Thor’s father, Odin, put the original enchantment on the hammer, but what is not commonly known is that he trapped a god in it. For clarity, I will only consider the work of Jason Aaron because, well, there’s been a lot of inconsistency between 1962 and today, and, in my opinion, Aaron has made worthiness the theme of his work, more so than any other writer of Thor. What I want to talk about here is the worthiness that confers the ability to lift the hammer.

Thor of the comics is a space god with a magic hammer that he must be worthy in order to wield. “Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil, is rightwise king born.” There is mythic resonance since Thor is also the prince of Asgard, home of (these) gods. Obviously, this must have DNA from Arthurian legend, especially the Sword in the Stone, which may or may not be Excalibur, depending on which sources you read. In the comics Mjölnir can only be lifted by the worthy, as per the (current) inscription: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of… Thor.” This is a Rabbit Hole, and the comics diverge significantly from the legends. In legend, it was the most powerful weapon in existence, although there was a flaw in its manufacture that led to a short handle. If mythological Thor’s red hair didn’t make it to the comics, his hammer Mjölnir did. The easiest thing to say about the origins is that Thor was inspired by Norse mythology by way of Erich von Däniken, which is why the god seems unrecognizable whether you read the prose or poetic Edda.

Oh, and comic nerds? Spoiler alert.įor the uninitiated, Thor is a character from Marvel comics, created in 1962 by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby. At first glance you might think this topic is too comic-nerdy for you, but I promise there’s a universal theme that applies to any reader.

Jason aaron's thor