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Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: "With great power comes great responsibility."
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Mjölnir (from the Old Norse word "Mjǫllnir", literallly meaning "That Which Crushes" in English) is one of the well-known items from Marvel Comics. It is the hammer wielded by Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.
History[]
Ages ago, an unimaginably powerful cosmic storm called the God Tempest approached Asgard. Called the "Mother of Thunder," the storm possessed the power to knock planets out of their orbit and make black holes shake. Odin, chief of the Norse gods, battled the storm for many days when it threatened Asgard. Once the storm was weakened enough, Odin defeated the God Tempest by trapping it into a chunk of Uru that was given to him by the Dwarves of Nidavellir as a gift.
From the Uru, Odin ordered the Dwarves of Nidavellir to forge Mjölnir. The blacksmiths Eitri, Brokk, and Buri needed to use the tremendous heat of a star to get the forge hot enough to smelt the Uru. The hammer was completed in seventeen weeks.
In the process, the star exploded and almost took Midgard with it; that event may explain the extinction of the dinosaurs, about 65 million years ago.
When Odin first tried to wield Mjölnir, he could never control it due to the God Tempest still retaining its power. The hammer devastated Asgard as it flew out of control. Out of spite, Odin cast an enchantment on the hammer to prevent anyone else from wielding the hammer. The hammer was stored away where it sat for untold ages where the God Tempest would eventually die, but its power would remain inside Mjölnir.
Although powerful in and of itself, the hammer also received several potent spells from Odin, who slew the Frost Giant Laufey with it.
Much later, Mjölnir was bequeathed to Thor, after he proved himself worthy through several trials.
With few exceptions, Thor has carried Mjölnir throughout his adventures. Thus, the history of Mjölnir follow the history of Thor. Although Asgard was destroyed in Ragnarök, Thor, and thus the hammer, survived.
After Nick Fury told him an undisclosed secret, he lost his ability of wielding Mjölnir.
Later, a woman became Mjölnir's new wielder and the new Thor. She was eventually revealed to be Thor's ex-lover Jane Foster.
Powers and Abilities[]
Mjölnir is an extremely durable weapon forged from the Asgardian metal Uru by the command of Odin; favored weapon of Thor. Only those of sound moral character and integrity may lift Mjolnir although it is possible to lift the Mjolnir without having moral character and integrity proven by the Hulk, it is unsure what allowed him to lift it. It may be his limitless capacity for strength which allowed Hulk to break such a powerful enchantment. The hammer can summon the elements wind, rain, thunder, and lightning for the wielder to use at their discretion. It is able to open interdimensional portals, such as the one to Asgard. Mjolnir possessed the power to bestow the ability of time travel to its wielder until Immortus removed it.
Trivia[]
- The concept of Mjölnir being can only be wielded by worthy user was Marvel Comics' invention as in original myths, beings with sufficient strength can lift it and even use its powers without much issue.
- It is possible the concept of worthiness in Marvel Comics' take on Mjölnir being inspired by following artifacts:
- Excalibur: In Arthurian legends, Excalibur is a mythical sword embbeded into a stone and can only be removed by its true inheritor, a man who later became King Arthur just as Mjölnir can only be wielded by a worthy user.
- Gram: In Völsunga saga, Odin left behind Gram, an enchanted sword plunged into a tree inside a king's hall. Mirroring aforementioned Excalibur, it can only be removed by a true inheritor where in this case, the young prince Sigmund.