Our comparisons have, so far, generally included living characters, whether they are individuals or groups. But today, we have decided to give you something new and refreshing, while still staying within the boundaries of our usual comparisons. Today, we are going to compare two weapons, both of which have – at one point – been used by the same character, although the initial idea was different. Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder, wielded both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker at one point, even though the latter was a weapon created for Beta Ray Bill. So, which of these weapons is stronger? Keep reading to find out!
Based on the recent storyline from Thor #3, Mjolnir seems to be the stronger weapon. Namely, when Beta Ray Bill stopped Thor from summoning Mjolnir, Thor summoned the Stormbreaker and destroyed it by hitting it against Mjolnir.
In today’s article, we are going to introduce you to both of these weapons, as well as their powers and their abilities. After that, we intend to compare them and give a final verdict on which of them is stronger. Enjoy!
Mjolnir and its powers?
Mjolnir is the name of Thor’s enchanted hammer in both real-life Norse mythology, as well as the Marvel comic book universe. It is a magical hammer crafted by the Dwarves on Odin’s request and made from the rare Asgardian metal called Uru. Odin put additional enchantments on the Hammer to make it powerful and indestructible, but also special in terms of its carrier. The latter refers to the Worthiness Enchantment.
The Worthiness Enchantment is a powerful enchantment put on Mjolnir by Odin, that prevents anyone who is deemed unworthy of even picking up the hammer, yet alone use its powers. Regardless of their physical strength, an unworthy person will not be able to move the hammer from its place. The only exception to this rule is when the hammer floats in the vacuum of space – you can pick it up, but it remains unusable.
To wield and use Mjolnir, a person must be worthy, as prescribed by Odin. Even Thor, to whom the hammer was initially given, has to prove his worth, or he won’t be able to lift Mjolnir, which goes to show how much magic Odin put into the hammer. Odin is the only one who can change this rule and can give others the power to use it; Thor cannot change the magic, but if he is worthy, he can give that power to someone else.
Stormbreaker and its powers?
Stormbreaker was created after a fight between Thor and Beta Ray Bill at Skartheim. After the battle, Bill began to feel guilty about his victory, now feeling that Mjolnir was Thor’s by right. In a compromise, while Bill justly won the battle, Odin had the Dwarves of Nidavellir create a new hammer made for the cyborg warrior, crafted from the same Uru metal as Mjolnir. With the help of Eitri and other dwarven blacksmiths, they forged Stormbreaker.
After a battle against Surtur’s demonic army, Odin bestowed another spell upon the Stormbreaker: by hitting the weapon on the ground, Bill was able to return to his true and deadly self. This in turn removed the ’60 second rule’ from Mjolnir, although it has never been made clear whether Stormbreaker has the same rule as well.
For a short period of time, Stormbreaker and Bill were endowed with cosmic powers, granted by the Silver Surfer, as a means of saving Bill’s life. This physically changed the appearance of the hammer to that of an ax-like weapon with a hole in the center. Both Bill and the weapon soon returned to their original states.
During a fightbetween Beta Ray Bill and Thor, who had become a Herald of Galactus, Bill prevented Mjolnir from returning to its owner’s hand. Seeing no options to come to an agreement, Thor called Stormbreaker and destroyed it by striking him against Mjolnir; as of today, the Stormbreaker is still destroyed.
Stormbreaker vs Mjolnir: Which one is more powerful?
It is relatively difficult to properly compare these two weapons, since they are very similar in both design and powers. As we’ve said, Stormbreaker was actually created when Beta Rey Bill, after having defeated Thor in battle, refused to take Mjolnir, although he had rightfully earned it. Odin decided to reward his nobility and he had the Strombreaker forged for him.
The Stormbreaker was forged by the same Dwarves that forged Mjolnir and using the same materials. In addition to that, Odin gave it practically the same powers and the same enchantments as he did Mjolnir. In that aspect, Stormbreaker and Mjolnir were practically the same.
Since neither of the two weapons are sentient beings, they depend on the powers and abilities of the bearers, but they do augment their powers. In that aspect, both the Stormbreaker and Mjolnir – at least their comic book versions – did pretty much the same for both Thor and Beta Ray Bill. Neither weapon would augment the bearer’s powers more in comparison, so the two are equal in this aspect likewise.
So, can we even determine the stronger among the weapons? Well, it seems that we can. A recent issue of Thor, more precisely – Thor (vol. 6) #3 – has given us a definitive answer to this question. In that story, Thor has become the Herald of Galactus and came into conflict with Beta Ray Bill. During the fight, Beta Ray Bill grabbed Mjolnir – as he has proven his worthiness way before this clash – and prevented Thor from using it.
The God of Thunder thought of a new approach and he summoned Beta Ray Bill’s Stormbreaker and then attacked Mjolnir with it. The result? Stormbreaker broke into peaces, thus clearly proving that Mjolnir is the stronger among the two weapons, despite their nominal equality. And this concludes our story for the day – you have your answer and we hope you had fun reading our text!
And that’s it for today. We hope you had fun reading this and that we helped solve this dilemma for you. See you next time and don’t forget to follow us!
