Even before the release of Thor: Love and Thunder, we already knew that Jane Foster was going to be the Mighty Thor wielding Mjolnir. Of course, we also know the fact that Odin placed an enchantment on Mjolnir so that only those who are worthy can wield it. Since Jane has the powers of Thor, it is easy to automatically assume that she is worthy of Mjolnir. But, due to some of the things we saw in the movie, was Jane Foster really worthy?
Jane Foster was indeed worthy of Mjolnir. At first, it looked like she only wielded Mjolnir because of the fact that Thor unknowingly placed an enchantment that commanded the hammer to always protect her. However, in the end, Jane’s self-sacrifice proved that she was indeed worthy of Mjolnir.
One of the things that have always been ambiguous in the MCU is what it means to be worthy to wield Mjolnir. But, based on what we’ve seen from those who have used the hammer and were able to obtain the powers of Thor, worthiness is based on self-sacrifice, and that’s what we saw from Jane. In that regard, let’s look at whether or not Jane Foster was always worthy.
Why Did Mjolnir Choose Jane Foster?
Before the movie was even released, what fans already knew about Thor: Love and Thunder was that Natalie Portman was going to return to the film franchise after her last appearance in 2013 when she reprised her role as Jane Foster. The biggest surprise for Thor fans was that she was not only going to return to the movie franchise but was going to play the part of the Mighty Thor.
This was clear when Jane was seen wielding Mjolnir in the trailer, and that meant that not only as the hammer able to return to its former glory, but it was also able to find a new master in the form of Thor’s ex-girlfriend, who broke up with him before the events of Thor: Ragnarök. Of course, this begs the question of why Mjolnir chose Jane Foster.
When the movie reintroduced Jane’s character into the MCU, she was undergoing chemotherapy because she was suffering from stage 4 cancer and was seemingly in the final chapter of her life. However, Jane wanted to fight the disease her own way by trying to look for a cure. She didn’t want to give up on life as she thought that Asgardian magic could heal her. That was when she went to New Asgard to seek Mjolnir, who she said was calling out to her.
Back in Thor: Ragnarök, Hela destroyed and shattered it to pieces on the land that eventually became New Asgard. This forced Thor to find a new weapon in the form of Stormbreaker. But when the Asgardians settled on the land, they were able to preserve the shattered pieces of Mjolnir and used it as a tourist attraction.
However, the shattered pieces of Mjolnir resonated when Jane went to them, and that was how she was able to regain her strength and vitality as the Mighty Thor. But why did the hammer even choose Jane?
We all know that those who are worthy are the only ones that could wield Mjolnir and use the power of Thor due to an enchantment that Odin placed on the hammer. The first time we saw someone worthy in the MCU was when Thor proved himself to be worthy once more in the first Thor movie. We did see Vision wielding the hammer in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but he never used the powers of Thor. But when Captain America wielded it in Avengers: Endgame, he was not only able to successfully use the hammer but was also able to make use of Thor’s powers.
Meanwhile, Jane Foster was the complete package because she not only was capable of lifting the hammer but also had Thor’s powers. She was even able to enhance her own physical abilities and change her appearance while in control over the hammer.
Considering that Odin placed an enchantment on the hammer, people will be quick to assume that Jane was indeed worthy of Mjolnir. But there is another angle that you can look at when it comes to why Jane was able to not only use the hammer and have the powers of Thor but also become the Mighty Thor.
During the flashback scenes involving the times when Thor and Jane were still dating and living together, there was a part where Thor was talking to Mjolnir while appreciating just how great of a woman Jane is. He told the hammer to promise him to always protect Jane no matter what. At that very moment, the rune on Mjolnir started glowing as if to indicate that an enchantment had been placed upon it.
In that regard, it was possible that Thor unknowingly enchanted the hammer to always protect Jane no matter what, and this enchantment was able to supersede the original enchantment that Odin placed upon it.
The hammer realized that Jane was in trouble because she was suffering from a terminal illness. As such, Mjolnir’s desire to “protect” Jane was activated as it allowed her to obtain Thor’s powers so that she could stay alive.
Was Jane Foster Ever Worthy?
At first, it only seemed like Jane was able to wield Mjolnir due to the enchantment that Thor unknowingly placed on it. It was essentially “protecting” Jane by allowing her to have godly powers so that she would be able to keep her cancer at bay while she was taking the form of the Mighty Thor. However, the ending part of the movie showed that Jane was always worthy, and that’s why she was able to wield Mjolnir better than any other person aside from Thor.
One of the things that we noticed about being worthy as far as the enchantment on Mjolnir is concerned is that only those who are willing to sacrifice themselves for others tend to be worthy. Thor became worthy when he sacrificed himself to the Destroyer so that Loki would spare his friends. Meanwhile, Steve Rogers was always worthy because no one else in the Avengers was willing to put his life on the line for others more than Captain America.
Going back to Jane, it was discovered that wielding Mjolnir was actually draining her mortal life force and was speeding up the damage caused by her illness. Thor learned of this after they failed to defeat Gorr in the Shadow Realm. That was when he told Jane to never use Mjolnir again and to simply rest while he went off on his own to defeat Gorr and save the kidnapped Asgardian children.
But when Thor was losing to Gorr, Jane was feeling his pain all the way from Earth. That was when Mjolnir came to Jane itself as if it was saying that they needed to help Thor. Jane wielded the hammer once more to come to Thor’s rescue.
When Jane and Thor shattered Gorr’s Necrosword, Jane used the last of her power to destroy the shards of the sword so that it would never regenerate. She knew that she would die by exerting herself, and that was the ultimate sign of self-sacrifice. Jane’s willingness to sacrifice herself not only for Thor but for everyone else in the universe was a sign of how worthy she was.
Thor knew that Jane was always worthy when he told her that she was the one who made him worthy back in the events of the first Thor movie. The fact that she was the one that changed Thor and made him into a better man was what deemed her worthy from the very start. As such, we could say that Jane was always worthy of Mjolnir ever since the first Thor movie.
