Who Is Worthy to Weild Mjolnir? // Comics 101

With the announcement of Thor: Love and Thunder, so-called fans have been in a tizzy over a woman using the enchanted hammer Mjolnir and the title of Thor. This is not an uncommon reaction from the unholy trio of racists, sexists, and bigots who claim to be lovers of comics that crawl out of the woodwork the second “diversity” comes outside comic books.

While I have still not seen the movie myself, Jane Foster using the hammer of Thor is a long-standing tradition of being worthy of the title and/or power. Non-Thor-Odinson users of the hammer of Thor stretch back decades in comics back to 1962’s Journey into Mystery Issue 82. To show that Jane holding the hammer is nothing new, we’re gonna look at some of the users here.

Is this a top 10 disguised as an examination? Maybe. Depends on if we get to 10.

1) Odin Borson

Yes, even if the hammer Mjolnir belongs to Thor in Norse myth, Odin himself crafted Mjolnir for his own use. Back in the ancient past, Odin took on an elder god in the shape of a cosmic storm. Called the God Tempest, Odin beat it after an extended battle. The king of the Norse Gods would then trap the God Tempest in a piece of enchanted Uru metal, which would one day become Mjolnir itself.

The young(er) Odin had issues controlling the power within Mjolnir, but this was also before he applied the restriction enchantment upon Mjolnir itself. Thus, while he is the first user of Mjolnir, being worthy didn’t actually matter. Odin has also subsequently held a piece of his soul within Mjolnir and is a part of Mjolnir in the comics even now.

When his son Thor’s attitude became too much, Odin would force Thor to Earth (aka Midgard) in order to teach him a lesson of humility. Thor would be trapped in the mortal body of Donald Blake, and the “If he so be worthy” enchantment that the Marvel movies have so emphasized would be added to Mjolnir.

While Odin’s worthiness might be in debate, being part of Mjolnir kinda bypasses it. But what about some Joe?

2) Adam Aziz (2020’s Thor Volume 6, Issue 7)

Adam is no one special. After spending 9 years in prison for armed assault and robbery, the man would run an auto shop in Broxton, OK, with a specialty in charity repairs for those who cannot afford auto maintenance. After Thor’s hammer crashed at his work, Adam reached the Avengers by dialing the phone number on Thor’s hammer: Tony Stark’s. Rather than listen to Tony’s repeated warnings not to try and pick up the hammer, Adam tried to pick up the hammer Mjolnir. I mean, wouldn’t you?

I just don’t think he expected to be able to pick it up. It turns out the enchantment on Mjolnir preventing the unworthy from picking up the hammer had broken. While Thor granted Adam the chance to fly in his transformed state, Adam surrendered the power back to Thor willingly. Adam might not have been worthy, but it was certainly in good hands. But what about someone who surely couldn’t be worthy?

3) Ulik (1967’s Thor Volume 1, Issue 139)

One of Thor’s more famous villains who has yet to make a big-screen appearance, Ulik is a Rock Troll, and his people have often been in combat with the gods of Asgard. During a moment of weakness, a magical vortex sucked up Mjolnir into the hands of the Rock Trolls. They made a perfect duplicate and gave one to Ulik.

Thor summons the original back to his hands, so there is some form of enchantment going on here still. However, Ulik hefts around Thor’s hammer without effort or issue. So, therefore, Ulik was either worthy of Mjolnir… or the magic vacuum cleaner disrupted Odin’s enchantment. Take your pick, but it’s remarkably rare for that magic to be disrupted.

So, Ulik was likely worthy. Or found a loophole. But what about someone who was mostly out for themselves?

4) Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man of 2099 (1998’s 2099: Manifest Destiny one-shot)

Yes, even Spider-Man has been worthy of holding the hammer of Thor. This is not your father’s Spider-Man (well, actually, it could be if your dad was a kid in 1993), but instead is the Spider-Man of Marvel’s distant future of 2099! A hero in his own right, Miguel O’Hara was altered in a sabotaged gene splicing accident and blended with a spider in an attempt to recreate the Spider-Man of the modern day. While his life had many ups and downs, he would survive the collapse of society in the year 2099 and would find himself digging up the frozen, still-living Captain America himself.

And find a small wooden staff in a medical kit, once belonging to Donald Blake. While Steve Rogers was, of course, worthy of holding the hammer of Thor, Steve would be lost to space in another massive event. With his last effort, Steve would hurl the hammer at Miguel, and Mjolnir would judge him worthy.

While Miguel was strangely untransformed by the hammer, Mjolnir would instead be used as a way of proving who was the best judge to lead mankind into the future.

Luckily, Mjolnir was a good judge of character, as mankind expanded into the future in peace and wonder. But what about someone from a more savage time?

5) Conan the Barbarian & Crom (1983’s What-If? Volume 1, Issue 39)

Yes, even Conan the Barbarian has used the hammer of Thor. This one stems from an alternate universe in the first line of What-If? comics. Amnesiac and without a sense of self, Thor Odinson finds himself in the world of Conan the Barbarian. The two hit it off well, though Conan believes Thor insane when Thor regains his memories. In a mission to retrieve Mjolnir from where it has been lost, Thor sacrifices himself to prevent Mjolnir from being used to strike down Crom and the other gods of this land. With his dying wishes, Thor passes along Mjolnir to Conan.

Conan follows Thor’s dying wishes: that the hammer be brought to Crom to show that an act of love and compassion can be just as strong as an act of war or hatred. The story ends with Conan climbing Crom’s mountain to do just that, the hammer on his belt. This means Conan is certainly worthy.

In fact, the most interesting thing about this story is that Conan’s god Crom can also hold Mjolnir. Earlier in the story, Crom demands Mjolnir be given to him as a sacrifice. Thor objects, but Crom rips it from Thor’s grasp and hurls it away to be found later in the story.

I guess gods can bypass some of these rules. But there are other loopholes. Like devouring the essence of Thor, maybe?

6) Rogue (1994’s What-If? Volume 2, Issue 66)

Back in the day, Rogue was once a villain and menaced both Carol Danvers in her Ms. Marvel days and was the direct cause for the character losing her powers entirely in 1981. Loosely based around 1981’s Avengers Annual 10, Rogue and Mystique break into jail to free the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. This is after Rogue took her iconic 90s powers from Carol Danvers, already pumping her up. During the jailbreak, the Avengers show up to stop them from escaping.

And Rogue drains Thor entirely of power and life. Loki embraces his newfound sister and tries to manipulate her into taking down Odin. As Loki tends to do in comics made prior to the turn of the century. However, the remnants of Thor inside Rogue forgive her for her deeds and encourage Rogue to take up the mantle of Thor as her own. Becoming the new Goddess of Thunder and worthy of the hammer through her own deeds, the enchantment on the hammer changes.

Rogue may have begun her story as a villain, but she ended it as a hero worthy of the hammer Mjolnir. What about someone who had far, far more blood on their hands?

7) Natasha Romanov (2014’s What-If? Age of Ultron, Issue 3)

It’s another alternate universe and another world that was identical to our Marvel-616 until something horrible happened. In this case, the event known to us as Fear Itself ended badly, with Thor dying abruptly before he could finish off the Serpent. With Thor dead, most of the Earth’s heroes also soon fell in battle. What’s left is a set of unpowered heroes, led by Nick Fury in a desperate attempt to keep the rest of the world alive. One of these heroes is Natasha Romanov, the Black Widow.

With all hope gone, the heroes stage a last-ditch effort to reach Thor’s fallen hammer. Fury’s plan is that Natasha will take the hammer while the rest will be sacrificed to the gods for her to become worthy.

It works, luckily with no one else losing their life. The new Thor slays the Serpent and her minions, and peace is restored to the Earth. Even someone with the blood of hundreds of innocents on their hands can become worthy.

Ok, So we’ve covered a lot of different types. But can nepotism make sure they pick up the hammer?

8) Woden Thorson (1993’s Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 1, Issue 42)

Off in the 30th century, Earth is at constant war. Not with itself, but with invading aliens known as the Badoon. Led by wayward time-stranded astronaut Vance Astrovik, the original Guardians of the Galaxy keep Earth and other peace-loving planets safe. However, Asgard hasn’t been seen for centuries.

There’s a reason for that. Thor had retired to become King of Asgard, and years of drinking had fouled his temper. After striking his wife and child in anger, among other unspoken deeds, Thor would no longer be worthy of Mjolnir. Loki would use the Inhumans in a centuries-long breeding program to make the strongest warriors to assault Asgard and wreck his adopted home for the final time.

However, he did not count on the son of Thor.

It was far from being the Son of Thor that made him worthy, though. Woden was worthy from his own deeds and remembered well his training from his father prior to Thor falling victim to alcoholism and the weakness of older age. The comic makes it clear that Woden is truly worthy of holding the hammer, as only he can lift it.

What if we make it just a kid, though?

9) Alex Power (2010’s Thor and the Warriors Four, Issue 4)

Alex Power is the leader of the super-powered sibling team Power Pack. With his two younger sisters and younger brother, they all fight crime together. This time, however, the four snuck off to Asgard to find the mythical golden apples that could prevent their grandmother from dying.

Loki has other plans and reduces all of Asgard to infants. Comics, man.

With the golden apples now in possession of Loki, all Asgardians are being forced to age until they reach their “natural” age. And some of them are millions of years old. This also triggers Ragnarok, and the Serpent we saw in Fear Itself returns to claim Thor’s life. With Mjolnir knocked away, Thor makes the Serpent vow to only devour him and to let the others live.

Alex Power refuses to let this happen and picks up Thor’s hammer.

Now, for those who claim this comic doesn’t count or that it was an emergency… the final appearance of Thor in this story puts it plainly:

Now, for a weird exception…

10) Superman (2003’s JLA/Avengers, Issue 4)

Hey, we made it to 10! And there’s still a good dozen more, frankly.

When the universes of Marvel and DC are forced together by a madman named Krona, only the gathering of the Justice League and the Avengers (each circa 2003) can bring his madness to an end. Led by Captain America, the joint forces of the JLA and Avengers fight on nearly even ground with a massive army made up of their worst foes. However, things begin to fall apart as heroes fall. Even the mighty Thor cannot stand up to a gathering this strong, and hurls his hammer to Superman.

*Yes. This comic is amazing and deserves to be read. If you can find it without paying a scalper or collector thousands, get it. Otherwise, piracy is morally correct here.*

Yes. Even the Man of Steel can be considered worthy of Mjolnir. Except… there is one catch. His worthiness was actually only temporary.

Indeed, of all the characters we’ve seen hold the hammer of Thor, Superman is the only one named specifically to not actually be worthy of holding Mjolnir. This isn’t because he’s from another universe either, as Wonder Woman held the hammer for a few seconds in 1996’s Marvel vs. DC storyline without such a clause. Instead, there is something that is intrinsic that Superman lacked at the time. That said, there is something true and iconic to each character who has hefted the hammer.