Captain America Lifts Mjolnir in Avengers: Endgame

Aside from Thor himself, nobody in the Marvel universe has been able to lift Mjolnir, the mighty weapon used by Thor. Mjolnir is a sacred hammer bestowed with powers by Odin, and its wielder must be worthy to pick it up. This has led to a number of cheeky fan theories, including that Cap was never really worthy and was still feeling guilty over the murder of Tony Stark’s parents. Regardless, Mjolnir finally budged for Captain America in Avengers: Endgame, and it was one of the biggest “stand up and cheer” moments in the film.

So, what made Captain Rogers able to lift Mjolnir and bring down Thanos? Was it just because he’s the strongest Avenger, or was there something else at play here? As it turns out, it’s a bit of both.

Odin enchanted Mjolnir so that it could only be lifted by those who were worthy of holding it, and this is a rule that has held true for the most part over the years. While it’s true that there are some characters outside of the gods who have been able to hold Mjolnir on rare occasions, most of them have been alien warriors, such as Beta Ray Bill.

That said, Captain Rogers was able to pick up Mjolnir because of his worthiness and the strength of his ideals. In fact, when he was sent back in time to put the Infinity Stones in their proper places, he took Mjolnir with him.