We know she is it's first wielder.

We know that Mjonlir was not used by anyone consistently but Thor and Hela.

(insert GIF I can't find of Mjonlir in the treasury room when Thor and Loki are kids.)

But Hela has, I would argue, some control over death or some magical powers. Because look at this.

The hammer starts cracks like you would expect a rock to underneath extreme pressure. Mjonlir is supposed to be a metal. And then it cracks like glass.

The only thing Hela is doing is digging her fingers into the hammer.

My proposal?

Metal from Nidavellir ages differently than Earth metal. It's metal pulled from star fusion. This is, accordingly, going to be made from the first 26 elements (Fe is 26), because stars cannot fuse to 27, and often supernova from here. When Dwarven metal ages, it starts to form heavier elements than iron, and this causes it to lose its metallic structure and turn into something more like a basic rock. The older it becomes, the more it turns into a rock and less metallic.

Hela, somehow, whether she has control over death and forced it to age in an effort to kill it, or with her maybe-magic, aged Mjonlir until she could crack it with her fingertips (Sif kicked a car several feet in Thor 1 without a problem, Asgardians can crush rocks) and then squeezed. The metal, having undergone a rapid transformation in so little time, exploded. (Energy has to go somewhere.)

Additionally--more headcanons-- I think that Odin, to some extent, "tethered" Thor to the hammer in an effort to control his powers. This is why they're suddenly both a mess and far more powerful once the hammer is destroyed. Thor has had 1.5K years to learn how to control his power. That skill doesn't go away overnight unless what he's working with has changed.

The lightning that we see exploding from the hammer is actually Thor's full power being released.

And Loki, resident magic expert, has no idea what just happened.

He felt the energy surge out. Felt Hela destroy Mjonlir, but to him, all he can focus on is the release of Thor's power from 50% to 100% and the pure, unadulterated panic that this causes him:

Loki isn't afraid of Hela here. He's afraid of Thor, but he doesn't know it.

And Hela, having no idea what happened either, immediately leaps upon the idea of a threat. I don't think she expected a reaction that big. I think she just thought she'd crack it open, dump the contents on the ground to prove her point, then try to convince Thor and Loki to stand down or join her.

But since the energy surge causes everyone here to panic, Hela delves into battle ready. I mean, yes, she smirks a little (hullo mask), but if you watch her face, the stagger of her breath and forced steadying of her lips indicates she's trying to calm.

Seemingly to allay our understandable scepticism (these sort of changes can often be seen as temporary ‘gimmicks’ by the comic buying public), series writer Jason Aaron quickly clarified “This is not She-Thor. This is not Lady Thor. This is not Thorita. This is THOR. This is the THOR of the Marvel Universe. But it’s unlike any Thor we’ve ever seen before.”

And suddenly, things got interesting.

Editor Wil Moss added “The inscription on Thor’s hammer reads ‘Whosoever holds this hammer, if HE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.’ Well it’s time to update that inscription.”

Series artist Russell Dauterman continued, saying “The new Thor continues Marvel’s proud tradition of strong female characters like Captain Marvel, Storm, Black Widow and more. And this new Thor isn’t a temporary female substitute—she’s now the one and only Thor, and she is worthy!”

I have to say, personally speaking, I’m loving this decision. Characters becoming stale is always a risk, and I love the idea of a female character cracking Marvel’s upper tier (because, let’s be honest, Marvel’s A-List has always been more than a little dude-heavy) and giving the rapidly-growing – to say the least – female comic fanbase another Marvel character they can really look up to.

Watch this space for further details, and let us know what you think of this change in the comments.

The writer of this piece was: Craig Neilson (aka Ceej) Article Archive: Ceej Says

Tom Hiddleston on Thor's hammer

Kadence(5): These are the perfect toys. Didn't ya know, they never break? even with a hammer?

Me: Really? Even Thors hammer?

Kadence: (with the most serious face I have ever seen on a five year old) Well duh!!! Mjonlir can break anything, silly!