The Avengers was the biggest ensemble superhero movie in MCU Phase 1, which proved to be a massive success earning over Billion dollars at the box office. It raised the bar for the sequel, but it fell way short of expectations. Although Age of Ultron did reasonably well at the box-office it wasn’t a smashing hit.
The big villain was an evil AI namely ‘Ultron’ created by Tony Stark who wanted to create a suit of armor around the world after what happened in the Battle of New York. The AI turned rogue and became hell-bent on the destruction of humanity as it believes that’s the only way to save it. The incredible voice-over of Ultron is done by James Spader.
The sequel to the blockbuster ‘The Avengers’ was pretty high on intense action set pieces and well-choreographed battle sequences, but it also had few light moments too. For instance, the scene where all Avengers are trying to lift Thor’s hammer Mjolnir. Well, you gotta do something like this after months of fighting against H.Y.D.R.A right!! So first came Stark who failed to lift one of the most powerful objects in the Marvel universe.
He was followed by Cap who managed to lift a little but then he couldn’t. It was really baffling to see Cap struggling to lift the hammer, as one would imagine that he must be worthy. Why couldn’t Captain America lift the hammer? Is he not worthy?
Well, if he is not worthy of it then who could possibly be. He is the most principled and revered superhero for whom mission has always come first and his own life later. He has always put the interests of the country and team above his selfish interests. Moreover, this was not the first time he was lifting the hammer.
In comics, he has lifted the mighty hammer so many times and even used it against the adversaries. Moreover, the “unworthy” Iron Man has lifted Mjolnir in comics as well.
Recently, one fan on Reddit posted a picture of Rogers riding a bike without a helmet or face shield. He said if he can’t obey basic rules, he just can’t be worthy enough to lift the hammer. He said that Cap is a rule breaker which is why he didn’t sign Sokovia accords and then hammer didn’t find him worthy.
Mjolnir’s like, ‘Great track record dude! Heart of gold… YOU DIDN’T WEAR YOUR HELMET NO CAN DO MR. AMERICA,'” one user commented.
Well, jokes apart, the only explanation possible regarding why Cap is not worthy in the MCU is actually given by Quora writer Ishita Roy who pointed out about the nature of worthiness in terms of Thor’s hammer. She said that Cap may be the honest, principled and decent man with noble intent but he is a “Blood Knight” which is a problem. In Avengers: Age of Ultron, Cap’s worst nightmare was that the war is over. Moreover, his objection to Tony’s Stark’s creation of Ultron was not against the war or broader moralistic argument, instead, he loves war.
Similarly, when Thor was fighting for war’s sake, he lost his worthiness to lift the hammer for demonstrating general lack of compassion, as a result, he was banished until he evolved into a peace-loving figure that allowed him to regain the strength to lift Mjolnir and place in Norse pantheon of gods.
Then, what explains the temporary lift of hammer? It suggests that Cap is on a right path and needs some kind of realization to become worthy of the hammer. What do you think?
