Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Thor: Love and Thunder.

Almost no element of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder could be described as subtle. From the cartoon visual aesthetic to the barrage of sophomoric jokes, the film is loud and obvious. For some, this vibe revives the monotonous MCU. For others, it is a disappointing waste of potential. Despite the film’s polarizing qualities, there is one element of the film that is built with a surprising amount of nuance for such an in-your-face film: Dr. Jane Foster’s (Natalie Portman) battle with terminal cancer.

After disappearing from Marvel movies for nearly a decade, the fourth Thor film sees the return of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) former love interest, Dr. Jane Foster. Since her previous appearance, Jane has made a name for herself as a celebrity scientist and published a successful book on astrophysics. Jane is also currently battling Stage IV cancer. Finding little success with medical intervention, Jane turns to mythology to discover a possible cure. After reading a passage on the powers of Thor’s magical hammer, Mjolnir, she travels to New Asgard where the weapon is on display as a tourist attraction. The hammer, shattered by Hela (Cate Blanchett) in Thor: Ragnarok, magically reassembles and bestows the powers of Thor on Jane. With these new powers, she becomes a superhero, the Mighty Thor. When wielding the hammer, she is temporarily free of her physical ailments. When separated from it, though, her body returns to its weakened state.

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Image via Marvel

Having a cancer narrative in such a bubblegum film is relatively jarring. And yet, the film’s depiction of cancer is refreshingly heartwarming while retaining the topic’s sobriety. It is quite common for cancer narratives to be a shorthand for wringing melodrama out of a film. Characters with cancer are often intended to garner audience sympathy, so there is an undue focus on both the medicalization of the disease and the character falling victim to its course. Rather than depicting Jane as a victim, though, she retains her agency and a life outside the hospital. Even before she becomes Mighty Thor, she is seen in working in her lab to find a cure. There are a few necessary detours to the hospital, sure, but they do not exclusively define the settings where Jane is allowed to be.

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Most heartwarming, Jane becoming a superhero during her battle with cancer touchingly associates cancer fighters with super heroism. As anyone who knows someone who has battled or is battling cancer in the real world understands, cancer fighters are truly heroic. Significantly, Jane also masters her abilities nearly instantly. For many cancer patients, there is almost no time between diagnosis and when intervention begins. Jane’s heroic abilities reflect this — as soon as she gets her powers, she begins the fight. There is no time for a drawn-out training montage or an exposition-laden origin story. She simply picks up her hammer and begins to battle.

As a capable warrior whose powers give her super-strength, Jane’s Mighty Thor embodies two of the most common phrases offered to cancer patients: “keep fighting” and “be strong.” Surprisingly, though, Jane’s powers do not cure her disease (which is the direction that would seem most apt for such a perky film). The powers of Mjolnir actually impede her recovery, preventing her body from fighting the cancer. On a representative level, the film thus depicts just how hard it can be for cancer patients to keep fighting and remain strong. Most cancer patients experience a host of adverse symptoms from not only the cancer, but from the treatments intended to target the disease. When weakened by the illness and the treatments, it is incredibly difficult to feel as though they have the strength so many people tell them to keep. By having Jane’s powers impede her recovery, the film conveys the difficult trajectory of staying strong and fighting the battle.

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Image via Marvel

In the film’s third act, Thor advises Jane to remain in the hospital while he fights Gorr (Christian Bale) alone. Though she initially listens to him, she makes the decision to use her powers again one more time, regardless of the adverse effects on her body. Here, the film fittingly depicts the person battling cancer making the decision about their care. For many loved ones, it can be hard to accept certain decisions a cancer patient may make, but in the end, they should be in control of their journey. Jane’s choice to use Mjolnir again demonstrates the film's commitment to her retaining her agency.

At the end of the film, Jane dies in Thor’s arms. Some viewers may be disappointed that she does not overcome her illness in the film’s final moments. However, her status as a heroic cancer fighter is not defined by whether she “wins” the battle with her disease, but that she made her own decisions on how to fight. Even in a film where it is hard to take anything seriously, the film’s depiction of cancer should not be ignored. Love and Thunder’s representation of cancer is significant for portraying cancer fighters as superheroes without glossing over the difficulty of the fight.

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