WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Thor #21 by Donny Cates, Nic Klein, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Joe Sabino on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Thor and his hammer have been through a lot together, and Mjolnir is much more than just a weapon. Enchanted to only respond to those pure of honor and virtue, the hammer is representative of all that Thor stands for as a God of Thunder. Unfortunately, the two have become separated recently, and the reunion is anything but wholesome. In fact, it would seem that Mjolnir’s relationship with his hammer is much more toxic than even he ever suspected.
In Thor #21, the being inside of Mjolnir lashed out at Thor, and the reason makes it seem like Thor’s angry ex. This changes everything about Marvel’s history, and it could also impact the MCU. Here’s how Thor’s hammer became his worst ex ever.
Thor's Toxic Relationship With Mjolnir
The issue began with Thor being attacked by his own hammer, to the point where the Asgardian is brutally beaten and defenseless. The attacker is revealed by Odin as the Mother Storm, who the All-Father had previously trapped in the hammer eons ago. It isn’t this imprisonment that angered her, however, but instead her treatment by Thor.
The Mother Storm remarked that Thor has constantly taken her (as the hammer) for granted, using the weapon to constantly smash and destroy. The hammer itself had taken considerable wear and tear over the years, something which also likely angered the Mother of Storms. She also suggested that the worthiness enchantment was a ruse, as she claimed that Thor possessed none of those heroic qualities.
Another big issue is abandonment, as she felt that Thor had deserted her too many times, including casting her into the sun. The brief time she spent bonded with Jane Foster as Thor was even referred to as a dalliance, furthering that she sees Thor as a sort of abusive lover. She now intended to make him feel the same loneliness as she had by beating and berating him.
Mjolnir and the Mother of Storms
This surprising revelation feels like quite the retcon, as the idea that the Mother Storm was in Thor’s hammer had never been suggested before. It also begs the question of how and why this new cosmic being only now manifested outside of the hammer after all of these years. Her anger does, however, make quite a bit of sense, though it’d make more if she was more chiefly angry at Odin instead of Thor.
This concept could arguably be brought into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it might be a bit of a stretch. After all, Hela destroyed Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok, and there was seemingly no Mother of Storms in the hammer. Perhaps the totality of its destruction killed her, however. A version of Mjolnir will likely return given the planned events in Thor: Love & Thunder, meaning that the mother of all storms could wreak havoc on Thor and Jane Foster on the big screen sometime soon. This would mean that Jane would be the hammer's newest relationship, making things a lot more complicated on the big screen for Thor as far as his most trusty weapon goes.