Magnhild[1] (pronunciation) is Nora Valkyrie's signature weapon. It is a maul, with the secondary form of a revolver-type grenade launcher.
Description[]
Revolver-type Grenade Launcher[]
When in its grenade launcher form, Magnhild fires canisters of pink Dust with a heart shape on the tip. These grenades produce pink blasts traced through with what appears to be an electricity effect, capable of, at minimum, distracting a fully-grown Nevermore with single-shot blasts.
Individual grenades also appear to have a proximity or remote detonator, as they are seen exploding in the air, similar to a flak cannon or air burst explosive. A grenade launcher itself is fed by a revolver-type cylinder with several individual chambers.
In addition to its normal firing mode, Magnhild is also capable of firing all six grenades simultaneously. In order to do so, the entire front of the weapon retracts to expose all the rounds stored in the chamber, which are then be fired all at once. This attack is shown in Volume 3 Chapter 2, New Challengers...
Maul[]
Nora is able to use the recoil from fired explosives to propel herself through the air in much the same way Ruby Rose does with Crescent Rose. Nora's maul strikes also appear to be incredibly powerful, as she was able to flip a segment of a large stone bridge with enough force to send Jaune Arc flying over a large gap.
Nora is also shown using the recoil from a maul to accelerate her flight through the air and punctuate her hits. When deployed in this way, Magnhild is powerful enough to shatter the armor of a Death Stalker by forcing its own stinger through its head.
History[]
When Lie Ren saved Nora from Grimm in Kuroyuri, he gave her a mallet, possibly inspiring her to use Magnhild later in her life.
Like Crescent Rose, Magnhild also possesses some scratches into the metal following the timeskip.
Anima Upgrade[]
Some time after the fall of Beacon Academy, the weapon receives two upgrades. One of the upgrades allows it to charge itself with electricity, allowing Nora to pull off more powerful attacks. When being charged, pink electrical arcs can be seen on a head of a maul.
The other upgrade allows it to propel itself with a pink smoke, allowing Nora to ride it. In "The Next Step", she uses this to fly into the air and land on a tree branch. In "Sparks", she uses it to fly after Neon Katt during a spar against Team FNKI.
Trivia[]
- Magnhild adds to Nora's Nordic theme, as Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is said to wield the hammer Mjölnir in battle. The name is also Old Norse as well as Germanic and Norwegian which means "strong, mighty, strength" from the root magn/magan and "battle" from the root hild/hildr.
- Magni is the Norse god of strength and son of Thor.
- The grenade launcher form appears to be based on the Milkor MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) commonly used by the U.S. Marine Corps.
- Nora was given a small wooden hammer by Ren when they first met as children, seen in the flashback of "Kuroyuri".
- According to executive producer Matt Hullum and creator Monty Oum, the idea of an explosive hammer was inspired by a video of a Mexican tradition where explosives are hit with sledgehammers.[2]
- Magnhild is mentioned by name in the lyrics of the song "Boop", from the RWBY: Volume 2 Soundtrack.
- The name of a weapon is pronounced in at least two different ways in official media. Monty Oum pronounced it "MAN-kheel" on the podcast,[3] while Casey Lee Williams pronounces it "MAG-un-heel" in the song "Boop".
- In "Sparks", when Nora rides Magnhild using its new upgrade, it appears similar to a witch riding a broom. This is possibly a reference to Chibi episodes where Nora has acted like one.
- In Amity Arena, Nora's Christmas Outfit paints the hilt green and red, colors the uppermost part of the hilt red with gold rings attached, and paints the actual hammer red, with a snowflake on the side and an opening with a rope around it to mimic Santa's bag of toys.
References[]
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