Warning! This article contains spoilers for Children of the Vault #2 Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, is arguably as iconic as the founding Avenger himself, so insulting any superpowered individual whose weapon of choice is a hammer by ridiculing them for using a hammer is essentially a direct jab at Thor himself – and that’s exactly what the X-Men just did, and in a surprisingly harsh manner.
The X-Men have all but been wiped out in the current state of Marvel Comics canon, as the Fall of X began with nearly every mutant on Earth effectively walking into a meat grinder. The few who remain have dedicated themselves to fighting the very evil that wiped out mutantkind, the evil organization Orchis. However, with most of the mutants gone and Orchis having yet to assert global dominance, another group has risen to lay claim to the Earth: the Children of the Vault. The Children of the Vault are hyper-evolved humans who might as well be gods, and they plan to raze the planet and reshape it in their image. At least, unless two remaining mutants stop them before they do so. In the current Children of the Vault comic series, Cable and Bishop have joined forces to fight the Children, and in this latest issue, they fight with more than just their weapons and fists, but with hurtful words that are just as insulting to Thor as they are to the hammer-wielding foe they were up against.
X-Men Insults Warriors Who Use Hammers (Including Thor)
In a preview for Children of the Vault #2 by Deniz Camp and Luca Maresca, a member of the Children of the Vault named Martillo-131 stands next to a nightclub, using his x-ray vision to stare at the drunken dancers within, wishing he could join them. Then, suddenly, Cable and Bishop launch a surprise attack against him. Martillo quickly grabs the massive warhammer that’s slung across his back, prompting Bishop to say, “You know what they say about guys with hammers? They’re %$#@! ”.
While Cable and Bishop quickly prove that comment true by taking Martillo-131 down with little effort, the dig about him using a hammer was totally uncalled-for. Was Bishop just trying to get in his head, and thought insulting his weapon was the best way to go? Or does the mutant really think people who use hammers in battle suck? It’s impossible to know, but if the insult is taken at face-value, then Bishop did, in fact, just insult anyone and everyone who’s ever used a hammer in battle, including Thor. It’s a baffling situation, to be sure, and one that puts Thor on the X-Men’s proverbial roasting stage for seemingly no reason at all.
Taking Thor out of the equation for a moment, this conflict did more than simply prove the comedic savagery of Bishop, but also a potential weak point in the Children of the Vault’s seemingly absolute philosophy. The Children want to raze the world and reshape it, yet all Martillo-131 wants to do is put his hammer down, and go dance with the other regular humans in the nightclub he’s standing outside. Martillo wants to conform to human society, as he loves aspects of it that will soon be lost under the rule of the Children. Only time will tell if this hammer-wielding warrior actually is the Children’s weak point and will switch sides to help the mutants, or if he even survived this encounter at all, as the preview leaves his fate unclear. Until then, however, Martillo-131 is just an enemy who uses a deadly hammer in battle just like Thor, which – according to the X-Men, apparently – means he’s “%$#@! ”.
Children of the Vault #2 by Marvel Comics is available September 13, 2023.
