You probably know all about Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and that only those who are worthy
can wield it.
Though they haven't really explored the possibility much in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there
have been several characters in the comics who were, at one time or another, worthy of
wielding the power of Thor.
"Whomsoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
Loki
It would take some insane weirdness and arcane trickery for Loki to wield Mjolnir, but when
you're talking about comics, that kind of goes without saying.
During the 2014 X-Men/Avengers crossover event, "Axis," several members of the team were hit
with an inversion spell, which converted good to evil, and vice-versa, including Thor and
Loki.
With their roles now reversed, Loki becomes a hero and Thor becomes a villain, with a
lot of mess to clean up.
Loki: Agent of Asgard #9 continues this story, revealing that Mjolnir, which had rejected
Evil Thor for being, well, evil, chose Good Loki as its new champion, so that he could
wield it against his brother.
Of course, all good and evil things must come to an end.
Once the spell was lifted, Loki once again returned to his evil, unworthy ways.
Captain America
In the films, Steve Rogers couldn't move Mjolnir more than a little bit, but in comics, Cap
has grabbed the hammer multiple times over.
In Thor #390, Avengers Island comes under attack, and the invading minions of Grog subdue
most of the team.
When Thor is separated from Mjolnir, Cap grabs the hammer and wields it for a short time
before returning it to Thor.
This marked the first time a human could lift the hammer, and was also used as a plot device.
Cap was in a bad place with the Avengers at the time, but his being able to pick up Mjolnir
convinced Thor he was a worthy man who could be trusted.
Because seriously, if Steve Rogers isn't worthy of the power of Thor, who is?
"Heh heh, nothing."
Beta Ray Bill
Every so often, comics need to shake things up, and the introduction of the horse-faced
Beta Ray Bill in Thor #337 was such a big change that it even shattered the logo on
the cover — and created a full-on paradox in the Marvel Universe.
Could there be more than one Thor?
When an alien fleet was detected by S.H.I.E.L.D., Thor went to investigate and was mistaken
for an attacker by Bill, a cyborg tasked with defending his people, the Korbinites, as they
journeyed to a new galaxy.
During their fight, Thor loses control of Mjolnir.
If you read the comics way back when, you may recall that Thor turned back into his
human alter-ego, the puny Donald Blake, if he was separated from his hammer for 60 seconds.
That happened here, and with Blake posing no threat, Bill picked up the hammer and was
immediately transformed into the all-new Thor.
Odin sensed what was going on and zapped the two Thors over to Asgard to address the whole
"two worthy wielders" problem.
After a fight to determine who was truly the most worthy, Odin then created a new hammer
for Bill called Stormbreaker.
Wonder Woman
The idea of characters being worthy enough to lift Mjolnir isn't actually limited to
a single reality.
In 1996, during the DC vs. Marvel crossover, Wonder Woman stumbled across Thor's hammer
and hefted it almost effortlessly, adding the God of Thunder's power to her own, and
getting a new costume that really reminds you that this thing was published in the mid-'90s.
However, Wonder Woman never actually fought Thor in the story.
She was matched up against Storm of the X-Men, while Thor took on Captain Marvel, better
known today as Shazam.
It makes sense, considering that Storm was easily Marvel’s most popular and prominent
female character, and even won the fan vote that determined the outcome of the series.
Unfortunately, it also made the momentous occasion of Wonder Woman lifting Thor's hammer
feel like an afterthought.
After swinging it around for a couple of panels, Wonder Woman dropped the hammer so that she
could battle Storm in a fair fight, putting herself at a disadvantage in a way that gave
DC an easy excuse for having one of their most popular characters take the loss.
Superman
If Wonder Woman's hammer time suffered from being an afterthought, Superman's turn at
wielding the power of Thor in JLA/Avengers was exactly the kind of climactic moment it
should've been.
Two issues after they fought each other in a knock-down, drag-out brawl, Superman and
Thor had earned each other's trust, just in time for the Avengers and the Justice League
to get into a full-on team-up.
As Thor was overwhelmed by enemies from both universes, he threw Mjolnir to Superman — who
was already carrying Captain America's shield.
Armed with the power of Thor, Superman shattered an entire fortress in a single blow.
After story's final battle, however, Superman found himself unable to lift it, with Thor
casually explaining that Odin must've just lifted the enchantment for a special one-time-only
emergency.
Superman might've been worthy, but let's be real: that's the sort of thing that you can
only really do once.
Eric Masterson
In the early 90s, Thor got a new identity: a dude named Eric Masterson, a run-of-the-mill
architect who happened upon a battle between The Mighty Thor and an enemy named the Mongoose.
While the Mongoose's name wasn't very threatening, the laser weapon he wielded against Thor was.
Thor was knocked down and lost his grip on Mjolnir.
With Mongoose standing ready to kill the Asgardian, Masterson ran into the fray, grabbed the hammer,
and wielded it against Mongoose, who quickly dispatched and nearly killed him.
With Masterson near death, Thor begged Odin to save his life, given his obvious worthiness
and heroism.
Instead, Odin bonds Masterson to Thor in the same manner he was bonded to Donald Blake
back in the day.
What emerges is the ponytail-wielding Thor for a new age.
Eventually, Odin separated Masterson from Thor, but after deciding he should continue
to possess godlike power, he created a new weapon called Thunderstrike, a mace, for him
to use.
Masterson names himself after his new toy and goes off on his own adventures, but he's
eventually killed off and sent to an afterlife of his own by Odin, who clearly can't make
up his mind about anything.
Jane Foster
In 2016, it was time to welcome yet another new Thor to the Marvel Universe.
After decades of stories that had seen Thor killed, cloned, reborn, and more, Don Blake's
girlfriend, and longtime Thor ally Jane Foster, picks up Mjolnir and becomes the new Thor,
Goddess of Thunder.
She even alters the inscription on the hammer to read, "Whosoever holds this hammer, if
SHE be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
When this goes down, the original God of Thunder tries to reclaim his hammer and title.
After he fails, he relinquishes the name of Thor and takes on the title of Odinson, adopting
a new weapon and a cool prosthetic arm to continue his superhero lifestyle.
Meanwhile, the newly-crowned Goddess of Thunder faces new challenges and joins the Avengers,
but maintains her secret identity.
Foster now has all of Thor's powers, with no limitations, and also has demonstrated
a unique method of control over Mjolnir that the old Thor never achieved.
She can alter the hammer's velocity and trajectory in mid-throw and can even cause it to spin
around an enemy at great speed, trapping them.
Sounds pretty worthy, don't you think?
Lego Stan Lee
"Did it work?"
Yes, Stan the Man has indeed lifted the hammer of Thor, but not in the comics or movies — it
was in the Lego Marvel Avengers video game.
Because of course it was.
While dusting in the Avengers penthouse in the aftermath of the battle with Ultron, Stan
Lee's Lego counterpart casually picks up Thor's hammer so he can get at the dust beneath it.
When he realizes what he’s holding, he quickly drops the hammer and whistles his way off-screen.
Too bad we never got to see him really use the thing.
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