Love & Thunder Makes 1 Dark Thor Theory Even Better

Thor's ax, Stormbreaker, is a powerful replacement for Mjolnir, but one dark theory has been made greater after the events of Thor: Love and Thunder.

After the events of Thor: Love and Thunder, one theory concerning the true purpose of Thor’s ax, Stormbreaker, has become even better, and even more tragic. For most of his time in the MCU, Thor has wielded his enchanted hammer, Mjolnir, a weapon synonymous with the God of Thunder. However, the events of Thor: Ragnarok led to the Marvel superhero acquiring a larger and seemingly more powerful weapon that might have originally had a darker fate in the MCU.

In every one of his MCU appearances until Ragnarok, Thor was always seen with his trusty hammer, Mjolnir. In that movie, his sister Hela, the Goddess of Death, demonstrates her power by obliterating the hammer, leaving Thor without his iconic weapon. After Thanos’s attack at the beginning of Avengers: Infinity War, Thor traveled to Nidavellir and met with Eitri the Dwarf, who created a new, similar weapon. Thor then rejoined his fellow Avengers with Stormbreaker, a massive ax that can also harness the power of the Bifrost.

One theory arose after Stormbreaker’s creation in Avengers: Infinity War suggesting the ax was originally intended as a weapon powerful enough to kill Thor. This may seem outlandish since it seems to fit so well with his new larger-than-life character, but Eitri’s description of the weapon certainly suggests some deeper purpose. He states that Stormbreaker is “a king’s weapon, meant to be the greatest in Asgard,” implying that the ax could overwhelm any other weapon, even Mjolnir. Thor: Love and Thunder ends with Stormbreaker being passed to Thor’s new adopted daughter, Love, which makes the theory all the more tragic.

Why Stormbreaker Was Designed To Kill Thor – Theory Explained

Since the mold for Stormbreaker was already available to Eitri and Thor at the time of Avengers: Infinity War, it can be assumed that the former King of Asgard, Odin, had traveled to Nidavellir and asked the King of the Dwarves to prepare the weapon. This poses the question of why the All-Father would’ve asked for the creation of an apparently all-powerful battle-ax without the knowledge of Thor, his greatest soldier. The theory suggests Odin had planned for the weapon to be used in the instance of Thor becoming too difficult to control. This would have been a real worry prior to Odin’s death in Thor: Ragnarok, since he had already witnessed one of his children, his daughter Hela, descend into darkness and become completely unhinged.

Thor’s personality has had one of the biggest changes over the course of the MCU. He started in Thor as a self-absorbed, egotistical, and arrogant prince who felt entitled to the throne of Asgard despite not knowing the true nature of leadership. It’s understandable that Odin would have been concerned about the future king’s behavior based on his first stint in the MCU. Perhaps the events of Thor played out as banishment from Asgard was Thor’s first warning, and if he had continued to unravel like his sister, the creation of Stormbreaker would’ve been necessary. Luckily for Thor, and for MCU viewers, life on Earth changed his arrogance into patience, care, and eventually humor in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder.

The theory is backed up by the actual name of the ax: Stormbreaker. Thor’s title as a god is that of the God of Thunder. So it seems that Stormbreaker was named specifically for the reason that it contains the power to break the thunderstorm, meaning bad news for Thor if he had continued down the dark path demonstrated in the first few moments of Thor. During Avengers: Infinity War, as the weapon is being prepared, Eitri makes a big moment of revealing its given name. While this moment is played for laughs in the movie, with Rocket Raccoon making a snide comment, it seems the tension created by Eitri may have had a much deeper and darker meaning.

During Love and Thunder, Stormbreaker seems to display jealous feelings after Thor is reunited with a newly reformed Mjolnir, now wielded by Jane Foster, a.k.a. the Mighty Thor. This may give the ax even more motive if it ever should come to the God of Thunder’s tragic end. However, with the introduction of Love, Stormbreaker seems to have found another adoring owner. Although, if the theory is true, even after Thor’s massive character development throughout the MCU, putting the weapon in the hands of his new daughter could be even more tragic for the God of Thunder. Hopefully, future storylines involving the duo after Thor: Love and Thunder will in fact see Love develop her own powers separate from the ax, and they won’t end in tragedy.