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There've been several questions about the Excalibur-like scene in Avengers: Age of Ultron when no Avenger is able to lift the hammer except for Captain America who seems to be able to move it slightly.

My question is simple: is there any confirmation by any official source (authors, director, any actor, anyone on the team) about whether he is NOT able to lift it, or whether he realises he would be able to lift it but chooses not to as he is not supposed to?

Mithical
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Jorge Córdoba
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    Related, possibly a duplicate: Why isn't Captain America worthy of Mjolnir? – Molag Bal May 23 '16 at 22:01
  • Nope. http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/86942/4295 That answer triggered this question. Basically I'd like confirmation of whether that speculation is true (has been confirmed) or is just that, speculation (as that answer is pre release of the movie) – Jorge Córdoba May 23 '16 at 22:03
  • Well, the question is related, at least. I wonder if [tag:thors-hammer] should be a synonym of [tag:mjolnir]. Rand, save us! – Molag Bal May 23 '16 at 22:07
  • It should, silly me I could not find a tag for thor's hammer, didn't occur to me to search for the actual name of the hammer – Jorge Córdoba May 23 '16 at 22:09
  • I could request a synonym on meta next time I make a post about tags (which happens all the time for me...). – Molag Bal May 23 '16 at 22:10
  • The novelisation isn't much help. "Cap tried it, and while it did seem to budge a little bit, he came nowhere close to lifting it up!" - It doesn't confirm why he couldn't lift it, albeit the implication is that it was down to the weight of the hammer. – Valorum Jul 22 '16 at 21:52
  • I think even he lifts it, he may or may not be worthy. The way I remember it Odin's enchantment said something to the effect that whoever held the hammer, IF he is worthy, he'll have the power of Thor. Not if he lifts the hammer. Seems to me There may be 2 levels of worthiness, one that Vision meets and caps just touches and the other to qualify for the Power of Thor. – Arcane Sep 28 '16 at 04:20
  • I think this question should be closed as dupe of the linked question. If you want more details, or a canonical source, please start a bounty an cite that very reason. Opening a whole new question to cater for a slightly different perspective goes against the purpose of this site; in my opinion. – Möoz Sep 28 '16 at 05:04
  • @Mooz I find the actual accepted answer a perfect fit for THIS specific question, which is triggered by that other one. Since you can only have one accepted answer per question if the answers to the questions are sufficiently different, it makes sense to me to have two sepparate questions. Otherwise, what would you do? Have this accepted answer as an edit to the old one? What if the person that know the answer to this one doesn't have enough votes to be able to edit other people's answers? – Jorge Córdoba Sep 28 '16 at 11:38
  • FYI, the "sword in the stone" in the Arthur legend isn't actually Excalibur. Excalibur is given to Arthur later by the Lady of the Lake. – scott.korin Jun 05 '17 at 13:53

5 Answers5

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Last year during Sand Diego Comic Con Joss Whedon did a 45 minute Q and A. In regards to the "Excalibur" scene, a fan asked:

“How is Steve Rogers not worthy?”

To which Whedon replied with:

“Is he not? Are we sure?” Whedon responded, a hint of teasing in his voice. “Did he fail? Or did he stop?”

While this isn't a definitive answer to your question, coming from Whedon it definitely foreshadows Rogers' credence and ability to lift Mjolnir. As of now, the rest is speculation and theory.

Here is the interview with Whedon.

Xiokraze
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    the guy is a hydra agent for god's sake :P – conquistador May 26 '16 at 09:23
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    @MustafaAKTAŞ Not in the MCU he isn't (as far as we're aware) – F1Krazy Jun 05 '17 at 07:51
  • @F1Krazy you're right. **spoilers for Winter Soldier** yet there is a subtle hint in Winter Soldier's ending credits. at some point we see a split screen , at one side there is captain america with shield logo next to him and on the other we see steve rogers (before super soldier serum) with hydra logo next to him. I'm not saying this is proof but it's something to think about. – conquistador Jun 05 '17 at 11:00
  • @MustafaAKTAŞ Do you have a link of the shot you mentioned? – Luke Jun 06 '17 at 09:14
  • @F1Krazy you can see it here : https://jarrettk.deviantart.com/art/Captain-America-TWS-Credits-002-2-478204872 or at 02h 06m 43s timestamp in the movie itself – conquistador May 03 '18 at 20:38
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Yes, he is worthy enough to do so, but decided not to out of humility.

Here's the official answer, from Joe and Anthony Russo:

Anthony replied: “In our heads, he was able to wield it. He didn’t know that until that moment in Ultron when he tried to pick it up. But Cap’s sense of character and humility and, out of deference to Thor’s ego, Cap, in that moment realizing he can move the hammer, decides not to.”

This is supported in Endgame, when Thor says:

"I knew it" when Cap picks up the hammer.

(See also my answer on Movies from which I plagiarized my own content.)

Community
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Laurel
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In later comics Captain America has been sufficiently worthy to lift Mjonir and wield it with great proficiency, so maybe this scene was an easter egg hinting at that in future films. Not to mention it appeared that only Thor noticed that the Hammer twitched while in Captain's grip.

Maybe the hammer would've moved had the Captain not tried to put muscle into it and force it to lift. When you notice how Thor tries to lift it in Thor, when one tries to force the hammer into compliance the hammer resists yet, when one touches and, in essence, connects with Mjonir in some way the hammer yields.

Paul D. Waite
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Ormr Void
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I guess there are many theories to this question. In the comics, he can lift it. This is a fact! Also, you can lift it or can't. The idea you can sort of move it doesn't apply. Now, these are movies. So they don't necessarily have to follow this rule. I don't think we will know for sure until its explained in some fashion. But the fact he moved it a little is very suspicious of the fact that he really can lift it, in that he faked it. Some have said he was worthy, but he doesn't feel himself to be worthy so it didn't work. That one doesn't work! How YOU feel doesn't play into it. In Thor, when his powers are taken away from him, and he finally finds the hammer, he can't lift it, even though he does believe he is worthy. I totally believe he faked it -- there are too many references in the comics that you can. But, if you don't want to go by the comics lore, he was chosen because of his goodness in his Pure Heart, which was amplified after he had taken the serum. And it's very possible that Kevin Feige and the rest of the people involved in the storytelling don't even know either. That this is all just to keep this talking guessing which is working pretty well looks like.

user84362
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I felt like Cap was trying his hardest to lift it and probably didn't even notice it move, only Thor reacts to it. It's not really in Caps nature to think of himself as 'worthy' or better than anyone else, he's just a kid from Brooklyn after all, it wouldn't even occur to him that he could be worthy.

I guess Mjolnr sensed something in him, a spark of potential yet to be fully realized. If I remember correctly a mortal man being worthy of the power of the Gods is the beginning of the end times for the Gods and the next Thor movie happens to be subtitled Ragnarok...

CrusherDestroyer
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