Editor's Note: The following contains major spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.For those who love Marvel comics and have been following Jane Foster's (Natalie Portman) journey as the Mighty Thor, Jane's end in Thor: Love and Thunder might not be too much of a surprise. We learn early on in Love and Thunder that Jane has been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and the chemo treatment she's undergoing is not doing much to help her. With science failing her, she turns to magic. Remembering that Mjolnir offers strength and vitality to the person who carries it, she takes a trip to New Asgard to see what the shards of a destroyed Mjolnir can offer her.
How Does Jane Become Mighty Thor?
With Jane in need, Mjolnir reforms, and she takes the hammer, becoming the Mighty Thor! There's just one problem though, every time she wields the hammer, she is risking more of her life. The hammer rids your body of all toxins, good and bad, and that includes the chemo treatment she has been undergoing. Realizing this, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) begs her to stay in her hospital bed while he goes to fight Gorr (Christian Bale) and rescue the kids in the cage. With all the times she's used the hammer, the next one could be the last time. But, when push comes to shove, and when Thor's life is at risk, Jane picks up the hammer and does what needs to be done.
Together, they are able to take on Gorr, and Jane, in a final blow, shatters the Necrosword with Mjolnir. But, it is a fraction too late. The gate to Eternity is opened and Gorr walks through, with Jane and Thor following quickly after. What follows is one of the most emotional scenes in the movie, where we watch as Thor pleads with Gorr not to wish for the end of all gods but to bring his daughter back from the dead. Jane, exhausted from her final adventure as Mighty Thor, collapses into Thor's arms. The two share a tender moment before she dies and disappears in a cloud of glittering dust.
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What Is Marvel's Valhalla Based On?
While this might seem a bit odd, seeing as Jane is obviously a human from Earth, it makes sense when we get to the post-credit scene. Appearing in Valhalla, Jane finds herself greeted by Heimdall (Idris Elba) and in the afterlife of the Asgardians. Of course, anyone with an inkling of knowledge about Norse mythology knows about Valhalla. The infamous hall of the slain is where Odin welcomed his fallen warriors. After dying in combat, warriors would be escorted by valkyries, warrior maidens on flying horses, to go to Valhalla. There's also a lesser-known tidbit that half of those warriors go to an afterlife with Freyja called Fólkvangr, which honestly sounds like a better spot than Valhalla.
In the Norse mythology, the heroes go on to prepare for Ragnarok in the afterlife. Different attestations of Poetic Edda and Prose Edda have offered modern interpreters to pick and choose what Valhalla looks like. From tv shows to movies to video games, even sometimes songs, Valhalla can be anything from a non-stop party to a battlefield. It's depicted in classical literature and art, we've seen it video games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, we've even heard it yelled by the War Boys of Immortan Joe in Mad Max: Fury Road.
In the comics, the afterlife is a place where heroes and those who are honored go after death, much like the real mythological Valhalla. Odin is there. It makes sense that the Asgardians would have their own afterlife, though just like Jane, there are other Marvel Comics heroes that are worthy of Valhalla who don't hail from the land of Thor. Frank Castle and Flash Thompson are deemed worthy of spending their afterlife in Valhalla. But, because it's comics and nothing can be easy, there are also alternate universe versions of Valhalla, including one where Hela is the ruler of Valhalla. The storyline there is quite grim, involving a potential baby between Hela and Thor (ew...).
So, Who Is in Valhalla?
In Love and Thunder, it's unclear if Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is in Valhalla. There's a comment early on where Thor tells Sif that if she dies after battle, it doesn't count, and she won't end up in Valhalla. It seems like kind of a weird rule since technically Heimdall didn't really die in battle, and he seems to be flourishing in the afterlife plane. In the comics, Odin is in Valhalla, but since we know in Thor: Ragnarok he disappeared into a cloud of dust after having a final conversation with his sons, it is unclear what the rules are for Valhalla and how much Thor actually knows about the afterlife. If that's the case, then is Frigga (Rene Russo) also there? She technically did die while fighting off Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). And what about Loki (Tom Hiddleston)? His final trick on Thanos could be considered a death in battle.
It's unclear how much more we will see of the characters who are in the afterlife of Valhalla. Assumedly this is one of the afterlives mentioned by Taweret in Moon Knight, and while the Egyptians and presumably those who believe in the Field of Reeds will find their afterlife there, it seems that others, like the Black Panthers, will find their afterlife in the Ancestral Plane. It adds another interesting wrinkle to the MCU. After all, if the afterlife is just another plane of existence for your soul, who is to say anyone can't come back from the dead at any time?
Again, those who read the comics will know that this is actually a high possibility for Jane. In Mighty Thor #706 by Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman, Jane is in Valhalla alongside Odin, but she realizes that there's still more to do, she doesn't want to die. So, before she can walk through the gates of Valhalla, Odin brings her back to life. She goes on to return as the Mighty Thor and even becomes a Valkyrie. So, there's hope yet for fans of Jane who want to see the Mighty Thor have more adventures of her own.
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