Seven Blacksmiths Who Armed the Icons of Pop Culture
Every hero needs the assistance of a magical sword, an invulnerable shield, or some other extraordinary implement to properly stab, pummel, or protect against an always encroaching evil. But where does such an item come from? Is it simply pulled from the ether? Willed into existence? Excavated from sofa cushions like remote controls and corn chips?
Well….no. These enchanted items or exotic innovations are created by brilliant blacksmiths, creators, and engineers – unbelievable builders who forge impossible artifacts from wires, magic, mutation, or on occasion, the remains of purposely murdered star systems.
So, who makes the thing that makes the hero? Lifted from pop culture, these seven blacksmiths – faced with the unbeatable – created the unimaginable.
Tony Stark
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
He conceived of, and pounded into existence, the very first Iron Man armor in a dark cave and under EXTREME duress. He also reproduced an Arc Reactor to properly power the thing.
Tony Stark is, among other self-aggrandizing adjectives, an inventor. Actually, he’s THE inventor – a brilliant engineer, scientist, and futurist who’s constantly evolving tomorrow’s technology today.
If he’s not upgrading his armor, he’s coming up with advanced computer systems or mechanical wonders to assist The Avengers, or in MCU continuity, building advanced computer systems that occasionally crash parties and vie for humanity’s extinction.
Forge of the X-Men
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)
Forge’s mutant power? To create anything he can think of. And I mean, A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. Need a laser cannon mounted to your shoulder and activated by iPhone app? What about linking teleportation gates to a sentient island headquarters? Perhaps the X-Men’s Blackbird needs an upgrade for future outer space excursions?
Forge, when presented with a problem, will always find a solution. Regardless of how insurmountable or unthinkable the obstacle, Forge will develop incomprehensible technology to adapt and overcome.
The Guardians of the Universe
(Image credit: DC Comics)
The oldest (and perhaps most powerful) beings in the universe, these blue, diminutive humanoids eventually succeeded in harnessing the emotional spectrum – a subdimensional reservoir chambering the coalesced emotional energy of all sentient beings.
And to effectively harness this unlimited power source, the Guardians created rings – “Power Rings” to tap into and channel – through sheer force of will – said subdimensional energy.
The Green Lanterns, using their rings to access the green spectrum of coalesced willpower, create wondrous hard-light constructs and other mentally expressed attributes to properly police the known universe.
(Due to the amount of power available via mentally activated Power Ring, said power is only limited by the wearer’s imagination.)
Celebrimbor
(Image credit: Amazon Studios)
Meaning “silver fist” or “hand of silver” in Tolkein’s Sindarin language, Celebrimbor was an elven blacksmith of great renown (and you can check out his very first onscreen appearance in Amazon’s The Rings of Power).
In fact, his skill as a blacksmith was so legendary, Sauron – disguised as an elf named Annatar – convinced him to create The Rings of Power for the rulers of Middle-earth. Unbeknownst to Sauron, Celebrimbor secretly created three rings for the Elves. And unbeknownst to Celebrimbor, Sauron created the One Ring (which would control the other rings, and therefore, allow him to easily overtake Middle-earth).
When Sauron resumed his role as the Dark Lord, he placed the One Ring upon his finger to assert control over other ring wearers. The elves’ rings, created in secret, were immune to the Dark Lord’s influence.
Sauron demanded the elves part with the remaining Rings of Power. The elves refused, and paid a terrible price (and Celebrimbor, although tortured relentlessly, never revealed the location of the remaining Rings of Power. After dying from said torture, Celebrimbor was shot with arrows, hung upon a pole, and waved about like a banner during battle. Wait. Was that a spoiler?).
The Puma Blacksmith, Forger of the Sword of Omens
(Image credit: Cartoon Network)
Pulling from 2011’s Thundercats television series, Mumm-Ra sought to acquire an object of incredible power – the War Stone.
In order to properly utilize the War Stone, the Ancient Spirits suggested he bond it to a sword – a sword made from the “blood” of a star. So, Mumm-Ra destroyed the Plun-Darr star system, and gathered its remaining fragments – fragments given to the Puma Blacksmith, who forged the blade with an assist from the Ancient Spirits.
Leo and Panthera – two ancient Thundercats under Mumm-Ra’s rule –knew the blade would be far too powerful a weapon in Mumm-Ra’s hands. Using the remaining Plun-Darr fragments, they bade the Puma Blacksmith to create another – the Sword of Omens (and yes, he totally agreed to it).
When an agent of Mumm-Ra acquired the War Stone, Leo and Panthera handily relieved him of it, successfully affixing it to the newly fashioned Sword of Omens.
With the Sword of Omens boasting the War Stone (now “The Eye of Thundera”), the Thundercats began their rebellion. Leo, wielding the Sword of Omens, defeated Mumm-Ra and the Sword of Plun-Darr, forcing the mummified space devil back into his sarcophagus. Mumm-Ra remained trapped, and the Thundercats’ coup succeeded. Mostly.
The Armorer
(Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney Productions)
Introduced in the Disney+ series, The Mandalorian, The Armorer is a female Mandalorian. Her specialty? Besides leading “The Tribe” – a part of the “Children of the Watch” – during the New Republic Era, she’s one hell of a blacksmith.
After the Galactic Empire’s “Great Purge of Mandalore,” she and her tribe relocated to the planet Nevarro. And while creating armor and weapons for fellow tribe members, she encountered Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarn. After proving his worth, Din granted The Armorer his collected beskar metal, who fashioned a new (and Mandalorian-approved) armor for the improperly armored Din.
She also created a beskar spear, and later fashioned a suit of Grogu-sized armor from said spear. She’s a clever one, but quite mindful of “the Way.”
Eitri, the Forger of Mjolnir (and Stormbreaker)
(Image credit: Marvel Studios/Disney Productions)
King of the Dwarves of Nidavellir, Eitri, along with his brother Brokk, were superior blacksmiths usually tasked by Asgardian gods to create immensely powerful divine weapons. Tasked by Odin to create a spear, said spear’s creation was undermined by – you guessed it – Loki. Thor, now tasked by Odin to secure the next weapon’s completion, asked Eitri to create another weapon. The Dwarves successfully completed this weapon – the enchanted, and very selective, Mjolnir.
After Mjolnir’s creation, the Dwarves destroyed the mold. Why? So no one like – you guessed it – Loki could ever reproduce such a weapon for less than appropriate purposes.
Eitri’s live-action iteration was introduced in Avengers: Infinity War, played by a rather tall Peter Dinklage. At Thanos’ insistence, he was forced to create the Infinity Gauntlet, and had his hands smelted together to prevent any further forging (which didn’t stop him from creating Stormbreaker).
Can you think of any more creators responsible for the wonders wielded by our heroes? Any more blacksmiths who armed our pop culture icons?
Let us know in the comments (below).
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