WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Thor #1 by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matthew Wilson and Joe Sabino, on sale now.
Following the events of War of the Realms, Thor is the King of Asgard, taking over the duties of his father, Odin, and tasked with leadership of the Ten Realms. Now that he is taken on this new responsibility, Thor is granted a new power set that reflects his authoritative and important duties.
And in Thor #1, the God of Thunder uses one of these gifts to broadcast his voice all across the Realms with his hammer Mjolnir, which allows him to deliver messages and kingly speeches throughout the universe with a swing of his wrist.
This new development has both comforting and terrifying implications, depending on how readers how responsibly Thor will carry his new burden. The beginning pages of Thor #1 shows Mjolnir flying through space, calling for war and bloodshed to cease immediately to usher in a new era of peace. The hammer fills the allies of Asgard, such as the Dwarves and the Light Elves, with elation and hope, while for others, like the enemy Frost Giants and Dark Elves, it brings an impending sense of dread. "The old king is gone," Thor announces through his magical tool. "Let there be peace... or let there be thunder."
That decree can hold an array of different interpretations. On one hand, King Thor's wish to end the flood of violence once and for all can be seen as noble, an extension of his heroic sensibilities stemming from his time spent as one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in the Avengers. On the other hand, the second half of that statement carries a sort of authoritarian tone that implies Thor will do anything within his means to instill order. Indeed, there's an uncomfortable subtext of a message of universal peace being delivered with one of the most powerful weapons in the universe. After all, the hammer does fly through a giant monster the Avengers are fighting on earth, completely obliterating its head.
Years of Thor stories have shown that the god of thunder is mostly a respectable and kind-hearted individual, but there are still hints of Mjolnir's potential to negatively affect his rule. A leader with Thor's power and now omnipresent voice can easily be persuaded to instituting an autocratic rule in the name of peace and order, even one who has Thor's usual boisterousness.
Since this is the beginning of Thor's new era, only time will tell how Odinson will choose to wield his ability. One has to wonder what other capabilities Mjolnir now has. If the hammer can radiate King Thor's voice, perhaps it can also grant him omniscience and allow him to see or hear what is happening across the Ten Realm if Sif, the new all-seeing guardian of the Bi-Frost, ever looks away.
Mjolnir's PA system-like abilities may have just been a cool way to open the series and establish Thor's kingship as a bookend to War of the Realms. Then again, the end of the issue introduces Marvel's next cosmic threat, the Black Winter, and sees the transformation of Thor into a herald of Galactus. Now that he has the formidable Power Cosmic alongside his new kingly endowments, there's no telling what dark directions the god-king may be heading into with all of his strength.