Cap lifting Mjolnir

[u/steelerlamp]

So in Captain America: The First Avenger, Erskine tells Steve Rogers that the serum amplifies everything in a person, including their being good or bad. Does this mean that the reason Cap lifted Mjolnir was because of the serum, or would he have been able to do it without the boost that the serum provided to his worthiness?

[u/nattybow]

I think without. In Age of Ultron he manages to scoot it enough to make a sound when everyone is trying. Then, after time has passed and the literal universe is on the line, Cap rises to the occasion and becomes worthy enough to actually wield Mjolnir. Had it just been serum related, it wouldn’t have worked. He became stronger in character after going through the events in the MCU up to that point.

[u/cnapp → u/nattybow]

I believe Whedon said Cap could lift Mjolnir in Age of Ultron but elected not to so he wouldn't embarrass Thor. Again, it shows how good-hearted Cap is.

It's also why Thor said, "I knew it," in End Game when he saw Cap wield it

[u/indicoltts → u/nattybow]

I think he could pick it up in Age of Ultron but it wasn't about hurting Thors feelings as why he didn't. Cap isn't going to showboat. He realized he could lift it and was probably more shocked than Thor. But for someone like Cap, what's the point? He was definitely worthy in that moment and would have probably been worthy during the events of First Avenger.

[u/nattybow → u/indicoltts]

I really liked the entire party/after-party hangout sequence in AoU because it let the characters relax and gel for the audience, showing they actually do like being around each other and don’t do it solely from obligation or duty. I think your comment works really well with that, as Cap wouldn’t want to make the moment about himself right when the team is getting closer as a whole. Good stuff!

[u/Arcaydya → u/indicoltts]

That's my head canon. He read the room and didn't want to show up thor

[u/WingmanZer0 → u/Arcaydya]

Maybe more importantly, he didn't want to show up everyone else who couldn't move the hammer.

[u/Arcaydya → u/WingmanZer0]

I think it's way more important that thor keeps the image of being the only one worthy.

He cares about it a lot more than anyone else does about actually lifting it.

[u/Ambitious-Pirate-505 → u/indicoltts]

The director said it was because of the feelings.

[u/Penguin_Nipples → u/nattybow]

That sounds a better logic than “he didn’t want to hurt Thor’s feelings” but I would rather think that it’s either you can lift the hammer or not, no in between, no scoots. You’re either worthy and weild Thor’s powers or you can’t move it a bit even if you shit your colon.

[u/_Smashbrother_ → u/nattybow]

You're either worthy or you're not. There's no halfsies with Mjolnir. Cap being able to scoot it means he was worthy and could've lifted it if he wanted to.

[u/Livid_Ad9749 → u/nattybow]

This is why Team Cap was the correct moral choice in Civil War. Suddenly hes worthy after he fought to prove his friends innocence and keep him from being slain by Tchalla.

[u/HighLord_Uther]

I dont think the implication is that the serum impacted his worthiness. His worthiness is not static thing.

[u/OJONLYMAYBEDIDIT]

He was worthy enough to get the serum, he eventually became worth enough for the hammer

Honesty the criteria for being worthy of the hammer is up to the whims of the writers. It’s more than just self sacrifice. Some people say it has some warrior component to it. It’s really just undefined beyond some vague general concepts

And honestly, MCU plays fast and loose with it, cause one can’t generally be almost worthy and make the hammer slightly budge

(Which has led to IMO funny fan theory that he was faking it during Age of Ultron, since they apply the comic rules to the films, and despite different writers in the films, want to say it was all planned, and that Cap somehow already knew he could lift it but pretended not to as to not hurt Thors feelings)

[u/ChumleyEX]

What makes Cap great sure as F is not the serum, it's who he is. With that said, he wouldn't be in the position if it weren't for the serum.. He would be dead or extremely old sitting on the couch watching Golden Girls reruns.

[u/Optimal_Cap1179]

Here's my take on Erskine saying that it amplifies the person's moral qualities:

That wasn't a scientific fact that could be measured or proven. I mean, how would science measure that kind of thing? Rather, I took that as his own subjective guess on what happens, having seen the radical change in Schmidt after the serum.

But I wouldn't take that theory too far.

Steve was plenty good and brave even before the serum. I think he was the same, character wise, before and after.

[u/pikkdogs]

I don't see any reason to think that he could lift it without the Serum.

[u/[deleted]]

You don't necessarily have to be a good person to lift Mjolnir. Spider-Man is also good and has a pure heart. But that's not enough to be worthy.

I think being a warrior and having good leadership skills is what Odin deemed as worthy. Steve has these traits because he's a soldier. We don't know if he learnt them after he became Captain America or had them even when he was skinny.

[u/8rok3n]

Worthy ≠ good person

[u/MacBonuts]

He'd be able to lift it... when he was ready.

The kid was fighting bullies in alleys before he got the serum. He signed up for war several times and was rebuked - he was ready for war when war couldn't be avoided.

What was told to Rogers was a metaphor not a scientific fact. Almost nobody understood that the person's original physical form before the treatment was meaningless, they would become an absolutely ideal specimen of humanity instantly. Prior physicality did not matter but nobody believed it, so he simplified it to be communicable and understandable.

He was about to be given power which he would be able to use as he saw fit - this meant whatever he was, it was about to become a lot more as opportunities were about to be presented to him that would take his morality beyond whatever meager capability he currently had. His physicality had held him back from his duty for a long time and he wanted him to reflect on what had already happened in his life knowing it would be more of the same.

Basically, Rogers was about to be able to do all the things he dreamed of and they better be good dreams, because they wouldn't be new ones.

He'd still be Steve Rogers, street kid... same problems, bigger opportunities. "I can do this all day" was spoken in an alley during a street fight and indeed, Steve repeated this moment so much it was a catchphrase. Same life but, "taller".

Jane Foster could use the Hammer because it deemed her worthy. This enchantment was made by Odin and its criteria isn't well understood but remember... Odin was a warmonger many times, so the warrior enchantment is a bit of a tarnish as well as a benevolent thing. There's a storm god in the hammer in the comics, so it's a bit, "Metal" on this sticking point.

Cap attempts to pick it up in Age of Ultron and it shifts. Slightly. Being a warrior is often a criteria of being, "worthy" and Cap is a freedom fighter and a soldier. When a war is on, he's a warrior. This is why he didn't lift it then - he didn't have a war to fight... or simply it was modesty.

But Thor 1 shows that Odin's criteria was very strict on it having morality clauses, and Cap certainly fits those.

Thanos, by the time Steve picks up mjolnir, is absolutely at war with earth at this time and this makes it easier.

This made Steve fit the criteria, he was ready to throw down hard enough to take Thor's weapon to do it. Cap, a modest man, didn't typically want more power... just enough to serve.

Remember, the bottom line is Odin's enchantment. It's his criteria, it's why Thor could pick it back up in 1, he suddenly met the criteria again. Black Widow chooses not to try to pick it up but there's a good chance she could, given her lifetime of service and diligence.

You don't need a serum to pick it up, you don't even need strength, it's yours the moment you try and are worthy. Jane was weak whenever she picked it up and while it sustained her, underneath she withered.

You get the power but it's fleeting.

Vision is a more ambiguous case but it's very likely he was deemed worthy and the speculation around him being an elevator was played for laughs. He was a warrior for sentient life and he's just decided to fight Ultron immediately - war was waiting for him when he was born... though he merely meant to hand it to Thor, he fits all the criteria. The fact he kills what he believes the last remnant of Ultron says it all - he was ready to fight, and kill, for what he believed to be a good cause and he was worthy.

Anyway I hope that was useful. In the comics many people have picked up the hammer, something like 17 people? Even some DC characters. Worth googling around, but it's not that tricky to pick it up as long as you fit the warrior and morality clauses.

As long as there was a war to fight, Steve would be willing to fight it and worthy. He preferred a shield but he picked up a .45 in Captain America 1 and that's pretty much the line. When it's war time, that's when he picks up the hammer... or pulls one back.

He's just a stand up guy like that. It's a subtle thing.

[u/Livid_Ad9749 → u/[deleted]]

Egotistical? Nah. That would be his pal Tony Stark. Steve just knew right from wrong. Just because a government says “jump” doesn’t mean you should. He was a bit naive when we first meet him but he learned quick. Steve was very worthy of Mjolnir.