The Odinson might be the God of Thunder, but he's not the only one who's wielded the hammer Mjolnir in Marvel's history.
Yes, while Thor's hammer might be just that - Thor's hammer - more characters than he'd care to admit have taken control of the object and the power it possesses. It's a trope comic book writers have utilised repeatedly over the years, and while some characters are infinitely more worthy than others, one can't help but feel that maybe - just maybe - some of them shouldn't have been up to the task.
Still, there's no denying the value of seeing someone other than the Odinson wielding his weapon. It's a massive feat to accomplish, and there's a reason why writers keep returning to that concept. People look great swinging around an ancient nordic weapon, and when it's a hero - or villain - you don't expect, you begin to understand the gravity of their accomplishment.
It might get a little less impressive each time it happens, but when the hammer looks as good as it does, can you really blame writers for swinging it around so often?
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
