Avengers tells the story of several superheroes, saving the world multiple times from various threats (often, if not always, irrational compared to our reality). In the third installment, Avengers: Endgame, their goal is to defeat Thanos who, by collecting the 6 Infinity Stones, can eradicate 50% of the population with a snap of his fingers (you have been warned).
This film, like all the Avengers movies, was very successful and well-liked by the audience, but one question sparked a lot of discussion among internet users: during a fight, Captain America, to help Thor, throws him his hammer: Mjolnir. However, if you know a bit about the Norse mythology universe or the Avengers, you know that Mjolnir can only be wielded by the god of thunder.
HOW MJOLNIR WORKS
In Norse mythology, Mjolnir is a magical hammer made by the dwarves of Nidavellir, at the request of Loki (Thor’s brother). When Loki gave Thor his hammer, Odin (their father) cast an enchantment to give Mjolnir immense power. Among these powers are, among others:
- Control of lightning and storms
- Return to its owner when thrown
- Creation of dimensional portals allowing travel between the 9 worlds
34,90€
50,00€
Added to this, a very important rule (especially to answer the question)
“Whoever holds this hammer, if he is worthy enough, will possess the powers of Thor”
This rule speaks for itself: only a person worthy enough can wield the hammer of Thor and control it to its full potential. Yes, Marvel respected all these rules: the hammer has already sparked curiosity among people who tried to lift it: we see this in Thor 1 when SHIELD conducts an investigation on this hammer.
WHAT ABOUT CAPTAIN AMERICA?
If you have read this far, you will have understood: Captain America is not supposed to be able to wield Mjolnir, he had already tried in the past, without success.
So how could he become worthy and thus wield Mjolnir?
The cleverest among you will have understood. In Civil War, we learn that Captain America has kept a secret for years: it is Bucky, his childhood friend, who killed Tony Stark’s father (Iron Man). Indeed, Bucky was at the time under Hydra’s control and had to obey blindly due to an injected serum. Steve Rogers knew this secret but always kept it to avoid creating tensions within the group.
It is therefore probably this secret that made him not worthy enough to wield Thor’s hammer. This theory has been confirmed since, in Civil War, Captain reveals to the group that his friend killed Tony Stark’s father. This revelation indeed created a lot of tension in the group and even divided it.
According to our theory, the revelation of this secret made Captain America worthy enough, since in the following films, he was able to wield Mjolnir to save Thor from Thanos.
For the geekiest among you, discover how to find Mjolnir in Fortnite. You know, the not-so-well-known game by Epic Games.
