is Jane Forster dead?
Yes. Jane Foster’s story within Thor Love and Thunder closely mimics the comic book story. In both, she is a Doctor who finds herself dealing with severe cancer before taking up Mjolnir and becoming Thor. Also faithful to the comics is that while Jane feels fantastic and unstoppable while transformed, the moment the transformation wears off and she becomes Jane again, cancer has been accelerated.
Also mirroring the comics is Jane’s death. When all seems lost, Jane decides to make the ultimate sacrifice by picking up Mjolnir and becoming The Mighty Thor once more, knowing that doing so would kill her. In the movie, we see Jane dissipate into gold dust after destroying Gorr’s Necrosword. However, this might not be the last we see of Jane because, as the post-credits scene revealed, Jane died in battle, meaning she now finds herself at the gates of Valhalla.
Looking at the comics, we learn that after Jane died in the comics, Thor fights to have her resurrected. Upon her return, she takes up the mantle of Valkyrie. So is Jane’s death the end of the road for her? only the future will tell, but the comics have paved the way for Jane’s return should the MCU wish for it.
What does Thor Love and Thunder mean for the future of the MCU?
While Thor Love and Thunder might appear to be one of the most self-contained MCU stories at first glance, in reality, the movie was a giant push into Marvel’s Phase Five. Suppose comic lore and fan theories are to be believed. In that case, there is a good chance that Gorr’s daughter Love will grow up to become Captain Universe, continuing the cosmic theme of Marvel’s Phase Four.
In Thor Love and Thunder, we see Eternity (the personification of the universe itself) grant Gorr’s wish and bring his daughter, Love, to life. Regarding the future of Love, however, Eternity’s sister Infinity plays the most significant role. Infinity often does her bidding through her protector called Captain Universe.
Captain Universe is a name given to whoever is chosen by Uni-Power and allocated Enigma Powers, making them the Guardian of Eternity. Thanks to these powers, Captain Universe has flight, super strength and the ability to know what is happening in any part of the universe.
Thor Love and Thunder laid the groundwork for Gorr’s daughter, Love, to take up the mantle of Captain Universe. After Gorr makes his wish to Eternity and we see his daughter come to life, there is a clear starfield in her shadow, in the exact pattern of Captain Universe.
The last few Marvel projects reveal many cosmic characters entering the fold. From Kang the Conqueror in Loki, all of the Eternals and even Ms. Marvel, it’s not hard to believe Thor Love and Thunder might have just added another major player to the list.