- "I'm talking about science, not magic."
"Well, "magic's just science we don't understand yet." Arthur C. Clarke."
"Who wrote science-fiction."
"A precursor to science fact!" - ―Erik Selvig and Jane Foster[src]
Doctor Jane Foster is one of the world's leading astrophysicists, as well as one of the premiere experts on Asgard. She found Thor after he was banished from Asgard and fell to Earth while she and her team were in New Mexico studying astronomical anomalies. She helped him in his mission to return to Asgard, eventually falling in love with him along the way. They were separated due to the temporary destruction of the Bifrost Bridge.
During Loki's assault, S.H.I.E.L.D. kept her out of harms way by transferring her to a remote observatory. She found out of Thor's return through the footage of the Battle of New York; this left Jane disappointed and angry that Thor didn't attempt contacting her.
During the Convergence, she became host to the Aether and helped Thor defeat Malekith during the Battle of Greenwich. Once free of the Aether, Jane returned to work. Much to Jane's joy, Thor had decided to remain on Earth with her. Due to her work studying of the Convergence, Jane was being considered for the Noble Prize in astrophysics.
Following the Ultron Offensive, Jane was once more separated from Thor, who returned to Asgard without her knowledge to learn more about the Infinity Stones.
Biography
Early Life
Jane Foster was a student at Culver University, where her father and Erik Selvig worked together. She later graduated and became an astronomer.[2]
Jane also briefly dated M.D. Donald Blake, but eventually broke up with him. When looking back at him, Foster would note that while Blake was a great doctor, he sucked at being a boyfriend.
A Life-Changing Encounter
A Stranger in the Desert
Sometime after her graduation from Culver University, Foster began studying a mysterious weather event that she believed was linked to an Einstein-Rosen Bridge. Accompanied by her colleague Erik Selvig and intern Darcy Lewis, Foster traveled to the source of the anomalies, which was out in the desert surrounding Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.
Jane, Darcy, and Erik find Thor.
At the end of their first week of research, Foster and her colleagues were out in the desert in a van, when the mysterious event that Foster had been analyzing produced in a powerful vortex before them. As they struggled with the zero-visibility conditions, the van collided with a man who had stumbled out of the dust into their path. The man, who only announced himself as Thor, began speaking of Asgard and its people, only to be tasered by Lewis. This prompted the group to take him to hospital.
The following day, Lewis made a surprise discovery when she noticed the figure of a man in one of the photographic images captured from the atmospheric event. While Foster realized that the newcomer might be able to shed some light on the event, Selvig was more skeptical, so began a lengthy disagreement between the two. While Foster theorized the possibility of Thor being part of an advanced race and transporting in between worlds via wormhole, Selvig insisted that everything Thor had been saying about gods and other worlds was nothing more than delusional talk based on old myths.[2]
Search for Mjølnir
Foster spends time with Thor
Despite Erik Selvig's concerns, Foster's interest in Thor pushed her to find out out more and the trio set off for the hospital to find the stranger. Once they were reunited, the trio and Thor went to Isabel's Diner where Foster pressed for more information, trying to make sense of what he was telling them. It was there that Thor overheard news of his missing Mjølnir, which had actually been transported via separate wormhole in another region of the desert, and set off on his own to retrieve it. Returning home, Foster and her colleagues found S.H.I.E.L.D. agents confiscating their equipment, having been alerted by the wormhole as well.
After commiserating with her colleagues over the loss of their property, Foster chanced upon Thor again and volunteered to assist him with reacquiring Mjølnir. This goal proved unsuccessful when Thor, stealing into the temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. compound that had sprung up around the artifact, found himself unable to lift it and allowed himself to be caught.[2]
Foster enlisted Erik Selvig in helping her get Thor released, which led to a series of events that bonded the expanded group more closely; Selvig and Darcy Lewis befriending the man and Foster starting to view him as a romantic interest. Her newfound relationship with Thor introduced Foster to the Nine Realms and the true origin of Norse mythology. Though Selvig initially tried getting Thor to leave, wanting to protect Foster in case Thor was crazy or a con man, he bonded with Thor over some drinking.
The Destroyer Attacks
Jane, Erik and Darcy witness the Destroyer attacking the town
Though it would seem that Jane had found the perfect match for her, the romance between herself and Thor was shattered by the arrival of Lady Sif and the Warriors Three. This proved that Thor was indeed the God of Thunder, and that Asgard wasn't a myth, but a place of higher technology that the Norse had mistaken for magic. Foster was happy to see she was right, while Selvig was in shock.
The quartet had come to bring Thor home, revealing that Loki had lied about Odin passing away and that a war with the Frost Giants was looming. Unfortunately, they had been followed by a powerful animated suit of armor known as the Destroyer; Loki learned of their plan and sent it to prevent Thor from returning as it would prevent him from destroying Jotunheim.
Thor bidding farewell to Jane.
Thor's friends fought the Destroyer as long as they could, but eventually, it overpowered them. In a true act of bravery, Thor chose to walk up to the Destroyer and make it stop attacking the ones dear to him. Having no mercy, the Destroyer, swated Thor back, making him appear to be dead. Seeing that Thor had shown his worth, Mjølnir returned to him, helping him regain his full power in the process. With his hammer back, Thor ultimately defeated the Destroyer. Foster saw what he really was for the first time, but with the return of Thor's power came the return of his responsibility to his realm and his people. She was forced to say goodbye as the God of Thunder returned to his home.[2]
Trying to Bring Back Thor
- "He won't. Thor was here and he just left again. No message, nothing. Not a word. All the work I did was for nothing. So that's it. I'm done."
- ―Jane Foster[src]
Jane quitting on looking for Thor
After Thor's departure, Foster entered a partnership with S.H.I.E.L.D., sharing with them the information Thor shared with her regarding the Nine Realms, making her something of an expert adviser regarding Asgardian cosmology. With S.H.I.E.L.D.'s resources, Foster worked extensively to make an artificial portal with hopes of reuniting with Thor in Asgard. She nearly succeeded after months of work, but failed. Darcy Lewis tried to convince her to wait, because Thor promised he would return, but Foster was worried he would not. [3]
Chitauri Invasion
Jane and Darcy watching the Battle of New York
- "As soon as Loki took the doctor, we moved Jane Foster. We've got an excellent observatory in Tromsø. She was asked to consult there very suddenly yesterday. Handsome fee, private plane, very remote. She'll be safe."
"Thank you. It's no accident Loki taking Erik Selvig. I dread what he plans for him once he's done. " - ―Phil Coulson and Thor[src]
In 2012, approximately one year after the fateful incident in New Mexico, Thor's brother Loki made an alliance with the Chitauri and declared war on humanity. When Erik Selvig was abducted by Loki, Foster and Darcy Lewis were instantly moved to an observatory in Tromsø by S.H.I.E.L.D. for their own protection. Also during this time, Thor was transported back to Earth to contest his brother; Foster had no immediate knowledge of his return.[4]
While in Tromsø, Foster was left in the dark regarding her transfer, and became frustrated due to no-one giving her an explanation. She attempted to confront one of the scientists, when Lewis showed her live footage of Thor in Manhattan fighting in the Battle of New York.
Foster and Lewis flew to New York and reunited with Selvig, who was visibly shaken after being brainwashed by Loki. Jane asked her colleague what became of Thor, and was downtrodden to learn that he had already returned to Asgard. Despite comfort from Lewis, Foster decided to move on and forget about Thor.[3]
The Convergence
Reuniting with Thor
Another year passed, with Foster struggling to forget Thor and move on with her life. Foster received a call from Erik Selvig, who, after spending several months enduring psychiatric care, had traveled to London without her knowledge. Selvig explained to Foster that he had discovered a series of bizarre anomalies in London, and needed her to come to London and meet with him. Accompanied by Darcy Lewis, Foster traveled to London, where they took up residence in a flat that Selvig had rented. However, Selvig was nowhere to be found.
Jane with Darcy and Ian in the warehouse
While waiting for Selvig, Foster went on a date with a man named Richard, but was interrupted by Lewis. Following scientific equipment left by Selvig, Foster and Lewis, accompanied by Lewis' own intern Ian Boothby, traveled to an abandoned warehouse where a number of portals had appeared, disrupting the laws of physics. While Lewis and Boothby were observing the event, Foster herself was swallowed up by one of the portals and transported to an alien world. While exploring her new surroundings, Foster discovered a shrine; when she touched it, it opened, and a mysterious force slithered out of it and infested her body. The shock of this event caused her to pass out.
Jane and Thor reunited for the first time in two years.
Waking up, Foster found herself back in the warehouse, where she was found by Lewis. After Lewis explained that Foster had been absent for at least five hours, police showed up and attempted to incarcerate the scientists for trespassing. Suddenly, Thor appeared, having been alerted by Foster's absence. She was initially furious at Thor for leaving abruptly back in New Mexico, but forgave him when he told her that he only did what he did to keep her safe. When one of the police officers attempted to arrest Foster, the mysterious force, by now completely bonded with her nervous system, reacted violently and forced the police away from her. Realizing that Foster's infection was beyond human containment, Thor brought her to Asgard via Bifrost.[5]
Battle with the Dark Elves
Odin revealing the history of the Aether to Thor and Jane
In Asgard, Foster was treated by the Asgardian physician Eir, but she was unable to figure out how to cure Foster's ailment. Odin, Thor's father, recognized the strange force as the Aether, an extraterrestrial substance capable of planetary destruction. He explained to both Thor and Foster how it was related to the Dark Elves.
Foster was then given a room within the palace and allowed to sleep. When she woke up, she walked around the grounds of the palace and became fascinated by a Magnetic-Propulsion Ball. Thor came to greet her, and they kissed. After he explained to her the the nature of the Convergence. Frigga met them during this time, and Thor introduced them to each other.
Jane waking up in Asgard
However, disaster would soon strike. The Dark Elves, an ancient enemy of the Asgardians, besieged the realm in an attempt to take the Aether, seeking to use it for sinister purposes. While Thor left to help defend his people, Foster was taken into protection by Frigga, who was killed defending her from Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves.
Devastated by his wife's death, Odin ordered Foster incarcerated, intending to use her as bait to lure Malekith and kill him in revenge. Fortunately, Thor freed Foster and developed a plan of his own. With help from Sif, Fandral, Volstagg, and a reluctant Loki, Thor and Foster fled Asgard through a secret portal discovered and used by Loki to leave the city undetected, teleporting to the Dark Elf homeworld, Svartalfheim. There, they were attacked by Malekith and his forces. In the ensuing altercation, Loki was seemingly killed by Malekith's lieutenant, Kurse, and Malekith sapped the Aether from Foster's body. While the Aether was being drawn from her, Foster momentarily shared Malekith's thoughts, and learned that he intended to use the Aether to cause the simultaneous destruction of the Nine Realms. After Malekith left Svartalfheim, Thor and Foster took refuge in a cave, where they discovered another portal, and used it to return to Earth.
Jane and Erik during Battle of Greenwich
Reuniting with Selvig, Lewis, and Boothby, Foster explained Malekith's plan, and, following Selvig's research, they confronted him in Greenwich, where a number of large portals, each one leading to one of the other eight realms, had opened. Using teleportation devices created by Selvig, Foster and her colleagues dealt with Malekith's minions while the Dark Elf leader battled Thor. However, one of the portals separated the two combatants, and Malekith nearly succeeded in unleashing the Aether upon the other realms. Fortunately, Thor arrived just in time to hurl Selvig's devices at Malekith, allowing Foster to teleport him to Svartalfheim. Malekith's ship, which was damaged in the battle, collapsed and nearly crushed her and Thor, but Selvig used the last of his equipment to transport it to Svartalfheim, where it instead crushed and killed Malekith. The portals above then closed, the Convergence finally over.
Jane kisses Thor when he returns
Thor returned to Asgard briefly to inform his father of his actions.[5] He then returned to Foster on Earth, where he planned to live out his life with her. The two happily embraced upon his return.[6]
Renowned Astrophysicist
Foster kept studying the effects of the Convergence in London,[7] making important discoveries in the field of astrophysics, and becoming a serious candidate for winning a Nobel Prize for her work.[8]
Foster later lectured about her experiences on interspace and dimensional travel.[9]
Left Behind Again
Following the Ultron Offensive, Jane was unknowingly left again by Thor, who wished to learn more about the Infinity Stones and the mysterious being who had been manipulating their appearance in the recent years, as four of the six had been found.[8]
Abilities
- Master Scientist: Foster has become one of the most important astrophysicists in the world, having studied the existence of Einstein-Rosen Bridges (or Wormholes) since before discovering their true nature through her experiences with Thor. Once he departed from New Mexico, Foster developed a revolutionary theory on wormholes, that would have allowed her to connect to Asgard if the Bifrost Bridge had not been destroyed. She began to give lectures around the world, and she was even considered a serious candidate for the Nobel Prize.
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References
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