Can Thor’s Hammer Break Wolverine’s Metal Bones?

Thor’s famous Mjolnir isn’t your average hammer. Whoever wields it gains the powers of flight, super-strength, weather manipulation, and more – so long as they’re worthy. But Wolverine’s skeleton isn’t your average skeleton. As part of the Weapon X program, Logan’s bones were coated in adamantium, a supposedly unbreakable metal. But if it came down to it, could Thor’s hammer break Wolverine’s bones? The answer isn’t as simple as you might think.

Mjolnir was actually made well before Thor was even born. Thor’s father, Odin, the King of Asgard, created Mjolnir by trapping a cosmic storm in a chunk of uru – an incredibly durable metal made of ore from the first moon. In addition to it’s durability, uru is also particularly well suited for magical enchantments, and actually becomes stronger the more magic is around. Odin had the dwarves of Nidavellir use the uru he trapped the storm in to forge Mjolnir, a process that required the heat of a star. Odin eventually gave the hammer to Thor and the rest is history.

While Thor’s hammer is one of a kind, adamantium has several different forms. Proto-adamantium is the original version of the metal created by a scientist called Dr. MacLain. In the comics, Captain America’s shield is made of a mix of proto-adamantium and vibranium. However, it has never been successfully recreated. Primary adamantium was the product of the attempt to do so – and it came pretty close. This is the stuff that was used on Wolverine, and it’s rarely ever been broken. But Mjolnir has come up against adamantium before – and it definitely left a mark.

In Thor #3 by Jason Aaron, at which time Mjolnir was actually being wielded by Jane Foster as Mighty Thor, Mjolnir gets stuck in a vault, the walls of which “have a vibranium core with adamantium plating.” Mjolnir doesn’t break through the door when Thor summons it, but after repeatedly trying, it does leave dent after dent (which should be just as impossible). Not only that, but Thor herself manages to break the door open with her bare hands – and she’s not even at full power when she does it. This might seem like a win for Mjolnir, but unfortunately, there’s more to it than that.

As mentioned before, adamantium has different forms, and the kind used on Wolverine is one of the rarer ones given how expensive and difficult it is to work with. Because of this, its safe to assume that this vault was actually made of secondary adamantium, which much cheaper and easier to manipulate, and therefore more commonplace. Secondary adamantium is still incredibly durable, but it can be broken by someone with super-strength like Thor. In all likelihood, she would not be able to do the same to Wolverine’s primary adamantium bones – but that doesn’t mean no one can.

In Avengers Vol 3 #63, Thor manages to dent Captain America’s shield with Mjolnir while empowered by the Odinforce, a powerful mystical energy used by the Kings of Asgard. It stands to reason that with a few more hits, the shield would have broken entirely, and since Cap’s shield is made of a slightly stronger version of adamantium than Wolverine’s bones, it’s doubtful they could withstand it, either. Granted, this feat was likely more due to the Odinforce than Mjolnir, but the fact is Mjolnir held up and the shield didn’t. Long story short, Mjolnir technically could break Wolverine’s bones: it just depends on who’s wielding it.

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