Thor's Stormbreaker: Facts About The Hammer They Don't Cover In Infinity War

oweWhat would a superhero be without that special something that makes them so special? It would be hard to imagine Wolverine without his claws or Captain America without his shield. These heroes would not have become the awesome legends they are today without their powers. One of these legends is Thor, who is closely associated with his hammer known as Mjolnir (or Mew-Mew, depending on your pronunciation...).

This isn't his only weapon, though... when Hela destroyed Mjolnir in the MCU, Thor had a new, more powerful weapon forged for him, known as Stormbreaker. This was the weapon that Thor took up against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, and it's amazing. However, as with most of the MCU, there is plenty of comic backstory that didn't make it into the film.

7. The Origins Of Stormbreaker

In the MCU, Stormbreaker was forged by Eitri at the behest of Thor, as a weapon to use against Thanos and his Infinity Gauntlet. In the comics, however, Stormbreaker was still made by Eitri, but pretty much everything else is different. The weapon was not commissioned by Thor, but by Odin (who is dead at this point in the MCU). There was also no great destruction of the forges of the Dwarves of Nidavellir beforehand, nor was Eitri forging it with ruined hands. After it was made, it was Odin who enchanted it, giving it the same magical powers as Mjolnir itself.

6. Lady Sif Is Also Involved In The Stormbreaker Origin

Lady Sif hasn't appeared on the big screen for a little while, as she was banished by Loki when he was pretending to be Odin. She's also been confirmed as one of the casualties of Thanos' snap in Infinity War (although most of those are likely to be reversed, so she may return soon). However, in the comics, Lady Sif is a big part of the creation of Stormbreaker. In order to get Eitri to forge the weapon, Odin was required to send a champion - if Odin's champion could defeat Throgg, they would forge the hammer (if not, she would become his chattel). Lady Sif kicked some Throgg-sized butt, Throgg left in shame at his defeat, and Eitri forged the hammer for Odin.

5. Stormbreaker Was Not Made For Thor

The final huge difference between the original Stormbreaker in the comics, and the Stormbreaker of the MCU is in the hero that wields it. In the MCU, of course, Thor has the hammer made in order to replace Mjolnir, but in the comics, Stormbreaker is created for Beta Ray Bill. Beta Ray Bill is a Korbinite Cyborg and protector of his people, and during a run-in with Thor, he was able to pick up Mjolnir. Odin, sensing this, brought Beta Ray Bill and Thor to a new location, and made them duel. Beta Ray Bill not only won, but he also refused to kill Thor - and Odin could see that this was a champion worthy of a magical hammer, and Stormbreaker was born.

4. Stormbreaker Looks Very Different In The Comics

In the MCU, Stormbreaker and Mjolnir look completely different; Mjolnir is a square hammer, and Stormbreaker is an axe with a hammer-ish end. In the comics, however, the original Stormbreaker is a rounded mallet, and much smaller than the movie version. At one point, Beta Ray Bill is endowed with the power cosmic, and Stormbreaker does look more like an axe, but the MCU version is definitely something new.

It's likely that this change is purely aesthetic - the creative minds of the MCU wanted to show that Thor's weapon was different and more powerful than his original hammer, so of course, they made it look bigger and more menacing.

3. Stormbreaker Is Capable Of Blowing People Up

There's absolutely no doubt that Stormbreaker is more powerful than Mjolnir - and Thor's massively increased strength in Infinity War wasn't just down to the lightning powers he harnessed in Thor: Ragnarok. As well as this increased power, the comic Stormbreaker has a much more intense effect on anyone who tries to hold it despite not being worthy. If someone unworthy attempts to grab Thor's original hammer, they simply cannot pick it up - very Sword in the Stone level stuff.

However, in the comics, Stormbreaker has the ability to literally blow people up if they try and use it without being worthy. This doesn't happen often, but a little-known villain by the name of Throk once went up against Beta Ray Bill and his hammer... and despite being warned not to touch the magical weapon, Throk tries to use it against Beta Ray Bill - and is blown to smithereens by the power of the weapon.

2. A Skrull Has Used Stormbreaker

The Skrulls are making their way to the MCU in Captain Marvel, which means that it's possible that the MCU will eventually involve a variant of this particular comic storyline. For now, however, this is purely in the pages of the books.

The Skrulls were able to capture Beta Ray Bill at one point, and split Stormbreaker into two, smaller axes, to be used against their enemies. Later, the Skrulls re-forged the weapon, and attempted to hurl it down on a small Earth town to destroy it... but Thor was able to catch Stormbreaker and return it to Beta Ray Bill. This story does have some serious plot holes though. How were the Skrulls able to get past the worthiness caveat? How did they have the knowledge to split and reforge a magical weapon? We may never know...

1. In A Different Universe, Iron Man Helped Make Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker levitates off the ground in Avengers: Infinity War

Any comic fan knows that alternate universes are a whole lot of fun... and in the Marvel Avengers Academy universe, Tony Stark has a hand in the creation of Stormbreaker. It's a video game, rather than a comic, but it's still interesting to think about how Infinity War would change should Iron Man have been working with the Dwarves of Nidavellir to create Thor's latest weapon. And who knows? With Tony adrift in space, there's always a slim possibility that he ends up running into Eitri... but that seems to be stretching it a whole lot, even for a comic book world. All we know for now is that Thor, along with Stormbreaker, will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for Avengers: Endgame.