A sacred bond unites all those who have ever been privileged to wield Mjolnir! Captain America surely gave us all the most iconic moment of the MCU by lifting Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir. But how did he do that? Has he been able to do it this whole time?
Avengers: Endgame was no doubt an iconic movie with the biggest climax in the MCU giving us all goosebumps till the end. It was an emotionally overturn concluding 11 years of amazing MCU movies and their storyline. With a load of fan-pleasing moments to unexpected sacrifices of our favourite characters. But one specific moment was something MCU fans have been waiting for a long time or some might even not expect.
Most comic book fans knew what was going to happen in the Endgame, Captain America was going to lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir at one point and fight Thanos. When Thor goes back to 2013 to recover Aether, he takes the opportunity to see if he is still worthy of his trusty hammer Mjolnir, which was destroyed by his sister Hela in Thor: Ragnarok.
In Avengers: Endgame When Thor is on the ropes and about to be pummelled by Thanos, his hammer Mjolnir comes whooshing by. But it does not fly into Thor’s hands. Instead, it flies into Captain America’s. Not only could Captain America lift Thor’s hammer, but he was also able to call down the lightning just as Thor would. It was a huge, cathartic, and historic moment in the history of the MCU, but it’s something long familiar to Marvel Comics fans.
How Can Captain America Wield Mjolnir?
Well, you may also remember in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron, at the party, Steve Rogers was also one of the characters who tried lifting the hammer. It was the first hint that Captain America would be worthy of wielding the weapon. When Steve Rogers stepped up to the plate, he was able to shift the hammer slightly, unlike the rest of the crew, who could not even make it budge. This caused Thor to perk up in his seat and look visibly concerned. When Odin exiled Thor to Earth as a mortal accompanied by Mjolnir which was protected by an enchantment spoken by Odin so that only a worthy person could wield its power
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”.
Captain America’s ability to wield Mjolnir was something that raised a lot of questions. Steve Rogers is worthy, and the enchantment never says a person who wields should be stronger, but the person should be worthy. But what makes Captain America worthy to wield Mjolnir?
There is comic book precedent to Cap picking up Mjolnir.
The Mighty Thor #390 (1988)
It was during Rogers’ stint as “The Captain” after he’d had his more famous codename stripped from him by the U.S. Government. During a visit by Thor to the Avengers’ base, he’s ambushed by the evil god Seth and his minions, becoming separated from his hammer and he’s shocked when “The Captain” is able to briefly wield it, smashing a few enemies before returning Mjolnir to its rightful owner.
After prevailing in the fight, Thor was revealed to be totally psyched that his friend had proven himself worthy, telling Cap, “A sacred bond unites all those who have ever been privileged to wield Mjolnir, a bond which stretches far into infinity.” Cap was also seen making use of the weapon on several other occasions, including a What If? alternate universe scenario involving the Age of Apocalypse storyline in 2006, and later in the Fear Itself arc. which featured a splash page of Cap calling down lightning much as he does in Endgame.
Even when his body was purged of the Super Soldier Serum in the Secret Empire series, he was still able to hoist Mjolnir suggesting that even when physically unable to throw down properly, Rogers still has a warrior’s heart.
In the MCU, what does it mean for Captain America? During a spoiler-filled interview on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast, directors Joe and Anthony Russo shed some light on this moment, with Joe Russo noting that the inspiration for it goes back to that bit in Age of Ultron:
“I think it goes all the way back to Ultron. I think everyone who is a Marvel fan, at that moment where Cap tested the hammer, felt deep down in their heart that he was worthy and that he could potentially lift that, and boy wouldn’t it be special one day if he did. And obviously, if you create drama around the circumstances of him wielding the hammer, and then kicking Thanos’ ass for 30 seconds after that, we felt like we could create a risible moment for the audience.”
According to Anthony Russo, he’s always been worthy, and during that moment in Age of Ultron, he stopped himself from lifting the hammer fully out of deference to Thor:
“In our heads, he was able to wield it, and he didn’t know that until that moment Ultron when he tried to pick it up. But Cap’s sense of character and his sense of humility, sort of out of deference to Thor’s ego, you know Cap at that moment realizing he can move the hammer decides not to.”
Consider the Vision, who, despite being an android, was probably the most benevolent, pure-hearted Avenger. He was shown to be able to pick up Mjolnir and toss it around as if it were nothing. This is the same Vision who explicitly insisted on sacrificing himself for the good of the universe during the events of Avengers: Infinity War. His example may bring us closer to the real reason why Rogers is worthy of wielding the hammer too.
But why was Steve not able to lift the hammer in Age of Ultron? Steve might have deliberately pretended not to be able to lift it in order to avoid making his fellow Avengers look bad especially Thor. The square-headed sledgehammer is only able to be utilized by those the Asgardian gods believe are worthy. It is a theory that his refusal to tell Tony about the death of his parents kept him from being truly worthy. Obviously, that was to protect Bucky so that nuance could explain why Steve shifted Mjolnir slightly but wasn’t able to lift it.
There are a lot of theories as to why he was able to lift the hammer in the Endgame. Some of these theories do come from the comics and some from the history of Mjolnir. But whomever Mjolnir chooses it is not about their strength but their good heart and intentions. No doubt Captain became worthy to wield Mjolnir giving us an iconic moment in MCU history.
