Marvel's Avengers: Jane Foster Thor Could Differ From Love & Thunder's
Jane Foster could be the next character addition to Marvel's Avengers, and in all likelihood will be very different from the character set to appear in the upcoming MCU movie Thor: Love and Thunder. Crystal Dynamics hasn't revealed much about its future content plans for the game, but new heroes are almost certainly on the way. A recent data leak seems to suggest that a Marvel's Avengers and Thor: Love and Thunder crossover is on the way, which could mean that one of the new characters will be Jane Foster, who inherited the mantle (and hammer) of Thor during Jason Aaron, Russell Dauterman, and Matt Wilson's run on Mighty Thor during the 2010s.
One of the biggest complaints about Marvel's Avengers has been that, three months in to 2022, no new characters have been introduced, or even mentioned. As it stands, Marvel's Avengers desperately needs more flying characters to better combat its harder endgame challenges, but any new addition would be welcome at this point. If a recent datamine has truly revealed the next Marvel's Avengers fighter t0 be Jane Foster's Thor, it would mean a new flying character to play and master.
Released in 2020, Marvel's Avengers was once praised for its compelling, fresh approach to the Avengers team. The game's story saw Earth's mightiest heroes split apart after a horrific tragedy, and followed Kamala Khan's journey to reunite them and become her own hero. Marvel's Avengers' Kamala Khan was a refreshing addition to the team, and was even more comic-accurate than Disney+'s Ms. Marvel series. It stands to reason, then, that the Jane Foster that could join Marvel's Avengers will be more comic-accurate than the version of the character that will appear in Thor: Love and Thunder.
At the time of release, Marvel's Avengers included five Avengers fighters that had already been introduced in the MCU: Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, and Captain America, with Kamala Khan joining the team as a fresh, new face. While their characters were instantly recognizable, Crystal Dynamics presented very different Avengers than the ones moviegoers are used to from the Marvel movies. Marred by grief, tragedy, and betrayal, each Avenger had a unique reaction to the San Francisco incident and had their own motivations for their decisions.
Any Avenger from Marvel's Avengers is compelling and interesting enough to deserve their own Avengers spinoff game, like Black Widow. Three other fighters (Clint Barton, Kate Bishop, and King T'Challa) were later added to the roster, each bringing their own unique story missions and personalities. Marvel's Avengers now supports nine unique characters, each drawing from a long history of movie and comic adaptations to create its own spin on the Avengers. And though the Jane Foster from Thor: Love and Thunder will likely receive her own MCU-inspired skin if she is added, her character will probably be very different in Marvel's Avengers.
Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has mentioned in interviews that his adaptation will draw from the Mighty Thor run, where Jane Foster battles cancer while defending Earth as the new Thor. Some of Marvel's Avengers' best elements have been inspired by the comics, like Spider-Man's original wrestler skin or Iron Man's Infamous Iron Man skin. The Jane Foster featured in Mighty Thor is a deeply empathetic character, and stands to add emotional and narrative significance to Marvel's Avengers' already compelling story.
In comparison, Natalie Portman has portrayed Jane Foster in the MCU in Thor, Thor: The Dark World, and made a brief cameo appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Though the Oscar-winning actress had pivotal roles in the first two Thor movies, her character has faded somewhat into the background of the MCU, and will see some much-needed revamping in Love and Thunder. With more material to draw from, Marvel's Avengers has more to gain from adapting Marvel comics' Jane Foster than Natalie Portman's.
Adding a Jane Foster character inspired by the Mighty Thor run of Marvel comics could remedy many of the issues currently plaguing the Marvel service title. Marvel's Avengers' pay-to-win items contradicted an earlier promise from Crystal Dynamics regarding microtransactions, while critics have also cited the cost of in-game skins, the accuracy of those skins, and a general lack of substantial new story and gameplay content as current shortcomings. Any new fighter, skins, or story content would serve as a breath of fresh air to the game's now languishing community.
These issues, and more, could potentially be addressed with a Jane Foster DLC. With Jane Foster's history in the Mighty Thor comics, there is a wealth of story and lore to give new life to Marvel's Avengers' campaigns. Jane Foster has battled the likes of Malekith the Accursed, Dario Agger the Minotaur, and even the Phoenix Force, which could translate to a bevy of new Villain Sectors to play through. Plus, Marvel's Avengers needs more female characters, and Jane Foster would be an excellent addition to the game's cast of fighters. Finally, of course, future MCU appearances would mean more MCU-inspired skins for players to acquire.
It's unclear what Jane Foster's design could be like in Marvel's Avengers, but it's possible that it would resemble more of the original Mighty Thor design than what's been teased in leaked MCU merchandise for Thor: Love and Thunder. Jane appears to be wielding a reforged Mjolnir in the film, whereas the version she wielded in the comics remained intact. There's also potential that Crystal Dynamics could take inspiration from the character's stint as Valkyrie, where she wielded Undrajarn. This would help differentiate her playstyle from the Thor already present in Marvel's Avengers, although it wouldn't be the same as having Jane actually be the Mighty Thor herself. There's also the fact that Jane is reprising her role as Thor in Marvel's upcoming comics, just in time for the release of Thor: Love and Thunder. An appearance as Valkyrie in Marvel's Avengers could potentially be better for gameplay variety, but given Jane is getting the spotlight as Thor in Love & Thunder and the comics again, it seems less likely that'll be the case in Marvel's Avengers.
It's as of yet unclear what the future holds for Marvel's Avengers, but more content is guaranteed to be on the way in 2022. Thor: Love & Thunder is arguably the biggest Marvel movie releasing this year, and so it would make sense for a crossover with that film similar to how Marvel's Avengers' released Spider-Man just before the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Mighty Thor is a fan-favorite Marvel comic, and Jane Foster is a fan-favorite hero, so if such a crossover does happen, it could be just what the game needs to galvanize itself after a relatively quiet first three months.