Thor has had a complicated relationship with his hammer Mjölnir across the MCU movies. And now a popular new fan theory argues that the Asgardian weapon is actually Thor’s power dampener. Reddit user brownpanther_333 even argues that it stores his strength within itself.
The fan argued that Odin knew his powerful son was too brash and irresponsible, so needed to learn wisdom.
The theorist wrote: “He couldn’t trust his son to handle all that power responsibly.
“He already had failed to guide his daughter onto the right path.
“He had to take drastic measures, so he tasked the dwarfs with creating a power dampener disguised as a weapon.”
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Always intending for Stormbreaker to be the true weapon for Thor, Mjölnir was merely a training weapon as his character grew in character.
The fan continued: “However, millennia passed and Thor remained brash and so Stormbreaker remained uncrafted.
“Finally Odin decided to teach him humility and used Mjölnir’s power-draining and storing ability to strip Thor of his powers and store it in Mjölnir.
“This way whoever could lift the hammer would receive the strength of Thor from the hammer.”
The theorist also backed up their theory with other instances in the MCU, including when Hela destroyed Mjölnir.
After all, it was at this point that Thor’s power returned to him.
They added: “In Endgame he again wields Mjölnir and it slowly drains his power and that is why he is so weak.”
But when Captain America wielded Mjölnir, he received the power of Thor.
The theorist added: “Maybe Thor finally understood it as well, which is why he insisted Captain America wield Mjölnir.”
At the end of Endgame, Captain America returned Thor’s hammer to alternate 2013 where it had been borrowed from.
Now while Mjölnir was still destroyed at the hands of Hela in Thor Ragnarok, the Asgardian weapon is back somehow in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder.
The 2022 MCU movie sees Natalie Portman return as Thor’s ex-girlfriend Jane Foster.
However, this time she’s able to wield Mjölnir and in doing so becomes The Mighty Thor.
How exactly this will come about is something of a mystery, but what we do know is that Marvel Phase 4 will be messing around with the multiverse.
No doubt alternate 2012 Loki will be making a return too.
Thor Love and Thunder is released in UK cinemas on February 18, 2022.
