Issue 8: Sandy's Reflections on Thor: The Dark World (2013)

I honestly think I suffer from bad placement with these films. Ha! Back-to-back with Iron Man 3, I feel that The Dark World suffered from extreme disappointment in the glowing love that had been showered upon the MCU. Regarded by most as the worst entry in not just the Thor franchise, but also the MCU, I’d like to take a moment to once again defend my love of a misunderstood film.

I started doing research on the movie, and Natalie Portman, to find where this dislike of Jane Foster (once again, I have to defend my joy in Jane as a character), and I realized that I’m just tired of doing so. Why does everyone else dislike her? Or Natalie Portman’s portrayal?

 

Here’s a quick recap of where we were…”In the MCU, Jane Foster has doctorates of her own. Responsible for the Foster Theory and widely regarded as one of the world's most brilliant astrophysicists, she combines scientific discipline — she was in the running for a Nobel Prize — with a risk-taking adventurous spirit. Although fiercely independent, she was more than a little miffed to find out that after she and Thor connected in his first solo outing, he come back to Earth in The Avengers and didn't even bother to get in contact with her, as witnessed in a scene in Thor: The Dark World.”

 

Thor [Worried.]: "Where were you? Heimdall cannot see you."

 

Jane [Frustrated]: "I was right here where you left me. I was waiting, and then I was crying, and then I went out looking for you. [GETTING ANGRIER.] You said you were coming back."

 

Thor: "I know. I know, but the Bifrost was destroyed. The Nine Realms erupted into chaos. Wars were raging; marauders were pillaging. I had to put an end to the slaughter."

 

Jane [Calmer]: "As excuses go, it's not terrible. But I saw you on TV. You were in New York!"

 

Thor: "Jane, I fought to protect you from the dangers of my world, but I was wrong. I was a fool. But I believe that fate brought us together."

 

(https://www.looper.com/162039/heres-why-natalie-portman-decided-to-return-to-the-mcu/)

 

I have already written a blog entry (see #4) about Jane, so I don’t want to re-write the same one. I think that doing this project has helped me to “cook” ideas longer, or differently, now than when I simply watched—or re-watched—on my own. I realize now that I did much more prep prior to Iron Man 3 or Thor or Thor: The Dark World because I knew already that I was going to spend my time defending why I like these films. When I saw that I had four tabs open on “Natalie Portman” and “The Dark World” prior to watching the movie, I knew, going in, what to expect. And, honestly, now I realize why I like Jane.

 

She’s not Peggy Carter, a woman ahead of her time, making her way in a man’s world.

 

She’s not Pepper Potts, one part love interest, and one part business-woman powerhouse who can rock a meeting as well as an action sequence.

 

She’s not Black Widow, a super-spy with kick-ass skills who can best even superheroes or aliens in battle.

 

As she is built in the MCU, Jane is “vastly different from her comics counterpart” (Sarah Jane, 2019). In her first appearance in issue #84 of Journey into Mystery, Jane was originally a nurse for Dr. Donald Blake (there’s a nod to this in the first Thor film, when Jane gives Thor a shirt from her ex who's name was Don Blake): “Jane is in love with Dr. Blake, but they keep their true feelings secret, much like the relationships between DC’s Lois Lane and Superman” (https://www.looper.com/162039/heres-why-natalie-portman-decided-to-return-to-the-mcu/).

Jane was built, then, to be a parallel to the very popular Lois Lane for the competing MCU: A human woman in love with a god-like superhero. But the MCU didn’t stick with this story. 

 

So, let’s add another one to my list: She’s not Lois Lane, either.

 

Instead, they made Jane a character who, as further developed in Thor: The Dark World, has emotions. She has left the U.S. to go to England to follow a lead on Thor’s whereabouts (and the next step in her research). She goes out on a date to get “back in the game,” but she obviously isn’t into it (one of my favorite comedic moments in the film), and she shows anger over Thor’s perceived abandonment of her in the time between films. She’s also delightful with her “Holy shit! We have to do that again,” when she’s swooning over being transported to Asgard. She finally feels included—whether that is through discussing science with an Asgardian doctor or bonding with Thor's mother.

 

So who is Jane, then? If I wanted Pepper or Lois or Peggy or Black Widow…I could watch another film. I could enjoy other characters. But I don’t always want these characters. Sometimes…I just want to see the scientist who stutters when she’s talking with a god. Or who puts the cereal bowl in the cupboard because she’s flustered to be so close to her crush. Or who manages, in rubber rain boots, to use science to help Thor save the day. She’s not suave or super sexy or defined with kick-ass skills. She’s a bit geeky and unsure and flawed. So who is Jane Foster? And why do I like her?

 

Jane is me: The normal, flawed viewer who sometimes wants to curl up on the couch and see a version herself on the screen, quirks and all. 

 

So bring on the negativity about this film and my girl Jane. I bet I can find some rain boots in my closet!