It’s the end of an era for Thor as the latest wielder of Mjolnir, Jane Foster, will make a heroic sacrifice in The Death of the Mighty Thor following an epic battle with Mangog in Mighty Thor #705. Fans expect that the character’s death will set up the return of Thor Odinson, the original God of Thunder to the title role and the timing fits with the ongoing Marvel Legacy initiative.

In 2014, Marvel shocked comic book fans everywhere with the announcement that a female Thor would be taking over the God of Thunder’s comic book series. After months of speculation, it was revealed that the character carrying Thor’s mantle was Jane Foster, his long-time love interest. When the series began in 1962, Foster was introduced as a nurse who was secretly in love with Thor’s human alter ego, Dr. Donald Blake. Now the character has gone from love interest to full-fledged superhero. Unfortunately, having been diagnosed with terminal cancer, Jane doesn’t have long to live.

Marvel has officially announced that Jane Foster will have to make a heroic sacrifice in Mighty Thor #705, the penultimate chapter in a storyline titled “The Death of the Mighty Thor,” which kicked off in Mighty Thor #700. Beginning in October, the story pitted Jane Foster against Mangog, a classic Thor villain created from the hatred of a “billion, billion souls.” As the conclusion to a storyline that already includes almost every Thor villain, #705 is expected to “up the ante” even more by putting Asgard in jeopardy and forcing Jane Foster to make the ultimate heroic sacrifice. Her death is expected to send ripples across the Marvel Universe and Marvel wants you to know going in.

Senior editor Will Moss calls #705 the “big showdown between Thor and Mangog” that series writer Jason Aaron and artist Russell Dauterman have been building toward for a very long time, but it’s not going to play out as obvious as it sounds…

“Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman have been building to this issue for over three years, and you absolutely do not want to miss this. You may think you know where things are going, but I promise you do not.”
Marvel has been teasing Jane Foster’s death for months. With the Marvel Legacy relaunch returning classic characters to the status quo, fans believed that it was only a matter of time before Thor Odinson reclaimed his hammer.

In Mighty Thor #700, fans were given a glimpse of what lies ahead for the characters when Karnilla, Queen of the Norns, received a prophetic vision that showed Jane Foster lying on the moon, Loki with the Infinity Gauntlet, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Valkyrie, Frost Giants, and Thor Odinson with a golden hammer