Thor’s powerful and enchanted weapons have always been a fascinating part of the character’s lore and appeal. One-part Sword in the Stone and one-part Indiana Jones, the idea of a sought-after magical artifact technically isn’t anything new but having a famous god from ancient mythology seek out and wield said object is infinitely entertaining. A new book titled Avengers: Endgame – The Art of the Movie has recently shed new light on an alternate path the epic Avengers’ two-part finale could have taken the God of Thunder down in search of a new weapon to slay Thanos the Mad Titan. (We cover more concept art from the new book HERE!)
In Avengers: Infinity War (2018) Thor, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot head out on a side mission to obtain a replacement for Goldie Locks’ destroyed hammer. The three journey to Nidavellir, the realm of the dwarves, where they meet Eitri the Dwarf who helps them forge the half-hammer-half-axe weapon known as Stormbreaker. But in the new art book it is revealed that in an early draft of the script the three originally set out to find the already forged and legendary weapon Stormbreaker.
According to the book, Thor, Rocket, and Groot originally traveled to the realm of Jormungand. There they find the skeletal remains of a giant snake known as The World Serpent. Buried deep within the snake’s mountain-sized skull they discover Stormbreaker, which was previously used to kill the monster serpent by Thor’s ancestors. This horrifying creature hails not only from Norse mythology but is known to Marvel Comics readers as The Midgard Serpent, which first appeared in Marvel Tales #105 way back in 1952.
Marvel Senior Visual Development Artist Rodney Fuentebella said about the art:
“This was going to be the introduction of Stormbreaker. It was forged way back when, and one of Thor’s ancestors had wielded it to destroy the World Serpent… We wanted to create something that was interesting and different but still feel like you could tell that it’s buried in something. There was also an idea of how after they got Stormbreaker, as they were escaping, the children of the World Serpents would attack them, and they would have to fight their way out.”
As Fuentebella explains, the alternate sequence would have involved our heroes being attacked by an army of the children of the World Serpent as they tried to escape with Stormbreaker. This action set piece never made it into the movie, but since the scene was already plotted out and illustrated, it could be saved for another flick down the road. Perhaps they could make use of a giant snake planet in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or Thor: Love and Thunder, both of which the Mighty Thor is expected to appear in.
Stormbreaker, Thor’s new weapon of choice, is an armament that’s been around in the comics since 1983. In fact, the legendary bludgeon doesn’t even belong to Thor! Stormbreaker was forged by Odin and given to the alien Beta Ray Bill, who was the first being outside of Asgard able to lift Mjolnir.
Beta Ray Bill has been referenced in the MCU before, with his sculpted visage appearing on the Grandmaster’s tower of champions in Thor: Ragnarok. Maybe there’s a chance we’ll see ole Horse face claim Stormbreaker on the silver screen down the road to help Thor fight some snakes? We can only hope!