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In Norse mythology, Mjollnir ("that smashes") is
the Hammer of Thor, the god of lightning and thunder. This war hammer (made by Brok and Eitri) had enormous destructive capabilities, and was associated with lightning. When thrown, it would return to the
thrower's hand after striking its target. Only Thor and his son, Magni, could lift
it.
Thunder
To wield this formidable weapon, even a deity like Thor needed special iron gloves and a belt that doubled the wearer's
strength. The strike of the hammer caused thunderclaps, and the name of this deity has produced the word for "thunder" in most
Germanic languages.
Norse myth
With the hammer, Thor indulged in his favourite sport of killing giants. Most of the surviving myths centre on Thor's
exploits, and this and inscriptions on monuments suggest that Thor was very much the favourite deity of ancient
Scandinavians.
In Trymskvida, the most light and
funny of all Thor's adventures, the giant Thrym secretly steals Mjollnir from Thor and
then demands fair Freya in exchange.
Marvel Comics
In the Marvel Comics version of the character, the hammer could also
allow Thor to fly by grasping the holding strap of his hammer after he threw it in the direction he wanted to go. It also allowed
him to control the weather, travel through time and other dimensions. It could be used defensively by twirling it by its holding
strap to deflect bullets. It had to stay in physical contact with Thor to prevent him from turning back into his mortal form of
Doctor Don Blake after sixty seconds, but that weakness was removed after an alien warrior named Beta Ray Bill proved worthy of
Mjollnir and received a variant hammer with the transform weakness being transferred to it.
Games
Mjollnir also appears as a magical artifact in the roguelike computer game NetHack and
also in the Diablo-like "Darkstone".
In both Marathon and Halo, the protagonist used combat suits designated as MJOLNIR.
In the Volition game Freespace 2, Mjolnir is a long range beam cannon.
In the Breath of Fire III game, Mjolnir is the most powerful
thunder-elemental magic spell.
Other spellings
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