Spider-Man: Homecoming may have subtly revealed how to turn humans into Asgardians in the MCU. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Asgardians were introduced as a powerful race of aliens who were worshiped by ancient humanity, and their powers are far beyond those of the mortals of Earth.

The Thor and Avengers franchises have focused prominently on Asgardian weapons. Thor's weapon of choice is the mighty Mjolnir, the enchanted hammer that was destroyed by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok. Heimdall's sword, Hofund, appears to be part of the Bifrost mechanism, meaning Hela needed to retrieve it in order to summon the rainbow bridge. And Stormbreaker, created by the dwarf Eitri in Avengers: Infinity War, may well have the potential to destroy entire planets.

Related: Theory: Stormbreaker Isn’t To Kill Thanos, It Gives Thor His Powers Back

But, as powerful as Asgardian weapons may be, there's evidence that some of them could be wielded by humans - and could even grant Asgardian power to mortals. In Spider-Man: Homecoming, Happy Hogan makes a throwaway reference to "Thor's magic belt." This is the Megingjörð of Norse legend, a word that literally translates into "power belt" and that doubles even Thor's prodigious strength. This moment was only a throwaway reference - don't expect Megingjörð to feature in Avengers: Endgame at all - but it's certainly an interesting one. In the comics, Megingjörð was introduced in Journey into Mystery #91 back in 1963, where it was revealed to be a mystical belt held in storage by Odin when it wasn't being used by the God of Thunder. Significantly, in Thor #276 it was able to be worn by a human - and, indeed, just the act of wearing Megingjörð granted a most unworthy man the strength to lift Mjolnir.

The throwaway reference to Megingjörð subtly sets up a lot of major comic book ideas for the MCU, most notably the Thunderstrike, an enchanted weapon that blended the human and the divine in order to create a superhero who named himself Thunderstrike after his hammer. Eric Masterson even claimed the mantle of Thor for a time; perhaps a similar idea could allow Thor to live on in the MCU even though Mjolnir has been destroyed, and even if Chris Hemsworth departs after Avengers: Endgame.

Interestingly, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has already established that Asgardian artifacts can be used by humans in the MCU as well. Back in season 1, in the episode "The Well", Coulson and his team stumbled upon a long-lost Asgardian Berserker Staff that - just like Megingjörð - granted the wearer enhanced strength. True to its name, the Berserker Staff had the side-effect of forcing its bearer to face all their greatest pain in order to generate a surge of rage and hatred. While useful in Asgard's brutal wars of ages past, it proved dangerous when it fell into the wrong hands.

All this means that there is indeed the potential for ordinary men and women to use Asgardian artifacts, and thus gain the power of the gods themselves. Considering that Asgard was destroyed at the end of Thor: Ragnarok and many expect a new home to be made on Earth, likely Norway, this would have some serious implications. Kevin Feige has teased that Marvel could potentially do a female Thor, inspired by the popular Jason Aaron run in which Jane Foster became the Mighty Thor, and the mention of Megingjörð may well explain how that could happen.

More: Spider-Man: Homecoming Easter Eggs & Marvel Secrets

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