The Aesir of Asgard exist in a place where battle is a fact of everyday life -- they enjoy it. Even in Valhalla, that’s one of the primary things to do in the afterlife, fighting wars with your brothers and sisters, every day. As a result of these near-constant battles, the weapons of Asgard have become quite developed in the Marvel Universe, and some of them have built personalities as rich as the characters that wield them. Some of these weapons even have backstories and histories that go further back than the wielder of the weapon itself. The Asgardians' greatest hero, Thor, is strongly associated with his weapon. Mjolnir was a magic hammer that was created by the Dwarves of Nidavellir to be a nigh-indestructible weapon that enhances Thor’s thundering powers. It can be thrown, recalled, can be used to fly, can shoot lightning and summon lightning, and more. Of course, it was indestructible until... it was thrown in the sun by Jane Foster in order to stop Mangog.

Luckily, Odin, the king and longtime leader of Asgard, has a vault of amazing weapons that could easily replace Mjolnir. Because the Asgardians are god-like, bullets tend to be ineffective against them. Therefore, blades and blunt weapons are most effective, and thus the weapons on this list fall mostly into those two categories: swords and hammers. Some of them are far more powerful than others, and a few of them are even more powerful than Mjolnir itself! We’ve also seen a couple in the MCU films, so it’s not too far-fetched to think we might see more of them in the future. Here are 20 powerful Asgardian weapons that could replace Mjolnir.

20 ODINSWORD

The Odinsword is the name of several weapons attributed to the Asgardian king, Odin. The first is called the Over Sword of Asgard, which is a giant sword that would be “the end of the universe at hand” if it was ever unsheathed. Another Odinsword, revealed during "Fear Itself", came when Odin presented a sword to Thor, claiming its true name was “Ragnarok,” and “the end of all things.”

Odin said it was the only weapon that could defeat Cul Borson, the big bad of "Fear Itself". Either way, the Odinsword is clearly one of the most powerful weapons around, and would fill the spot left by Mjolnir pretty well -- although it might actually be a bit TOO powerful.

19 JARNBJORN

Jarnbjorn was a Dwarven-forged battleaxe that was wielded long before Thor obtained Mjolnir, so it might make sense for him to go back to it. In the 9th century, Thor was unable to lift Mjolnir, despite many attempts. He used Jarnbjorn as his regular weapon against frost giants, trolls, and dragons.

In the 11th century, Thor faced off with the mutant menace, Apocalypse. He blessed Jarnbjorn with his own blood, giving it power over Celestial armor. Thor took up Jarnbjorn when he could no longer wield Mjolnir, though while fighting Malekith and the Frost Giants, Malekith took the axe from Thor and used it to cut off his left arm.

18 STORMBREAKER

Beta Ray Bill with Stormbreaker

Stormbreaker is the weapon of Beta Ray Bill, a Korbinite that dons the gear and powers of Thor. His weapon came into existence following his fight with Thor, which Bill won. He felt guilty over his victory, believing Mjolnir was Thor’s by right, so Odin had the Dwarves of Nidavellir create a new hammer for him, crafted from the same Uru metal as Mjolnir.

After battling against Surtur’s army, Odin bestowed Stormbreaker with another enchantment: by striking the hammer on the ground, Bill could return to his true, mortal Korbinite self. Stormbreaker is the most similar weapon to Mjolnir because it was crafted by the same people, with the same metal, so the replacement makes sense.

17 DRAGONFANG

valkyrie

The wizard Kahji-Da crafted this weapon and it’s a nearly indestructible sword forged from the tusk of an extradimensional dragon. It was first given to the Ancient One, who in turn gave the sword to Doctor Strange. Strange gave the sword to the Valkyrie, or Brunnhilde, after she returned the Ebony Blade to Dane Whitman, the Black Knight.

The Lady Sif, another powerful Asgardian, also picked up Dragonfang during Ragnarok, after Valkyrie fell in battle. The sword is not only indestructible, but it also absorbs force when coming into contact with blood, and it’s capable of destroying mystical barriers. It wouldn’t be that far of a leap to imagine Thor getting a hold of it sometime.

16 THUNDERSTRIKE

This weapon makes one of the most sense to replace Mjolnir for a simple fact: it already has. Thunderstrike is the mace that replaced Mjolnir as the weapon of Eric Masterson (aka Thunderstrike). The enchanted mace is very similar to Mjolnir and is made of the same mystical Uru metal and just like Mjolnir, it can only be lifted by one who is worthy.

Odin made the mace so only Eric Masterson could lift it. It has the power of flight and can be recalled, it can sense and project energy, and can open portals if swung at a particular pitch. By stamping the mace, the owner can revert to their mortal human form, the mace transforming into a wooden cane.

15 BLOODAXE

The Bloodaxe originally belonged to the Executioner, and was infected by his evil. The taint would curse anyone who picked up the axe, turning them into a bloodlust-driven psycho. Jackie Lukus picked up the axe, for instance, and became the vigilante Bloodaxe. After numerous encounters with Thor and Thunderstrike, Jackie was defeated and freed from the influence and power of the axe.

Thunderstrike then used the Bloodaxe to combat threats beyond his mace’s power level. So, theoretically it’s more powerful than his weapon, which is on par with Mjolnir! We wouldn’t like to see Thor turn into what the Bloodaxe turns its wielder into, but if Eric Masterson can use it without turning evil, maybe the God of Thunder can too.

14 GUNGNIR

Odin Holding Gungnir

Gungnir is the spear of Odin, and one of the most powerful weapons in the Asgardian arsenal. Like Mjolnir, it returns to him after being thrown, and it’s also crafted of Uru metal. The Dwarves forged it from sunlight as a gift to Odin, while another story states it was from a previous Asgard that was destroyed by Ragnarok.

The spear unified the nine surviving gods to create a new Odin, who claimed Gungnir as his own. Odin uses it as a symbol of power. He used it against the Eternals, but then it was stolen by Norman Osborn to be used during his siege on Asgard. Paladin then took the spear, but it was returned to Odin at an undisclosed time.

13 HOFUND

Heimdall Holding Hofund

Hofund is the magical sword wielded by Heimdall, the all-seeing, all-hearing god who protects the Bifrost from invaders and watches the Nine Realms. It was created by the Dwarves of Nidavellir and enchanted by Odin. This might make the most sense to replace Mjolnir in the MCU because it’s been one of the focal Asgardian weapons besides Mjolnir to this point.

Heimdall has used the sword to wield blue flames from cosmic stars, to strike down a half-powered Thor from entering Asgard, and he’s used it to disguise himself as a mortal human while on Midgard. Needless to say, the sword is quite powerful, and it could be the perfect replacement for Thor’s lost hammer.

12 BALDER’S SWORD

Though Balder’s Sword doesn’t have a name, it is still very powerful. The god Balder first used the magical blade in Journey into Mystery #111, where Jane Foster was fighting a mysterious ailment and she could only be cured by Holdor the Healer, located in the farthest reaches of Asgard.

Thor was stuck on Earth, so Balder the Brave went on the quest. He received the elixir, then his sword, which was created by Odin, was transported through dimensions to show up at Thor’s feet, just in time to save Jane. The sword can also transport people between dimensions, which occurred when Balder and Sif battled a deranged Thor in Thor #180. Balder used it to transport Sif away from the fight, to protect her.

11 RED NORVELL’S HAMMER

This hammer, which has had the names War-Hammer, Enchanted Mallet, and Magic Hammer, is wielded by “Thor of the Crimson Locks,” the Norse God of Thunder, Red Norvell. Red fulfilled Odin’s plan to become the only Thor not through Mjolnir.

He defeated the original Thor for the hammer, and after Thor sacrificed himself to save Asgard from Ragnarok, Odin and the Dwarves forged an Uru copy of Mjolnir. Red has used War-Hammer to restore the Asgardians and bring himself back to life, and to destroy the Dark Gods before they laid waste to Asgard. The hammer has been broken before, but it’s been fully repaired and remained in Red’s arsenal ever since.

10 STORMCASTER

Stormcaster is a hammer created by Loki and presented to Ororo Munroe, aka Storm. When Ororo picked up the hammer, she gained divine powers, much like the powers of Thor, and became the Goddess of Thunder. Once she realized Loki had manipulated her, she gave up the hammer. Years later, she once again obtained the hammer, this time from Thor.

She then fought Thor, but used Mjolnir to destroy Stormcaster. Despite the hammer’s destruction, it reappeared in the ruins of Old Asgard. It was awakened by the prayer’s of Storm’s foster mother, and Stormcaster was returned to Earth and reunited with Storm once more, again giving her the power of divinity.

9 GRAM

Gram is a mystical sword formed by Regin Hriedmarson to be the bane of Asgard, against King Loki for taking out his brother Otr, and to be used against his brother, Fafnir. Regin gave the sword to Sigurd to take out Fafnir. Thanks to a curse flowing through Fafnir’s veins, Sigurd bathed in that magic and was entrenched with a powerful “truth magic,” making the sword capable of piercing any lie.

The weapon was locked for eons by Odin in a special vault that required five keys, meant for Loki if he was worthy. Loki gathered the keys and reclaimed the sword, using it to remove the corruptive influence of King Loki from his brother Thor. The blade also allows the individual to understand their own corruption.

8 TORUNN’S SWORD

Torunn’s Sword is an enchanted Asgardian weapon made from Uru, and owned by Torunn, Thor’s daughter. Like Mjolnir, it can only be picked up by an individual deemed worthy, in this case Torunn. It can generate lightning and can be thrown and called back at will. The sword also obeys Torunn’s commands as if it were a living thing.

If Torunn’s will is strong enough, the sword can pass through any barrier to reach her, should she desire it. Since this is a weapon that runs in the Thor family, it would make sense to see it replace Mjolnir -- or, maybe it would make more sense to replace Thor as a whole with Torunn and her blade!

7 TWILIGHT SWORD

Surtur Uses the Twilight Sword

The Twilight Sword, also known as the Sword of Doom, is one of the most powerful weapons around. It was created by the Fire Giant Surtur using the “Burning Galaxy,” which exploded the home galaxy of the Korbinites and set the universe aflame. It was later used as a power source by Loki and Morgan le Fay.

Since we’ve seen Surtur and know he is monstrously huge, it probably wouldn’t make sense to see the Twilight Sword in Thor’s hands (it’s about ten times bigger than him, if not more). Even so, it deserves a place on this list because of its power -- it set a whole galaxy on fire. This weapon has the capability of replacing Mjolnir, but it just doesn’t seem likely.

6 FIMBULDRAUGR

Fimbuldraugr is the fabled longsword built by Asdgardians and wielded as the primary weapon of Fandral the Dashing of the Warriors Three. Though Fandral might not be nearly as powerful as his godly friend, Thor, or even Heimdall or Valkyrie or Lady Sif, it is still a powerful sword.

The weapon has already appeared in all three Thor movies, and in numerous comic issues, so it could feasibly become a larger part of the MCU in the future. There are definitely other weapons on this list that seem more suited to replace Mjolnir, such as Gungnir, Torunn’s Sword, Hofund, and Stormbreaker, but you never know.

5 HRIDGANDR

Hogun wielding Hridgandr

Hridgandr is a mace used by Hogun the Grim of the Warriors Three. It was crafted by the Asgardians and is a powerful weapon that has appeared numerous times throughout its existence, in all the Thor films, in multiple Thor comics, and even in Deadpool and S.H.I.E.L.D. comics.

Hogun is not an Aesir, but rather stems from a land conquered by Mogul of the Mystic Mountain. He came a member of the Warriors Three and an ally to Thor during the god’s youth. He was one of the people responsible for helping Thor restore the Odinsword when it had become cracked.

4 LAEVATEINN

Laevateinn, which is Old Norse for “damaged twig,” is the mystical, ancestral sword of Loki. Loki is able to magically summon the sword to himself. It doesn’t have the characteristics or numerous corruption-reading magical powers of Gram, but it is still a powerful weapon in its own right, and could perhaps replace Mjolnir by some lucky string of events.

The sword has only appeared a few times, in a couple Thor comics and in a couple Balder the Brave comics (as well as Journey Into Mystery with the Mighty Thor), so we think the writers might have forgotten about it in exchange of some other Asgardian weapons that are more powerful.

3 NIGHTSWORD

Hela wielding Nightsword

The Nightsword is the accursed sword of Hela and she can summon this blade at any time. She’s a proficient swordsman (as we saw in Thor: Ragnarok), and with the Nightsword she’s battled the Olympian Pluto, while he was armed with his enchanted Midnight Axe, until Pluto brought demons in to attack Hela during their duel.

The weapon first appeared in Thor #199 (1972), and has appeared a couple other times since then (X-Factor #254, Fearless Defenders #2, and of course Thor: Ragnarok). Since Hela destroyed Mjolnir and was downed by Thor in the MCU, we can’t see him using his departed sister’s weapon -- it just doesn’t seem plausible, but it’s still a powerful Asgardian weapon, simply because of the goddess wielding it.

2 NEEDFUL

Thor has had a few other weapons in his day besides Mjolnir -- he wasn’t always worthy of wielding the Uru hammer, after all. He’s had Jarnbjorn, as we’ve mentioned earlier, and he’s also had Needful, which was his sword during his time on Earth, as the hero Siegmund.

During his time on Earth as Siegmund, he fought multiple battles with Needful, but it was never a very magical sword. It appeared in only five comics, from Thor #296 to Thor #300, and then was never seen again. This isn’t a powerful enough blade for the Thor we know, the reigning God of Thunder, so we doubt we’ll see it in the MCU.

1 SABRE OF SORCERY

The Sabre of Sorcery was a very short-lived weapon that appeared only once, in the comic Tales to Astonish #101, which featured the Hulk. In the comic, the Sabre of Sorcery was used by Heimdall (presumably before he got Hofund, or perhaps Hofund was lost to him at the time).

He used the sabre to battle the Hulk, and was able to project a magical flame with it. Even with this magical flame, it’s not the strongest weapon on this list, so it isn’t really worthy of replacing Mjolnir. But it’s still a powerful Asgardian weapon, and you can never be too sure what deep pulls some creators will reach for.