“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor”, most of the MCU characters failed to be worthy to wield Thor’s Hammer. What makes them unworthy? Here is everything you should know about Mjolnir and why some MCU characters failed to lift it.
Thor’s Hammer, Mjolnir is a powerful enchanted war-hammer forged by the Dwarves for the Asgardian Royal Family. Mjolnir’s origin is properly mythic. It was forged by the dwarves, smelted in the heart of a dying star, and most importantly it was enchanted so that only the worthy would be able to wield it. However, as seen in Mighty Thor number 12 Mjolnir drags Thor to the halls of all-knowing where the true origin tale is revealed – it begins with the dwarves gifting Odin the gift of raw uru which is the most mystical metal in all the realms. Later Asgard was threatened by the god tempest a sentient super storm sowed and Odin battled it four days before he finally trapped it inside of the uru.
Odin commanded the dwarves to turn the magical metal, containing the storm within it, into a weapon and that’s how Mjolnir was made. During Odin‘s conquests of the Nine Realms, his eldest daughter, Hela, possessed Mjolnir and with it, she helped her father in his battles. Only after Odin locked her up in Hel was Mjolnir taken from her. The hammer was later passed on to Thor by Odin after he proved himself worthy. Soon after the battle against the Frost Giants in 2011, destroying the fragile truce between them and the Asgardians, Odin punished Thor by stripping him of his godly powers. Odin exiled Thor to Earth as a mortal, accompanied by Mjolnir, now 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”.
Both were transported to New Mexico. Mjolnir remains one of the most powerful artifacts in the MCU, despite its destruction by Hela in Thor: Ragnarok in 2017. But Thor manages to bring back the Mjolnir when he time travels to 2013, as seen in Avengers: Endgame, where it was primarily used by Captain America during the Battle of Earth making the audience wonderstruck. After Thanos’ death, Captain America travels back in time to Asgard of 2013 to return to Mjolnir.
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, at a superhero party, all the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes’ are seeing bantering about the rules of who was “worthy” to lift Mjolnir and actually trying to lift it. When everybody failed to lift the hammer, including Tony Stark, James Rhodes, Clint Barton, Thor mocked them saying “You’re all not worthy,“. Even the Hulk was not able to budge Mjolnir at all in The Avengers.
Why do you think every MCU characters was unworthy to hold Thor’s Hammer? Let’s see.
Steve Rogers
In 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. 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 Mjolnir shifted slightly.
In Endgame, when Captain America summons Mjolnir during the intense final battle against Thanos, this suggested that the God of Thunder had known for years that Cap was worthy of wielding the hammer likely recognizing that fact way back in Age of Ultron. Seeing Steve Rogers lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron could have been funny but watching it happen in Endgame was infinitely more moving. Although, infamously it was one of the single most fan-pleasing moments in all of Marvel movie history.
Tony Stark
The Mjolnir and Odin must have a different definition for worthiness. the worth is determined by Odin. The person has to be worthy in Odin’s eyes, or be able to break the enchantment that Odin placed on the hammer. What Odin considers worthy I guess is just up to his opinion and can probably change with his emotions or what have you. Tony Stark’s entire MCU story saw the founding Avenger invested mostly in the idea of worthiness. Weighed down by the sins of his father, Tony was “cursed by knowledge”, not only of an apocalyptic future but of his own unworthy past. It took his sacrifices in Endgame for him to become truly worthy. Even back in the Age of Ultron, stark’s ego made him create Ultron, and sometimes his arrogant and unlikeable character traits were still very much on show. But after his sacrifice, it is unarguable that he is now the worthiest character in MCU.
Hawkeye
Hawkeye was the first to try and lift the hammer. He thought it is a trick and didn’t think it was that hard. Clint even said, “You know I’ve seen this before right?” That is because he saw unworthy Thor try and lift Mjolnir in Thor.
Hawkeye’s unworthiness story might be more complex than the two keystone Avengers. It is perhaps his Endgame arc that best explains why he was considered unworthy in Age of Ultron because his time as a murderous vigilante speaks to the anger inside him. On top of that, as an assassin, Hawkeye’s modus operandi probably would not sit with the Asgardian warrior virtues Mjolnir would be “programmed” to recognize as heroism.
James Rhodes
After Tony, James Rhodes then assisted him, providing a glove from his own suit, but the two were still deemed unworthy. Even if Rhodey is a front-line veteran, he is cocksure, verging on outright arrogance. Rhodey is boastful and there’s very much the, somewhat unfair, suggesting that he’s only in the hero business for the fame. More crucially, Rhodes defies in Infinity war that he is not established as a leader or even as an individual. He only tries to lift Mjolnir in conjunction with Tony, as if to emphasize that.
Bruce Banner
At the party Bruce was the final Avenger to try his hand at lifting the Mjolnir, just to grab an opportunity for a gag about transforming into his angry green alter-ego. Banner may have believed himself to be more virtuous than Hulk as he has supported many families in poverty pre-Avengers isolation but that too was his selfish agenda to heal himself. But Mjolnir decides the worthiness of a person according to his acts and thoughts, and in the case of Bruce Banner, Hulk is just in his mind so while checking worthiness all his actions will be considered whether he did them as Bruce Banner or Hulk.
Hulk
Hulk was the first of the MCU’s other characters to try and lift Mjolnir, Long before the Avengers gathered for a macho flexing competition in Age of Ultron. Hulk, pre-professor, is frankly too stupid to be what Odin needs. The Professor falls into the same camp as Tony Stark and the rest. The hulk despite being another person is just an exaggeration of Bruce Banner’s inner personality so he can’t lift it either. Hulk’s unworthiness comes down to the fact that he’s too guided by emotions and too volatile to be worthy of the hammer, not least because of the damage he’d be able to do with the added powers.
Thor (When Banished)
After Odin punished Thor for his arrogance and for threatening the peace, he was exiled 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. Thor became unworthy to wield the Mjolnir. Odin’s decision to banish his son was meant for him to learn some humility. That humility and his impulse to sacrifice himself when the Destroyer attacked Earth was what made him worthy again.
Loki
When Thor was banished to Midgard by Odin. Both Thor and Mjolnir crash-landed in New Mexico where the hammer came under the possession of S.H.I.E.L.D. Loki followed the hammer and curiously tried his hand at lifting it. The God of Mischief casually showed his true ambition as he was always treated as inferior to his brother. Loki would never be worth it as he was hateful towards his brother, sought vengeance, and had dark ambitions to oust his brother. Though a prodigious warrior, a fact often overlooked in the MCU, Loki was also a villain and that clearly depicts his worthiness.
Though there are many theories of what makes one worthy to wield the Mjolnir – the hammer may sense when it is needed for duty. As the Odin cast the spell on the hammer making only the worthy to be able to wield it. It might be also as the worthy at a particular time may be able to lift it and use its power.
