SPOILER Just Became Worthy of Thor's Hammer

Mjolnir, the mighty hammer made of Uru metal, is well-known to be a weapon that can only be lifted by those worth of Thor's power, namely Thor himself (or herself). Now, another Marvel Universe characters can count themselves among those worthy.

SPOILERS for Thanos #16 follow.

The ongoing Thanos series from Donny Cates and Geoff Shaw tells the story of Thanos after he has been summoned to a future where he himself has already defeated every hero in the Marvel Universe and become uncontested ruler of the universe.

But if Thanos has already won in this timeline, it begs the question of why he summoned his younger self. It turns out that while Thanos in the modern era has turned away from his old love, Mistress Death, his future self returns to that devotion and is still trying to woo his love by eliminating all life in the universe. He's almost completed his task, but there is one who still defies him: The Fallen One.

The Fallen One was known to be the first herald of Galactus. He was created using dark energy instead of cosmic energy like the other heralds who followed him. The Fallen One proved to be a cruel servant and so Galactus imprisoned him. The Fallen One has repeatedly escaped his prison and sought revenge on his former master only for Galactus to defeat it each time.

Star-Lord eventually imprisoned the Fallen One in a cosmic jail called the Kyln. The Fallen One was freed when the Kyln was destroyed during a battle between Thanos and an entity known as the Maker. The Fallen One again tried to kill Galactus, but the devourer of worlds the Fallen One was Thanos's problem now and teleported his former Herald into Thanos' vicinity. Thanos battled The Fallen One, defeated him, and turned him into his own herald. The Fallen One served Thanos until he was killed by two cosmic gods.

So then why is Thanos so worried about The Fallen One in the future then? The elder Thanos revealed to his younger self that The Fallen One is not a name but a title and that a different former herald of Galactus has since fallen. That herald is the Silver Surfer.

The Silver Surfer was, for a time, believed to have been killed by Thanos, but he survived and managed to gain the additional power of The Fallen One as well as command of the cosmic horde known as the Annihilation Wave. He brings all of this to bear on Thanos, but Thanos still wonders why Silver Surfer took so long in coming if all he has to show for it is this alien horde.

Surfer reveals that he was not waiting for any given moment to battle Thanos, but was working...on becoming worthy:

Now it comes down to two Thanos, the Cosmic Ghost Rider, and possibly Thanos' pet Hulk against Silver Surfer with the power of Mjolnir, The Fallen One, and the Annihilation Wave. That should be quite the battle to see.

Thanos #16 is now on sale.