Jane Foster

"You're the one who's always pushing me, to chase down every possibility, every alternative!" "I'm talking about science, not magic!" "Well, magic's just science that we don't understand yet."

- Jane Foster and Erik Selvig

Doctor Jane Foster is one of the world's leading astrophysicists, the world's foremost astronomer, the creator of the Foster Theory, 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 Rainbow Bridge. During Loki's assault on Earth, S.H.I.E.L.D. kept her out of harms way by transferring her to a remote observatory where Loki could not find her.

She found out of Thor's return through the footage of the Battle of New York; this left Foster 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, Foster returned to work and Thor had decided to remain on Earth with her. Due to her work studying of the Convergence, Foster was being considered for the Noble Prize in astrophysics. Following the Ultron Offensive, Foster ended her relationship with Thor.

Science Career
Jane Foster was a student at Culver University, where her father and Erik Selvig worked together. She later graduated and became an astronomer. Foster 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.

Meeting Thor
"Well, if there is an Einstein-Rosen bridge, then there's something on the other side. And advanced beings could have crossed it!"

- Jane Foster to Erik Selvig and Darcy Lewis

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. 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.

Search for Mjølnir
"I've never done anything like this before. Have you ever done anything like this before?" "Many times. But you're brave to do it." "Well, they just stole my entire life's work. I don't really have much left to lose."

- Jane Foster and 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.

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
"Oh. My. God. So is this how you normally look?" "More or less." "It's a good look."

- Jane Foster and Thor

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'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.

Working with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Of course you can have your equipment back. You're gonna need it to continue your research."

- Phil Coulson to Jane Foster

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 in her attempts to create an artificial wormhole with hopes of reuniting with Thor in Asgard. She nearly succeeded after months of work, but yet again, Foster eventually failed. While Darcy Lewis tried to convince her to wait, citing that Thor had promised her he would return for her, but Foster was worried he would not.

Chitauri Invasion
"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."

- Phil Coulson to Thor

In 2012, 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.

Resignation
"Thor was here and he just left again. No message, nothing. Not a word. For the last year, every waking thought I had was of finding him. All the work I did was for nothing. So that's it. I'm done."

- Jane Foster

While in Tromsø, Foster was left in the dark regarding her sudden and immediate transfer, and became frustrated when she was not given an explanation. During an attempt to confront one of the scientists, Darcy Lewis showed her live footage of Thor in Manhattan fighting the Chitauri in the Battle of New York.

Foster and Lewis flew to New York City and reunited with Erik Selvig, who was visibly shaken after being brainwashed by Loki. Jane asked Selvig regarding Thor's whereabouts and was downtrodden to learn that he had already returned to Asgard. Despite comfort from Lewis, Foster was upset that while she had spent a year trying to create a wormhole in order to reunite with him, Thor had found a way to return to Earth and yet chose not to reunite with her or even leave her a message, prompting her to resign from S.H.I.E.L.D. and move on with her life.

Reuniting with Thor
"I saw you on TV, you were... you were in New York!" "Jane, I fought to protect you from the dangers of my world, but I was wrong. I was a fool, but I believe fate brought us together."

- Thor to Jane Foster

A year later, Foster was struggling to forget Thor and successfully move on. 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. 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. 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 the Bifrost Bridge..

Battle with the Dark Elves
"None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether." "Then Malekith would have only possessed it that much sooner." "I only found it because I was looking for you."

- Jane Foster and Thor

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. 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. 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. Thor returned to Asgard briefly to inform his father of his actions. He then returned to Foster on Earth, where he planned to live out his life with her. The two happily embraced upon his return.

Renowned Astrophysicist
"I'm not even sure what country Jane's in. Her work on the Convergence has made her the world's foremost astronomer."

- Thor

Foster kept studying the effects of the Convergence in London, making important discoveries in the field of astrophysics, and becoming a serious candidate for winning a Nobel Prize for her work. Foster later lectured about her experiences on interspace and dimensional travel.

Breaking Up With Thor
"Sorry to hear that Jane dumped you." "She didn't dump me, I dumped her. It was a mutual dumping."

- Fan and Thor

Some time after the Ultron Offensive, Foster broke up with Thor. Shortly after, Thor left Earth in order to locate the remaining Infinity Stones, although he briefly returned to New York City two years later, where he explained to a fan that she did not break up with him, but that it was a mutual decision.

Personality
"I'm Loki. You may have heard of–" "That was for New York." "I like her."

- Loki and Jane Foster

Jane Foster is an extremely intelligent scientist, having built most of her equipment herself. She is also spirited and impulsive; she argued with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who confiscated her equipment, and slapped Loki immediately upon seeing him.

Abilities
"You're clever. Far more clever than anyone else in this realm."

- Thor


 * Master Scientist: Foster has become one of the most important astrophysicists in the world, having studied the existence of Einstein-Rosen Bridges, also known as 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 known as the Foster Theory. She began to give lectures around the world, and she was even considered a serious candidate for the.

Family

 * Father

Allies

 * Erik Selvig † - Mentor and Friend
 * Darcy Lewis - Best Friend and Assistant
 * Donald Blake - Ex-Boyfriend
 * Asgardian Royal Family
 * Thor - Ex-Boyfriend
 * Odin †
 * Frigga † - Friend
 * Loki † - Former Enemy turned Situational Ally and Savior
 * Sif †
 * Warriors Three
 * Volstagg †
 * Fandral †
 * Hogun †
 * Heimdall †
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Phil Coulson
 * Jasper Sitwell †
 * Richard Madison - Date
 * Ian Boothby - Colleague
 * Isabel Alvarez - Waitress
 * John
 * Maddie
 * Navid

Enemies

 * Destroyer
 * Dark Elves
 * Malekith †
 * Algrim/Kurse †

Trivia

 * In the comics, Jane Foster eventually took up the mantle of Thor after he lost his ability to wield Mjølnir and was stripped of his powers.
 * Natalie Portman desired the role of Foster because the character is an astrophysicist in the films despite being a registered nurse and medical doctor in the comics.

Behind the Scenes

 * Chris Hemsworth hosted an episode of  on 7 March 2015 in which he portrayed Thor in an Avengers-themed skit. During the skit, Thor refers to Jane Foster as his "ex", leading some to speculate that they had broken up between the events of Thor: The Dark World and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Chris Hemsworth later then clarified that Thor and Jane were still together during that time in an interview’'.
 * Dorenda Moore and Elsa Pataky were stunt doubles for Natalie Portman in the role of Jane Foster.
 * Faye Sewell was a stand-in for Natalie Portman in the role of Jane Foster.