Son of Odin, the God of Thunder, Thor is one of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe. Contrary to popular notion, Thor is not a pure Asgardian. Born to Odin and Gaea, Thor derives his powers from both Asgard and Midgard. One of the oldest and powerful characters in the Marvel Universe, Thor is the rightful king of Asgard and the mightiest Avenger.
Thor’s hammer, the Mjølnir is a cosmic weapon which makes the God of Thunder even more powerful. In the Marvel Universe, Thor is taken from the Norse mythology. Despite the similarities, there is a major difference in the story of Thor and his precious Mjolnir.
According to Norse mythology, Loki once made Lady Sif, lover and wife of Thor, go bald. Lady Sif was renowned for her beauty and her golden hair all across the nine realms. Loki’s action angered Thor to the extent that he almost killed Loki, son of Laufey. To save his life, Loki promised to get back Lady Sif’s hair.
A twister of words, Loki stirred up the fires of envy between Ivaldi’s sons and the dwarf brothers Eitri and Brokk for a competition where they could showcase their inventions to the Asgardian gods. In return, if the dwarves won they wanted Loki’s head as their prize.
To save his head, Loki turned to a fly and repeatedly tried to sabotage Eitri’s work which resulted in Mjolnir’s short handle. Yet, Brokk and Eitri managed to create three gifts for the gods of Aesir. A golden arm-ring which multiplies every ninth night, a golden boar called Gullinbursti, and the Mjølnir. The Mjølnir’s powers were so majestic, its short handle was a minor inconvenience for the God of Thunder.
In the Marvel Universe, the story differs as Odin himself wielded Mjølnir long before Thor was even born. Created from the Uru metal, Mjølnir has the powers of the storm god Tempest along with ancient magical enchantments made by Odin himself. This makes the Mjølnir nigh-invincible and also makes it available to the worthy ones. Only the one with the pure heart of a warrior can wield the Mjølnir, and be the master of lightning and thunder.
The Mjølnir is often considered as one of the most lethal weapons in the Marvel Universe. Unbreakable under most circumstances, Thor has used the Mjølnir to destroy Frost Giants, cosmic entities, and has even wiped out galaxies. When used as a projectile, the Mjølnir never misses its target and always returns to its user’s hands. Being the God of Thunder, Thor can also channel his lightning powers, travel great distances with ease, and summon the power of a thousand storms through his Mjølnir to wreak calamitous destruction.
In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Mjølnir was introduced in Thor (2011) for the first time. To teach Thor a lesson in humility and sacrifice, Odin had stripped his powers and made him live like a normal human on Midgard aka Earth. Ultimately, Thor proved he was worthy and wielded the Mjølnir to destroy the Destroyer.
The adventures of Thor and his legendary weapon soon became an instant fan-favourite. Re-defining the original Thor from the comics, Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok made the God of Thunder wildly popular. A marked departure from the serious and stoic demeanour, Taika Waititi’s Thor became an amiable, punch-line cracking, and bone-breaking God of Thunder. But, he also lost his Mjølnir in the movie.
The destruction of Mjølnir in Thor: Ragnarok by Hela was a major event as Thor was left powerless for quite a while. Despite Thor being able to channel the power of lightning through his body, the loss of Mjølnir did affect him on a psychological level.
The events of Avengers: Infinity War forced our beloved God of Thunder to once again ask the dwarf Eitri for help. And as we know it, Thor finally yielded a much larger and dangerous axe named the Stormbreaker. The Stormbreaker’s ability to summon the Bifrost and face the full might of all Infinity Stones augmented the powers of Thor to a much greater degree. Yet, the drawback of Stormbreaker was the lack of Odin’s enchantment spell which made it available to anyone who was powerful enough to wield it.
Avengers: Endgame once again brought back Mjølnir via time-travel. The present Thor’s visit to the events of Thor: The Dark World made it possible for Mjølnir to come back once again and aid both Thor and Captain America in their final stand against Thanos.
Though we were able to witness Mjølnir once again in Avengers: Endgame, it was but a temporary solution to bring it back to the present continuity. As Captain America returned all the Infinity Stones and Mjølnir to their original timelines, once again the present timeline does not have the Mjølnir. Or does it?
Known for their numerous easter eggs, the Russo Brothers might have slipped in the new Mjølnir right under our noses while we were busy biting our nails in frantic anticipation of the next big event.
During Thor’s trip to Nidavellir along with Rocket Racoon and Groot, we meet the dwarf Eitri. The only remaining dwarf, his entire race was wiped out by Thanos as he made Eitri create the Infinity Gauntlet. To ensure that Eitri does not create another gauntlet, Thanos binds Eitri’s hands with metal making them unusable.
As Thor convinces Eitri to create a weapon to kill Thanos, the anticipation to see a new weapon might have distracted most of us as the Russo Brothers slipped in a blink-and-you-miss scene during the moulding process.
As the pictures define, Eitri created two different moulds. But, the Stormbreaker was created from a single mould instead of two different ones. So the question arises, why did Eitri create a second mould?
In the comics, the Stormbreaker was not wielded by Thor, but rather, another worthy warrior who might soon appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Yes, we are talking about Beta Bill Ray. As a fearsome warrior with a pure heart, Beta Bill Ray took the Mjølnir from Thor, much to his dismay. To reward Beta Bill Ray for his strength and bravery, Odin presented him the Stormbreaker.
Also, it has been confirmed that Thor: Love and Thunder will bring back Jane Foster and make her the new Goddess of Thunder. To introduce such a major character breaking stereotypes without the iconic Mjølnir would dampen the entire event.
After Odin’s death in Thor: Ragnarok, Thor himself is now the All-father. With Odinforce running in his veins, he now has the ability to enchant the new Mjolnir to make it available only to those who are worthy and fearless. Maybe, he will add a new enchantment made out of his love for Jane. A longshot, yet still plausible.
Do you have any other theory which can bring back Mjølnir to the current timeline? Let us know in the comments!
