# Thor's Hammer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196 "2015-03-04T14:27:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/41 "2015-03-04T19:28:03Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Gandalf and Aragorn. I agree that Gandalf the White could,I’m not so sure about Gandalf the Grey. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/42 "2015-03-04T19:29:35Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > Jack Ryan could wield it … and if Tom Clancy was writing the story, Ryan would actually yank it away from Thor and beat him about the head and shoulders with it. And Thor would meekly submit in recognition of Ryan’s innate awesomeness. But not before we were subjected to a 12 page technical description of the hammer, its forging, and the complete theory of Hammer Deployment Against Frost Giants. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/43 "2015-03-04T19:38:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But not before we were subjected to a 12 page technical description of the hammer, its forging, and the complete theory of Hammer Deployment Against Frost Giants. 12 pages only? Hell, 12 pages would barely describe the Uru metal used in its forging. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/44 "2015-03-04T19:40:49Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > In my retcons, the key word is “wield” although this contradicts observed behavior of the artifact in canon. > > Anyone can pick the thing up or move it. However, you need to have the Aesir virtues in order to use it as a weapon (or actually do anything useful with it). > [@TruCelt](#): > > I agree that Gandalf the White could,I’m not so sure about Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf the Grey had it in his hand, in the book, when he throws it in the fireplace to prove that it’s the One Ring. ETA: Oops, didn’t realize we were back to Mjolnir. But GtG did hold the Ring in his hand, even after he knew what it was, and gave it up. ---
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/45 "2015-03-04T19:50:44Z")
“Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” That is the enchantment on the hammer. There is nothing that inherently forbids someone from lifting or wielding it. They just wouldn’t possess the power of Thor. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/46 "2015-03-04T19:52:25Z")
Brienne of Tarth from ASOIAF. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/47 "2015-03-04T19:58:44Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > None of the above, IMNSHO. Simply being nobly heroic is not enough, else 1/2 the Marvel universe could lift the hammer. I’m of the opinion that the number of people throughout fiction who should be capable of lifting the hammer should be able to be counted on one’s fingers. > > One website talks about Thor’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all wielding Mjolnir despite likely being unworthy, though (in comic’s terms) I think the ‘no-lift’ enchantment was only added by Odin when Thor was cast down. Good point. Thor wasn’t deserving until he learned humility and to put the needs of the others before himself so there’s probably a huge mystical database contained within Mjolnir that has to check off thousands of qualities of the individual attempting to wield it and gauge whether it should be lifted or not. There has to be a lot of factors: the individual, his or her intent with the hammer, and so forth. Captain America may not be able to pick it up when people are sitting around a table BS-ing about it but maybe he can when he’s the only one left and he needs to save an innocent bystander from being smooshed by Ultron. And I’m not sure about when the enchantment was actually added in the comics either but in the movie Odin adds it just before he chucks it down to Earth. I believe the comics follow a similar notion. ---
**Author:** ![Just1Lurk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@Just1Lurk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just1Lurk)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/48 "2015-03-04T20:18:52Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Has Magneto ever tried? IIRC, in the Ultimate Universe Magneto was able to wrest Ultimate Thor’s hammer and use it to create a tidal wave that devastated New York and pretty much ended the Ultimate Universe altogether. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/49 "2015-03-04T20:44:14Z")
Ash. He would fight the oncoming zombie hordes with a chainsaw on one arm, and Mjolnir in the other, up until the time somebody pointed out to him what that hammer truly was. Then he wouldn’t be able to use it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/50 "2015-03-04T21:39:30Z")
The Buddha. Except he wouldn’t, for all lifting turns the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/51 "2015-03-04T21:44:29Z")
IIRC, Marvel did a comic about 9/11 in which Thor became trapped in the ruins when the tower collapsed and was eventually dug out by firefighters. As he’s dusting himself off, one of the firemen says something to the effect of “I think you dropped this” and hands him Mjollnir, and it’s not until after that man has walked away that Thor realizes the gravity of what just happened. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/52 "2015-03-04T23:42:27Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Doc Strange has done quite a bit of ass-kicking in other dimensions, and I’ve seen him ramp up and duke it out with cosmics and high-level deity types. Doc Strange went up against deity-type Thor back in the Lee/Ditko days, and – well, we’ll never know whether Doc could lift the hammer, because he’s a sorceror and so of course conjured up _“a hand from nowhere – seizing my enchanted mallet!!”_ And so the floating hand – “of a diamond-hard metallic substance, moving under the mental control of the uncanny Dr. Strange” – carries off Thor’s hammer, at which point Thor plummets out of the sky, and a loverly time was had by all. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/53 "2015-03-05T00:19:32Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > What about the _real_ [Captain Carrot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Carrot)? I would think so, yeah. He presumably falls under the same category as Superman, The Big Red Cheese, and Wonder Woman. Although I don’t remember a case where one of the Marvel Family weilded Mjolnir, Billy and Mary (under normal characterization, however many years that’s been now) probably could. In that vein, probably the original Mr. Terrific, too. > [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Neville Longbottom. Definitely Neville Longbottom I would expect so. At least, in time of great need, yeah. > [@Sauron](#): > > Jack Ryan could wield it … and if Tom Clancy was writing the story, Ryan would actually yank it away from Thor and beat him about the head and shoulders with it. And Thor would meekly submit in recognition of Ryan’s innate awesomeness. Well, I don’t think we can take your word for it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/54 "2015-03-05T00:22:08Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > None of the above, IMNSHO. Simply being nobly heroic is not enough, else 1/2 the Marvel universe could lift the hammer. I’m of the opinion that the number of people throughout fiction who should be capable of lifting the hammer should be able to be counted on one’s fingers. Considering that Throg, Beta Ray Bill, and random EMT guy all have picked it up, I think you’re overestimating the rarity of worthiness. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/55 "2015-03-05T01:25:39Z")
> [@yellowjacketcoder](#): > > The hammer is not infinitely heavy. It probably weighs about 40 pounds or so. Thor hangs it on a hook in Jane’s apartment in Thor 2. > > The difference is that if the person is not worthy, the hammer will refuse to be moved. I’m sure variations of this has been asked before, but I always collected X-Men and Amazing Spider-Man (thank you, Mr. McFarlane!): so could I leave the hammer hanging from the hook but remove the hook? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/56 "2015-03-05T01:31:31Z")
I think Ambassador Delenn would be able to lift Mjolnir. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/57 "2015-03-05T01:40:23Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Doc Strange went up against deity-type Thor back in the Lee/Ditko days, and – well, we’ll never know whether Doc could lift the hammer, because he’s a sorceror and so of course conjured up _“a hand from nowhere – seizing my enchanted mallet!!”_ > > And so the floating hand – “of a diamond-hard metallic substance, moving under the mental control of the uncanny Dr. Strange” – carries off Thor’s hammer, at which point Thor plummets out of the sky, and a loverly time was had by all. Cool, thanks. I figured he could come up with something. Thor and his powers are confusing. Whoever holds the hammer gets the power of Thor. To me that means Thor is the thunder god even without the hammer, and he just uses the hammer to focus his own power or something. Or, they should say “whoever holds the hammer, gets the power of the hammer.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/58 "2015-03-05T02:06:48Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > I think Ambassador Delenn would be able to lift Mjolnir. Delenn could probably _break_ the hammer. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/59 "2015-03-05T02:08:17Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Considering that Throg, Beta Ray Bill, and random EMT guy all have picked it up, I think you’re overestimating the rarity of worthiness. Okay, hands and toes. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/60 "2015-03-05T02:19:29Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Delenn could probably _break_ the hammer. Nah…that would take Ivanova. And Rooster Cogburn could definitely wield it. Mjolnir is all about True Grit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196.md?page=4)