Thor: 10 Legendary Mjolnir Facts

One of Stan Lee’s caveats was that there would be no one flying around in a Marvel comic without that ability to make sense and have a real explanation. In the case of Thor, many assumes he flies by manipulating wind similar to Storm, but he actually uses Mjolnir to propel him through the sky. By spinning the hammer in a circle rapidly, hurling it in a particular direction and holding on to the leather strap, the Thunder God can fly through the air.

Within an atmosphere, Thor’s top speed is 770 miles per hour, which is more than double the speed of sound at 334 meters per second. The hero is capable of changing direction, speed, and other complicated manoeuvres simply by moving his arm, pulling back, or redirecting the flight in mid-air, and the Odinson can hover by spinning the hammer over his head like a helicopter.

Outside of an atmosphere, Thor can throw the Mjolnir away from him and it will return in less than 60 seconds. It may have as much to do with the enchantment, as it does speed and gravity, that the hammer always returns to his hand. In Thor #185, Thor flew through space at three times the speed of light, and he is believed to be capable of flying faster than that because of the belief that Mjolnir transcends time and space.