Most fans assume Jane Foster’s ability to lift Thor’s hammer is a recent concept, but the female Thor actually made her debut way back in a 1978 issue of Marvel’s classic What If...? series. The Jane Foster version of Thor has been a surprise fan-favorite ever since writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman’s critically acclaimed Thor run from 2014. The storyline followed a cancer stricken Jane Foster welding Mjolnir and regaining her strength through the power of Thor. The story went on to inspire the 2022 MCU release Thor: Love and Thunder.
The inaugural What If...? series followed Uatu the Watcher as he peered into alternate realities of the Marvel universe in order to see different outcomes of established events . While none of the stories told in What If...? were canon to main Marvel continuity, many of them held the seeds of ideas that would germinate further down the line such as Magneto ruling all of mutantkind, a fascist Captain America, and Spider-Man’s daughter continuing his legacy as Spider-Girl. The What If...? books were the perfect place to experiment with new ideas and deviations like Jane Foster being worthy of calling herself the Thunder God.
What If...? #10 is titled What If Jane Foster Had Found the Hammer of Thor? Written by Don Glut with pencils by Rick Hoberg, the issue is set during the early period of Thor comics when Thor was still confined to the body of mortal physician Dr. Donald Blake. In this version of events, instead of Blake discovering the magic walking stick that transforms into Thor’s hammer, it’s his colleague and potential love interest, Nurse Jane Foster. Being somewhat familiar with Norse mythology, Jane takes on the feminine version of Thor’s name, Thordis, and uses her newfound powers to battle Thor villains like Cobra, Radioactive Man, and the Lava People. Of course she also clashes with her baby brother Loki who is incredibly confused by Thor’s new female form, but no less willing to try and take her out.
This being a comic from 1978, Thordis gets permanently kicked out of Asgard by Odin after she rightfully attacks the Warriors Three for immediately sexually harassing her upon her arrival. She also gets ogled by Giant-Man era Hank Pym once she joins the Avengers. The issue also mixes up Thor comic’s regular romantic pairings, with Donald Blake/Thor and Lady Sif falling in love and Jane Foster relinquishing the Hammer, being granted godhood by Odin (who is single in this universe) and ultimately marrying him. While Thordis is portrayed as an assertive, resourceful hero who truly appreciates the power she’s been given, she is still trapped by the confines of 1970s gender norms, unlike her modern day counterpart.
Giving the hero’s powers to their love interest is a trope that can be found throughout superhero comics from Superwoman to She-Venom. Jason Aaron’s story of Jane Foster as Thor was an opportunity to treat this premise as something deeper than “opposite day.” The Thordis issue of What If...? may not contain the nuances of the official 616 female Thor, but they both tell the story of an ordinary woman who gains godlike abilities and uses them for good and becomes an honorary Asgardian after losing her title. Whether it’s What If...? Jane sitting beside Odin or main continuity Jane becoming a Valkyrie, Jane Foster’s time as Thor proves she’s worthy.