Not who you think. Unless it's exactly who you think
While Marvel Studios’ Avengers have been tearing up the big screen, Marvel Comics’ Avengers have been getting a facelift. That’s especially true of Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder—who became a Goddess of Thunder late last year in a rebooted Thor #1. To be clear, Thor was replaced by a woman, and the first seven issues of the new series kept that woman’s actual identity a mystery.
But on Wednesday, Marvel will reveal the new Thor’s secret identity in Thor #8. And thanks to the New York Times, we already know what that secret identity is. SPOILER ALERT IF YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THAT IDENTITY!
It turns out that the new Thor is a longtime Thor supporting character: Jane Foster, who originally appeared way back in 1962, as the nurse sidekick/love interest to Dr. Donald Blake, originally Thor’s alter ego. The character has appeared sporadically since the ’70s. At some point in the comics continuity, she became a doctor. She achieved more prominence in the Thor films, where Natalie Portman incarnated Jane as the thunder god’s astrophysicist love interest.
More recently, Jane reappeared in Thor, diagnosed with breast cancer and undergoing chemotherapy treatments. It will be interesting to see what role her health plays in her superhero-ing. Thor writer Jason Aaron tells the Times, “The very act of picking up this hammer, of becoming Thor, is killing her,” which sounds vaguely Spawn-like. (Remember Spawn? Is that a thing people still talk about?)
Fingers crossed, this means Natalie Portman dons a blonde wig and a horned mask-helmet in Thor: Ragnarok.
This article originally appeared on EW.com.