Mjollnir

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.

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 also be used defensively by twirling it by its holding strap to deflect bullets. It also had to stay in physical contact with Thor to prevent 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 varient hammer with the transform weakness being transferred to it.

It appears as a magical artifact in the roguelike computer game, NetHack.

Other spellings

• Common Danish form: Mjølner