When Thor first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1962, he disguised himself as a human doctor named Donald Blake. Jane Foster was a nurse who fell in love with Donald and later learned the truth about her beau and fell in love with Thor too. Since then, Thor and Jane have shared a complicated relationship.
They've fallen in and out of love over the years and struggled with many challenges coming between them, from supervillains to Jane's cancer. Jane even became a version of Thor herself, which added even more obstacles in their relationship. Despite their differences, these two have been through a lot together and their romance is one of Marvel's strongest and most popular.
10 Thor Tried To Reveal His True Identity More Than Once
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An important stage in any romance between a superhero and their love is the reveal of their true identity. For poor Thor, telling Jane the truth took several attempts. In Journey Into Mystery #90 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Al Hartley, and Terry Szenics, Donald Blake tried to tell Jane that he loved her, and he was really Thor.
Odin appeared to him in a vision to stop the confession. A year later, Donald tried again. Unfortunately, Jane believed the confession meant that Donald was overworked, and that his mind had snapped. Odin punished Thor by taking away his powers. Jane didn't learn the truth until several issues later.
9 Jane Shared A Body With Sif
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During one of their many break-ups, Thor and Jane moved on to other loves. Thor dated fellow Asgardian, Sif. When Jane ended up in the hospital, Thor rushed to her bedside. Sif, realizing how much Thor loves Jane, decided to help her. Sif placed her life force into Jane. Jane woke up as Sif disappeared.
Jane and Thor rekindled their romance, but when they returned to Asgard, Jane encountered Sif's transforming her back into Sif. Poor Thor found himself in a bizarre love triangle with two women who shared a body. Once Sif and Jane separated, Jane once again left Thor.
8 Jane Fell In Love With Two Donald Blakes
When Thor debuted, he was disguised as a physician named Donald Blake. In this form, he first met and fell in love with Jane. They found themselves in another strange love triangle in 1994. In Thor #475, by Roy Thomas, W.C Wyman, Mike DeCarlo, Ovi Hondru, and Phil Felix, the pair met another man who claimed to be Donald Blake.
Thor claimed that he must have unwittingly taken on this man's identity while the real Blake was in suspended animation. This new Blake also had feelings for Jane. Jane returned his interest, and the two shared a kiss issues later. The new Blake was only a mystical construct made by the goddess, Sigyn, and the love triangle ended when he faded from existence.
7 Thor Disguised Himself As Another Medical Professional
Thor seems to like using medical professionals as his human disguises. During the late '90s, Thor merged with a young paramedic named Jake Olson. Olson worked at the same hospital as Jane. Unluckily for Thor, Jane returned to her ex-husband, Keith Kincaid, another doctor.
He didn't tell Jane who he was, but she figured it out on her own. In Thor #12 by Dan Jurgens, John Romita Jr, Klaus Janson, Gregory Wright, and Wes Abbott, Jane confronted Jake about his identity as Thor. She encouraged him to tell Jake's fiancée the truth, believing that the secret was unfair.
6 Odin Prevented Their Marriage
In the early stages of their romance, Odin forbade Thor from revealing his true identity to Jane. Thor was determined to stay with Jane, despite his father's concerns, and asked for Odin's permission in asking Jane to marry him. Odin refused, insisting that his son must not marry someone who wasn't a goddess.
Thor persevered and persuaded his father to relent, under the condition that Jane proved herself worthy. Odin put Jane through a trial, which she failed (as Odin hoped she would). Later, Thor tried to bring Jane to Asgard again, but she couldn't adapt to life there, so Odin sent her back to Earth with no memory of Thor at all.
5 Jane Became Thor Back In 1977
Most Marvel fans are familiar with Jane Foster as Thor. Jane became the Mighty Thor in 2015, when Thor became unworthy of wielding Mjolnir, and the hammer called to her instead. Jane also became Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder.
In the 1977, What If? writers explored different possibilities in the Marvel Universe, such as what might have happened if the world knew Daredevil was blind or if the Avengers had formed in the 1950s. In What If? #10 by Don Glut, Rick Hoberg, Dave Hint, Carl Gafford, and Carol Lay, Jane Foster found Mjolnir instead of Donald Blake. Jane and Donald still fell in love, but Thor used Jane as a human host instead of Donald.
4 Jane Married Someone Else
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After Odin sent Jane back to Earth, Jane met and fell in love with Doctor Keith Kincaid. Kincaid bore a striking resemblance to Donald Blake. Nobody knew that he had in fact been the template that Odin had used to create Donald Blake when Thor was exiled from Asgard.
Even after Jane regained her memories of Thor, she and Keith stayed together for many years. They later married and had a child together. Of course, marriage is almost as impermanent as a death in comics, and the two divorced. A few years after this divorce, Keith and the couple's son, Jimmy, were both killed in a car accident.
3 Thor Wasn't Jane's Only Superhero Romance
Thor wasn't the only hero that Jane has had a relationship with. During All-New, All-Different Avengers by Mark Waid, Jane joins the Avengers with Sam Wilson's Captain America. At this time, Jane knew that her breast cancer was spreading and that her time as Thor was making her condition worse.
She was determined to make the most of every day and be spontaneous. Her appetite for life spurred her to kiss Sam. This kiss led to a short-lived romance, although the two remained great friends. In fact, Sam was one of the few people who knew that Thor was Jane, and he accompanied her to chemotherapy sessions on several occasions.
2 Thor Convinced Odin To Revive Jane
Jane Foster's tenure as Thor came to end when she lost Mjolnir while defending Asgard. Upon reverting to her human form, her body was no longer able to fight the rapidly spreading cancer, and she passed away. In Marvel Comics, death is rarely forever. The original Thor, impressed by Jane's work as the Mighty Thor, and desperate to save his longtime love, convinced Odin that Jane was worthy, decades after she failed his original test.
Odin was persuaded to bring Jane back to life. Thanks to Thor's efforts, Jane was able to focus on her chemotherapy and recover from cancer. The recovered Jane had a taste of the hero life and became a Valkyrie to fight alongside Thor.
1 Thor Chose Jane Over Mjolnir
Early in Thor's history, his trickster brother, Loki, used Jane against him. Loki hypnotized Jane and gave her secret commands before challenging Thor to a contest in Central Park. Thor accepted and battled Loki, unaware that Loki's commands were bringing Jane towards them. Loki transformed a tree into a tiger, which he set on Jane.
Thor faced two options: catch the returning Mjolnir or save Jane. He chose Jane, of course. With Thor separated from the hammer, Loki put a force field around it, preventing Thor from retrieving it. Without the hammer, Thor was trapped as Donald Blake, but his love was safe.