Cover_Thor

Since the 1960s, Thor has been one of Marvel's longest-running heroes. Thor has proven himself to be a mighty warrior in Asgard, and various villains on both Asgard and Earth are rarely a match for his power and strength. Proving himself to be both worthy and mighty, Thor is a staple in the Avengers and a team asset when things get tough. Not only has Thor proven himself to Asgard and Earth, but he has also proven himself worthy to his trusty weapon, Mjolnir.

Mjolnir, forged by dwarves that placed the spell of Uru on it, allows only those who are worthy to wield it. Thor's ability to wield Mjolnir has benefited him as it has provided him additional power and magic. Thor is often overly reliant on Mjolnir, and it is rare that he goes anywhere without his weapon. However, like with most things in the Marvel-verse, important objects of our favorite heroes often go missing and Thor's hammer is no different.

Here are 15 Times Thor Has Lost His Hammer.

15. Mjolnir Abandons Thor

Fear Itself Thor's Hammer

Fear Itself is the Captain America/Thor crossover that everyone wanted. Fear Itself begins with Sin finding The Herald of the Serpent, which causes seven celestial hammers to fall to Earth. Sin/Skadi mortally wounds Bucky Barnes, who was the current Captain America, while Odin prepares for Earth to be completely razed to destroy The Serpent.

Thor opposes his father and comes to Earth to fight the Serpent, as Steve Rogers takes up the mantle of Captain America and joins Thor in battle. Thor continues to fight the Serpent until he collapses from exhaustion and goes back to Asgard to heal. Captain America remains on Earth and comes up with plans to help defeat the Serpent and raises a militia of people who wish to fight the Serpent.

As they prepare to engage the Serpent in a final battle, Mjolnir falls from the sky. Captain America wields the hammer, sans Thor, and an epic battle ensues with the Serpent.

14. Bor Destroys Mjolnir

Bor wields his hammer in Marvel Comics.

In Thor, #600, Loki once again has a plan to foil Thor. He sends Bor, Thor’s grandfather, to New York and casts a spell causing him hallucinate demons and monsters everywhere. Bor wreaks havoc in New York and Jane Foster calls for Thor. Thor does not know who Bor is and does not quite understand what is happening, but becomes increasingly worried and defensive about Bor’s hallucinations and increasing power.

Thor and Bor engage in a fight, but Thor and Bor are almost equal in strength, and the fight lasts some time.  Thor attacks Bor with the hammer, and goes to throw it in an attempt to defeat Bor, but Bor takes the hammer from Thor and is able to wield it. Bor shatters Mjolnir in battle, leaving Thor with only street debris and his strength to fight with.

After the battle, Thor and Donald Blake are sitting in the forest, and Thor attempts to fix Mjolnir by having Thor and Donald Blake change places. This, of course, does not work, and Donald Blake is left with a splintered walking cane. Thor is without Mjolnir until Doctor Strange takes pity upon him and channels Thor’s Odinforce back into Mjolnir's fragments.

13. Mjolnir is Shattered

Thor's Hammer Shattered

In Thor Vol. 2, Issue 80, “Ragnarok, Part the First” Thor resets the timeline and transforms himself back to Jake Olson to regain his humanity. Loki also goes back in time and finds the forge that created Mjolnir and creates multiple, less powerful versions of Mjolnir. Loki takes the duplicate hammers and attacks everyone in Asgard.

While Loki launches his attack, Mjolnir collides with one of the weapons and causes an atomic-scale explosion. This leaves Thor weaponless and nearly kills him. Without Mjolnir, Thor goes back to Earth to ask for the Avengers' help, as he also attempts to figure out how to stop the Ragnorak. Thor is without Mjolnir for several issues, during which time he dies and becomes adrift in The Void.

Mjolnir does not return to Thor until several issues later, when Thor accepts the role as the Child of Mjolnir and is returned to Earth with his trusty hammer.

12. Perrikus Slices Mjolnir

Perrikus Destroys Thor's Hammer

In Thor Vol. 2, Issue 11, “The Dark Waters, Part 1” Perrikus finds out that Thor is still alive and enacts a plan to lure him back to Asgard. Thor is in the process of turning into his human counterpart, Jake Olson, and has decided that he was going to attack the Dark Gods.

Jake transforms back into Thor and travels to Asgard, and discovers that the Dark Gods have ruined the city. Vermin, filth, and decayed bodies lay were strewn about the once-golden streets of Asgard, and Thor finds Odin, Sif, and Balder bound and bloody near Perrikus. Thor fights his way to them while Perrikus attacks and repeatedly wounds him with his scythe. Thor manages to blast Perrikus wth Mjolnir, which fails to faze him.

Thor hurls Mjolnir at Perrikus, which Perrikus expected, and he neatly slices through Mjolnir, leaving nothing but the ruined hammer in his wake. Perrikus continues to beat up Thor, who barely manages to escape from the onslaught, and leaves the remains of Mjolnir behind.

11. The Celestial Shatters Mjolnir

Celestial Shatters Thor's Hammer

In Thor #388, Thor crash-lands on Pandora, a planet controlled by Pegas, who is attempting to battle Exitar over control of his world. If he loses, the planet will be destroyed. Thor decides that he will help Pegas fight for the freedom of his world. Although Thor’s exuberance and will are strong, the Celestial that has imprisoned the planet is stronger than Thor.

After an intense battle, which he nearly lost, Thor was finally able to pierce through the Celestial’s armor using all the power that Mjolnir had. However, Mjolinir was unable to withstand the sheer amount of power and strength it took to pierce through the armor, and completely shattered. Thor found himself without his iconic weapon for some time, and without Mjolnir, all he could do was throw himself into the Celestial’s brain. Fear not, Thor fans, Thor and Mjolnir reunited the very next issue, as the Celestial decided that Thor and Mjolnir were worthy to exist and restored Thor’s health and his weapon.

 10. Mjolnir Vaporized

Molecule Man Destroys Thor's Mjolnir

In Avengers #215, Quicksilver happens upon Molecule Man’s discarded wand and picks it up. However, Quicksilver is unable to handle the power and winds up resurrecting Molecule Man and channeling all of his power into his body. Molecule Man, who was never sane to begin with, decides that he should emulate Galactus and destroy the entire planet. Realizing that he made a terrible mistake, Quicksilver runs to the Avengers for help. T

he Avengers go to confront Molecule Man and discover that he is even crazier than usual. The confrontation does not go well, and Molecule Man simply waves his hand and destroys Mjolnir. Without Mojlinir, Thor is unable to fight him, and due to Molecule Man’s increased powers, Thor is captured and imprisoned in a giant crushing machine.

The loss of Mjolnir in this instance weakens Thor incredibly, as he transforms back into Donald Blake. However, this loss does not deter Thor from fighting, and he finds himself being incredibly resourceful as he positions himself to punch Molecule Man in the face. This causes enough of a distraction for the other heroes to defeat Molecule Man.

9. The Destroyer

Destroyer Breaking Mjiolnir in Thor

In Journey into Mystery issue 119, Thor is running from the Destroyer, who has set out to kill him. Thor has discovered that his strength and hammer are no match for the Destroyer and he is unable to find a way to fight him without being killed. Thor flees, and Loki realizes that the Destroyer will kill Thor and thus implicate Loki in his death. Fearing Odin’s wrath, Loki schemes for a way to save Thor.

Meanwhile, Thor and the Destroyer continue to engage in various battles that Thor is having difficulty fighting. During one battle, the Destroyer uses his disintegration ray and slices Mjolnir into two, leaving it unusable for Thor. He does not discover this until he attempts to fly back to America using the hammer.

Forced to take the hammer back to the forge to fix it, Thor is left weaponless and somewhat powerless for two issues while the hammer is restored to its former glory.

8. Conan the Barbarian Disarms him

Conan and Thor

In What if Thor Fought Conan the Barbarian, the Watcher explains that he has watched Conan and Thor battle and defeat many foes. The Watcher further explains that people have often wondered what would happen if Thor and Conan were to fight one another. Luckily for us, the Watcher has already seen this fight happen and is willing to share the tale.

Thor finds himself in a strange land and nearly crushed to death by boulders. Unable to let this slight pass him by, he decides to fight the person who attacked him. It turns out this person is Conan the Barbarian. Angry words are exhanged,Thor rushes Conan, and they fall down the side of the mountain. The two fight for a very long time, until Conan disarms Mjolnir by throwing a boulder at Thor.

Thor loses Mjolnir in battle, and instead of attempting to call Mjolnir to him or grab it, Thor decides to engage Conan into hand-to-hand combat. Mjolnir is seemingly forgotten for the remainder of the fight, which stops abruptly as the two determine that they should be friends since they are both worthy warriors.

 7. Loki Steals the Hammer

Loki Steals Thor's Hammer

In What if Loki Had Found the Hammer Before Thor, Loki was imprisoned in a tree until someone shed a tear for his plight. Never let it be said that the Norse Gods have lax punishments.

Loki finds Thor in the form of Donald Blake, and discovers that Odin transformed Mjolnir into a gnarled stick and hid it in Norway. Loki turns himself into a fly, manages to arrive at the cave seconds before Thor does, and picks up Mjolnir up. Since Mjolnir is under a spell as a stick, it canceled out Uru’s ability to identify worthiness.

Loki throws the stick into the forest and has it grow to be a tree where it mimics the same punishment Loki was forced to endure. Aliens kill Donald Blake, and Odin has to bargain for Thor’s life. This all begins the Ragnorak - the end times to Norse Gods - and while fighting in Asgard, Thor is given back all of his memories. Eventually, Thor finds Loki guarding the tree that is Mojlinir and retrieves the hammer just in time to save Asgard.

 6. Quicksilver Depowers Thor

Ultimates Quicksilver with Mjolnir

The Ultimates were truly not kind to Thor. From the beginning of the Ultimate storyline, Thor was not fully powered and was easily defeated by several villains, including Magneto and Thanos, in early storylines. The Ultimates 2 treated Thor no differently, as Thor discovered that Loki sought revenge.

Loki alters reality and makes it appear that Thor is delusional. Accused of releasing Bruce Banner's identity as the Hulk, Thor denies that he was responsible for this action, and attempts to explain that he is Thor. Captain America and the Ultimates do not believe Thor as Loki masquerades as a doctor and explains that Thor is delusional; he stole Thor's belt and hammer and is pretending to be the Thunder God. Thor escapes and has to call up a storm to fight the Ultimates, but is stopped after Quicksilver steals Thor’s belt, and subsequently Thor’s ability to use Mjolnir.

Thor is left broken and burned, and the Ultimates place Thor in a holding cell and take Mjolnir from him and place it in a separate holding tank. Thor and Mjolnir are separated until the very last issue of the series, where Thor is again rescued and reunited by Odin.

 5. Thanos

Thor Tree

In Ultimate Fantastic Four, Thor comes to Earth to help the Fantastic Four fight Thanos, who he remembers fighting in the past. Thanos and Thor float in the sky as they face off, and Thor informs Thanos that he is not welcome on Earth. Thor, filled with his usual sense of power and self-righteousness, uses Mjolnir to strike Thanos with lightning. Thanos is unimpressed with Thor’s lightning strike, and basically tells Thor that he is not as strong as he once was because no one believes in him anymore.

Thanos uses his power to blast Thor into the ground and turns Thor into a tree, which is a nice nod to the original Thor series and separates Thor from Mjolnir. Though Thanos turned Thor into a tree, Thanos explains that Thor will still be able to catch a lightning strike now and then in his current form. Thor is without Mjolnir for two issues until the Fantastic Four can reverse Thanos's magic.

Though an embarrassing loss, this was one of the more respectable ways to lose the hammer, and Thor also did not have to rely on Odin to give it back to him this time.

 4. Magneto Takes and Uses the Hammer

Magneto wielding Thor's Hammer in Marvel Ultimates

The Ultimates is a darker story arc where the Ultimates defeat Magneto during Ultimate War. Rather than turn him over to the authorities like reasonable people, Professor X brainwashes Magneto and attempts to rehabilitate him. This plan fails in epic proportions and leads to Magneto reappearing and spitting his "mutants are superior" rhetoric. The government demands to know why Magneto is still alive and in response, Nick Fury sends the Ultimates after Magneto again.

However, during the battle against Magneto, as Thor charges Magneto to overtake him, Magneto manipulates the particles around Mjolnir. This prevents Thor from being able to recall it back to his possession, or even attempt to get it back from Magneto during this battle. Magneto then continues to manipulate the air around the hammer, keeping it from Thor and giving the illusion that he can wield it.

This is a loss for Thor, who is already at half power in this universe; without his hammer, he essentially is depowered.

3. Beta Ray Bill

Beta Ray Bill

Beta Ray Bill stole Mjolnir from Thor during a fight in Thor #337. Beta Ray Bill disarms Thor with one punch and takes Mjolnir from him. Thor mistakenly believes that he would be able to recall the hammer, but is surprised when Beta Ray Bill can wield it. Thor turns back into Donald Blake and is unable to fight Beta Ray Bill.

Beta Ray is amazed by the power that Mjolnir has and decides  to don Thor’s costume and become Thor for several issues, thus separating Thor and Mjolnir. Donald Blake is unable to get the hammer back on his own, and one of the parting shots in the comics is of Donald Blake raising his hands to the sky in frustration. Odin finally has to come down from Asgard to demand that Beta Ray return the hammer to Thor. Beta Ray complies and reunites Thor with Mjolnir, but had Beta Ray decided not to give the hammer back, Thor would never have had it returned to him.

2. Odin Takes Back the Hammer

Odin holding Mjolnir in Thor

Thor gets his hammer taken away as a punishment by his father because he was acting like a two-year-old. In the 1960s comics, Odin decides that Thor needs to be taught a lesson in humility and forces Thor to surrender Mjolnir to him. Odin sends Thor to Earth without memories of being a god and forces Thor to take the form of a partially disabled man, Donald Blake.

As Thor learns how to live a humble existence with a somewhat debilitating injury, he also learns how to have compassion for those who were sick and dying. Thor lives as Donald Blake without Mjolnir for ten years, before Odin intervenes and suggests that Blake takes a trip to Norway, where he encounters a group of aliens and stumbles into the same cave where Odin had originally sent him. He strikes his cane against a rock, and it becomes Mjolnir. The two are reunited, and Donald Blake transforms back into Thor.

1.  Unworthy ThorUnworthy Thor

In Original Sin #7, The Watcher was murdered, and an elderly Nick Fury takes a group of superheroes to his secret satellite base to choose his successor. However, Captain America, tired of being deceived by Fury, takes a group of heroes to fight on the base.

Of course, an epic battle against Fury goes down, and Thor, with all of his power and strength, comes in like a wrecking ball through space and tackles Fury. The two continue to battle and Fury tells Thor to remember this moment, that he was defeated not by a punch, but with a whisper. Fury whispers something in Thor’s ear, and Thor emits an anguished yowl, or the comic book equivalent, and drops Mjolnir.

Mjolnir lands below him and Thor when Thor attempts to pick it up again, he finds that he is no longer worthy to wield it. Though we still do not know what Fury said to Thor, whether it was a misdeed or thought that made Thor feel unworthy, has yet to be seen. Currently, Thor and Mjolnir are still separated, and Original Sin paved the way for Jane Foster to be Mighty Thor.

---

Are there any other instances where Thor and his hammer were separated? Let us know in the comments!