MCU: Why Was Iron Man Never Worthy of The Mjolnir?

A weapon of power and wonder, Mjolnir – or ‘Mew Mew’ as Darcy Lewis calls it – has a history that easily rivals any of the main characters’. Mjolnir is the magical hammer that is Thor's primary weapon of choice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Forged by Eitri in Uru and enchanted by Odin, this hammer has been not only the object of awe for MCU fans but for the characters of MCU as well. Throughout the Marvel franchise, multiple people attempt to and some manage to haul this mighty hammer. But nobody fails as miserably as Tony Stark does, given his self-assured cockiness when he first attempts it, believing himself easily worthy. Let's unpack that.

First seen in the MCU back in Iron Man 2 (2010), when S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Paul Coulson reports its discovery in a desert, we only get to know the weapon in Thor (2011). In this instalment, when Odin strips Thor of his powers, we learn about the magical hammer’s most significant attribute – the enchantment of worthiness. This attribute is driven home time and time again – first when Thor is finally able to re-wield the hammer after he proves his worthiness by sacrificing his life to the Destroyer, and later, when Vision easily lifts the mystical hammer in Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), in an act that works to gain the Avengers’ trust.

To describe Tony Stark as anything but unworthy when we first see him in Iron Man (2008) will make nobody gasp in shock. He is the epitome of narcissism and overtly selfish – a stark opposite of what even a good superhero should be, much less a worthy person.

Throughout his character arc, he is pushed into selfless deeds that bring about a transformation in him, but we see him embrace these events with a shade of egotism underlying – a belief that only he can think of the optimum solution or only he knows what's best. This is proven by the sequence of decisions that lead to the birth of Ultron and also when he constantly undermines people with authority – case in point: Tony Stark’s court hearing in Iron Man 2 (2010) where he jauntily proclaims that he has ‘privatised world peace’.

Yes, we love him for it; yes, his charisma is what makes it easy to believe in him, and yes, his flaws with his strengths are what makes him a fleshed-out, well-written character. But that's what Iron Man is – a flawed character.

Throughout his life, he has battled dark thoughts on account of either his father, Howard Stark or the traumatic near-death experiences that he has routinely had since the time he put on the iron suit. When things get dark, he easily succumbs to the pressure – either by receding into himself and preparing to die like he is as good as ready to do when his rudimentary arc reactor starts killing him or by making rash decisions that make him feel in control such as accidentally creating Ultron while aiming for something else.

On one hand, it can be argued that he learns to be more selfless as time progresses – what could be a firmer proof of this than his ultimate sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame (2019)? Maybe, in the end, he was worthy and we just never knew because there was no handy Mjolnir to test it. However, on the other hand, it is also possible that to be worthy, Stark would first have had to believe that he was worthy – an idea he had never himself entertained – and by extension, neither did the Mjolnir.