Who Has Wielded Thor's Hammer? 8 Unexpected Heroes And Villains (& How They Did It)

Among the main Avengers, one of the most powerful members is undeniably Thor. Captain America and Iron Man may be tough, but Thor is a literal God and comes with all of the powers of one. But what makes him a cut above other superheroes is that he possesses Mjolnir, a divine hammer that amplifies his powers and turns him into, quite literally, a force of nature. But Thor’s hammer comes with a catch: to lift it, you need to be deemed worthy by it. The hammer’s incantation reads “Whoever holds this hammer, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor,” and throughout the character’s decades of existence, many heroes have been deemed worthy by Mjolnir.

But it isn’t just heroes that can be worthy. The trailer for Avengers: Doomsday (2026) teases that Robert Downey Jr.’s Dr. Doom may, in fact, be worthy to lift Mjolnir. Villains can be deemed worthy to lift Mjolnir, though those circumstances almost always come with a catch. If we’re not counting “What if” scenarios, alternative universes, or the legion of Thor supporting characters that have lifted Mjolnir, which pre-established superheroes and villains were deemed worthy and able to wield one of the most powerful weapons in the Marvel Universe?

Captain America

Most MCU fans know that Steve Rogers was, and always will be, worthy to lift Mjolnir. It was teased in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), finally shown off in Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Avengers: Doomsday only reminds us that, yup, Steve is worthy. But what about in the comics?

In the comics, Steve has actually wielded Mjolnir multiple times. In Thor #390, he lifted the hammer to save Thor when Grog and the Demons of Death attacked him, and he was the first mortal to lift the hammer besides Thor, effectively opening the gateway for others to lift Mjolnir. It shouldn’t really be that surprising to know that Steve was deemed worthy. He’s selfless, stands up for what’s right, and isn’t afraid to back down in the face of adversity. All that gets twisted during the “Secret Empire” event, where an evil Captain America, working for Hydra, lifts Mjolnir, leading to Hydra’s domination of Earth. However, Stevil, as Rocket Raccoon calls him, only did so because the incantation was altered to fool the population into thinking that Stevil and Hydra were blessed by the Gods. Nothing a quick beat down by the real Steve couldn’t solve, though!

Vision

Captain America isn’t the only person in the MCU that was deemed worthy of Mjolnir for a time. While he definitely may not be deemed worthy given everything that happened in WandaVision (2021), there was a brief moment where Vision was seen as worthy.

Vision was created in response to Ultron’s machinations, and after some tweaking at Avengers Tower, J.A.R.V.I.S’ consciousness was uploaded into Vision and given the power of the Mind Stone. Because Vision was effectively a newborn, and with the Mind Stone regulating his emotions and thoughts, he was able to lift Mjolnir. This probably wasn’t because Vision had the virtues and morality of someone like Steve Rogers, but more so because he was a blank slate in the purest sense. He had no malice inside of him, and the enchantment recognized the fact that there was no reason why he couldn’t lift the hammer. It’s probably the reason why Vision was never able to lift Mjolnir in the comics, but did so in the film. Again, he probably won’t be able to now, but for a brief time, he was worthy through a lack of experience.

Silver Surfer

One of the things about Mjolnir that is never specified in the comics is the definition of the word ’worthy.’ What exactly does it mean to be worthy? Even though it’s not specified, one would assume that aiding Galactus in the destruction of multiple civilizations would generally make someone unworthy. 

That makes it all the more impressive when the Silver Surfer was able to lift Mjolnir. It wasn’t immediate, though. It took him thousands, possibly even tens of thousands of years, to atone for his sins, but he felt he needed to gain the power of Mjolnir. Why? Because in his mind, wielding Mjolnir was the only way for the Surfer to stop Thanos and a version of Thanos from the far future called King Thanos. Did it work? Oh God no, the Surfer was stabbed in the back with a giant sword by both King Thanos and his younger self. But was it cool seeing the Surfer lift Mjolnir and call himself the Fallen One? You better believe it.

Moon Knight

Mjolnir is powerful, but what exactly is it? Well, it’s a magical hammer that was blessed by the power of Odin, but what exactly is it made of? Apparently, it’s made of Uru, and as Moon Knight tells Thor, Uru is ‘moonstone’, meaning that Moon Knight can control it.

There are some caveats to that power. Moon Knight gains the power of lunarkinesis through his bond with Khonshu, the Egyptian God of the moon. The stronger the bond, the stronger Moon Knight's lunarkinesis is, going so far as to literally control and move various moons. When Khonshu encourages Moon Knight to gain the powers of the Avengers to defeat Mephisto, he reveals that Mjolnir was made of moonstone, enabling him to control Mjolnir at will. That doesn’t mean he’s worthy, since he’s unable to lift the hammer, and he doesn’t have full control over Mjolnir, as it refuses to attack Black Panther since apparently one of his ancestors was able to wield it. Lunarkinesis can only get him so far, but it does allow him to wield the hammer in a way that few heroes could.

Magneto

Much like how Moon Knight was able to manipulate Mjolnir through the power of technicalities, so does Magneto, though at the very least, the reason Magneto can do so makes total sense.

Magneto has control over all forms of metal, and because of that, he’s able to do some pretty overpowered actions. He was able to lift and move the Golden Gate Bridge in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), and one of his most brutal actions in the comics is ripping the adamantium from Wolverine’s skeleton. And it just so happens that Uru is a stone with metallic properties, allowing Magneto to control it with ease. This is a hammer that’s used to beat up Celestials, but it’s about as harmless to Magneto as a gentle breeze. He just needs to use his magnetic abilities to swat it away without a major fuss, and he does so whenever he encounters Thor. Sure, he’s never attempted to lift the hammer, and he almost certainly wouldn’t be deemed worthy, but he doesn’t need to be worthy. As long as someone near him has already lifted it, the Master of Magnet can move Mjolnir around to his whims.

Venom

Not many street-level heroes or villains have ever had an opportunity to lift Mjolnir, but just leave it to the Lethal Protector to be able to lift it, although he had to go through a lot just to briefly wield it.

For those who saw Venom: The Last Dance (2024), you may remember a villain being teased throughout the film named Knull. While Knull never actually made an appearance in the film, for a time, he was one of the biggest threats to the Marvel Universe. He’s the God of the Symbiotes, a primordial being that predates the universe and wishes to return it, and himself, to nothingness. His only true threat is the Enigma Force, mysterious light energy containing the power of existence that vanquishes Knull’s darkness. To defeat Knull, Venom becomes the host for the Enigma Force and, out of a desire to defeat Knull and save his son Dylan, Mjolnir deems him worthy. So Venom, being the badass he is, combines Mjolnir with the Silver Surfer’s surfboard to turn them into a giant battle axe he uses to dice Knull before launching him into the sun, because that’s just cool as hell.

Red Hulk

The Hulk is one of the most powerful creatures in all of the Marvel Universe. His strength knows no bounds, but he has never been deemed worthy of lifting Mjolnir as long as the enchantment is in place. However, Red Hulk has, though only through the power of science!

In a fight between Thor and Red Hulk, Red Hulk confesses to Thor about a conclusion he came to regarding the hammer’s enchantment; it’s reliant on gravity. Only those worthy can lift it, and lifting any object implies it is going against the force of gravity. So, Red Hulk drags Thor into space, yanks the hammer from him, and starts wailing him with it. Thor doesn’t really know how to respond to this, but it makes total sense when you stop to think about it. Mjolnir has no weight in the vacuum of space, so it can be wielded by anyone there. In fact, Iron Man technically pulled the same trick in Avengers #122 back in 1974, so there is precedent for it. It’s a clever trick that Red Hulk was able to pull on Thor, so while he isn’t worthy, he’s one of the few villains to outsmart the enchantment.

Superman

There was a time when Marvel and DC crossed over on a somewhat infrequent basis. Superman teamed up with Spider-Man; both universes fused for a time, but the most notable time was during the event “JLA/Avengers,” and in the climax of those four issues, Superman was able to lift Mjolnir. 

When it comes to other heroes that are seen as worthy by Mjolnir, Superman is right at the top. He’s the paragon of truth and justice, and has the morality of a Boy Scout. He didn’t even ask for Mjolnir. Thor threw it to him as a last-ditch effort to break into the fortress of Krona, a DC villain who wanted to understand the creation of the universe, before he destroyed both universes. He caught it, was blown away by its powers, and cleared the way for Hawkeye to deal the final blow to Krona. Superman is the definition of a hero, and there is no one more worthy of lifting Mjolnir than him.