In Avengers: Endgame, how does Captain America lift Thor's hammer?
In Avengers: Age of Ultron, he is not worthy, but how is he now in this film?
-
3Related: Is Captain America worthy of Mjolnir?– BergiCommented Apr 27, 2019 at 13:23
Add a comment
|
5 Answers
It was always unclear why Captain America couldn't lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron.
Was he not worthy at all? Unlikely; it's Captain America after all, worthiness goes with the character, his MCU version at least. Plus, Mjolnir did move. (Note that in the comics, Cap has wielded Mjolnir)
Was he not completely worthy yet? Possibly. After all, there is still room for the Avengers to improve.
Was he actually refraining? By Endgame, this is the most likely. There's been talk about Captain America realising he could lift Mjolnir, but wouldn't, not to create an awkward situation for Thor. Thor was baffled at the sight of Mjolnir moving... And by Endgame, when Steve calls upon Mjolnir, he says:
I knew it!
Meaning he had more than suspicions about Captain America being worthy.
This has also been confirmed by the various officials. Quotes borrowed from this SFF answer:
GeneralBenKenobi: Could Cap always wield Mjolnir (meaning he could have picked it up in Age of Ultron and decided not to), or did he progressively get more worthy over time?
Russo_Brothers: Anthony: He always could. Our interpretation of the famous scene in Ultron was that when he realized he could pick up Mjolnir he quickly chose not to, because he didn't want to embarrass Thor.
...
KrazzyDJ: Cap lifting Mjolnir was one of the strongest (crowd-cheering) moments in Endgame. Does he become worthy in that moment or has he been worthy for a while since, say, Avengers: Age of Ultron?
KevFeige: We think he was always worthy and was being polite in Age of Ultron.
-
23I get the impression that Cap was refraining. He moved Mjolnir in Age of Ultron to prove to himself that he could, but didn't go any further out of choice, and out of deference to Thor (who's main key skill is his mastery of the hammer).– user43022Commented Apr 26, 2019 at 6:31
-
14@Snow I also figured it was out of deference, but I feel Thor's main key skill isn't just mastery of the hammer - citation Thor Ragnarok "Are you the god of hammers?"– YannCommented Apr 26, 2019 at 6:58
-
13Ah, there's also drinking, carousing, and beating down Fortnite trolls...– user43022Commented Apr 26, 2019 at 7:38
-
@Snow Thor's still worthy of Mjolnir though, he dual-wields it and Stormbreaker. Why should Mjolnir be limited to one person? There are a couple worthy beings out there– JenayahCommented Apr 26, 2019 at 7:46
-
4It has always seemed pretty clear to me that Cap could lift Mjolnir in AoU, but stopped himself as soon as he realized it so as not to upstage Thor. And Thor notices; you see the look on his face. Since Cap stopped he isn't sure, but he still had suspicions, as made clear by his comment in Endgame.– HerohtarCommented Apr 27, 2019 at 7:43
Because he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect others.
The reason why Cap managed to do so is already explained in Thor Trilogy. Thor was unproved of worthy in Thor when he committed a war which could lead to deaths of many. However, when he was willing to sacrifice himself for those who he loved by the end of the film, he proved himself worthy. Even Jane was able to lift it since he was going to sacrifice herself for Asgardians, who hated her at that time.
For the same reason, Captain America was also worthy to lift the hammer. However, the main question is why he couldn't do this in Age Of Ultron. The reason behind this is that he could lift Mjolnir at that time and even it moves a little, but he saw the look at Thor's face and decided not to make him feel devastated by the fact that a mortal can lift Mjolnir.
However, the move of Mjolnir did make Thor suspicious which he became sure when he saw Cap lifting it in Endgame and that's why he says "I knew it". In Endgame, Cap didn't have any choice but to use Mjolnir when he saw Thor being defeated by Thanos.
“How is Steve Rogers not worthy?” a fan asked. “Is he not? Are we sure?” Whedon responded, a hint of teasing in his voice. “Did he fail? Or did he stop?”
For those who don't know: Joss Whedon is the director for Age of Ultron. He stated that in 2015.
Like others have already said, Cap has been worthy. Also, I've seen people ask how he was able to use lightning too. Remember, before Ragnorok Thor needed the hammer to use lightning. And in Thor 1, Odin took everything back from Thor because Thor was unworthy. Odin cast him out and enchanted the hammer with these words:
"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”
To give Thor a chance to earn the power back. Which he did. The enchantment stayed too.
-
This is not an answer to the question how Captain America was apparently suddenly able to lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron where he could not before.– JoachimCommented Apr 28, 2019 at 8:42
-
Let's...maybe either incorporate these comments into the actual answer if relevant or...just not pursue a one-sided 10-comments thread any further. Commented Apr 28, 2019 at 11:13
-
Ok, the OP never asked that question Joachim. And we will never know for certain since he never tried to move it before Age of Ultron. I believe it was after the serum that made the person he is go from good to great and didn't just make him stronger. Probably when he saved millions and protected people at all costs from the Tesseract bombs in his first movie. Even Asguard isn't a place, "it's where its people stand"– yarpyarpCommented Apr 28, 2019 at 11:49
-
Not literally, no, but I said it to illustrate that you're not giving an explanation, you're just saying that Captain America must be worthy since he was able to lift it - repeating, in essence, the question.– JoachimCommented Apr 28, 2019 at 14:08
-
2Again, you seem to be missing a very important point here that seperates my answer from the others. Based on the director's highly suggestive response and not just because Cap moved it, Cap was worthy during that scene in AoT. This means that I have not repeated the OP's second question but have shown it was never even applicable in the first place. As for how Cap is worthy at all just watch Thor 1 where Thor has to learn a lesson Cap always knew. If you're asking when he is worthy. It's between serum to AoT scene. An exact moment that he becomes worthy is just pure speculation if thats your ?– yarpyarpCommented Apr 28, 2019 at 18:20
I believe he couldn't in Ultron because he had Bucky's secret that he killed Tony's parents. After the events in Civil War he had no secrets and became worthy.
-
so if he have secrets(dirty) of someone, he is not worthy.– Ali RazaCommented Nov 5, 2020 at 15:01
In the comics Thor said the enchantment that Odin put on Mjölnir allows "very few worthies" to lift it in "desperate hours". Given that Thanos was about to kill Thor and would have killed everyone and everything, I'm guessing that qualifies.
If you watch the scene, Captain America doesn't appear to be holding back and as Vision put it, it's very well balanced. If Captain America was worthy of lifting it in Age of Ultron, even the slightest pull would've lifted it.
Why he couldn't lift it in Age of Ultron is most likely because it just isn't the time. The fact that he could shift Mjölnir, was likely just showing he is one of the very few worthies, but there was no dire threat, so Mjölnir refused him.