Marvel Reveals Young Thor Was Terrified Of His Own Hammer

Warning: contains spoilers for Thor #23!

While fans know Thor as a battle-hardened veteran of hundreds (perhaps thousands) of conflicts, the God of Thunder once went through a period of time in which he was far more scared than brave. Thor is over one thousand years old in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel comics, and he’s killed an incalculable amount of enemies (he’s even died multiple times in the past). But Thor #23 depicts a much younger Thor, who is afraid of – all things – his own hammer Mjolnir.

Forged in the heart of a dying star, Mjolnir is one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe. Thor can move mountains or destroy them outright. He can fight the Hulk, Captain Marvel, and even Thanos one-on-one with the weapon (and only Thor can lift it). The events of Thor Ragnarok, in which Thor’s loses his hammer after it is surprisingly destroyed, are recreated in Thor comics – but in this instance, the hammer develops a mind of its own.

The hammer in Thor comics has exhibited strange behavior as of late. Thor has difficulty lifting the hammer, and sometimes he cannot raise it at all – but others can lift it with ease, including members of the Avengers and even Loki. On one occasion, Thor cannot find his hammer at all, and believes it to be stolen. It turns out the hammer has stolen itself – Mjolnir has gained sentience and believes Thor is entirely unworthy of wielding it (though later on, it is revealed that Magog has possessed the essence of the hammer).

A very important flashback takes place in Thor #20, showing a moment in which Thor is training with his father Odin and the hammer. Thor throws the hammer and summons it – but the weapon is flying back toward him with incredible speed, and only Odin’s quick instincts prevent Mjolnir from hitting Thor in the face. To see the God of Thunder actually afraid of his own weapon is quite eye-opening for the most diehard Thor fans, but this shows that Thor was not always the gung-ho warrior he is known to be today.

This is quite a reversal of the standard situation of Thor’s battle experience. Thor’s enemies in the present day are no doubt afraid of his hammer, but Thor was just as afraid back then as they are now. With the apparent death of Odin at the hands of the hammer in the previous issue, Thor has plenty to fear – but he’s no longer simply training to be a warrior, he is one.