Meet Stormbreaker, Thor’s New Weapon in ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

Lauren Gallaway
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

SPOILER ALERT: Warning, this article contains spoilers from Avengers: Infinity War. Proceed at your own risk.

The destruction of Mjölnir in Thor: Ragnarok was nothing short of tragic. Thor struggled without his trusty hammer in the film, so much so that he couldn’t conjure lightning or thunder without it. Thankfully, by the end of the film, Thor realized that his power did not come from Mjölnir, but from within himself. So, with Mjölnir gone, what is Stormbreaker, Thor’s new weapon in Avengers: Infinity War?

This article has been updated to reflect the events of Avengers: Infinity War.

From Hammer to Axe

LEGO Avengers Infinity War

Keen eyed fans first caught a glimpse of Thor’s new weapon in a LEGO set for Avengers: Infinity War called “Thor’s Weapon Quest.” In the set, Thor, Groot and Rocket have taken a jump ship from Star-Lord’s ship The Milano to an unknown location to forge Thor a new weapon. The location in the film is Nidavellir, home of the great weapons forge and Eitri the Dwarf King.

The weapon is a cross between a hammer and an axe. At first, fans thought Thor was wielding an Asgardian weapon called the Jarnbjorn. Thor has used the Jarnbjorn in the comics a few times, most notably in the recent run of Mighty Thor. However, while the axe-head on Thor’s new weapon resembles the Jarnbjorn, new toys have revealed its true name.

Say Hello to Strombreaker

We get a great look of Thor’s new weapon in Avengers: Infinity War here, thanks to the Hot Toys 1/6 scale toy. Thor is holding up a mighty axe/hammer hybrid. You can see the design much more clearly here: a long, wood-crafted handle, a sharp axe blade and a round hammer piece. This is definitely not the Jarnbjorn, but instead the Stormbreaker.

A toy set from Hasbro also confirmed the name:

Thor Stormbreaker

The Stormbreaker has a fascinating history in Marvel Comics. Odin ordered the Dwarves of Nidavellir to create Stormbreaker for Beta Ray Bill after Bill defeated Thor in battle. Eitri the Dwarf forged the weapon for Bill out of the same substance as Mjölnir and Odin enchanted it.

Stormbreaker was similar to Mjölnir in that only certain people could hold it. In the comics, it mainly belonged to Beta Ray Bill. In the Marvel films, we haven’t exactly seen Beta Ray Bill yet. His head was carved into The Grandmaster’s tower in Thor: Ragnarok, but that’s all we’ve seen of him so far.

Why Does Thor Have It?

Beta Ray Bill Thor

Since Beta Ray Bill isn’t currently an MCU character, this could be why Thor gets Stormbreaker instead. Based on that LEGO set, it looks like Rocket and Groot help Thor create Stormbreaker. However, if Infinity War follows the comics, they could pay a visit to the Dwarves of Nidavellir first, to get the metal. This is exactly what happens in the film.

The Stormbreaker is forged by the same power that created Mjolnir. It is just as powerful and Thor wields it with great strength in the film. The toy also shows Stormbreaker with a wooden handle. This comes via Groot, who, in a moment of peril, sacrifices some of his own bark to help finish the weapon.

The weapon is so powerful that is can harness Thor’s lightning and thunder, it can generate its own, and it can summon the bi-frost. It literally is a Titan killer. That’s Stormbreaker, Thor’s new weapon in Avengers: Infinity War.

Avengers: Infinity War hits theaters on April 27, 2018.

Lauren Gallaway
TV editor at FANDOM. Creator of The Marvel Report. Journalist, Comic-Con reporter, Podcaster.