If you’re not an avid fan of the comics, you may only know Stormbreaker from the movie Avengers: Infinity War. However, Stormbreaker actually has a very different story in the comics.
It might have become very iconic because of how Thor was able to use it since the Wakanda battle but every comic fan knows that it was much more than that. However, while Stormbreaker might have become Thor’s new signature weapon, you’ll be surprised to know that he might not have been the first to actually wield it in the comics. If you want a Stormbreaker for yourself, check it out here on Amazon.
But then again it actually was from the comics where the film got the inspiration to use Stormbreaker
In the films, the power of Stormbreaker is incredible. It might even be safe to say that Stormbreaker in the movies is actually more powerful than that of Thor’s previous weapon, Mjolnir.
At the time of this writing, the film has already long been shown in the movies. We’ll assume that you have already watched the Avengers: Endgame. If not, know that there are spoilers in this article.
One way on how Stormbreaker was exhibited to be seemingly more powerful than Mjolnir in the film was that it was able to not just deeply wound Thanos but it was actually also used to kill him.
On the other hand, Mjolnir did not survive its encounter with Hela. There were also abilities that were told and shown that the Stormbreaker could do but Mjolnir couldn’t. More on that later.
However, in the comics, both Stormbreaker and Mjolnir were actually more or less the same. In this article, we’ll be discussing a lot about Stormbreaker both from the comics and films. After you’ve finished reading this article, you’ll be an expert about the enchanted weapon, that is the Stormbreaker. Let’s begin!
What Does Stormbreaker Look Like?
Let’s begin with how Stormbreaker looked in the films. Unlike Thor’s previous weapon, Mjolnir, Stormbreaker is larger compared. Also, it’s an ax and a hammer too. While one side of it has a form of a hammer, the other larger side has the head of an ax.
Both the hammer and the ax were forged using the same mystical metal, Uru. It was created by a dwarf named Eitri using molds and each side had their own separate molds. Eitri couldn’t find the handle when he needed to fuse the two together, so Groot used his own hands and arms to fuse the two metal parts together to make the handle. This was how Stormbreaker got its wooden bindings and handle.
This could also explain just how powerful Groot is but that’s another story. With a lot of the appearances of Stormbreaker, it crackles with electricity being generated from the hammer and ax.
While only coming from a mold, Stormbreaker still had a lot of intricate details. In terms of size, no official dimension of the weapon was released but as was shown and as what can be observed from official action figures, Thor’s Stormbreaker is easily around half his height.
In the comics, Stormbreaker appeared very different. While in the movie, Stormbreaker was more of an ax, in the comics, Stormbreaker is more of a hammer.
While Mjolnir and Stormbreaker might have been forged out of the same type of metal, Stormbreaker’s color is that of gold. Meanwhile, Mjolnir was silver. Also, the size of Stormbreaker in the comics isn’t as huge as that of its adaptation in the movies.
It just was more or less the size of Mjolnir. On one side of its head, it has a hammer while on the other, a blade. Both sides are about the same size. It has a short handle and a lanyard at its bottom.
With later designs, Stormbreaker was very reminiscent of how it looked in the films. It’s no longer gold but silver, has a long handle and the blade and hammer are enlarged. There is still a lanyard at the bottom at the handle too.
Is Thor’s Ax Also From Classic Mythology Like Mjolnir?
Both Thor and Mjolnir are actually based from Germanic Mythology. The Thor we know from Marvel is based from the god of thunder with the same name from Norse Mythology. Both Thors wield a hammer with the same name, Mjolnir.
However, Stormbreaker is not from any classical mythology. Stormbreaker is an original from Marvel that first appeared in the comics. The Stormbreaker first appeared in 1984 and was created by Walt Simonson.
Although some might think that Stormbreaker might have also originated from Norse Mythology, again, it’s not. Just the name of the weapon itself doesn’t sound Nordic. It’s purely from Marvel comics. However, unlike in the MCU, it wasn’t meant for Thor.
As mentioned already many times in this article, the Stormbreaker was originally meant for another character. Although now, the Stormbreaker made its way to the MCU with a different origin and purpose. We are sure to see more of it in upcoming films.
What Was the Purpose of Thors Ax in the MCU?
Following Mjolnir’s destruction, Thor had to face Thanos without a weapon. This ended with Thor losing to the powerful titan. Moreover, Thor also lost half of his people and his stepbrother, Loki.
Knowing he couldn’t win a battle against Thanos without a weapon, he decided to travel to Nidavellir after meeting the Guardians of the Galaxy. He planned on going to the home of the dwarves to have the Stormbreaker forged.
The purpose of Stormbreaker was to put an end to Thanos. More than this, Stormbreaker could have another purpose for appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In phase 4, it has been officially announced that will we see more of Thor.
Thor 4: Love and Thunder has been announced at Comic-Con and we might also get to see more of Thor in Guardians of the Galaxy 3. There are very interesting characters that are appearing in Thor 4 that might have a huge impact on what will become of Stormbreaker.
Much of the film’s plot is yet to be announced but since Natalie Portman who played as Jane Foster will be part of Thor 4’s cast, there’s a chance that she might end up using Stormbreaker. There’s also a possibility of another character who could wield the Stormbreaker to appear in the films, Beta Ray Bill.
Who knows? The Stormbreaker might have been the way to include Beta Ray Bill in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This topic has long been talked about especially when an image of Beta Ray Bill was shown during Thor Ragnarok. His image was only shown to be part of a structure though.⁸
How Was Thors Stormbreaker Forged?
The origins of Stormbreaker in the comics and the films differ a lot. In the movies, Stormbreaker was forged not only by Eitri but he was also given the assistance of Thor, Groot and Rocket Raccoon.
To forge Stormbreaker, Thor, Rocket and Groot had to travel to Nidavellir. The place was supposedly where the dwarves thrived. Interesting fact, if you don’t know it yet, Nidavellir is actually one of the nine realms in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
It’s a neutron star which also served as a humongous forge for the dwarves. After losing Mjolnir to Hela and his brother along with half of his people to Thanos, Thor traveled with his party to Nidavellir and hoped that the dwarves could make him a “Thanos-killing weapon”.
Everything was not as it should be though when Thor arrived. The star had died and all the dwarves were gone except for Eitri. With Rocket’s help, Thor tried to revive the Star so Eitri could begin making him a new powerful weapon.
Thor almost died in the process but Stormbreaker was completed just in time with Groot’s help by forming the handle with his arms.
In the comics, Thor only had Mjolnir. At some point in the story, he encountered Beta Ray Bill. With their initial fight, Beta Ray Bill won and more than that, he was able to lift Mjolnir. This meant that Beta Ray Bill was worthy.
As he wielded the hammer, he was transported to Asgard. Not wanting to give up Mjolnir without a fight, Odin suggested both get into a deathmatch for the ownership of Mjolnir. Once again, Beta Ray Bill won.
But instead of killing Thor, he carried him and brought him with him back to Asgard. It just proved even more that Beta Ray Bill was indeed worthy. In the end, Beta Ray Bill did not want to have Mjolnir because he believed it was meant for Thor.
However, he asked Odin if there was a way for him to also have a powerful weapon much like Mjolnir for him to save his people with. Seeing the goodness in Beta Ray Bill, Odin had the dwarves forge another hammer.
It took more than Eitri, the dwarf king, to forge the hammer. He had the help of a lot of other dwarves to forge Stormbreaker in the same fashion as they did with Mjolnir. Once stormbreaker was nearly done, he was asked to wear a gauntlet so he could pull the hammer from the molten pool of metal safely.
Once he did, the enchantment made to Stormbreaker was then bound to Beta Ray Bill. So, in the comics, Thor doesn’t really own Stormbreaker. Stormbreaker is Beta Ray Bill’s signature weapon.
What Was Thor’s Stormbreaker Made Of?
Although there might be a bit of difference between Stormbreaker from the comics and the one in the movies, both still share a couple of similarities. Both Stormbreakers from the comics and the movie are made from Uru.
Although not much about the lore of the Uru from the film was divulged, much of it was explained in the comics. In the movie, Avengers: Infinity War, Uru was already provided by Eitri. He agreed to create Stormbreaker with Thor and his party for them to have a way in stopping Thanos.
In the comics, Uru was said to be a very rare metal. More than its rarity, a strong attribute of the Uru was that it had the affinity to magic. The metal was also very durable. In fact, Uru was said to be one of the hardest metals in all the realms.
Aside from being one of the hardest materials in existence, its affinity to magic can enable it to store vast amounts of very powerful magic. Uru is so powerful that Odin was able to contain a storm that destroyed planets and galaxies into a nugget of Uru.
How Was the Uru of Stormbreaker Fused with Magic?
The nugget that Odin used to contain the storm was used to create Mjolnir. That was how it had much of its abilities. While it was mentioned that the creation of Mjolnir and Stormbreaker was identical, there is a huge difference with how magic was fused into the Uru.
Since there was no longer any of the Uru that was used to create Mjolnir that was left, Odin unleashed all of his magic into the mold that was used to create Stormbreaker. This was how Stormbreaker still had all the abilities that Mjolnir possessed.
Odin’s magic replicated the effect of the storm that was fused into the Uru.
What Are the Abilities of Thor’s Ax?
While in the comics it was mentioned that Stormbreaker and Mjolnir had identical powers, in the movies it wasn’t clear how similar or different the two were. These were the abilities of Stormbreaker that was shown in the films:
- Can be summoned by Thor
- Can summon the Bifrost
- Enhances Thor’s powers
- Flight
- Can counter the power of the Infinity Gauntlet
There could be more so those mentioned above may be some of what Stormbreaker from the MCU could do. Unlike Mjolnir, Stormbreaker doesn’t have any enchantment that chooses who is worthy to weild it.
Also, just one of the abilities that the Stormbreaker could do that Mjolnir couldn’t is to summon the Bifrost.
In the comics, as mentioned earlier, Stormbreaker and Mjolnir have the same abilities. Since we have already covered the abilities of Mjolnir in full detail, we’ll just enumerate all its powers here. You can check our article for Mjolnir for more of the details about all of its abilities.
Here are the abilities of Stormbreaker in the comics:
- Flight
- Manipulation of Weather
- Allspeak
- Event Recall
- Transformation
- Energy Sensing
- Energy Absorption and Redirection
- Teleportation
- Detect Illusions
- Interdimensional Messaging
- Time Travel
- Matter Manipulation
- Resurrection
- Force Fields
- God Blast
- Anti-force and Thermo-blast
- Invisibility and Intangibility
- Holy Object
More of Stormbreaker’s Powers
In the films, Eitri mentioned that Stormbreaker was the best weapon he created. He also stated that it was meant to be a king’s weapon. There are a lot of frequently asked questions regarding Stormbreaker and with this portion, we’ll be answering each one of them.
Which is More Powerful? Mjolnir or Stormbreaker?
Let’s deal with the easier answer first. In the comics, it was stated that both had identical powers. So as far as the comics go, both just have equivalent amounts of power. It’s more complicated in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Eitri did mention that Stormbreaker was the best weapon he created, it may not ultimately mean that it is also the strongest. Even when Thor was able to overpower the energy from the Infinity Gauntlet, it still doesn’t confirm that it is more powerful than Mjolnir.
So, which really is more powerful? Unfortunately, we are yet to know the answer. There’s still too little that is known about the comparison of both weapons and hopefully, we’ll be able to see more of it
Can Anyone Lift the Thors Ax?
In the comics, because Stormbreaker is identical to Mjolnir in terms of power and enchantment, not just anyone can wield it. One still has to be deemed worthy to be able to lift Stormbreaker much like Mjolnir.
In the movies, the case is very different. Since Odin was no longer around to cast the enchantment nor was there anyone else who tried to do it, anyone as long as they are strong enough to be able to wield Stormbreaker.
Who Were Able to Wield Stormbreaker?
Beta Ray Bill – As mentioned earlier in this article, Beta Ray Bill is actually the better known wielder of Stormbreaker in the comics. He beat Thor in a battle for the ownership of Mjolnir but though he won, he realized that he didn’t want to obtain Mjolnir.
Fortunately, because Odin saw the goodness in Beta Ray Bill, he had the dwarves make him the Stormbreaker which he offered to Beta Ray Bill who gladly accepted it. Ever since then, Beta Ray Bill wielded the Stormbreaker and became a very strong ally of Thor.
Much of his worthiness would become even more apparent when Thor lost his worthiness with Mjolnir.
Thor Odinson Wielded Stormbreaker
In the films, it wasn’t Beta Ray Bill who owned the Stormbreaker. Of course, it was Thor. However, before he could ever get his hands on Stormbreaker, he lost half of his people, his father, stepbrother, Mjolnir, sister and an eye.
He also almost died trying to help out with having the Stormbreaker forged. Ultimately, Eitri along with Thor and his party were able to create Stormbreaker as a means to put an end to Thanos.
In the comics, Thor was able to get his hands on the Stormbreaker but not in a way that you might expect. He already had the Mjolnir so he doesn’t really have any need for the Stormbreaker.
However, this is where it got interesting. In the comics, Thor lost his “worthiness” and in turn, someone else became Thor. The new Thor then became the one that wielded the Mjolnir. Know that Thor is just a title, not really just a name.
In the story, it was Jane Foster who became the new Thor. Losing his worthiness and Mjolnir, Odinson drowned himself in alcohol leading him to become lost in space. Each day, he got into a fight with different aliens and with almost each fight, he lost.
One day, he was told by a mysterious figure about another hammer similar to that of Mjolnir. Odinson then made it his mission to find and retrieve it. Along the way, he met Beta Ray Bill who was wielding his Stormbreaker.
Beta Ray Bill, being ever the virtuous, knelt in front of Thor and offered him the Stormbreaker to aid him. Thor refused and had him stand up. The place where they met was where Old Asgard was supposed to be. Before Beta Ray Bill could tell Odinson what had happened to Asgard, they were attacked.
Upon getting to the ship where Beta Ray Bill indicated that it was where Asgard has been taken, a massive explosion that erupted caused Thor to go unconscious. He woke up bounded and saw that it was the collector who was behind everything.
Thor was then dropped in Asgard nearby a familiar hammer. He was then asked by the collector how it could be picked up. Thor would refuse to tell him at first but because the collector would kill a hostage if Thor wouldn’t cooperate, Thor told him that one needed to be worthy to be able to pick up the hammer.
Ultimately, he was locked up in one of the collector’s cells. He would end up fighting warriors of the collector every single day until he was able to free himself.
Beta Ray Bill was also locked up but was also able to free himself and was able to find Thor. A lot of battle ensued but in the end, Thor was able to get to where the Stormbreaker was and was just able to hold it. he Stormbreaker (not the one Beta Ray Bill was already using) that Thor held was from another universe that for some reason, ended up in his. Because he knew that the ax belonged to another Thor, he stopped and released the weapon. The next event that followed then was the war of the gods.
Captain America Wielded Thors Ax
If you already watched Avengers: End Game, you might already know just how epic it was when Captain America wielded the Stormbreaker. The directors of the film confirmed that Captain America was actually always worthy of picking up Mjolnir.
But while worthiness won’t be an issue with Stormbreaker, Thor still mentioned that it takes someone with the strength to be able to use the ax. During the final battle with Thanos, Captain America was seen fighting side by side with Thor.
The two recalled Mjolnir and Stormbreaker nearly at the same time and during this moment, Thor got Mjolnir while Captain America got Stormbreaker. Thor, not wanting to have the smaller weapon, insisted that Captain America should take the Mjolnir instead.
Captain America had no problem with it and obliged. So, although Captain America may have only held the Stormbreaker for a brief moment, it still counts that he was able to wield it after all.
Groot Wielded Stormbreaker
In the MCU, with creating the Stormbreaker, Groot helped with completing the ax by using his own arms to create the handle. As shown in Infinity War, Groot was seen seemingly wielding Stormbreaker while trying to finalize the form of the handle.
The Russo brothers explained that Groot was to lift the Stormbreaker because as was mentioned, it had no worthiness enchantment. Again, anyone can lift the Stormbreaker as long as they have the strength and the physical resilience to lift it and withstand its powers. This, however, only applies in the MCU.
Thanos Wielded Thors Ax
During his fight with Thor and the rest of the Avengers in End Game, he was able to get a hold of Stormbreaker catching it before Thor could as Thor recalled the ax. Thanos even nearly killed Thor with the Stormbreaker if not for Captain America surprising us as he threw Mjolnir at Thanos.
Even in the comics, there weren’t too many characters that were able to wield Stormbreaker. This is largely because Beta Ray Bill doesn’t have a whole lot of appearances.
Can Stormbreaker Overpower the Infinity Gauntlet?
As shown in Avengers: Infinity War, Thor was able to overpower Thanos’ Infinity Gauntlet using Stormbreaker. The reason for this was that both the gauntlet and the ax had the same maker, Eitri.
Eitri probably also meant Stormbreaker to be a weapon against the Infinity Gauntlet causing it to be able to do well with countering its magic.
Can Stormbreaker Heal Thor?
After forging Stormbreaker, Thor was critically injured and was on the verge of dying. He then only felt well after being able to hold the ax. Remember that the weapon can boost Thor’s abilities.
This includes his healing factor. So, while Stormbreaker doesn’t really heal Thor directly. It does it indirectly by amping up his healing factor.
What Will Become of Thor’s Ax in Marvel’s Phase 4?
Comic-Con just happened and with it, Marvel announced a lot of its plans for phase 4 and phase 5. They officially announced a lot of new upcoming movies which can also give us a hint as to what may happen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
For one thing, Thor will have a fourth movie called, “Thor: Love and Thunder”. Interestingly, Natalie Portman is part of the movie. Natalie Portman played Jane Foster in the MCU. This could mean than the MCU might follow the story of the comics of Jane becoming the new Thor.
If this happens, Thor could end up losing Stormbreaker to Jane. It’s either that or Mjolnir might reappear. Mjolnir reappearing might be a long shot. Even with the possibility of the multiverse, it’s quite a stretch to have a Mjolnir from another universe come to the main one.
Although this already happened with End Game, Captain America returned Mjolnir right away after the final battle with Thanos. As for Stormbreaker, if Thor does happen to lose the weapon, Jane might not be the only potential new owner of the ax.
Stormbreaker might have been a way to bring Beta Ray Bill to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He could also potentially be a wielder of Stormbreaker if ever Thor loses the Stormbreaker for some reason.
So far, it’s just a theory but Beta Ray Bill actually already appeared in the MCU but his image was that of a statue. Regardless, Jane Foster coming back to the MCU might mean we’ll see a new Thor.
Jane’s ownership for Stormbreaker though is not a certainty because the ax doesn’t have the enchantment of worthiness. So, even though Odinson loses his Thor powers, he can still wield Stormbreaker.
We hope you learned something new about Stormbreaker. We are glad that it has been brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe and hopefully, we’ll get to see more of it in action.
Let us know what you think about Stormbreaker and share this article with your friends for them to also know more about Thor’s new weapon, Stormbreaker.