Thor: Love And Thunder ends with sending the titular Norse god of thunder-turned-superhero off to new adventures, this is the Marvel Cinematic Universe so that means that some of the events of the film will have wider ramifications across the film and TV series franchise, with some of those being hinted at through scenes at the midpoint and end of the closing credits. Let’s take a look at the things that might portend from Thor: Love And Thunder‘s end credits.
Hercules: Prince Of Power
The film’s mid-credit scene opens on Zeus (Russell Crowe), looking only marginally better than we last saw him in the film, having his own Thunderbolt thrown through his chest by Thor. As some maidens from his retinue tend to his wound, he muses “It used to be that being a god meant something…”
Zeus continues to lament that nowadays people turn to superheroes in their time of need, not the gods. “When did we become the joke?” As Zeus continues on to promise that mortals will once again fear the gods, he turns to a hitherto unseen person standing nearby. “Do you understand – Hercules?” Zeus asks as the son of the King of the Gods, Hercules, in the form of actor Brett Goldstein, is revealed.
So who, exactly, is Hercules? Much like Thor, Hercules is a slightly superhero-fied version of the classic Roman demigod of mythology. However, Marvel’s version of the character mixes up the Greek and Roman pantheons somewhat, so here Hercules’s father is Zeus, the Greeks’ king of the gods, rather than his Roman equivalent Jupiter. No word has ever been said as to who his mother is, but if we go by the mythological version of the character she was probably a mortal that Zeus had a fling with.
It is not readily apparent as to where or when we might run into Hercules next. A glance at the slate of officially announced Marvel projects doesn’t really reveal any title where the character would seem likely to make an appearance. Still, the character has served as an occasional member of the Avengers in the comics as well as being a member of another Marvel superhero team, the Champions. In addition to other Earth-bound adventures, Hercules traveled across the universe, so there are plenty of story options open for Marvel to explore in the future.
First, though, Hercules will need to settle his beef with Thor. As to where that will happen, most likely it will be a part of the inevitable, though as of yet unannounced, fifth solo Thor movie. But after that? Only Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige, and a few others, know.
Mighty Thor’s Final Reward
Thor: Love And Thunder‘s post-credit scene opens up on an ornate stone ring gateway, similar to the one we saw in New Asgard earlier in the film. As if from nowhere, the ring suddenly fills with a white cloud out of which steps Jane Foster, clad in a white dress and looking as healthy as we have ever seen her.
Jane takes a few steps forward and looks around before she is greeted by a familiar voice saying her name.
“Heimdel,” she responds to the dead Asgardian standing before her. After acknowledging that she is indeed dead, Heimdel thanks her for looking after his son during the events of the movie.
“You are very welcome here, in the land of the gods,” he says, gesturing towards an ornate silver and gold building in the distance. “Welcome to Valhalla!”
And so Jane is shown receiving her final reward for having been a true warrior.But does this mean we will see Jane Foster again? Hard to say. This is comic books after all, so death is not always the permanent condition we folks seem to find it to be. While the answer to this question is definitely for another day, if she were not to return, Jane has definitely earned her place among Valhalla’s halls of heroes.
