Thor's badass new 'Avengers: Infinity War' weapon has quite a history

Spoilers ahead for Avengers: Infinity War. If you haven't seen the movie yet and want to remain pure, this is your chance to peace out.

Avengers: Infinity War doesn't really end well for anyone not named "Thanos," but of all the remaining characters, Thor is in a pretty good spot.

He's got his new eye, of course. And, after suffering significant personal losses, he's rediscovered his passion for punching evil into submission. But the highlight of Thor's Infinity War, without question, is his new lightning-spewing axe.

Let's talk about Stormbreaker. It's got quite a history in the comics.

The origins of Stormbreaker extend all the way back to the 1980s. To understand the series of events that brought it into being, however, we first need to talk about a major character from the cosmic side of Marvel Comics: Beta Ray Bill.

During a mid-'80s run of Thor comics, the Asgardian god of thunder flew off into space to investigate an alien fleet passing close to Earth. His approach sets off a process that revives the fleet's defender, Beta Ray Bill, from stasis.

During their fight, Bill separates Thor from his mystical hammer, Mjolnir, long enough for the Asgardian to revert to his human form, Donald Blake (it's a comics thing). With Blake unconscious, Bill picks up the hammer -- something most beings can't do, unless they're "worthy" -- and gains Thor's outfit and powers.

This unexpected turn of events, Bill wielding Thor's hammer, earns both of them an audience with Odin. The Asgardian ruler decides that the two will face off in a battle to the death, with the winner earning the right to wield Mjolnir.

Bill wins again -- with some help from a meddling Odin, who had a lesson in mind for his son -- but he refuses to land the killing blow. In the end, Odin returns Mjolnir to Thor and forges for Bill a new weapon made out of the same material. Its name: Stormbreaker.

The weapon never actually belonged to Thor. It does now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but its arrival in Avengers: Infinity War could herald a more significant introduction later on.

You might have missed this, but Bill isn't an unknown figure in the MCU. The character himself hasn't yet appeared on screen, but he was indirectly introduced in Thor: Ragnarok.

If you look carefully at the Grandmaster's tower on Sakaar, you can see likenesses of past arena champions sculpted into its exterior. Bill's face, vaguely lizardlike with an elongated snout, is among them.

But there's more! Bill was at one point pegged for a physical cameo appearance in the movie as well. The decision was ultimately made to leave him out, as Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige revealed in an interview. Here's what he said exactly:

"There was a Beta Ray Bill [in Ragnarok], but it was so quick that you would have the same complaints [about under-serving characters] that you have now. He was in it a little bit more and it just didn’t do justice. And the feeling is, if you can’t do it justice, do it later."

The important takeaway here is simple: Bill is on the MCU radar. We haven't met him yet, but it seems possible that we will. Stormbreaker is a positive sign in that regard. So is the MCU's imminent introduction of the Skrulls in Captain Marvel. Bill has a history with the Skrulls in the comics, but that's a story for a different day.

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