Nerd Rage: Thor’s Hammer: Why didn’t they go with the Ultimate?

“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” I really hate to pick on Mjolnir. In the realm of fantasy it’s one of the coolest weapons conceived. If you are worthy, it transforms you into a god, grants control over the elements, opens dimensional portals, and is nearly indestructible. It’s name means “the Crusher”. For something so incalculably bad ass, it’s design is so boring and lame. It’s supposed to be the weapon of a god, yet it looks like cinder block on a stick. The Thor film misses a major opportunity to improve on the comics.

I understand that a great deal of the art work in the golden and silver age of comics was crude, and things were kept simple. I read somewhere that the original reason heroes were depicted wearing spandex was because it was easier to drawn the bodies of the character’s basic anatomy. Since those days artwork and design have come a long way, and the design could have been improved. I understand that there is a a degree of nostalgia, but that doesn’t mean we have to be left with a plain gray rectangular block for the strongest of the Avengers. The ultimate version of Thor’s hammer updated Mjolnir to be an enormous axe hammer hybrid. It was huge shiny and cool looking. When Thor gives the Hulk a black eye with it, I believe it.  Ultimate Mjolnir looks like the hammer of a god.

The upcoming movie chose they original over the ultimate design. Every other element of costume and design has been dialed up to 11. They’ve blended fantasy and science fiction elements wonderfully and incorporated Nordic runes into everything. The designers spent so much energy on making Asgard and it’s denizens look divine, yet with Mjolnir they mailed it in. Though the movie tries to jazz up with some nordic designs it still looks like a cinder block on a stick. Why would they give so much effort on everything yet keep the MacGuffin at the heart of the hero’s power so bland. Take a look at the promotional image of Chris Hemsworth, and Joe Quesada. Even the actor playing Thor chose the Ultimate hammer not the original.

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