The MCU Just Completely Changed Mjolnir"s Powers & It"s A Game-Changing Retcon For Thor

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for What If...? season 3
Thor"s hammer, Mjolnir, has been a key part of some of the coolest moments in the MCU, driving the narrative of the first three entries in Chris Hemsworth"s Thor franchise (thanks to his existential worthiness crisis), as well as giving Captain America his show-stopping Avengers: Endgame moment. It"s also been destroyed by Hela, replaced by Stormbreaker, inherited by Jane Foster, and finally returned to Thor himself in Thor: Love & Thunder"s ending.
At no point during that entire arc were the hammer"s true powers revealed, according to a new MCU twist. That comes courtesy of the MCU"s newest release - season 3 of What If...?, which partly adapts Marvel"s What If #12 (1987), in which Storm was granted the use of Stormcaster (for the second time). In contrast, What If...? sees Storm using Mjolnir, becoming the latest of the run of MCU characters who wielded Thor"s hammer. In the multiversal animation, Storm is one of the new recruits of Captain Carter"s Guardians of the Multiverse.
What If…?’s entire premise is obviously the opportunity to do things that no other MCU releases would or could: but crucially, certain rules have to remain constant. If characters swap identities - like T’Challa becoming Star-Lord or Ironheart wearing the flayed corpse of White Vision and gaining his powers - their superpowers remain the same. The Ten Rings are still the Ten Rings, the Infinity Stones are still the Infinity Stones, the TVA’s timeline bombs are the same. So it is a genuine surprise that What If…? season 3 completely changes the power lore of Mjolnir.
Mjolnir's Powers Explained In Marvel Comics & The MCU Thor's Hammer Is More Than A Heavy-Hitting Weapon Close In the MCU, Mjolnir"s powers are actually quite straightforward. Enchanted by Odin to only be wieldable by those deemed "worthy", the hammer grants anyone who holds it the "powers of Thor": up to and including storm manipulation, flight, increased strength, energy projection, armor generation, and physical healing. It"s also, obviously, a blunt force weapon of some magnitude, which is effectively weightless for those capable of using it.
On-screen, there are some differences to the original comics version, but the broad strokes are largely the same. Here"s how Marvel officially classifies Mjolnir"s powers:

The hammer can summon the elements wind, rain, thunder, and lightning for the wielder to use at their discretion. It is able to open interdimensional portals, such as the one to Asgard. Mjolnir possessed the power to bestow the ability of time travel to its wielder until Immortus removed it.

That time travel power would have come in remarkably handy during the Time Heist in Endgame. Dig a little deeper, and Mjolnir has also shown more rare powers, including tracking, illusion casting, and draining specific powers from targets. While it is a magical artifact, its relationship with magic is not as straightforward as it being a conduit like a wand or any of Doctor Strange"s artifacts, and it has certainly never been used as such in the MCU. Thor"s difference from Loki heavily leaned into the contrast of Loki"s magic, after all. But What If...? season 3 changes that.
Apparently, Mjolnir Can Communicate Across The Multiverse And Channel Every Odin Thor's Hammer Just Got A Major Power Upgrade Close When Storm attempts to break into the Fifth Dimension, to free Uatu the Watcher (Jeffrey Wright) from the other Watchers - Eminence, Executioner, and Incarnate - she reveals that Mjolnir can be used as a conduit for light and dark magic to effectively cast incredibly powerful spells. She appeals to every Multiverse variant of Odin (both male and female) to grant her enough power to cast a spell strong enough to break into the Fifth Dimension (a near-impossible feat):

All-Father, All-Mothers. Gods of Asgard across the Multiverse. Give me the strength of magics dark and light, to journey beyond your many realms, to the gates of the Fifth Dimension and tear them open!

We know that Mjolnir can open portals to allow Thor to travel the universe in the comics, but that is a power conspicuously left out of the MCU. Thor"s second weapon, Stormbreaker, is able to summon the Bifrost, but Mjolnir never had that power. So What If...? clearly changes that, suggesting multiversal travel is power, given the right power upgrade. And it"s the invocation of the collective power of the All-Fathers and All-Mothers to amplify Storm"s powers to create a spell to break into the Fifth Dimension that is most interesting here.
Thor could theoretically unlock a whole new level of powers using magic
As Storm herself says, the incantation is a spell (she says it wasn"t strong enough to allow her to cross the threshold of light she saw), suggesting that Mjolnir actually has greater powers than the MCU"s live-action appearances of the hammer have ever shown. The difference, perhaps, comes down to Storm"s magical heritage, which somewhat sets her apart from Thor in a very specific way (though that potential has rarely been explored, in favor of focus on her mutation). But that isn"t expressly said here: she announces herself as the Goddess of Thunder, a mash-up variant of Thor (and is actually mistaken for a Thor when she first appears).
While Odin is a prodigiously talented magical user - and Loki too - the MCU"s Thor is not: he is a warrior king, incapable of spells and incantations. It"s best to consider him as a user of magical artifacts, rather than a sorcerer, and comparing him to Doctor Strange or Scarlet Witch proves the distinction very clearly. But What If...? introduces the idea that Thor could theoretically unlock a whole new level of powers using magic (even someone else"s magic), if only he was aware of the capability. With the MCU headed towards a double-headed multiversal showdown in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, there may never be a better opportunity for him to unlock those powers.

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6/10 34 8.3/10 What If...? What If… ? is an animated anthology series set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe which features fan-favorite characters, including Peggy Carter, T’Challa, Doctor Strange, Killmonger, Thor, and more. The new series, directed by Bryan Andrews with AC Bradley as head writer, features signature MCU action with a curious twist. The show sees Uatu the Watcher, an omnipotent being that observes the events of multiple universes from afar as they unfold, unable to interfere. However, things shift when an entity peers beyond the veil, jeopardizing the multiverse.
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*Availability in US Release Date August 11, 2021 Seasons 3 Writers Ashley Bradley , Matthew Chauncey Showrunner Ashley Bradley

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