# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/61 "2015-03-05T02:25:04Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > All you have to do is complete the long chain of retcons to make her an Asgardian. :rolleyes: The enchantment is “Whosoever holdeth this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of THOR” (or words to that effect) As noted, Storm, Captain America and Superman, none of whom are Asgardians lifted it. The (very mild) retcon that Kurt Busiek put on the hammer is that there’s a sort of sliding scale of worthiness vs danger. If the universe is going to end and say, Hawkeye (who’s sorta worthy) reaches for the hammer in a last ditch effort to save the day, he’ll be worthy enough (JLA/Avengers issue 4). It wouldn’t let a total scum use it, I suspect. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/62 "2015-03-05T02:29:31Z")
I’m with D-Odds. You guys are vastly underestimating how ‘noble’ you have to be. Odin himself is stunned when BRB can not only pick up Mjolinir, but use it to become ‘Thor’. Of course random EMT guy is the author making a point. As for Magneto, I know he fought the Avengers before. I shouldn’t be surprised if he hurled it over the horizon and took Thor out of the fight cause Thor was afraid of turning back into Blake. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/63 "2015-03-05T02:30:47Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Nah…that would take Ivanova. > > And Rooster Cogburn could definitely wield it. Mjolnir is all about True Grit. I’m embarrased that it took me this long to think of Kimball Kinnison, who is as worthy as they come (and so are Kimball’s comicbook equivalents, the Green Lanterns). ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/64 "2015-03-05T02:38:29Z")
I dug out the issue that addresses this: In JLA/Avengers, Thor tosses Superman the hammer during a critical moment in battle, which Supes easily catches/lifts. Later, when the danger’s past, Superman tries to lift the hammer and can’t. Thor: There is an enchantment 'pon my hammer, laid by my father, Odin. It is not…easily lifted by others. Superman: I held it before– Thor: My father is stern, Superman, but not stupid. A very few worthies have been allowed to overcome the spell, in desperate hours. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/65 "2015-03-05T02:41:35Z")
> [@The\_Tooth](#): > > 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? You could try, but i imagine the hammer would hold the hook down. ---
**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 5, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/66 "2015-03-05T16:41:30Z")
> [@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. A man shouldn’t do that to his own father. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/67 "2015-03-05T17:05:13Z")
Mr. Furious could lift it. Well, really more of a push, really, than a lift. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/68 "2015-03-05T17:09:21Z")
> [@Just1Lurk](#): > > Wasn’t one of the Marvel Zombies a zombie Thor? Could he still use his hammer after he started eating Braaaaains? If I recall correctly, Zombie Thor had made an imitation Mjolnir because he could no longer lift the real one. ---
**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 5, 2015, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/69 "2015-03-05T20:19:58Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Mr. Furious could lift it. > > Well, really more of a push, really, than a lift. And Thor kinda had his hand on it – just in the beginning, just to get it going. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/70 "2015-03-05T21:08:08Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > 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. No, it means that all of Thor’s godly powers (or at least the ones above and beyond what a run-of-the-mill albeit lunky as hell Aesir’s got) come from the hammer itself. The hammer is the power of Thor. If you get to hold it, then by definition you’re wielding the power of Thor. Like, literally. Which is not inconsistent with how the powers of the mythological gods actually worked : a few have innate powers (like Baldr, who just can’t be killed except via mistletoe because he’s mummy’s little treasure) but mostly they make/find/bargain for magical doodads. Odin’s the wisest because he’s given an eye for it and then got hanged (it’s complicated :p), and he’s got Mimir’s skull advising him, and his ravens give him quasi-omniscience to work his wisdom on. He can be anywhere he wishes because he’s got a ring that lets him clone himself. Loki’s only actual, individual power is shape-shifting - he’s just got enough of a silver tongue to bargain use of other powers out of just about anyone up to and including reality itself, and a passion for fucking things up. Etc… ---
**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, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/71 "2015-03-05T21:13:59Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > No, it means that all of Thor’s godly powers (or at least the ones above and beyond what a run-of-the-mill albeit lunky as hell Aesir’s got) come from the hammer itself. The hammer is the power of Thor. If you get to hold it, then by definition you’re wielding the power of Thor. Like, literally. In mythology, Thor also had a belt of strength, [Megingjörð](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megingj%C3%B6r%C3%B0), which has on rare occasion turned up in the Marvel universe. ---
**Author:** ![Strassia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@Strassia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strassia)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2015, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/72 "2015-03-05T21:51:24Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > 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.” You have to remember that in the beginning of the original comics, there was no “real” Thor. Thor was a mantle assumed by whoever was worthy of wielding the hammer. It started as Donald Blake, crippled doctor, but I know of at least one other Earthling and two aliens. In the early days, Thor would revert to Blake if he let go of the hammer for more than 30 seconds. In the 80s it was retconned that Blake was the “real” Thor the whole time and sent to Earth to live as cripple until he learned enough to be worthy. When I stopped reading comics regularly in the 90s, Blake was barely mentioned and Thor was Thor full time. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/73 "2015-03-06T09:19:44Z")
Odin’s definition of “worthy” might not match yours or mine. There’s a growing list of Marvel characters (and at least two from DC) who have lifted it, some of them (like Loki and Red Norvell) being of very dubious worth. And currently in the comics, Thor himself can’t lift it. Nick Fury whispered something in his ear that made him unworthy, probably something like “You aren’t worthy, ya long-haired pansy!” That might have been all the self-doubt Thor needed. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/74 "2015-03-06T16:07:43Z")
My hypothesis is that there’s maybe 1% of humanity that are worthy enough, but that they’re distributed fairly uniformly in the population. Hence, about 1% of superheroes are worthy, and about 1% of EMTs, and about 1% of kindergarten teachers, and so on. We mostly only hear about the superheroes who can do it, since most of the rest never even get the chance to try. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/75 "2015-03-06T16:08:37Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Odin’s definition of “worthy” might not match yours or mine. There’s a growing list of Marvel characters (and at least two from DC) who have lifted it, some of them (like Loki and Red Norvell) being of very dubious worth. And currently in the comics, Thor himself can’t lift it. Nick Fury whispered something in his ear that made him unworthy, probably something like “You aren’t worthy, ya long-haired pansy!” That might have been all the self-doubt Thor needed. He’s back to being able to lift it. Seeing how the entirety of the multiverse is collapsing, Daffy Duck could probably wield it now. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/76 "2015-03-09T15:40:05Z")
Avery Mann could do it. [Everyman | Simpsons Wiki | Fandom](http://simpsons.wikia.com/wiki/Everyman) ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/77 "2015-03-09T20:18:11Z")
I guess I have a dirty mind because I thought this was going to be like the infamous “Thing’s thing” thread. Now what do I do with all my banging puns? ---
**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 9, 2015, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/78 "2015-03-09T20:30:56Z")
Appropriate: > **[Thor Hazes The Newbie](https://cheezburger.com/8458166272/superheroes-spiderman-marvel-thor-mjolnir-prank)** > > Thor Hazes The Newbie - Comics, Superheroes, and Villains ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/79 "2015-03-09T20:49:56Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] In mythology, Thor also had a belt of strength, [Megingjörð](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megingj%C3%B6r%C3%B0), which has on rare occasion turned up in the Marvel universe. [/QUOTE] Yup, but then mythological Thor also didn’t have a few of the powers Marvel!Thor does. Flight for example - he couldn’t fly on his own, or via Mjollnir fiat, but had a flying chariot pulled by a pair of ornery goats instead. Which he gets to eat every day, then resurrect with his hammer (I’m not making any of this up). But then again, Freyja for her part had a chariot pulled by two cats, which in my mind is proof of High Magic at play right there :). In some versions Thor has a cape that lets him fly instead. And in at least one version I’ve been told of (dunno if it’s apocryphal or not) he pulls himself by his own bootstraps, flinging his hammer away so hard he gets to fly just by clinging to it :p. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196/80 "2015-03-10T02:06:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Dale Sams** : > > He’s back to being able to lift it. Seeing how the entirety of the multiverse is collapsing, Daffy Duck could probably wield it now. Nitpick: Donald. Daffy is DC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thors-hammer/714196.md?page=5)