- July 6, 2022
Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor #2 Review
Written by: Torunn Gronbekk
Art by: Michael Dowling
Coloring by: Jesus Aburtov
Lettering by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editing by: Michelle Marchese, Wil Moss
I didn’t get the chance to review the first issue of Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor, so I wasn’t going to miss the second issue. It’s obvious that this mini-series was made to coincide with Thor: Lover & Thunder. Without it, there would be no current comic on the shelves where Jane Foster is Thor. Technically, by issue #2, there still isn’t.
This comic is just a continuation of Jane Foster’s time as Valkyrie. She doesn’t wield Mjolnir, nor is she ever in her Thor form. She herself doesn’t even deal with the themes of overall Norse fantasy. This is a story where Jane Foster ventures beyond, exploring even greater unknowns, similar to how she explored the limits of death in her previous series. Even the war back in Asgard is already gearing up to head back in the direction of death and the afterlife. This series has now begun to feel repetitive because of this.
It’s through no fault of any creative that Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor that it feels repetitive. This mini is bringing its ideas to spice up old ones, it just isn’t doing what the title promised. The title is Jane Foster and the Mighty Thor, so where’s the Mighty Thor? Where’s the warrior woman smashing her way through her enemies, acting with compassion and force?
For me, what separates Jane Foster as Thor and Jane Foster as Valkyrie, is the importance of self-assurance vs self-worth. As Valkyrie, she takes the mindset of a nurse, needing to care for others before herself, never considering herself, not needing to. As Thor, every time she fought against evil, she was also fighting for her life cancer, and to prove that she was worthy of the hammer. In the end, she proved she was worthy, and she overcomes cancer and death. With those two key characteristics of her time as Thor done, she doesn’t work as Thor as much.
Jane Foster & the Mighty Thor may be an ill-conceived idea. To live up to the title’s promise, the main character may need to backslide, and that would suck honestly. These first two issues are good, but having went into it expecting something different… I feel jipped. You should read this, but with more appropriate expectations. This is a Valkyrie book through and through so far, and that’s not a bad thing if you want more of what you were getting.