Many have wielded Thunderstrike!
Marvel has always had a love-hate relationship with secret identities. When heroes possess the power of gods, they can become difficult to relate to readers. Fans ire Fantastic Four have no secret identities, but are relatable as a family. In his earliest books, Thor's civilian identity was Donald Blake, a doctor with a limp who found a walking stick in a cave. When he pounded the cane on the ground, it transformed into Mjolnir and Blake became the God of Thunder. This concept never really took off and Blake was revealed to be a construct of Odin, created to teach Thor humility. Odin then blinked him out of existence and the character was shuffled into obscurity. Consequently, Thor was often paired up with humans, like Jane Foster or Rick Jones, who contrasted his godhood with their humanity, grounding him and providing balance to the stories. It wasn't until many years later that Thor was given another alter-ego.
Thor was working on Earth as a construction worker under the alias of Sigurd Jarlson when he met an architect named Eric Masterson. When the construction site is attacked by Mongoose, Thor saves Masterson's life, but he is hurt in the fight, leaving him with a limp. Afterward, Eric is relentlessly hassled by a string of Thor's enemies. When Thor and Eric find themselves attacked yet again by Mongoose, Eric lifts Mjolnir to save Thor from a killing blow. Masterson is mortally wounded, but Thor begs his father, Odin, to save Eric's life, no matter the cost. Odin is moved by his son's selflessness and grants Thor's request the only way he can. Odin merges the two personas, granting Eric a magic walking stick that when struck, becomes the mighty hammer of the Thunder God.
Sharing his body with Thor pretty much destroys Eric Masterson's life. His son is put in constant danger, his ex-wife sues for custody, he loses his job, and his friends think he's an alcoholic due to his erratic behavior. When Thor is banished from Asgard for murdering his brother, Loki, Odin grants Masterson the full power of Thor while retaining his own personality, and Eric leaves his old life behind to embrace his role as a hero. Upon Thor's inevitable return, Mjolnir is returned to its rightful owner and Eric is bestowed an uru mace dubbed "Thunderstrike." Adopting his weapon's moniker, Thunderstrike becomes the 90's Thor reboot no one deserved, complete with a ponytail, sleeveless leather jacket, and updated, non-Shakespearean dialogue.
Thunderstrike, like many younger, hipper, legacy characters of the 90's, was short-lived. His comic, Thunderstrike, lasted 24 issues before his death. Thunderstrike was briefly resurrected by the Grim Reaper before being cast back into death by the Scarlet Witch. Many years later, his son Kevin was granted the power of Thunderstrike and led his own five issue miniseries. Kevin can be found swinging his father's uru mace in the pages of Asgardians of the Galaxy.
