Five Badass Women of Asgard You Should Know Before Seeing ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’
The Love & Thunder trailer showed us two incredible ladies in action. But Brunnhilde and Jane aren’t the only powerful women of Asgard.
Thor Odinson is the MCU’s most lovable himbo, and in this summer’s Thor movie, it looks like he’ll be taking some time for self-discovery. He’s also abdicated the throne of Asgard and left the Valkyrie Brunhilde in charge. And she is definitely giving off HBIC energy in that suit. We’ve also seen the return of Jane Foster – only this time, she’s worthy of Mjölnir.
So yeah, this movie is gonna have a lot of woman-power energy. But here’s the thing, that’s not unique in Thor lore. There are several women of Asgard worthy of praise, adoration, and yes, even Thor’s hammer. Some of them we’ve met in the MCU already. And the others? Well, here’s hoping someday we will.
1. Jane Foster
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Natalie Portman’s portrayal of a swooning scientist is getting a pretty electrifying update in the new film, and it’s nice to see her back. Dr. Jane Foster has been a part of Marvel comics almost as long as Thor has. In fact, she was the nurse who worked alongside Dr. Donald Blake, who was Thor’s human identity. Over the years, the character became a doctor, and for a good chunk of time, was fused with the spirit of Lady Sif.
At one point, Thor Odinson became unworthy of his hammer. So Mjölnir sat on the surface of the moon, calling out to someone worthy of its magic. And that worthy person? None other than Jane Foster, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Though the transformation derailed her chemotherapy treatments, Jane took up the hammer. Along with it came the responsibility of protecting the realms from foes like Malekith the Accursed, the Destroyer, Doctor Doom, and more.
2. Brunnhilde the Valkyrie
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Before she met Thor, Brunnhilde was a Valkyrie, Odin’s elite group of warrior goddesses responsible for escorting fallen soldiers to Asgard after death in battle. In the MCU, Hela destroyed the rest of the Valkyrior in her revolt against Odin, and in a cut scene of Ragnarok, it’s revealed that Brunnhilde’s lover is among them.
Tessa Thompson’s rowdy iteration of Brunhilde the Valkyrie is going to play a big role in the upcoming film. As the new kind of Asgard, Thompson has revealed that her character will be searching for someone to rule alongside her. From party goddess to king of Asgard and (bored-looking) diplomat, Brunnhilde won our hearts. I’m ready to see what she has in store for the refugee nation of Asgard.
3. Lady Sif
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I’m not saying Thor and The Dark World did Jamie Alexander’s Sif dirty by not investing in her character more. After all, there’s only so much screen time and Asgard is a big place. But I’m beyond joyful that the character will be back in Love and Thunder this summer. And I’ve been very vocal about the fact that I want to see Sif and Brunnhilde kiss. I ‘ship it.
Sif is a fierce warrior. When they were younger, she and Thor were an on-again-off-again romantic item, but as they grew older, the two grew to be great friends. Throughout the Thor comics, she makes a pretty heroic sacrifice in saving the life of Jane Foster.
Once, Sif received a proposal from the Celtic god of Lightning. She agreed under two conditions: he would help her find a lost Thor Odinson and he would defeat her chosen champion in battle. Of course, he expected Thor to be her champion. But nah. Sif was her own damn champion. And she absolutely trounced him. Apparently, the women of Asgard are not easily won.
These days, comic book Sif serves as the guardian of the Bifrost after the death of her brother, Heimdall. Though I’m not sure that relation is MCU canon. Regardless, it’ll be great to see how Sif is helping the new Asgard find its footing in Midgard.
4. Freyja
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In the MCU, Freyja’s influence on Thor and Loki cannot be understated. Her appearance in Endgame even after her death in The Dark World was crucial to pushing Thor out of his post-Thanos funk. Freyja, also known as Frigga, was married to Odin to establish a truce between the Aesir and the Vanir of Vanaheim. The Vanir were strong with the magics and had the gift of foresight.
During the absence of Odin, Frigga allied with the goddesses Gaea and Idunn to become the All-Mother, the ruling power over Asgard. She’s stepped in on many occasions when Odin made some very jerk decisions, and she also feels a deep magical connection with Jane Foster’s Thor. Plus, she’s died and been resurrected so many times in the comics, I’d be unsurprised to see her reappear in Love and Thunder.
5. Hela
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Hela was the big bad of the last film, Ragnarok. Her death at the hands of Surtur was implied, but not explicit. Do I think we’ll see her in Love and Thunder? Probably not. But the influence of her actions shape almost every aspect of this story in one way or another. And she is still one of the most badass women of Asgard.
In the MCU, Hela is the goddess of death. But in the comics, she’s the goddess of the dead and the queen of Hel and Niflheim. So she has command over all the spirits of the dead, except those who died nobly in battle. Those souls were, of course, escorted to Valhalla.
Still, the defeated goddess could now be the ruler of Hel. This would make her the boss of all the civilian spirits of Asgard after their deaths. And for those fans searching desperately for an MCU link to Mephisto, Hela once had to bargain with the demon for real estate in the underworld. So, you know, that could happen.
BONUS! Angela
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As far as the women of Asgard are concerned, it’s hard to choose a personal favorite. And yet, here I am, insisting that everyone knows who Angela is. Is she likely to appear in Love and Thunder? No! But I will actually implode with excitement in my theater seat if she does. If you’re a fan of the classic Spawn comics, you might feel your head spinning right now. Angela? From Image comics? Yeah, she’s one and the same.
The angel/bounty hunter was designed by Seth McFarlane and Neil Gaiman, who would later have a very public dispute about the rights to her character. Ironically, Image was founded because a bunch of Marvel guys didn’t like the company’s stance on creator’s rights. So when Gaiman won rights to Angela in their settlement, he turned around and sold her to Marvel – very sassy.
In the comics, Frigga and Odin’s first child was a daughter named Aldrif. When she was very young, Asgard went to war with Heven, and the Queen of Angels kidnapped the young princess. She was believed dead, but in fact, was raised by the Angels and going by the name Angela.
When she grew up, Angela was cast out of Heven for her Asgardian lineage. After exploring the Endworlds, she was offered the chance to settle in Asgard. But she felt no draw to living with the Asgardians, who she’d been raised to believe were her enemies. So she set out to explore the other realms. At one point, she voyaged to the depths of Hel to rescue the soul of her lover Sera and battled Hela to become the new Queen of Hel. She also sabotaged Loki’s bid for President of the United States and assembled the Asgardians of the Galaxy.
