It’s a perfectly reasonable question, as we see two cinematic comic-book giants go head to head at the box office this year: Wonder Woman hits screens in June while Thor: Ragnarok lands in October. Other superheroes are always cropping up in comic book movies that aren’t their own. Why not here?
Wait a minute. How could this happen, when Wonder Woman belongs to the DC Extended Universe and Thor to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe?
While the DC Extended Universe features the likes of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, the Suicide Squad and the Justice League, the MCU is home to the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy and Doctor Strange. And never the twain shall meet, right? Well, not quite.
In 1996, a Marvel/DC Comics crossover saw Wonder Woman lift Thor’s enchanted hammer, Mjölnir. Although it was a brief moment in the comic, it was massive in significance. Only those deemed worthy are able to wield Thor’s hammer – and only a handful of characters throughout comic book history have managed the feat.
And so to see Wonder Woman – aka Diana of Themyscira – prove herself a worthy hammer bearer says plenty about her, and the possibilities this crossover opens up.
So how did it come about? Well, the crossover comics pitted various Marvel superheroes against DC superheroes as part of a story about two competitive godly brothers, representative of each of the universes, who agreed to a series of duels. The losing side would be obliterated.
While Thor is taking on Captain Marvel in one of those duels, he loses control of his hammer. It’s at this point that Wonder Woman comes across it and attempts to lift it.
She’s considered worthy, holds it aloft and finds she’s instantly imbued with Thor’s powers. About to fight Storm, she deigns it an unfair match while she’s wielding Mjölnir and so drops it. Wonder Woman ends up losing the fight when Storm overpowers her with lightning.
While the two comic book giants came together in print, it’s perhaps more difficult to imagine a DC/Marvel crossover on screen. Financial reasons are no doubt prohibitive, and rights issues would also be a stumbling block, but that aside, it’s interesting to think about where this could take us. Fans would love to see the two universes meet, and the idea of Thor and Wonder Woman teaming up is, quite frankly, really exciting.
All those who have wielded Thor’s hammer become linked by a sacred bond. In the comics, hammer wielders are able to summon others who have held Mjölnir simply by holding a standard hammer and calling for help. The hammer is key, though, since only Mjölnir wielders who are currently holding a hammer will hear the cry.
So, if, let’s say, Beta Ray Bill – another character who’s been known to wield Thor’s hammer and who is rumoured to be making an appearance in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 – was hanging a picture when the call came, it would fall to him to come to the rescue.
It would make sense, then, that if Wonder Woman and Thor were to meet, they would be allies.
Perhaps Thor could summon Wonder Woman’s help in Thor: Ragnarok? Plot details reveal that he finds himself in a bit of a pickle, imprisoned on another planet – without his hammer. Bringing in the Princess of the Amazons here is a no-brainer. She could wield it, adopt his powers and help a man out.
To see what the power of Thor could do to Wonder Woman’s existing powers would be awesome.
She already has parallels with Thor – she’s the daughter of a god for a start. And not just any god – Zeus, king of the gods, in fact. She’s also a warrior, and just as Thor spent years training so Diana also trained. As one of DC’s strongest superheroes, she’d surely be pretty invincible when wielding Mjölnir.
It’s probably too soon to be calling a DCEU/MCU crossover – but this would be a great way to kickstart it.
Wonder Woman is released on June 2, and Thor: Ragnarok is out in the UK on October 27 and the US on November 3.