We last saw Jane Foster in the MCU during the events of Thor: The Dark World, with the time-travel scenes in Avengers: Endgame calling back to the events from Dark World on Asgard. In 2022's Thor: Love & Thunder, Jane will somehow pick up the mantle of Mighty Thor and will wield Mjolnir and acts as an ally (we assume) to Thor himself.
This review is written ahead of the movie release and is done so only with the information to hand via the packaging of each figure and the teaser trailer from late April 2022. I will update these reviews once the film has been released. This review may contain minor spoilers but only in the context of any information provided on the package or visually on the figure.
The Love & Thunder Mighty Thor uses the standard Legends box with no specific accent colour and rather a strong use of the blue through red scheme we see in the movie logo from the box front. The two side panels carry an image of the transformed Jane Foster as The Mighty Thor, and this is repeated again on the reverse. Beneath this is the checklist for the Korg BAF and to the side of the image is the standard background text that confirms as much as we'd worked out ourselves without any specific plot points or spoilers.
"Jane Foster's life is forever changed when she mysteriously comes to possess the hammer Mjolnir... and the power of the Mighty Thor"
The figure is all-new, and the design principles of the costume are certainly heavily drawn from the Jason Aaron Thor saga. The majority of the body is a black base plastic over which is painted the silver panels of the Asgardian armour. The boots are painted a deep burgundy with further silver armour and the same colouring is used on the bracers on either arm. A rubber skirt section is used on her waist and features more silver panels. And the iconic red cape is cast in red and attached at the shoulders to flow, as a semi-rigid piece, to the floor behind Jane.
When you look closer, there are further painted details in the body such as a red v-section on the chest that lines up with the cape, and further detailing on Thor's midriff and skirt piece. Painting overall is to a good standard but there are coverage issues on the skirt where the silver is dull and doesn't cover the burgundy as far as it should. The two roundels that hold the cape to the chest piece are also poorly painted with a red hue still visible through the silver and very rough edging - thankfully they do get covered by the hair.
Mighty Thor is well proportioned and stands 6-inches high which does make her larger than the Black Series Padme that people are using for likeness comparisons, but in the Legends line - which is traditionally larger - she scales really well with the other Love & Thunder figures and the wider collection. We do not have many reference images for the movie and for Mighty Thor as yet, but from what we do have the costume and overall look are pretty accurate.
Mighty Thor arrives with an unmasked Jane Foster head fitted. The likeness to Natalie Portman is good, if not as strong as some other recent female releases. She looks great from side angles, but face on there is certainly something a little too rounded in the face and she perhaps is missing the prominent cheek structure we are familiar with, particularly because of Star Wars. As usual, the photo-real face print technology enhances the sculpt with a realistic finish to the eyes and mouth in particular.
The hair, and particularly its colour, was a cause of some debate when the figure was released as it is very blonde. It does transition from a very yellow blonded at the tips to a darker finish at the roots and again, from what we have seen of Jane Foster Thor the colouring is going to be movie accurate.
The set includes an alternative winged helmet look for Mighty Thor, again straight off the pages of the Jason Aaron series. In my opinion, this is the far superior head for Mighty Thor as it both completes the look fully, while still has a good likeness to Portman from the parts we can see and that remain treated with the photo-real decor application. It is also a nod back to Hemsworth Thor's first appearance and features a similar look to the one used in Ragnarok.
Swapping out the heads is easy enough and the hair on both pieces are designed to sit on the shoulders fairly snugly without looking like it is floating. If you do get that effect then a bit of warm water or gentle heat on the hair will allow you to flatten it back down.
Mighty Thor is packed with Mjolnir, and this is a brand new version of Thor's hammer rather than a re-use of the accessory used for a number of years on other Thor figures. This 2022 version features, when you get up close to it, the fracture marks caused when Hela broke it apart in Ragnarok. Ideally, and like the older Mjolnir's, some paint app on the hammer's head would have just brought this detail out a little more - but Hasbro has chosen to leave this section unpainted in a flat dull grey. The handle is painted with a brown base and spiraling silver design down to the pommel. And here at the end, we have the brown strap, executed once again in a fixed plastic which does limit the posing of the hammer if you want the strap to look natural in the way it is holding itself.
Mjolnir can only sit into Jane's right hand which is cast in a grip, the left hand is in a more open position and there are no extra hands included. As soon as I unpacked Mighty Thor I did feel the hammer looked too big in Jane's hands. I put this down to Jane being of a smaller build than Thor, but on further checking this new 2022 Mjolnir is somehow larger than the ones that have gone before and I am not sure if that works for me?
Articulation is a total of 18 points across a fully pinless body that enhances the looks without sacrificing movement. Both knees and arms are double-jointed, supported by bicep and thigh swivels accordingly. I can't make out any butterfly shoulders, and if they are there then they are recessed too far in the chest cavity to add any value. The shoulder joint themselves are hard to move and can put too much stress on the bicep joints if you are not careful when raising or lowering the arms.
While the legs have a full range of motion, the fixed plastic cape holds back most poses. Mighty Thor is easy enough to pose and holds for display really well with secure ankles and knees.
The Jane Foster Mighty Thor is certainly a stand-out figure in a wave that does include a lot of repeat characters and similar looks to previous movies. The design of the costume from the MCU is nailed on initially and translates really well to action figure form - while remaining pretty accurate to the source material. So much so that I have seen some comic book figure collectors considering purchasing this one for their display.
There are a couple of paint issues that I would have liked to have been executed better, particularly that coverage of the roundels that hold the cape. Mjolnir is also a niggle coming in larger than the previous versions and looking even more oversized in Jane's hands. I'd also have liked to have seen more paint apps to bring out that fractured look they worked into the sculpt.
Mighty Thor perhaps needed some alternative hands, and I could have lost the unmasked head to support this as it is certainly a much more impressive look for the figure overall. Out of all the Love & Thunder figures from Wave 1, Mighty Thor is certainly up there with Gorr and Ravager Thor for looks, execution, and collector appeal and I look forward to seeing how she comes to life on screen when the movie comes round in July.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...