Heroism is an interesting thing. What makes one person good can be drastically different than what makes another person good. There are a multitude of ways to embody goodness, just as there are many ways to embody evil. But we don’t often talk about the subtleties of goodness the way we do with villainy. You’re either good or you’re not.
Which brings me to a question: what specifically makes Thor good enough to hoist Mjolnir?
Spoilers for one released scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron discussed below.
In the comics, Mjolnir has switched allegiances before, been hefted by others, even been taken outright from the god of thunder. While Odin is meant to have absolute control over the hammer, that is not always the case; the current storyline shows Odin unable to control Mjolnir, resulting in another having to pick up the hammer and wield the power of Thor. Previously, Captain America has managed to pick up the hammer, as has Storm, and of course, Beta Ray Bill. Outside of central continuity (in alternate realities and the like), we have an even wider gamut, from Loki to Rogue to Jane Foster to Black Widow to Superman to Wonder Woman.
A teaser scene from Avengers: Age of Ultron shows most of the team having a go at picking up Mjolnir at a Tower party. No one pulls if off, but Steve Rogers does manage to budge the thing, causing Thor to look a little nervous. Widow opts out of the game, which has led to many a fan crying for a scene where Widow just picks the thing up mid-battle, without giving it a thought. (Which you cannot deny would be massively cool.)
It does beg the question of how Mjolnir itself evaluates worthiness. In both the comics and the films, Thor is capable of using the hammer even when he’s being… well, kind of an asshole. Odin rips Thor’s powers from him with the intent of teaching his son important lessons, but he has no control over the crowning moment in the Thor film, for example—when it’s clear Thor has learned, Mjolnir returns to him. But if Mjolnir has that power, shouldn’t it be able to tell that Thor was unworthy in the first place?
Perhaps not. Perhaps worthiness is all a state of mind.
After all, wouldn’t we assume Captain America should be able to lift the hammer? He’s a pretty darn good guy. He puts others ahead of himself every step of the way. He believes in total equality and holding governments accountable to their citizens and making sure the masses aren’t ruled by fear. How is Steve Rogers Good different from Tony Stark Good different from Black Widow Good different from Thor Good?
And what if the point is simply that Thor always means to do good?
Because if there’s anything that separates Thor from everyone else as a character, that is probably it. Thor is guileless—he has not one cynical bone in his body. Even when he commits acts that are questionable, it’s always with the noblest of desires. That’s what being Asgard’s greatest warrior is all about. Thor may not be pure of action, but he is pure of intention. That is the center of the conflict that we see in Thor all the time. He thinks he’s doing the right thing when he’s just blustering around hitting people (and just as often making the situation worse). You’d think that wouldn’t make him worthy of such a powerful weapon, but it seems that Thor’s belief that he’s doing good amounts to something.
It might be one of the things that makes him such a charming hero. It’s easier to relate to the desire to do right than the constant ability to be a pinnacle of humanity (or Asgardian..ity). Thor possesses a refreshing lack of cynicism about his purpose and deeds. And that lack is something that the majority of the Avengers lack; as a crew, they are about as self-deprecating, suspicious, and disappointed as your average human being who’s come into contact with that nastier side of humanity. Their momentum to do right is still genuine, but they’re aware that what constitutes rightness is rarely a simple question.
It also might make sense of why Steve Rogers in the movies can’t heft Mjolnir, but Steve Rogers in the comics can. Captain America is a bit more white bread and gung-ho on paper. In the films, Chris Evans plays Cap with a solid moral core, but with far more misgivings about the intentions of others. You can’t exactly blame him for it, either—working for SHIELD only to find out that the whole caboodle was secretly being driven by the very group he spent WWII trying to stop is… well, it’s bound to make all those solid lines he’s good at drawing seem mighty permeable, even to him.
Thor and Mjolnir form a sort of Catch-22 in this way, perhaps. It is likely that the only reason the thunder god is unable to pick up the hammer in the Thor film is because he is aware that Odin finds him unworthy, and he values his father’s opinion in this matter above all. But in The Avengers, we see the big fella mulling it over in a field after getting dropped out of the helicarrier. He looks down at the hammer, then to his own hand, wondering all over again; if a sibling he loved was willing to murder him without a thought, it stands to reason that you might reevaluate yourself. But in the end, he picks up Mjolnir and rejoins the fight. The ability to lift Mjolnir becomes a restorative in itself—by being able to pick it up, Thor’s confidence is forever renewed.
In the end, it’s easy to argue that Mjolnir is not the ultimate arbiter of goodness, not by a longshot. It’s simply a tool that is designed to respond to those who lack the cynicism and doubt so omnipresent in our consciences. Thor’s ability to believe he does well enough to deserve such a weapon doesn’t make him the greatest hero of all—but it does make him a very special kind of good. And that unsubtlety of character is part of what makes him such a lovable oaf in the first place.
Emmet Asher-Perrin would like to point out what this also means for Thor’s gullibility. You can bug her on Twitter and Tumblr read more of her work here and elsewhere.
I figure Cap couldn’t lift the hammer in the teaser because Mjolnir considers party tricks beneath it. It moves because Cap is worthy, but it stays put because Cap doesn’t really need to lift it.
I always viewed it as Odin comanding Mjolnir to find a worthy owner. The thought that his own father deemed Thor not worthy raised a doubt for thor that would always prevent him from lifting it. a you can not weild the hammer unless both you and the Hammer are worthy of each other and deem each other as such. Thor’s sacrifice at the end of the first Thor movie started allowed for the Hammer to act. Once the Hammer acted, Thors faith was fully restored and unflappable.
Why Cap can’t weild the hammer is simply because deep down he knows it is much more than a simple weapon and in his heart doesn’t want that burden too. Mjolnir finds him worth, but Cap doesn’t. That doesn’t ean that Cap can’t, but at the tie of the specific scene won’t.
Cap moved the hammer.
As to why he didn’t lift it up… I think he didn’t expect to be able to budge it at all. And when he tried, he moved it. That scared him, he doesn’t want to think he’s worthy of something so powerful (and probably is scared about ruling Asgard!) But there he was, with a bunch of witnesses.
I think he realized he COULD lift Mjolnir then FAKED not being able to lift it. Watch the trailer again and look at the exaggerated expression on his face. It’s an act. I bet there’s a point in the movie where he needs to and DOES pick up and weild Mjolnir!
I’ve always enjoy Walt Simonsons (probably the most important Thor writer outside of maybe Jack Kirby) explantion of why someone like Thor is worth of Mjolnir and not Steve. Steve is a to much of a symbol of America, someone who really isn’t fitting to wield the hammer. He’s not violent enough, not willing to kill his enemies. Thor on the other hand is infact willing to kill ice giants, and dark elves, and whatever have you. He’s more suited to wield the hammer be found worthy because he is more worthy in the sense being honourable, and brave, but also willing to commit violence and even murder in the name of his comrades. Basically he’s a worthy viking not worthy in the modern sense.
I’ve always liked that idea, that Mjolnir judges worth by how worthy a viking you and not how good a person you are.
Cap stills has doubts about himself. That is probably the #1 reason.
I like all of this!
At least there doesn’t seem to be much disagreement over why Steve could budge it but Tony couldn’t, because let me tell you, THAT discussion got heated.
Their reactions completely sum up their characters to me.
Tony, of course, thinks tech can beat it. Cap, CAN pick it up, but doesn’t want the burden, which is fair. Tasha, who wields it in the comics, doesn’t need that question answered, she knows. And Clint knows what’s up(It’s a trick!)
@3, Exactly my thought too, we’ll see Steve pick it up at some point in the movie.
A weapon as powerful as Mjolnir that determined who is “worthy” based entirely on the person’s good intentions would be a disaster waiting to happen. The world is full of people with good intentions who end up making situations far worse than they were before their well-meaning “help”. History is full of examples that show what road it is that good intentions pave. As C. S. Lewis pointed out, “… those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” I can hardly imagine a more dangerous hero.
That said, there does appear to be some evidence that how worthy one feels is a factor in whether Mjolnir finds them worthy. I do hope there’s more to it than just that.
One factor I don’t see mentioned here in regards to worthiness is loyalty, I figure there is (also) a two way bond at work that is not brought up.
Thor proves his worthiness to wield it and earns Mew Mew’s loyalty in the act. Thor can wave it around as much as he wants so long as he does not make himself unworthy and in return his fistfull o loitnin ona stick will not do party tricks for other worthy people. Should Thor lose it’s loyalty (again) and/or a genuine emergency comes up then it will allow someone else worthy to weild it (at least temporarily).
If this is the case then Tony was partially right when he said the handle was imprinted he just did not see the criteria for the bond.
Worthiness is a concept made up of other concepts but what are the ingredients?
Loyalty , empathy, conviction, nobility, sacrifice, humility…
what else?
I agree Cap will lift the hammer sometime in the movie.
Goddamnit, that’s not what “begs the question” means.
Good piece otherwise.