Here’s How Thor Dies

Since the announcement of Marvel Legacy, Marvel Comics has been teasing the “Death of the Mighty Thor” in the pages of Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman’s The Mighty Thor. In today’s The Mighty Thor #705, Marvel Comics made good on that promise.

SPOILERS for The Mighty Thor #705 follow

From the first time that Jane Foster lifted Mjolnir, she knew that doing so could very well be the death of her. Jane was diagnosed with cancer and required chemotherapy, but every time she transformed into her Asgardian from it undid the effects of the treatment on her body, making her human form sicker and sicker.

For months, the few close enough to Jane to know that she was Thor have tried to convince her to lay down the hammer, at least for a time, and to allow her human form to heal. She ignored them, but more recently her cancer has reached a critical point, so much so that Doctor Strange warned Jane that if she transformed into Thor even just once more that it would kill her. Unwilling to give up the fight for her life, Jane finally acquiesced to putting the hammer down and spending some time getting help in a hospital.

At the same time, the rampaging monster known as Mangog returned. Mangog is the physical personification of an entire society of people who were wiped out by Odin’s actions. Mangog’s one purpose, his one driving motive, is to kill all Asgardians. The first Asgardian to fall in his quest was the War Thor, Volstagg, who now only barely clings to life. Mangog next made his way to Asgardia and began tearing the city apart, along with Odin, Frejya, and the Odinson.

Though they tried to keep Jane unaware of the fight taking place, she eventually overheard SHIELD agent Roz Solomon talking about it. With that, she made the decision to be a god worthy of devotion. She called Mjolnir and transformed into Thor.

What followed was a brutal battle against the Mangog with Thor doing her best to keep the monster distracted while the Asgardians fled Asgardia. She was mostly successful, but could not slay the beast on her own or even with the help of the Odinson. In the ultimate sacrifice, Thor tied up Mangog with the same ropes that bound Fenris Wolf. She tied the bindings to Mjolnir and threw the hammer into the sun.

Without Mjolnir, Thor knew it would only be a matter of time before she reverted back to Jane Foster. She used what little time she had left to share one last kiss with the Odinson. The destruction of Asgardia sent two forms plummeting to Earth’s moon where the other Asgardians were waiting to see the fallout of the battle:

The final chapter of Jane Foster’s story will be told in The Mighty Thor #706 in April. The Odinson will reclaim Mjolnir in Thor #1 in May.

The Mighty Thor #705 is on sale now.