If you were asked what sets the Marvel universe apart from others, you would certainly say the cool superheroes and awesome villains.
Well, the Marvel universe indeed has equally amazing heroes as well as kickass villains as well. But do you know, what else Marvel has that makes it one of the best? The weapons!
From swords to shields, suits to spears, the superheroes, and the villains wield unique and amazing weapons that just elevate their overall presence.
With the release of new comics and new movies almost every year, fresh and unique weapons with amazing powers can be seen being introduced.
Continuing the trend, in 2018, when the Avengers: Infinity War hit the screens, not only it introduced some new characters, but it also showed a brand new weapon –The Stormbreaker.
A completely unique weapon, one like you have never seen before, the Stormbreaker soon became the talk of the town.
Weilded by the mighty God of Thunder, Thor himself, the Stormbreaker was not any mere weapon but was believed to be stronger than the Mjolnir too.
Such a strong weapon was sure to pique the interests of the viewers, many were curious about its powers, and some even raised very interesting questions regarding it.
As it was wielded by Thor along with the Mjolnir, which was only wielded by the worthy ones. So fans were quick to question whether or not it was the same case with The Stormbreaker as well.
Hence, in this article, we are going to discuss this one-of-a-kind weapon and who can actually lift it, along with some more information about the Stormbreaker.
So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
What kind of weapon was the Stormbreaker?
Just like anything else, the weapons in the Marvel universe had two different versions; the comic and the movie. Well, not much difference can be seen in these two versions, except for their origins and obviously the appearance.
The movie version was a weapon with a unique design; an axe on one side and a hammer on the other side. However, in the comic version, the original Stormbreaker was just a round mallet and much smaller than the movie one.
Here we are going to discuss what kind of weapon was the Stormbreaker, in both the comic and the cinematic universe.
So, let’s start off with the one that we all are familiar with; the movie version.
The Movie version.
In the movie version, the Stormbreaker was an enchanted axe manufactured by the Dwarvians. It was forged from the Uru on Nidavellir with the ability to summon the Bifrost.
Thor forged the weapon himself in order to defeat Thanos after his original weapon Mjølnir got destroyed. However, after he got back the Mjolnir, he handed the Stormbreaker to his adoptive daughter, Love to wield in combats.
The Stormbreaker came into existence when Thor, Rocket Racoon, and Groot went to Nidavellir so that they could forge a weapon to fight against Thanos.
However, upon reaching there all they could find was a cold and barren place, littered with broken parts. Soon, Eitri, the King of the Dwarves appeared before them.
As Thor was the last survivor of Nidavellir, Eitri decided to help Thor in his quest to defeat Thanos. Hence, when he learned that Thor was in a need of a weapon, he decided to help him forge the mighty Stormbreaker.
The Stormbreaker was the only weapon to ever severely injure Thanos, by directly piercing him in the chest as soon as the Infinity Gauntlet was completed.
Thor intentionally aimed for Thanos’s chest, which instead allowed Thanos to activate the Infinity Gauntlet and eliminate almost half of the universe. Soon, Thanos teleported through a wormhole leaving the bloodied Stormbreaker to fall out of his chest and onto the ground.
The mighty weapon, Stormbreaker was not used once, but twice against Thanos. After five years of piercing Thnaos with the Stormbreaker, Thor used it again in the battle against an alternate Thanos.
During the battle, Thor wielded both the Stormbreaker as well as an alternate version of the Mjolnir. However, this time Thanos was able to get the upper hand as he caught the Stormbreaker when Thor called for it, and he nearly forced it into Thor’s chest.
Now let us move on to the comic version.
Comic version
Now, even though both versions of Stormbreaker were equally powerful, the comic depicted a different origin for this mighty weapon.
The movie showed its creation at the hands of Thor. However, in the comics, the Stormbreaker was created after the fight between Thor and Beta Ray Bill, the cybernetic champion of Korbinites.
It was after the war between them at Skartheim, Bill felt guilt over his victory, as he realized that Mjolnir was Thor’s by right. However, since Bill won the battle fair and square it was only right to settle by providing him with his own weapon.
So, Odin made the Dwarves of Nidavellir create a new hammer for Bill, which was crafted from Uru, the same metal as that of the Mjolnir, and with the assistance of Eitri and other dwarf blacksmiths, they were able to forge the Stormbreaker.
Later on, Bill was captured by the Skrulls, who took his weapon and separated it into two axe-like halves. The halves were given as weapons for the Super Skrull, who was sent to Asgard so that he could go up against the gods and annihilate them.
Later Thor got his hands on Stormbreaker and was about to return it to Bill. However, because of their conflicts, he destroyed it before even handing it to Bill.
Who weilded the Stormbreaker?
The Stormbreaker was the mighties of weapon and was originally wielded by Thor as most of us know. However, if we take the comic versions into account, we can see that Thor was not the real owner of the Stormbreaker.
In the cinematic universe, it was indeed forged by Thor and he used it almost in all the battles after he lost Mjolnir. Thor used the Stormbreaker even as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and in many more adventures following that.
Thor used the Stormbreaker in the later stages of the battle to fight the combined forces of alternate versions of the Outriders, Chitauri, Sakaarans, and Black Orde. He even assisted in the fight against the Booskans, using the same weapon-the Stormbreaker.
However, in the comic version, the original owner of the Stormbreaker was Beta Ray Bill, which was forged for him by Odin as Bill won against Thor in the battle.
Although it was taken by the Skrulls, Thor was able to get it back as he caught the weapon mere moments before it could hit the ground. Getting the Stormbreaker back, he decided to give it back to Bill.
Nevertheless, during the conflict between Bill and Thor, who had turned into a Herald of Galactus, Bill prevented Mjolnir to return back to Thor.
Till the end, their conflict couldn’t be solved, and an agreement between them was more like a far-fetched dream. Seeing no options to reach an understanding, Thor, enraged, called the Stormbreaker and destroyed it by hitting it against his Mjolnir.
Why was it such a special weapon?
Many considered Mjolnir to be the special one, but not until Stormbreaker made its appearance. This one-of-a-kind weapon was not only a powerful one, but it was a very unique weapon.
So, what made it so special? Turned out this mighty hammer had some great powers and abilities that set it apart from the rest of the weapons.
Some of them are discussed below.
- The Stormbreaker had a great force projection, as the wielders were able to use it as a blunt force melee weapon or as a throwing weapon.
- It did have the same attributes as that of the Mjolnir and could absorb, magnify and return almost every type of force.
- With the help of the Stormbreaker, the wielders were able to change into their moral human form and vice versa. Bill showcased this ability of the weapon when he reverted to his mortal human form, Simon Walters, and then by stamping it, he turned back to his superhuman form.
- Likewise, it had the power of Recall, as when thrown by their owners it returned back to them with irresistible force, and also the wielders were able to summon it themselves even if it had not been thrown.
- Even by itself, the hammer was strong enough to make the ground shake when struck against it, and when swung in the air it created strong whirlwinds.
- By using the Stormbreakers, the wielders were able to project robust blasts of mystical energy. Not only did it help the wielders on the battlefield, but it also enabled them to survive adverse conditions such as outer space, where there was a lack of oxygen.
- Another power that the hammer gave to its owners was the power of weather manipulation. with the hammer, they were able to change weather and even summon powerful lightning and storms.
- Along with all these incredible powers, the Stormbreaker had the power to create portals, detect different types of energies, and even enabled its users to fly by gripping its straps.
Now that we have become familiar with this mighty hammer, let us move to the main topic and probably one of the most asked questions; can anyone really lift it?
Can anyone lift it?
When Mjolnir was first introduced to the audience, they were surprised to know how it could only be lifted by a few. As the Stormbreaker was also very similar to Mjolnir, the same question was raised if anyone could lift it or not.
Well, turns out that there are many divided theories regarding it. Some said that anyone was able to lift it but some said that only the ones worthy enough were able to lift it.
So, why this confusion you ask? Turns out it is because of the differences between the comic and the movie.
In the comics, the Stormbreaker belonged to Bill and he could easily lift it. However, no one else was able to lift it. Even after the founding of the New Korbin, there was a line of aliens and Korbinites, who attempted to lift the Stormbreaker, but couldn’t.
When Bill was confronted about why no one was able to lift the hammer, he simply stated that the world no longer needed a protector, so he gave in to the will of his people and surrendered his hammer to the public.
Further, he also remarked that the Stormbreaker was offered to anyone who was worthy of its powers, but when asked if anyone such worthy had appeared, Bill simply replied with a no.
Later on Gladiator, the Imperial Guard, also attempted to hold the Stormbreaker but was unable to do so.
However, in the movies unlike Mjolnir, the Stormbreaker had no enhancements or spells so anyone could lift it but as a powerful weapon, the worthiness of a weapon could also be a prime factor in determining if anyone were able to lift it.
This could be proved by the directors themselves, when they said that, Mjolnir required worthiness, not Stormbreaker.
Has anyone ever been able to lift Stormbreaker?
Even if we said that only the ones who were truly worthy could lift Stormbreaker, there were times, both in the movies and in the comics when it was lifted.
First, let’s talk about who was able to lift it in the movie.
Groot
In the Avengers: Infinity Wars, when Thor first met the members of the Guardian of the Galaxy and was saved by them, he stated that he was in a need of weapon so that he could defeat Thanos.
So, along with Groot and Rocket Racoon, they made their way to Wakanda. There when Eitri melted the ingots of Uru and revealed the axe’s blade and weight, the handle for the weapon was misplaced.
Thor was on the verge of death after taking the burn off the power. So, Groot decided to save him as they couldn’t wait longer for Eitri to find a metal handle.
Groot grabbed the red hot pieces of the metal with one hand and cut off his other hand as a makeshift handle, completely finishing the Stormbreaker.
So, this was when he lifted the Stormbreaker, well not really lifted but it could be considered, as it was his own hand that he cut off. However, many fans believed that just because he was able to lift it, didn’t mean he was worthy.
Captain America
During the Infinity War, in their battle in Wakanda, Captain America was able to hold it for some time before Thor switched the weapon. Taking the Stormbreaker with him, Thor joined the Guardian of the Galaxy and went his separate way.
Nevertheless, in the final battle of Avengers: Endgame, it was revealed that Steve Rogers was indeed worthy of lifting the Stormbreaker, just as he was worthy of lifting the Mjolnir.
Since his worthiness to lift the Stormbreaker was proved when he was able to use the Mjolnir against Thanos, he was also able to summon the Stormbreaker by mistake some moments later during the Battle of Earth.
Aside from Groot and Captain America, even Thanos was able to lift Stormbreaker without a problem, but this was because the axe wasn’t enchanted as Mjolnir.
The Skrulls
Now, moving on to the comics, Bill stated that nobody was able to lift the mighty weapon. However at one point, when he was taken by the Skrulls, they also took the Stormbreaker and were able to modify it into two axes.
So, if the worthiness theory was true in the comics, how the Skrulls were able to avoid it and lift Stormbreaker and even reforge the halves into one whole weapon, remained a mystery.
In conclusion, the mighty weapon didn’t really have any enhancement or spell so it could be lifted by anyone in the cinematic universe. However, in the comics, it was a different story, and only the ones who were worthy to wield such powers were the ones able to lift it.
