One Chris Evans scene in Avengers: Endgame (2019) made it impossible for fans to contain their excitement during the film’s release. Of course, there were many showstopping, tear-jerking, and jaw-dropping moments involving Cap, but one such moment that takes the cake is his lifting the Mjolnir, reinforcing the belief that he was worthy to begin with. We then cut to a gag take of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor gleefully affirming, “I knew it.”
The scene, a takeback to the iconic Avengers: Age of Ultron sequence, where each Avenger dabbles their hands at taking a shot to lift the magical weapon and subsequently fails (except Steve, who budges it slightly), brought forth a new significance to the question of what makes one worthy. Thousands wondered whether any other face from the superhero ensemble could give it another try and, who knows, succeed.
One, in particular, could be Mjolnir-worthy after Endgame, and it’s presumably not who you may think.
Could Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye Lift Mjolnir After Chris Evans’ Captain America?
The progression most of the Avengers ensemble and some of its associates have had could qualify them as potentially worthy of wielding Mjolnir. There are a few characteristics some individuals who have demonstrated their merit for the triumph (in comics and the MCU) have in common, even though the exact standards for what distinguishes someone as worthy remain vague.
However, if we were to investigate the most prevalent tropes that apply, they would be associated with values such as selflessness, the motives behind one’s deeds, willingly giving up one’s life to save another’s, courage, benevolence, and humility. Some have additionally theorized that being worthy doesn’t equate to only moral values but to one’s conviction of being deserving enough, without an ounce of self-doubt, to hold the enchanted war hammer of the God of Thunder.
While the precise parameters may be unknown, Jeremy Renner‘s Hawkeye/Clint Barton could be one of the Avengers to succeed Chris Evans‘s Captain America in making the feat a reality.
Although he is argued to be an underdeveloped character in many fan forums and discussions, one cannot deny the growth he exhibited between the events of the first Avengers and his passing-the-torch stint in 2021’s Hawkeye. Following the Snap, after losing his family, Barton, who was retired and under house arrest, becomes a vigilante known as Ronin and goes on a five-year, grief-induced rampage against criminals in an attempt to exact revenge and retribution.
We see Clint’s benevolent and self-sacrificing nature in the events of Endgame when he and Natasha embark on the quest to retrieve the Soul Stone. When it is revealed that there’s a hefty, fatal price to be paid for the stone, Romanoff and Barton do everything to prevent the other from leaping their deaths—even fighting each other for the cause. The former gains the upper hand and eventually sacrifices herself.
Does This Make Clint Barton Worthy?
Barton was willing to give up all, even the prospect of seeing his family again, in the name of the betterment of humanity, despite the tragic, tear-jerking result of the sequence. His readiness and bravery in self-sacrificing demonstrate that he could be worthy of wielding Mjolnir. Much like most of its previous holders, Renner’s character, although initially led astray in his pursuit of vengeance, exhibited his pure-heartedness in Endgame.
But would it be fair to suggest that, in the wake of the 2019 movie, only his character would be worthy of the magical weapon?
Not just Barton, the events of the ultimate Avengers outing showed that most in the superhero ensemble and their development since Age of Ultron, where they first tried to lift it, would make them potential candidates for wielding Thor’s war hammer. Natasha and Tony’s sacrifice, in particular, would automatically qualify them under the hypothetical criteria of giving one’s life up without a second thought to further the greater good and betterment of their loved ones and the world.
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The only difference is that, unlike Chris Evans’ Captain America, we didn’t see the others commit to an attempt again. Nevertheless, these are mere theories. And there may be underlying facets to why Steve proved worthy of using Mjolnir. The vagueness of the criteria for the feat has made fans debate and question the possibility of others lifting the weapon, and they will continue to do so.
But one thing is for sure.
Emulating the hype of the sequence that the Captain America scene induced amongst screaming fans in theatres would be challenging to live up to if another Avenger dedicated themselves to the cause now!
