WARNING: The following contains spoilers for What If…? Season 1, Episode 7, “What If… Thor Were An Only Child?,” streaming now on Disney+.
Whilst the Marvel Cinematic Universe has done many characters justice; there are some who’ve fallen by the wayside. Cobie Smulders’ Maria Hill is one, strangely not getting enough agency with SHIELD per the comics, while shockingly, Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster was treated like a cliff note in the third Thor film and Avengers movies. Although both heroes are brought back into play in “What If… Thor Was An Only Child?,” one gets redeemed while the other continues to be wrecked.
After Jane investigates Thor coming to Earth, she parties with him, Sif, the Warriors Three and a bunch of other cosmic folks, thrashing Las Vegas. Unfortunately, Korg injured Nick Fury, so Hill’s left in charge of SHIELD, bringing Jane in to figure out the plan.
And make no mistake, Hill’s got no time to waste, coming off assertive and frankly, pissed. She quickly calls in Captain Marvel to teach Thor a lesson, even wanting to nuke both of them as they battle. It feels like she’s a jerk, but she knows Carol will survive. Ultimately, she needs to put the planet first as the chances of collateral damage are minimal.
It’s a huge step up from how the MCU positioned her as a lackey to Fury and even Tony Stark, a far cry from when she helped run the show in the Civil War comics. Heroes and villains alike feared her, not to mention she ran into conflict with key players like Steve Rogers as she tried to safeguard the planet. Now, she’s cold-blooded and more badass, giving her the pomp, circumstance and authority her movie incarnation lacked.
In Jane’s case, the films reduced her to a damsel in distress, which left fans sad her character couldn’t be improved in Ragnarok. With Thor finally evolving into a king, it’d have been nice for her to be part of this evolution, especially with Thanos and the Infinity Stones looming. Instead, she and Thor took time apart, just getting a mention here and there in a really superfluous arc.
What If…? doubles down on diminishing her, making Jane more aloof and feeling like a fangirl rather than a responsible scientist trying to avoid the apocalypse. Seriously, no scientist would forget her duties and party with Thor and Co. like she and Darcy do. She should have been reaming Thor as she knows Alpha Star Icarus fell due to his frat bro antics. Instead, she’s swooning over his hair, good looks and charm when the world is in peril.
When she tells him she loves him over the phone rather than notify SHIELD where he’s at, it also makes her juvenile, which is further emphasized when she’s distracted wine when she goes to call Frigga to snitch. This direction kills off an opportunity to make Jane into a power player whose wits, brains and beauty should have inspired Thor to be a better man. Instead, she’s simply a messenger who falls for a blonde man-child in a story that’s more style than substance, which is what the MCU left the fragile couple as.
New episodes of What If…? air Wednesdays on Disney+.
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