Natalie Portman's arms in Thor: Love and Thunder made me shiver with emotion

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has an infamous piece of behind-the-scenes lore. When filming Captain America: The First Avenger, Hayley Atwell couldn't contain herself and "instinctively" touched Chris Evans' rippling pectorals during the moment when Peggy Carter confronted the fully formed Captain America for the first time. My first good look at Natalie Portman's biceps came a couple of months ago when the first trailer for Thor: Love and Thunder dropped online. There had been production stills before, but now they had been contextualized, and that somehow enhanced an already spectacular face.

The reason I wasn't going for Chris Hemsworth's Thor when I bought my ticket for Thor: Love and Thunder, the latest installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After the events of Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder pick up some undisclosed amount of time later. Thor has left Earth to hang out with the Guardians of the Galaxy for a while, he's recovered from Thanos' PTSD, and he's looking for some kind of purpose. Gorr the God Killer is on his way to kill all the gods, and he's coming for Asgard next. He learns this through distress calls and exposition from his old friend Sif.

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Jane Foster, his former flame, is experiencing a different kind of ennui back on Earth. Like her comic book counterpart, Jane has been diagnosed with stage four cancer and her treatment isn't going well. As she faces a slow and certain death, Jane hears Thor's hammer Mjolnir calling from New Asgard and heads there to find out if Viking space magic can help her. Both Thor and the audience are surprised to see Jane suddenly blonde and decked out in Thor's cape and armor with a hammer in hand. Jane has become The Mighty Thor, but unlike her comic book counterpart, her identity is not a mystery for long. As a result, the film simplifies things, revealing her right away and giving her Thor's usual powers - as long as she wields the hammer - with a slightly different moniker and a custom-made Mjolnir that can shatter and reform.

I need to point out before I get too deep into the plot of Thor: Love and Thunder that everyone involved knew people kept watching these movies because of the eye candy, and I would like to thank them for even thinking about the Sapphics. Despite Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie's queerness finally being confirmed in the dialogue, our king does not find a queen in this quest, there is something for everyone who enjoys muscles in this film.

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A sleeveless battle armor tank top replaces Jane's male counterpart's armored sleeves in her Mighty Thor costume. Natalie Portman's patented red cape drapes itself over her broad shoulders with no ill feelings, as though it knows she put in hours of work to look this good. Additionally, the costume department has added a little Green Arrow-in-Smallville armband that deserves some credit for the work and scenes that it steals. As Portman and director Taika Waititi provide plenty of opportunities for Jane to strike a heroic pose, it's no wonder that a vast majority of the time she was on screen I was staring at her exposed upper arms. There is an important point the early press and promotion failed to mention: Jane Foster isn't the only one whose arms are worth some sapphic swooning. As well as rocking a battle tank, Valkyrie's swordsmanship lets her impressive physique shine on its own.

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It seems even Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, has gained weight this time around, almost as if he knew he would have to face these two female warriors. Natalie Portman's arms entranced me in this movie and distracted me, but I was not expecting to feel Despite his physical strength, The Mighty Thor isn't only good for swoons and laughing with his magic hammer. Her cancer has also taken away her strength and agency. While Jane is The Mighty Thor, she can protect people, make a difference in the world, and she doesn't feel like life is slipping away from her, even though the hammer, as it turns out, literally drains her life every time she uses it.

I honestly watched the first two Thor films for Natalie Portman before the superhero physique, and it is difficult to watch her sometimes put down the hammer, transforming back into the frail physicist she is underneath the shiny veneer of Mjolnir's power. She should pick up the hammer again, not only because The Mighty Thor is almost too attractive, but also because her deterioration makes it more difficult to cope with the muscles and quips. Imagine what she could do to you with those arms rather than what cancer is doing to her body and how dealing with it is affecting her self-esteem.

Nevertheless, superhero movies and superhero comics are popular because of that. The goal is to find stories about people who are bigger than life, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. To face our fears and battle our demons, we should model ourselves after those who have done so.